Monday, March 15, 2010

What I'm working with

Lots of other cooking blogs that I read religiously use some fancy-schmancy stuff. I'm a graduate student, so by my very nature, I'm not exactly swimming in dough.

The fanciest thing we probably have is the toaster...or maybe Dave's 5.5 quart skillet. Most of the stuff we have is hand-me-down from the random people who knew I was moving into an apartment.

Pots'n'Pans:
3 large saucepans for boiling water for things like spaghetti or making soup. 2 non-stick and one aluminum (we should probably get rid of one of them...)
1 5.5 quart skillet with lid
1 square flat frying fan (perfect for grilled cheese, french toast or anything non-liquid-y)
1 large frying pan- used for crepes, scrambled eggs, tasty breakfast meats
3 small frying pans- good for frying eggs, smaller portions of things
Random assortment of various sized quart saucepans, varying stick/non-stick
Aluminum bowl that I use as a double boiler for puddings and melting chocolate
1 panini press

Mixin' it up stuff:
3 matching mixing bowls from Target. I don't like them very much because they narrow in at the bottom
1 GIANT red mixing bowl from Wal*Mart (I bought it in college) I use this the most
1 Ancient hand-mixer. It was my mother's when she first got married in 1979 (it might be even older than that). I use it for all of my cakes and cookies. It only has three settings and works perfectly!
Seventy-billion wooden mixing spoons in various sizes.
1 Bamboo mixing spoon that always seems to be dirty
1 Balloon whisk- nicely weighted and all-around perfect
1 Rainbow flat whisk (it's coated so we can use it in Dave's fancy pan)
1 Pastry Cutter- used for incorporating butter into things, like scones
1 Rolling pin- non-stick (I'm really bad at rolling things out)

Cooking Utensils:
4 pancake flippers/spatulas- One OXO one that we all love, varying plastic/metal ones
Various plastic serving/stirring spoons
Slotted spoon for fishing things out of liquid (ie Poached Eggs)
Spaghetti Spoon
Rubber Spatulas- they're everywhere- in the drawer, in the crock next to the stove, in the dishwasher.
A chopstick or two in the crock helps give sauces a quick stir'n'taste

Measuring Up:
I have a problem with pyrex...I have about 6 measuring cups in various sizes from 2 cup to 2 quart.
Ikea measuring cups and spoons. I don't really like them because they get all scratchy and cloudy and I accidentally sent the 1/8teaspoon through the garbage disposal.
Hard plastic Kitchen Aid measuring cups- I seem to have lost a few of them over the years
1 metal 1-cup measuring cup. My favorite. Will wash it if it's dirty in the dishwasher so I can use it again.
We just got a measuring cup sifter from the Kitchen Store. I'm very excited!

K-nives
Dave has some nice Henkels knives
Beth has a knife block of some decent knives
I have random knives from my mom
Most of the knives we have between the three of us are pretty dull. We should sharpen them.

Other tools:
Garlic Press
Vegetable peeler (it's old and kinda dull and I always forget to pick up a new one)
Blender
George-Foreman knock-off
Zyliss vegetable chopper
Crock Pot
Electric Skillet
Butter Crock
Cheese Grater
Can opener
Frosting Spatulas (One large, one small)
Electric kettle for boiling water
Tiny microwave from college (works like a charm)
Toaster Oven
Espresso Pot
French Press

I keep flour, sugar, brown sugar, coffee, and rock sugar in canisters big-to-small on the counter.

We have an electric stove that's new, and a new fridge. So, that's all very nice and non-gross. Except when I burn things and the stovetop gets a little gunky.

As far a serving dishes are concerned, I collect Fiestaware . I have been collecting the dishes since I was 16 (I figured I'd start early) and the dishes have been around since the 1940s and will continue to be for years to come, I think. I have the place settings in Scarlet, Colbalt, Peacock, Tangerine, Sunflower, and Shamrock. I have a few serving pieces in Rose as well. I love the bright colors and the vintage look.

We use Ikea basic silverware- it is something like $10 for service for 8, but I'm collecting some nice Oneida stuff for when I "grow up." Our drinking glasses are leftover from my college apartment- a purchase from Wal*Mart. (Oh, Farmville). Dave also collects pint glasses, so they're in the cabinet as well.

I also collect teapots, so we have QUITE a few of those. And cups that may or may not match.

That's about it, really. We're really lucky that the kitchen in this apartment is actually bigger than any that I've been in since I left home. (My mother LOVES to cook and bake, so her kitchen was HUGE and had a Professional Viking Stove. I miss it.)

That's what I have. If you look around, you'll notice that you probably have the same stuff, too. Yay.

1 comment:

  1. Alice, I love to bake and will live vicariously through you since I rarely get to do it these days (had to give up dairy and eggs for the baby). It sounds like you have a well-stocked kitchen! Have you ever used a digital kitchen scale to measure ingredients? That along with my Kitchen aid mixer are two pieces of baking equipment that I can't live without. You don't have to get married to get a scale though -- a good one is only about $25 ;)

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