The Kitchen Series – Part 2 covers things I have always thought of as standard when it comes to my kitchen – wooden spoons, mixing bowls, and the like. But I do have a few things that I realize may not be part of the normal kitchen.
Marble Board
Another hand-me-down, it’s one that I’ll probably have to fight my brother for when he reads this. It belonged to my dad, and he scrounged through a marble dealer’s scrap to find it.
He brought it home, cleaned it up and framed it. Daddy used it primarily for his fudge and peanut brittle. We do too, but I found that it works wonderfully when I make pastries that require the dough to stay cool, due to the amount of butter in them, like croissants.
Marble retains heat and cold, so depending on what you are making, it’s a wonderful addition to any kitchen.
Stainless Steel
If I am baking – cookies, especially, I wouldn’t trade my stainless steel baking sheets for a mountain of gold. My cookies bake evenly, and I rarely have soggy tops with burnt bottoms.
Quite a few of our pots are heavy-bottomed stainless as well, and they are the go-to pots when Randy makes Gumbo. Food doesn’t stick to the bottom and it heats evenly. Plus, they are all big enough to make several batches of jam at one time, or enough stew to feed an army.
Stoneware
I have several friends who sell Pampered Chef, and I have several of their pieces. The bread pans are some of the best I’ve ever used, and I even splurged once and bought a stoneware baker.
I was a amazed to find that you could bake a whole chicken in the microwave in 40 minutes, and have it come out golden brown and absolutely delicious.
If properly cared for (never, ever, clean it with soap and water, or put a cold piece of stoneware in a hot oven), it will last a life time. That is, if you don’t drop it on your foot. Then you’ll end up with a broken toe and shattered pieces of stoneware all over the floor.
Amazon has some great pieces of stoneware HERE.
Bowls of all Sizes
We have these from small ones to gigantic ones, like the one in the photograph. Randy uses the largest one to mix his meat up to make sausage, and I use it when I’m prepping food for canning.
All of them come in handy, even the 6″ size, for pre-measured spices. Ayn keeps trying to steal the blue speckled bowl, but so far she’s been unsuccessful. It’s just a little too noticeable when she walks out the door.
Tea pot
It’s not just for making tea. Randy uses his to boil water for his coffee, and I have a small one I use for making my tea.
But we also keep a full one on the back burner to use to top off the water in pots of beans and peas, or to make sugar-water for the bees. We even use it for a humidifier when the weather is just cold and miserable outside.
Aprons
What Kitchen Series – Part 2, or any other part, would be valid if it didn’t include aprons? They may sound old fashioned, but what cook in their right mind wouldn’t use one?
Especially if they cook like me. The Country Boy swears I get flour on the ceiling when I’m baking. (And there have been a couple of times he would have been right.)
I have at least one or two from every generation, and keep them hanging on a rack close by. Randy has one made of camo fabric that Greg gave him for Christmas one year, and he wears it when he’s processing.
Now. If I could only get him to wear one every day and do all the cooking, I’d be in great shape!
Are there items in the Kitchen Series – Part 2 that are not in your kitchen? What are some of your must-have kitchenware?
I have one that I haven’t used yet, which floors me. It’s a wooden bread bowl, and it’s about time I broke it out. There are also some that I would love to have, but space is a bit of a problem, as my cabinets have more cooking paraphernalia than I think the law allows.
How about it? Can you ever have too much? Let me know what you think. Don’t miss Part 1, and stay tuned tomorrow for the Kitchen Series – Part 3: Kitchen ‘Littles’.
I had to laugh, Miss Ruthie got a really nice Food Saver for Christmas from Amanda. Punky has also given her a beautiful blue Kitchen Aid last Christmas. Ruthie says that this “super mixer” makes her baking so much tastier (as if her baking needed improvement!) As for the Food Saver, come next garden season, we’ll be doing some experimenting. Looking forward to it!
I have a feeling that even if Miss Ruthie cooked over a fire pit built in a tin can, her meals would be delicious! As for the Food Saver, she will love it!
I’m already hinting that the bigger one they have on the market now might just be a great Christmas gift this year!
I use the pampered chef bar pans for anything I need a cookie sheet for. It is the only way I don’t burn cookies.
Kim- I love my PC too. In fact, I keep my consultant on speed dial!