Tuesday - Top Ten Kitchen Gadgets

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and these things make the time better, easier, or just plain happier:

1.  My Rice Cooker.  We eat a lot of rice around here, what with Sam being Chinese and Lizzie's favorite food being rice and beans.  In fact, when Lizzie is hungry she opens the cupboard and points to the rice cooker and says "ice!"  (Other times she goes to the refrigerator and starts clucking like a chicken: "bock, bock" because she wants chicken.)  It is old, it has '90s stylized flowers on it, and it has a warning beside the steam vent that says:  

"Note: It's very hot and vapour out from it when cooking.  Don't cover it with cloth or other matter, otherwise there's danger."

I love the Chinese.  

2.  My Crock Pot.  What would we do without slow cookers?  Spend a lot more time with roasts in the oven, and on the stove, that's for sure.  No, I didn't take a picture of it.  What is your favorite crock pot recipe? 

3.  My French Press.  I actually have two of them.  One for a single (large) cup of coffee, and one for more cups of coffee.  I don't know how many it is supposed to hold, and I use the very scientific method of pouring in mugs of water when I go to make the coffee.

4.  Tea Kettle.  One cannot make coffee without hot water.  It's also useful for heating/humidifying the air in the kitchen quadrant of the house.

I recently posted about my french press and my kettle, and then I was embarrassed by how tarnished the kettle was, so I spent 15 minutes scrubbing it recently.  Here is the result!

before

after

5.  8-cup Pyrex mixing bowl/measuring cup.  Making waffles for 20?  Straining chicken broth?  Popping 8 bags of popcorn?  I love this thing.

image credit: amazon.com

6.  Mesh strainer.  You have to have a mesh strainer.  Try rinsing quinoa with a colander.  This version also doubles as a hockey mask.

7.  My 5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven.  I use it several times a week.  It was my Christmas present last year, and no other domestic item has been so appreciated as a Christmas present.  It was the star of my shrimp & sausage gumbo recipe.  And it's red, which just plain makes me happy.



 8.  Cast Iron Skillet.  If you haven't seared steak on cast iron before, you have to give it a try.  It will change the way you sear things forever.  Nothing gets as hot or retains heat as well.  And stuff doesn't stick to it the way it does to my aging "non-stick" skillet.

9.  Ring Box.  I have had this small trinket box since I was very young, and I have no idea where it originally came from.  But now it sits on my counter, within arm's reach of the sink, to keep my rings safe while I am washing dishes, mixing meatloaf, or cutting chicken.  Everyone should have a place to store rings.  And safety pins.  And clips that go to something but no one remembers to what.


10. The rotating utensil holder thingy from the Pampered Chef.  It has 3 tiers and rotates like a Lazy Susan.  It keeps a huge number of serving spoons, spatulas, measuring cups, chopsticks, ladles, and kitchen necessities easy to access, standing upright, and taking up very little space.  It makes me happy. 



What do you find indispensable in your kitchen?