The Necessary Things

If you like to cook, you probably have a list of things you want. The latest cool new gadget I have is a pasta maker and I am really excited to try it out soon. I have to say though, that I have gone a long time in the past without major items and I still have been able to to a lot with a little, even if I had to get creative. There are many kitchen items you don't need, but are fun, like an ice cream maker. Then there are the basics that just make life better and are really useful. While I pan toasted bread for years, getting a toaster was great, even if it wasn't a fancy gadget.

I got a pizza stone, an ice cream maker, and a waffle maker before I upgraded a can opener that had not worked for a really long time. I also never had dry measuring cups. Both of these items, the new can opener and the measuring cups, have made my life easier. I have to count them as the two necessary things that I waited too long to get. Another purchase that was humble, but made my life easier, was a coated whisk; it allows me to whisk sauces in containers with delicate surfaces.

All my cooking tools bring me joy because they let me play in the kitchen. Some tools are less fancy and glamorous, but just as wonderful because they make tasks easy and unfussy. What is the last great underrated cooking tool you purchased?

Innovations from a Kitchenett

I have been cooking in a new kitchen the last month. Of course, every new kitchen brings along quirks and challenges that a good cook should work around or incorporate into her or his cooking style. I, for example, am refraining from purchasing too many gadgets for my kitchen, which would clutter a very small space.

A long time fan of avocado toast, I have altered my eating habits to accomodate the reality of my new space. Now I eat either rye bread, untoasted or I substitute bread all together for tortillas. I don't have a toaster anymore and I'm reluctant to purchase one because there just isn't much space.

Another lesson one might learn from a small space is how to make your space work for multiple purposes. My stove, for example is not just a source of heat to cook food. I also use the oven as pan storage and, until recently, I used it to dry dishes. It worked out so well as a dish-drying object that I quite regret buying my dish rack, which takes up a lot of space.

Instead of investing in a coffee pot that typically rests on the counter, I bought a coffee press. By doing this I keep my precious foot of counter space free to chop vegetables and hold my drink; water or wine, I drink it out of a short glass tumbler: one cup, two purposes.

By adjusting to my space and making it my own I have come across a couple of food ideas you might want to try out, whether you're in a space crunch or not:

Wilted Kale with Shitaki Dressing

27 wide shreds of sweet potato

1/4 of a bunch of kale chopped

1/8 of a medium sized cabbage, shredded

1 garlic clove slivered

1 tablespoon of corn oil

Salt, to taste

Aunt Annie's Shitaki Salad Dressing, to taste

Spunky music, also to taste

Heat oil. Sizzle garlic. drop vegetables. Blaze temperature. Swirl. Salt. Smell. Lower heat. Cover. Sing along to your song. Lift cover. Turn again. Plate. Drizzle. Mmmmmmm.

Spicy Sausage with Penne (I know it sounds phallic, oh well)

1/2 box of penne

2 links of sausage (I used lean turkey sausage and that totally worked, but you can get whatever)

1 glove of garlic

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

1/2 an onion

marinara sauce

tablespoon of olive oil

to taste, italian spice mix or dry basil

salt, to taste

Put water, salted, to heat. Slice those links! Mince that garlic! Pop those cherries! Breath, pause, now--sliver that onion. Heat the oil; drop the garlic, brown on medium high temperature with onions. When pan gives first hint of smoking add tomatoes with sausage. Toss with conviction. Let pan rest and cover. Water should be at a boil. Add the pasta. Pour a glass of wine or eat a piece of chocolate, sit, relax, take an intermission from the kitchen. After your rest, rise, check the sausage. Is it cooked? If so, pour marinara to your liking. Drain pasta, when al dente. Combine penne with sausage. Let them make an aquaintance under simmering flame while you dress table. Serve. Enjoy.