| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| HiDez Gal |
Posted - May 19 2004 : 7:23:03 PM
What tools do you find most helpful in the kitchen? I have certain favorites that i use constantly to help me turn out healthful food even though my kitchen time is sometimes limited. I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes so when i'm on a roll my husband never knows what will be on the table <g>. I'd like to hear from some of you what you find useful, time saving or just a joy to use.
I have a couple of Kuhn Rikon pressure cookers that i really enjoy using, there is something about the way they heat and cook that makes them a pleasure to use. I don't just use them for pressure cooking since i have a glass lid that fits both so these pots work hard around here. Pressure cooking makes it possible for me to get grains or beans or brown rice prepared in no time - often makes the difference between whether or not we are going to add these great items to our diet. Speaking of diets (not), did you know it is possible to make a great cheese cake in a pressure cooker???
From my favorite coffee cup:
"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do." Minnie Cody, 1901 |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Nov 25 2005 : 09:04:30 AM
my cast iron pots and pans |
| HiDez Gal |
Posted - Aug 13 2004 : 09:10:01 AM
My kitchen is rather like cooking in a VW bus, very little counter space but the bread machine occupies a place of honor on the counter top!
I think having one or not having one depends on how much you use it and the reasons for using. I admittedly love gadgets but this is one i thought about long and hard before buying. In my case i have a husband who hates store bread and while he was working he liked to take his lunch every day, usually a sandwich. At the time i bought the bread machine they were very expensive but i quickly calculated, the expense vs. my time (little), the wear and tear on my hands (i had an autoimmune disease and as a result my hands are very arthritic so i find some types of exercise helpful and others to produce just pain and fatigue...kneading dough means i will do little else with my hands that day :-{
My big Kitchen Aid Mixer has a dough hook and i have used it at times but i still prefer the bread machine. Perhaps some of it depends on the brand of bread machine. Mine is well over 10 years old and still performs beautifully, we have had to replace the belt numerous times since it really gets a regular workout. The one we have is a Zojirushi and if it ever croaks i will buy another of this brand. Their newer models even have a setting for sour dough which is one thing i don't make in the bread machine (it over kneads it). For sour dough i use the food processor.
So there you have it just one more point of view :-) Years ago when i used to make bread by hand i very much enjoyed the rhythm of kneading the dough and the feel of it as it changed shape and texture. I loved breathing in that yeasty, flour scent particularly if the flour is freshly milled mmmmm. Wonder why Maryjane doesn't sell flour from her mill ala King Arthur?
From my favorite coffee cup:
"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do." Minnie Cody, 1901 |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jul 14 2004 : 09:59:36 AM
I have never had a bread machine...although my sister swears by hers. I have used my dough hook on my faithful old kitchen aid for bread dough though and it does work great.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| cecelia |
Posted - Jul 12 2004 : 10:55:38 AM
Thanks for your input on breadmaking. I guess I'm leaning towards using a bread hook; actually my hand mixer has one, I haven't used it yet because I didn't think it would be powerful enough. Guess I'll have to just try it out. I have to agree on the counter space issue, also using a machine for only one purpose. Still thinking on it....
Cecelia
ce's farm |
| sugar1 |
Posted - Jul 12 2004 : 10:11:37 AM
I second the notion of "kinship". I inherited many of my great aunt's kitchen supplies two years ago after she moved into a nursing home. Many of her belongings were donated, but for some reason I couldn't bear to let her kitchen stuff go. Most of her things are from when she got married in the forties. Every time I use her measuring spoons I think of her, measuring out food rations during the war, wondering when her husband would return home. (He did.)
I also use the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer, and I have a bread machine. The dough hook seems to make much better bread, the bread machine isn't bad, though. I mostly use the bread machine for kneading and rising, then I bake it in the oven. |
| sleepless reader |
Posted - Jul 11 2004 : 10:45:50 PM
I don't have the counterspace to devote to a machine that does only one thing. I use my kitchen-aid with bread hook. It works great for kneading. Good luck whatever you decide!
Sharon |
| cecelia |
Posted - Jul 11 2004 : 12:49:26 PM
I'm wondering if any of the Farmgirls use a bread machine? I've been thinking of getting one since my hands give me a lot of trouble when it comes to kneading dough for bread. Do you think it's worth it? I'd probably start making my own bread again, at least once a week but I'm not sure if I'd like the results.
Cecelia
ce's farm |
| ShawnMarie |
Posted - Jul 10 2004 : 4:54:07 PM
I can't start the retired husbands topic... my isn't retired and still needs to keep busy someplace other than my kitchen, unless he wants to do dishes.
As for the kitchen, my Mom's cast iron frying pan, cast iron Dutch oven, my Grandma's patty pans (for small pies) and my favorite paring knife are things I couldn't live without. Also my glass milk bottles... they keep the milk so much colder. And my Kitch Aid mixer... love that dough hook!
I just finally broke down and got a food processor, a Kitchen Aid on clearance at Kohls for $84 down from $249. It was a steal at that price since it was the last one. I just couldn't spend a lot on it since most gadgets just sit in my house, but $84 was within my budget.
**Expect Pleasure** |
| cecelia |
Posted - Jul 10 2004 : 11:47:10 AM
Sharon, you are so right about clean-up. If I use my electric hand blender, all I have to clean is the removable blades, but with the blender I have to take it apart, wash about 5 parts, and put the thing back together after it's been dried. With the mortar it's much simpler. Same with a hand potato masher, 1 piece! And definitely, I do feel connected to the other women, known or unknown, who have used my tools. Sometimes I get "fed-up" being in the kitchen, no matter how much I enjoy cooking, but then I get to thinking of all the other women (probably not men) who have used these tools, and I get to thinking of how their kitchens looked, without a dishwasher, running water perhaps, electric or gas stove, etc. and I wonder how they did it. Yes, kinship is a good word to make us think of others.
Cecelia
ce's farm |
| sleepless reader |
Posted - Jul 10 2004 : 08:55:49 AM
I think it's important for us to remain "attached" to our pasts.Doesn't it make you feel so connected to other women, known or not? Here, or gone? Celia, I loved your use of the word "kinship". That's truly what it is.
I've also found that these "old-fashioned" tools are often easier, especially in clean-up and space, to deal with than are their modern counterparts.:)
Sharon |
| cecelia |
Posted - Jul 10 2004 : 07:47:45 AM
I wish I had my Mom's old wooden ironing board, which was made by my Father - very sturdy it was. I haven't seen any at garage sales, estate sales or antique stores around here. Though I have a few electric "modern" kitchen appliances, I prefer my egg beater with wooden handle & wide beaters (garage sale), hand coffee grinder and mortar & pestle! I have the world's ugliest serving dish, from my godmother: made in Italy, leaf-shaped china with an olive & vine pattern on it. I know of only one other, which her daughter has. I've never seen anything like it, but I love it because of the kinship I feel whenever I use it.
 Cecelia
ce's farm |
| Clare |
Posted - Jul 10 2004 : 04:28:57 AM
I have an old wooden ironing board too, which I use all the time! I like that it isn't as big or as heavy or as awkward as the modern ones. I inherited mine in the early 70's from a great aunt's estate. Some of my best loved kitchen items came from her, just by default. It does make ya feel kinda "old" when your best loved items that you use daily are considered "vintage"..... I just prefer being "a woman of a certain age" ! haha
Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural |
| sleepless reader |
Posted - Jul 09 2004 : 7:24:48 PM
I have an OLD wooden ironing board that I bought at a yard sale about 25 years ago. I'm always seeing ones like it (and in worse condition) at antique places all the time for more than I could afford! With my board and your bowls we could be rich! LOL :) |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jul 09 2004 : 12:12:57 PM
Dear Sleepless -
I saw my glass mixing bowls (in shades of orange and burnt sienna) in an antique store and I got them as a gift new! Also my cheese grater (metal), my ice cream scoop (nickel with a wood handle)and my hot water kettle all are now considered quaint and collectible.
The mixing bowls were for sale for $50.00! Isn't that a riot?
Jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
| sleepless reader |
Posted - Jul 09 2004 : 07:09:02 AM
My favorite kitchen tools have to be my cast iron skillets. All sizes get used, and they are so seasoned, it's like cooking on non-stick cookware. I love my cast iron dutch oven too, and even took it last year when we were evacuated during the fires! Guess I was thinking if we ended up living in a tent, I could still cook dinner!
I also have many little gadgets that I've "inherited" over the years. I find it so funny to see many of them in antique shops (or museums) and think "I use that every day"!!! |
| sugar1 |
Posted - Jul 02 2004 : 04:57:26 AM
I agree about the microplane grater--I use mine for many things but especially garlic and fresh ginger. Also--lemon, lime and orange zest, nutmeg, etc...
My favorite kitchen tools are not really tools at all--I have a dish fetish. I love old mixing bowls, the bigger the better. I have a cream-colored large bowl that I rescued from someone's trash pile. It was filthy but there wasn't a scratch or chip anywhere. I like serving dishes, somehow food tastes better on a pretty dish, most of mine are garage-sale finds.
I can still remember the white bowl with red roses on it that my great-grandmother served gravy in for breakfast. I always knew when that bowl came out, biscuts and gravy were not far behind! |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jun 28 2004 : 06:14:30 AM
One of my favorite cooking tools is my steamer. Water goes in the bottom, spices go in the next layer in a little screened container, and then there is a large round clear container for the veggies. It even comes with a little partition when you want to cook two veggies separately. There is nothing better than steamed snap peas or carrots or broccoli or cauliflower. Just a little bit of seasoning and 20 minutes in this steamer, and yum, yum. Steaming veggies is the healthiest way to eat them outside of raw from the garden.
My daughter makes all her baby's food by steaming the veggies or fruit and then putting them in a small food grinder....all natural and organic baby food at very little cost.
I am not a cook who likes to have all the latest gadgets....in fact, I use wooden spoons and a hand-operated can-opener and do not rely on a microwave but maybe once a week. But this steamer has become a good friend!
I do like Maryjane's bakeover skillet, too. I have made veggie bakeovers a lot, but I am about to try a recipe with blueberries in it. We picked several pounds of berries this week-end. They are one of the great anti-oxidant food sources and very good for your body.
Jeannie |
| HiDez Gal |
Posted - Jun 15 2004 : 11:58:56 AM
Ha-Ha Cecelia we'd better not get started on the retired husband topic. Fortunately after a year i still have my sense of humor <VBG>. I just wonder how i managed for all of these years but retired teachers need to go on teaching i guess :-)
New Kitchen Toys
Have to share my latest gadgets i really like these. The Microplane Grater: it looks like a woodworking file and works wonderfully. It made short work of a hunk of parmesan cheese when making a big batch of pesto yesterday. It can be used for any fine grating job.
The other item is the Moja chopper which is a swiss made chopper for small jobs when i don't want to use the processor. All i have to do is place the item to be chopped on the base and press on the top when i release my hand the blade swivels and is ready to chop again. Some of the little hand choppers don't work well and this is the first one i found that is worth giving counter or cabinet space to!
From my favorite coffee cup:
"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do." Minnie Cody, 1901 |
| cecelia |
Posted - May 26 2004 : 7:56:25 PM
 Hey, Hey, Paula J.!!! I'm not THAT organized!!! If I were, how the heck did my typing get so off???
Yes, I do use my motorized tools, I just prefer to do it as little as possible. I have a 15 yo son to chauffer, and my husband, the non-cook, is retired, so I have THAT to deal with. I think that's a topic we could get going on to save our sanity: retired husbands
Anyone willing to start???
ce's farm |
| Kathy A. |
Posted - May 26 2004 : 2:45:05 PM
Thanks. Everyone, I have decided to purchase a food processor even though I didn't really want another kitchen appliance this will be worth it and I don't think my blender will do the trick. I was wondering about the Mortar and pestle and will try that as well Thanks cecelia for the presto pesto tip. I also liked reading your list of treasures that are lovingly connected to the past and HiDezGal I need to practise your example of connecting better to family through e-mail a good way to make the most of our techno world. My garlic scapes and basils are not ready yet but when they are I'll post a pesto update.
Farmgirl/gardener-Potter/Poet |
| HiDez Gal |
Posted - May 26 2004 : 09:22:32 AM
Hi Cecelia,
I agree connection is missing for many people, also i think it is very important for families - particularly with children - to have little rituals or celebrations to help add connection for their kids. It doesn't necessarily have to revolve around the big commercialized holidays either. My extended family when i was a child had regular get togethers and celebrations - my cousins and i live far apart, we are spread all over the country, but we have a strong connection based on those family get togethers when we were young. Wonderful memories... we visit via email often and those times are something we discuss and relive during our email visits - we have strong ties to one another because of those memories.
As far as using hand tools vs. motorized. I can't deny that i am very fond of some of my gadgets, use them regularly and enjoy using them. That said, i can also admire that someone has the time and inclination to do it by hand. I guess i am a lazy cook and don't enjoy chopping, hand mixing, etc. perhaps if i had the time to get into some sort of meditative rhythm with chopping or slicing i wouldn't mind it. Usually when i am cooking it never fails that i receive a call from work and before i know it i have to leave to head to the office. My husband is retired so he usually is willing to take over and finish things for that meal or if i am making bread, keep an eye on the rising and then pop it in the oven for me. I feel that using some of my electric tools can make the difference between eating freshly prepared foods rather than already prepared or ugh a frozen dinner. I have not been able to get my husband turned on to the Bake Over as a dinner...he feels that something like that should have gravy to pour over it. I have been able to get him to eat more and different kinds of veggies over the years but basically he's a meat, potatoes, gravy and bread kind of guy so i have to be a bit creative in how i present good nutrition and cut the fats in his diet . Some people have been raised with the idea that ketchup is a vegetable <g>.
Anyway, i am enjoying hearing about how each of you do things in your kitchen and how much you treasure the family hand-me-down type tools and other things passed down to you and the memories that using them invoke.
From my favorite coffee cup:
"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do." Minnie Cody, 1901 |
| Paula J. |
Posted - May 26 2004 : 08:54:32 AM
I think you're right, Cecelia, but I find I must balance the sort of peace that comes with simplifying with the need to take care of everything and still get kids to their activities, get me to work, deal with dog training, etc. I'm probably just not as organized as I should be; I keep fighting that! But, perhaps, if I simplified in the ways you do, I would find the time coming more easily.
Hmmm,
pj
Paula J.
Collinsville, OK
dragonflybodywork@earthlink.net |
| cecelia |
Posted - May 25 2004 : 6:07:27 PM
Okay, now I know I'm out-of-touch. I have been trying to simplify things, and even though I have a blender, slow cooker, and portable mixer/processer, I actually try to not use them.
It becomes a game - see what you can do without turning on a switch. I make pesto in an old mortar & pestle that was my fathers (walnuts, garlic, ), chop the basil by hand, add olive oil and parmesan cheese. Presto, pesto. I use my father's hand coffee grinder, it's
probably 30 years old - I bought it for him and he's been deceased 10 years; whenever I grind coffee I think of him. I have my grandmother's trunk in which she brought all her belongings from Poland, but it's in bad shape. I didn't want to discard it so I use it to keep kindling dry; I have some of her dishes, prayer books in Polish, etc. My mother's cedar chest, my great Aunt's crocheted dresser scarves, etc. I feel very connected to a past which I have not experienced, and feel their presence in their things. Life goes on,
and I think connection is missing in a lot of lives today.
Cecelia
ce's farm |
| Paula J. |
Posted - May 25 2004 : 10:44:25 AM
I use the food processor, as well. I really don't think you need a "special" piece of equipment for pesto.
Let us know how it works and if you come up with a killer recipe you really should share with us!
pj
Paula J.
Collinsville, OK
dragonflybodywork@earthlink.net |
| HiDez Gal |
Posted - May 24 2004 : 9:40:05 PM
Hi Kathy,
I have used the blender to make pesto but i think i prefer the food processor because i feel i can watch and control the chopping action a bit better. I have never made garlic pesto just basil pesto. Have you ever eaten the garlic pesto before growing the scapes? Hope to hear how yours turns out. I don't do too well at growing garlic - perhaps it is the varieties i have tried or it could be the area. We have to grow short day or day length neutral onions here, wonder if garlic is day length sensitive? Can't recall ever reading anything about that. Anyhoo, garlic scape pesto report please!
From my favorite coffee cup:
"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do." Minnie Cody, 1901 |
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