Saturday, April 27, 2013

Weekend Cooking...These Are a Few of My Favorite Things..

I am sure all of us that enjoy cooking, like spending time in the kitchen, have our favorite tools, that favorite knife we good to, a spoon we just love.
Well do you?
What if someone gave you a box, just a medium sized box, and said you could fill it up with the thinks you want to keep and the rest would disappear.
What would you take?
I just though I would share a few things, a couple that I feel very strongly about.



OK, these are not tools, per se, just mugs for my tea and coffee that I love. I love the shape, they are so nice to hold and I love the colors.

 
OK, this little orange number is something I acquired recently, a citrus squeezer. They come in different sizes, often with matching colors. Green for limes, yellow for lemons and orange for..Yes! Oranges. But just buy the biggest and trust me it works great for them all. It does an outstanding job!

 
I will be honest. As much as I like this ProAccurate Quick Read thermometer by CDN, the second best rated one by America's Test Kitchen, I have a secret craving for the top rated one, the Thermapen. But it cost $93, as opposed to about $17, and that is just silly.
This one is swell, fast and accurate.
And $17.

 
Awwww...my little silicone bowls.
This set of Le Creuset prep bowls are multipurpose and so cute.
They are measuring cups..1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4...you can bake in them, freeze them, microwave in them, you can prep your ingredients and have them waiting in these cups. Since you can squeeze them, it make pouring into another container neat and they are dishwasher safe.
and so cute! And about $15.

 
My favorite wooden spoon. I have a pile of them I never use but this stubby little fellow is my go to spoon. Very strong feeling, great for a thick batter, stirring those chips into the cookies.



I have a big metal colander and a smaller fine strainer. But when I want to strain something, most time, this is my choice. It was a flat bottom to sit is a bowl or in the sink and best of all, I think it was $2 at Ikea. and it is red!
Or maybe orange. It looks more red in my kitchen...
 
OK, I just like this fellow and wanted to put him in the lineup. He is actually a timer...you twist his little bottom...but mostly he just looks cute.

 
Now we are at my favorites! 
Above, we have my Oxo Good Grips Locking Tongs with Nylon Heads. I love these, so many uses. Yes, you can flip a steak or turn that chicken. But, you can also grab a hot pan, use it when you stir fry, get those ears of corn out of the boiling water...it is just an extension of your hand.

Then below, we have perhaps my very, very favorite, the Rubbermaid Commercial Products 9 1/2-Inch High Heat Spoon Scraper. It is great to stir with, great to scrape a bowl or pot. The handle does not get hot, but whatever it is made of is very heat resistant and goes in the dishwasher like a charm. It does not stain..at least not for a long, long time...and lasts forever, despite countless rides in the dishwasher. OK, mine that are several years old have a few nicks on the edges. So I bought a couple of new ones. But I kept the older one too. Because the little nicks are not a big deals. So I have about 4 now, all in rotation. The center is thick and firm yet about 1/2-3/4 inches along the edges is soft and bendable. Perfect!

 

Do you have some favorites, something you just could not cook without?
Or one tool that is just a pleasure to use?


This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

35 comments:

  1. What a great post! I love those silicone measuring cups! Adorable! I must get me some of those. My favorite thing is my chef's knife and my microplaner. But there are just too many to name so I'll spare you! Enjoy your Saturday!

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    1. My microplaner!! I took a pic to include here but somehow forgot it when posting!

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  2. Love this post... and the silicone bowls, too. Why don't I own a citrus squeezer? Think it's time for a little shopping in the kitchen gadget section!

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  3. I have those tongs too! Lots of lovely kitchen aids!

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  4. I think my favorite is a set of stainless steel measuring cups I got for free off the back of a jar of peanut butter. :)

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  5. You have such colorful gadgets! Wow.
    I love those mugs. Who wouldn't want to sip tea or coffee in those first thing in the morning.
    My favorite thing is also my tongs. Best, most versatile thing to use in the kitchen by far.

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  6. What an interesting post! I love your prep bowls, I'm going to have to keep my eyes out for those. Sadly, I had to get rid of many of my kitchen gadgets when I moved to NYC, but I do have the tongs, and I agree with you, they are so versatile, something very important when you have a small kitchen like mine.

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  7. What a fun topic you chose!! I WANT those silicone bowls LOL!

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  8. You have quite a few goodies here I would love! Very colorful too. I love my Nigella citrus reamer, makes it easier to get the juice out of the lemons and limes. there are a few whisks I love and couldn't do without my Oxo pastry cutter.

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  9. I love the mugs too! They're so cheerful!

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  10. Love the colours. I couldn't cook without tongs, little wooden cutting board, a great knife and a jar key. Cheers

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  11. wow, what is with the spam today. I am so tired deleting all those.

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  12. Hi Caite,

    I love your set of silicone bowls and I know just the person who would love them as a gift, although when I checked them out, it seems that we can only buy them here in the UK as a set of four same colour bowls, in an awful shade of green which they call Fennel and the price is nowhere near as good as you pay for them.

    My most 'needed' kitchen gadget is something very simple, very unattractive and very inexpensive, yet something that I use all the time and couldn't do without. It is a rubber jar gripper for opening those stubborn jars and bottles. A small circle of rubber available in some very boring colours and the kind of thing that is hidden away in a drawer when not in use.

    http://www.raygrahams.com/images/thumbs/0031399_340.jpg

    Not very exciting, I'm afraid, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised just how much I valued it.

    Yvonne

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    1. I have one like that too!

      it is sad about the bowls though. what are they thinking?

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  13. I have that exact same set of tongs! And I love them! We also have a citrus squeezer...a little different than yours but the same result. Love my silicone scraper/spatula/spoon thingy. And my favorite thing ever (purchased at Williams Sonoma), my meat tenderizer/pounder! The thing weights like five pounds but is AWESOME.

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    Replies
    1. hmmmm...perhaps I need one...off to check that out.

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  14. I have a stack of small, Pyrex bowls that I've picked up at various rummage sales. I believe the are supposed to be custard bowls, but I use them to organize ingredients in recipes and break eggs into before pouring into a recipe.

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    1. Pyrek is great stuff...and cooking goes so much more strees free when you have everything prepped, waiting in little bowls, doesn't it?

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  15. Great post! I know what you mean about colanders: I have 3 or 4 but one - the mid-sized plastic one, similar to yours - is my go-to.

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  16. What a colorful kitchen you have. I enjoyed seeing your favorite things! I've been thinking about that as a post myself lately.

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    1. the walls are grey. the counter is grey. the floor is grey.
      so I have lots of room for bright primary colored things!!

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  17. I'm in love with the coffee mugs and silicone bowls - need some!

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    1. the mugs I got at a little tea store in the Catskill Mountains in NY State, so can't help you there...

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  18. Love your mugs! We have the yellow citrus squeezer. I too have the tongs, wooden paddle thing, prep bowls (mine aren't silicone), and inexpensive instant thermometer. I like your timer -- he looks like he'd be great kitchen help.

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  19. What about your extremely cute Mexican salt & pepper shakers?????

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    1. anonymous person, you are lucky your post got through, since anonymous posts should be blocked.
      yes, the salt and pepper are cute..and up there next to chef timer guy, but they are new!

      Delete
  20. I love those mugs! So colourful and I really like the shape. But I know what we need in our kitchen - the Le Creuset prep bowls. My husband would love them, I think, and they're so nice and colourful, too.

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  21. You have such beautiful kitchen stuff. Now I want to get all bright orange tools!

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  22. I like your colorful bowls and cups! They make eating more fun! I love my non-stick pans, tongs, spatula, and microwave. :P

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  23. What about your pig plates and bowls with their cute little curly tails?? You would leave them behind??

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    Replies
    1. well remember, there i only one box..and I did say TOOLS.

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  24. I'm way behind in reading ... so I'm late commenting. But I wanted to say that I got a kick out of this post --- it made me think of my own favorite kitchen things. I have one of those citrus juicers, too and I love it! And those tongs with the silicone ends? I love mine (although I use them more often for just reaching items on high shelves). :)

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