Author: Staci

Staci blogs about travel at TheVoyageer.com.

5 Awesome but Totally Unnecessary Kitchen Tools

File these under “For the person who has everything.”

Like the title says, these things are awesome, but if you don’t have them… you will probably still live a wonderful and fulfilling life.

5 Awesome but Unnecessary Kitchen Tools

  1. An ice cream maker is totally unnecessary but awesome to have. Case in point–we got one (not the one pictured) and have made ice cream a few times by now! The one pictured plays ice cream truck music when it’s ready, and since it has a compressor, cools itself down instead of having to store the drum in the freezer. Nice features, if you can afford them.
  2. Copper cookware will last forever and is the best conductor of heat–but that kind of luxury has a price! The set shown will cost about a grand.
  3. Using a juicer is a great commitment that one can make towards their health. If I were to buy a juicer, I would get this one. It gives you a little bit of fruit/veggie pulp (read: more of the nutrients) while still taking some pulp out so the smoothie is still drinkable.
  4. An espresso machine. Yes, I have a Nespresso. No, I don’t need it. Yes, it’s awesome. Enough said? Stop looking at me like that!
  5. Novelty fruit tools. Okay, I lumped these together. People have been eating fruit perfectly fine for thousands of years without fancy tools! I mean… at one point I’m sure people used rocks and sharpened sticks to make yummy fruit goodness happen. However…. I know from experience that if you have a whole bag of cherries that you want to be pit-less, and fast, that investing in a cherry pitter is a big step towards time and sanity.

Anything you care to add?? Or, do you think any of these items are necessary? Share your opinion in the comments! 

The 5 Kitchen Tools You Need

When I thought up this post, I wanted to do an experiment. “If I could only have five kitchen tools, what would they be?” Excluding tabletop items like plates and silverware, here’s what I came up with, and my rationale.

Top 5 Kitchen Tools

  1. Every kitchen needs an 8-inch chef’s knife. This much is a given. Get a sharp one with a nice point, and you can do most of your detail-work, paring, with it as well (although paring knives are safer since they’re less unwieldy). I wholly recommend this one–my favorite feature is the hollows along the edge, which reduce the effect of food clinging to the knife after you’ve made your cut. A great chef’s knife can also be used to peel/smash garlic.
  2. If you make the investment of a good knife, you must have a cutting board to keep it in shape. The people who lived in the apartment before us just used… the kitchen counter. There are cut marks all over and it’s so awful–not to mention bad for the knife’s blade! Getting a good cutting board (wood or plastic) is very important. And never, ever use a knife on tile, glass, stone, or metal. Just don’t! If you get a large and attractive cutting board, you can also use it for tons of other things. Decor, serving tray, perched on an ottoman to make it a coffee table? All of the above.
  3. If I could only have one pot/pan, I would get a nice large sauté pan (with lid). The large surface area on the bottom can be used like a skillet (frying pan), but the high sides and lid can act as a saucepan or stockpot to make rice or even soup or chili, if you have to. This one in particular has some slope to it which makes it almost wok-like, too. Every pan has its own use, but this one is a nice, useful hybrid and can perform lots of duties in a pinch.
  4. My go-to item for stirring, flipping, everything is my bamboo spatula. If you want to cheat on this “five tools” challenge, you can grab this set, which is what I have used for years and I loooove. Bamboo holds up really nicely (I prefer it to regular light-wood spoons or turners) and will not damage nonstick pans. Overall, one should avoid using metal utensils in any pots and pans unless it’s a non-coated stainless steel pan.
  5. The sauté pan I listed above can go in the oven, but there’s just something about a rectangular, covered casserole dish that I wouldn’t want to be without. Use it for anything from casseroles to roasting meat, to brownies or cakes.

I hope this is encouraging to someone who watches the Food Network and sees the chefs using all this specialized gadgetry or walks into a kitchen store and gets glassy-eyed. You can create amazing meals at home with the most minimal of tools. Even someone with the smallest of kitchens surely has space for these… right?

But, just for fun… come back Wednesday for 5 unnecessary but awesome-to-have tools. ;) 

A “Love Our Home” List

An update on the “are-we-aren’t-we moving” front:

Things have quieted down here–no parties until 4am lately… and the endless searching of the perfect apartment on Craigslist is turning up very lackluster results. I think the deciding factor we’ve sort of settled on is whether or not the management hikes up the rent or not (and by how much).  If the rent goes up too much, we’re gone. If it’s reasonable, well, we know the days of the obnoxious summer vacationers are numbered.

It’s nice to know we have options; we are on a wait list for another (smaller) apartment less than a block from my favorite dog park in the neighborhood of Ocean Beach. There are always less expensive options in the hip (and up to ten degrees hotter) neighborhoods of Normal Heights and North Park (but now that I’ve lived by the coast so long, I am spoiled).

If we decide to lock in for another month, however, I have created a “Love Our Home” list… ways to show our apartment some love and make it more like “our own.”  I always have ideas swirling around in my head and writing them all down at once really helps me focus.

  • Buy 4 matching chairs four our dining room table (maybe get these, and stain them?)
  • Update our outdoor furniture situation
  • Paint legs of my computer desk gold
  • Create a seamless walnut-stained top for our media unit
  • Experiment with removable wallpaper (one of these!)
  • Paint a wall (our complex has colors to choose from and will paint a wall for $150; this cost also covers them painting it back for us when we move out).
  • Utilize an elfa system to create a semi-built in bookshelf under our kitchen bar overhang

Many of these things are semi-permanent, or at least lean that direction. If we lock in for another 12 months I am going to have to make some changes that are more purposefull and lasting than just rearranging furniture. Because things like built-ins and paint really go a long way toward making a place feel like home.