Cooking with Gadgets

The Bonus Tool

The Right Tools for Cooking
Do you have these necessary gadgets? Well, actually no gadget is necessary except maybe a sharp knife, but it really feels good when your kitchen is equipped with healthy food and the right tool.  Here are a few of mine:

1. Juicer - I haven't upgraded to a Vitamix or Blendtec for a reason: I don't need one. My motto is juice vegetables, eat fruit, then eat your vegetables. So this is a daily tool for juicing.  
2. Magic Bullet - for whipping and grinding smaller quantities. Oh..and the dips I can whip up for crudites and crackers. 
3. Pampered Chef Chopper - It just keeps on chopping, and I can control the density of my onion, carrots and such. I use it even to chop up hard cheeses for my dairy friends to top their salads and tacos. I love pretty much all things Pampered Chef, but they are necessary, but nice to have. 
4. Food Processor - Mine is a small Cuisinart. A perfect size for a batch of Hummus and Baba Ganoush, lentil or bean burgers.  It get's a lot of use. 
5. Emulsifier - so easy to use for making soups, smoothing gravies, and just changing a texture. My fav tool for making refried beans. 
6. Kitchen Aid Mixer - yeah...this is my "to go" mixer.  When I think "make a batch," the Kitchen Aid mixer's plug just does a little dance over there in my kitchen corner! I pull it out about once a week. Sometimes more, but I'm not a baker. Unless you're thinking pulp bread (from the juicer) or banana bread. 
7. Cutco knives.  I'm sure any good knife would do, but I love my Cutco knives. Especially the Chef's knife. Makes giving veggies a harvest chop into an easy job. 
8. Rice Maker - In our house even the dog eats brown rice. We make a batch twice a week. Do you know how easy dinner is if the rice is already? Add a sauce or gravy with veggies, and voila, you're done.  And it isn't just for rice. 
9. Nu-Wave - some people thought I'd never use this one. But I took it out of Aunt Barbara's house. It was begging for love when I found it on her kitchen counter, not being used. I use it 3-4 times a week. I like the way it cooks my veggies.  I love the way it perfectly bakes my veggie burgers. And, if my hubby needs a piece of salmon, the Nu Wave is a perfect tool. The infomercial says "from frozen to cook", how would I know? My commercial size freezer in the basement is practically empty! But there's so much more to this appliance than cooking meat.
10. Box Grater -  well the perfect tool, does not have to be electric. Have you ever noticed how food takes on a different taste based on how it's cut.  Well, it doesn't! But our brain kind of kicks into a different gear. Try a carrot julienne, diced carrots, cubed carrots and shredded carrots. You have a different use for each right? Have you ever asked yourself why? It's the same carrot! The box grater though, helps carve our little brain to be creative. 

The Bonus

A necessary tool...absolutely not! But my SodaStream makes me happy. I add bubbles to anything. Juiced fruit...add bubbles, refreshing water: bubbles and lemon juice, or drop in a few cucumber slices.  Pomegrante Green Tea...oh yeah the bubbles make it sparkle! I could go on...but you get the picture, right?

If you want to buy me a gift, think of a great kitchen appliance. I love to cook, so even the $5.00 fun kitchen items work for me!

Kathleen Brandt

stradercom@aol.com