Tip of the Week - My Favorite Things

So this is what's been happening at my house.  After 19 years in the home my husband built for us here in Providence, we have undertaken a substantial remodeling project.  What you are looking at is the wall between my kitchen and laundry room being torn away for the construction of a new big kitchen!  (The laundry room is moving upstairs).  I am, to say the least, very excited about this; however, it doesn't come without a price, which all of you ladies can imagine.  Making dinner is a challenge these days, but I am determined to make it a priority most nights even in the midst of our chaos.

The biggest challenge, which brings me to the point of this post, is that I have had to box up the biggest part of my everyday supplies--cookware, small appliances, dishes, Tupperware, kitchen tools--you name it.  Cabinets are gone, as you can see, and in their stead a large metal storage shelf unit like they have in restaurant kitchens that can be wheeled from place to place while John works. (Doesn't it look lovely next to the fireplace?) This holds the bare essentials to keep life functional for us--a few plates and glasses, pans, mixing bowls, dish towels.  Let's just say I won't be inviting any of you over for dinner anytime soon!

Thinking about what to keep out and what to box up has made me feel, in a small way, like the pioneers choosing what to load on their wagons.  It isn't easy to decide what stays and what goes, whether you have a little or a lot--and in my case, when it comes to my kitchen, I must admit that I have a lot!  I was stunned at the number of huge boxes I've filled up so far.  So again, to get to the point, I decided it would be fun, in lieu of a recipe this week, to show you a few of the kitchen items I cannot live without and explain why.  These are the things that through their usefulness have earned a spot on my metal shelves.  And who knows?  Maybe after a few months of life with only the bare necessities, I'll decide I don't need those 20 boxes stacked in the garage at all. . . but don't hold your breath!

Here are a few of my favorite things . . .

1.  My Crockpot Collection.  This isn't the whole collection.  These are just a few I am musing over as to which sizes I cannot go several months without.  I think I've got myself whittled down to the biggest one (not shown) and one of the normal sized ones.  Don't scoff at the volume of pots.  Every now and again one of my Relief Society sisters is grateful for one-stop shopping at my house when she needs to borrow crockpots for a church dinner she's in charge of.  Some of these work horses have been around since I got married.

2.  My Huge Skillet.  This fellow has obviously seen better days.  Finally, about a month ago, after two decades of screwing it back on, the handle broke off for good.  Over a foot in diameter and nearly 3 inches deep, this fry pan can handle up to 4 lbs of ground beef, brown 6 pork chops with ease, or produce enough Stir-Fry for a small army.  I did some quick calculations and determined this pan has been used somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 times!  The other day when the handle broke for the last time, my husband urged me to throw it away.  Is he out of his mind?  They may have to bury me with this pan. 

So what's so great about it?  It's made of 18/10 stainless steel.  I'm not sure exactly what that means, except that it makes the pan bottom very heavy and that things never burn.  I love this skillet so much that after I got it all those years ago, I've slowly replaced every flimsy pot or pan I ever owned with pieces that have this marking on the bottom.  I don't think one brand is superior to another (mine are all different brands), as long as I see the 18/10 mark, I'm happy.

3.  My Cuisinart Food Processor.  My life began the day my sister gave me this machine.  It does everything, from mincing cilantro to crushing graham crackers to shredding cheese.  It blends sauces, slices onions paper thin, and purees fruit for making jam.  The button labels are nearly worn off, and I'm afraid I'll soon be needing a new one.  I don't know how I got along all those years without this guy, and I wasn't about to box him up for any amount of time. By the way, next to him are a few of my stainless steel serving spoons of all sizes of which I can never have too many.

4.  Colanders and Wire Strainers.  I know this looks a bit excessive, but I really needed to save out one of each size.  From draining pasta in the big one to straining lumps out of gravy thickener with the smallest one, I grab one or more of these almost every time I cook.

5.  My Rice Cookers.  I have a big one and a little one, so I just kept out the little one.  When I took the picture, it still had rice in it from dinner tonight!  Like the food processor, I don't know why I went so long without one of these.  All those years I agonized over how high the heat under the pan needed to be after the rice started to simmer.  Would it really be done when I took of the lid, still watery, or stuck to the bottom?  If I guessed wrong and opened too soon, it never seemed to come out right.  With a rice cooker you dump in rice, water, salt, and butter, push a button, and never think about it again.  It comes out perfect every single time.  When it's done, it stays warm automatically until you're ready to serve it.  To me, this is a big deal and I love this appliance.

6.  My Stainless Steel Bowls.  From my set of about 8 which nest inside each other, these are the ones I didn't box up.  They last indefinitely and have a multitude of uses, as attested to by the fact that every church kitchen is stocked with them.  A few years ago for Christmas I received the grandaddy of them all, a bowl so huge we call it the "Bath a Baby" bowl.  It's main purpose is to fill with enough popcorn for a dozen people, which my kids loved doing when their friends came for movies or games.  Sadly, Bath-a-Baby is in storage for the duration (I'm not exactly throwing a party in this mess), but these few survived the cut. 

7.  My Rubbermaid Microwave Plates.  Nothing is easier than filling up these plates with leftovers at the end of a meal.  The lids snap on tight for fridge storage and can be loosened slightly when rewarming.  They are great for taking a dinner to one or two people to warm up when ready, or stacking in the fridge for each family member to grab when convenient.  I've collected 8 or 10 through the years and they have held up through countless uses. I'm sure they'll come in very handy during my remodel.

8.  My Shelfies (not to be confused with selfies!).  These are great for maximizing shelf space in your cabinets, and they are equally useful now that I need all the space I can get on my kitchen-on-wheels!  They come in various shapes and sizes to meet a multitude of storage needs.

9.  My Hotel Pans and Lids.  I have four of these monsters, and use them all.  These are huge, restaurant style stainless steel pans that barely fit into a standard sized oven.  I can't tell you how many times I've been so glad I didn't have to divide food for a large group into several regular sized baking dishes--brownies, casseroles, Au gratin potatoes, cobbler--the list goes on and on.  I only left one out, and maybe I won't need it in the coming months, because as I said, I'm not planning a party. . . but I didn't feel secure without access to at least one.

Of course there are a few more things, but I'll conclude with a picture of a few kitchen tools I use all the time.  I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to handy gizmos, so believe me it was difficult to just box most of them up (and I mean an enormous box filled with nothing but small kitchen tools).  I'm already feeling a bit anxious about the hundred or so--I'm not exaggerating--items in that box that are already deep in storage in the garage.  Here is my now tiny collection.
10.  Small Kitchen Tools:  Potato Masher, Serrated Chopper, Rubber Spatulas, Metal Whisks, Patty Press, Piggy, Pizza Cutter, Funnels, Graters, extra wide Turner, and my Cutco Knives.

Most of these need no explanation.  I've regaled you with tales of Piggy in past posts, and the Patty Press quickly makes evenly sized burger patties to stack in the freezer.  This isn't everything I saved, of course, but these are some of my everyday favorites.

So that's it!  I hope no one is disappointed about no recipe, but really, haven't we all been eating (and cooking) enough this Summer anyway?  (OK, maybe that's just me).  In any case, by next week perhaps my counters will be cleared off and some clean little corner set aside to make something delicious to share with you--hopefully not a frozen dinner!