[Tigratrus]

Not nice to tease the Admin...

I prefer to look at how MUCH better the kitchen is now, than how much farther it has to go.

[Apri]

GardenOfDarwin wrote:

Apri -- giving away your cooktop? :shock: Mine's not level either, but I need it until I can get my dream dual fuel, convection oven 5 burner model. Not sure what that translates to yet, but I refuse to really look until we're really ready. No sense getting all misty eyed in the appliance department before my time.

Yeah, I'd give it away just to see the person that would take it!. It's the $139 wonder from HomeDepot - and it's at least 3 years old. That and it's really unlevel.

The best oven I've had was a "Contractor's Special" gas oven (yes, gas!) that was so cheap it had no window and no light. It made perfect cakes, cookies, and roasts. Weird.

[kmcg]

Now you've really upped the ante when you start talking about Le Creuset! I love the stuff, but so far have only splurged on vintage pieces at the Goodwill. That's also where I've seen the Chemex, and have often wondered if I should buy one. They just seemed like the kind of thing intellectuals from the 60's would have used, and I figured there must be some fatal flaw. But now I know better! My coffee system is similarly low tech - just a melitta filter cone and a thermos. I'll go look at burr grinders - they sound good.

My other pan of choice is Scanpan - good flat bottoms, and take well to seasoning for an almost non-stick effect. Usually cheaper than creuset, but also often appearing at thrift stores.

Kathy

[Lisa]

OT

Why is Goodwill so much cooler everywhere but where I live? We mostly have old Cool Whip containers and the 80's geese wearing blue ribbons salt and pepper shakers...

/OT

[vmole]

1. lemon/lime squeezer. This pic is just the first one that popped via google; you can get them much cheaper at your local megamart. From a practical point, get one that is bare metal: the painted ones are harder to clean (wax from the skin) and eventually flake.

2. Little glass ramekins/dishes/whatevers to hold chopped whatever, or measured whatever, so that I can just add to the pan.

3. Tongs. Cheap restaurant supply house tongs. I realize others have already mentioned these, but if you don't have any, go out and get a few today.

4. Just got some tiny little plastic measuring cups, marked in ounces and tablespoons, max 1/4 cup. Much easier to deal with for things that don't scoop easily, like fresh ground pepper, or the aforementioned squeezed lemon.

5. Microplane grater. Yeah, kinda of trendy (or at least they used to be), but just the ticket for grating ginger, chocolate, nutmeg, hard cheeses, etc.

6. Stick/immersion blender. Just got one for Christmas (thanks to my FIL ), and if you do blended soups or sauces, it's indispensable. No more hot liquid blender tragedies for me!

[Apri]

I killed my immersion blender with sweet potatoes...d'oh! I've got a professional 6 qt kitchenaid on the counter just sitting there, and I kill the stick blender. I felt a little silly.

I have to advise to NOT get the measuring cups at IKEA unless you confirm that they are not METRIC. Those are now in the cat food. He gets 200 ml of cat food every day.

Another thing I love, my kitchen scale. I use it all the time. I'll a little bit crazy, so I know the specific gravities of common liquids and measure directly into the bowl to save dishwashing. It gives you unlimited scalability on your recipes.

I also got the burr grinder at Costco. I was shopping for a burr grinder to replace my blade grinder, but hadn't found one under $45. When I saw the Cuisinart one for $28 at Costco, I didn't hesitate.

[vmole]

The Bamix immersion blender has no problem with potatoes. However, it's not really a good match for mashed potatoes - it's *too* fast, and they go from "creamy" to "gluey" before you can blink. For mashed potatoes, the ricer is really the way to go, IMNSHO .

And yes, I could have put a scale on my list, too. I much prefer recipies by weight - "1/2 cup grated cheese" is pretty useless ("Grated? How finely? And is that packed or unpacked? How tightly?")

(Yes, I am engineer/geek. Why do you ask? :-))

[kmcg]

You have a Bamix too?!! I bought mine at the state fair about 15 years ago and have always been a little embarrassed about being sucked in by the demo. But it actually is an amazing machine.

Kathy

[vmole]

Yes, got mine from pleasant hill grain. Ended up on that site via some other forum, and decided the Bamix looked much more durable and easier to clean than any of the more common brands. I've only had mine since xmas, but am happy so far - it's a sturdy, powerful beast. I'm glad to hear that yours has lasted so long.

[Lisa]

He gets 200 ml of cat food every day.

I don't know why, but this is the funniest thing I've read all day.