What you need...

…as it turns out, not as much as you think! When I mention to somebody that I like to cook I think visions of double ovens, industrial refrigerators and exotic utensils dance in their heads. My kitchen is very basic. One oven, electric stove (oh, what I would do for gas), the refrigerator that was here when we moved in, a cheap-o department store knife set. I don’t think there is any one item in my kitchen that isn’t in most kitchens.

I’ve mentioned before, among the many reasons I love cooking from scratch is the economy of it. The inclination to rush off to buy a specific gadget to perform every small task in the kitchen can turn cooking into a pricey venture. Here are a few things I don’t thing any cook needs:

* Egg separator. Quite conveniently, eggshells are well suited to this task.
* Stand mixer. I have writhed in jealousy over many a mixer, but what can a stand mixer do that I can’t do myself? Nothing.
* Rolling pin. They do look pretty hanging on the wall, but a floured drinking glass does the job nicely.
* Electric can opener. The old-fashioned elbow-grease kind work better anyway.
* Pretty much any kitchen gadget that was invented in the last 20-30 years. Most of these were created in the name of convenience, the same plague that (ironically) has driven us right out of the kitchen and to the drive-thru.

I don’t want to come across as though I entirely reject modern conveniences. I am a mother and work full time; I need all the help I can get! Here are a few of the technological aids I use frequently:

* Food processor. I made my first daughter’s babyfood with one (and when the little one is ready for solids I’ll do it again). It’s also wonderful for soups and pesto.
* Electric waffle iron. I’m not even sure waffles existed before electric waffle irons, but if they did I bet they would take way more work to create than I could handle!
* Microwave. I almost exclusively use the microwave for two purposes: defrosting frozen things and re-heating leftovers. When I was single I went for years without one and I would actually love to wean myself off of it again.
* Garbage disposal. I really do love mine!
* Dishwasher. Mine is broken at the moment and washing dishes is probably my least favorite chore.

There are some necessities for a nicely functional kitchen. Here are a few things I don’t think I could live without:

* Several sizes of casserole dishes. I think everyone has a couple of big ones, but I’ve gotten a surprising amount of use out of the smaller ones!
* Several sizes of mixing bowls. A couple of years ago my mom bought me a brightly colored set of five mixing bowels that fit together. I love them!
* A big stockpot. Great for, well, stock and for big batches of anything.
* A good selection of knives. I have one really nice chef’s knife and the others that I use often are a collection of small paring knives, a long serrated bread knife, and an average size serrated knife.
* A steamer basket.
* Lots and lots of old dingy kitchen towels! I don’t bother with pretty ones…I need to have a drawer full of towels I don’t mind getting all manner of slop on.
* At least a couple of nice cutting boards. I think the best combination is two large-ish, at least one made of some non-porous material for cutting raw meat.
* A garlic mincer. Yes, you can chop a clove up with a knife, but your fingers will smell like garlic FORever.


This isn’t a very comprehensive list. On any given day, depending on what I’m cooking different items will be indispensable. You should see my set up for letting bread dough raise: a medium size skillet filled with hot tap water, topped with a wire cooling rack, topped with the bowl of dough, covered with a warm damp towel. It looks more like I’m trying to balance as many kitchen utensils as I can rather than letting dough rise. My point is, you can make do better than you think if you just dive in!