Kitchen Snob

The last two summers I have spent in the States- having my baby, attending my brother's wedding- doing important stuff State-side.  My primary residence both summers has been at one of my mother's and step-father's rental houses.  This means that my mom and step-dad have gotten to know how I live, and what it takes for me to be comfortable.  Long story short, my step-dad labeled me a kitchen snob.  :)

Now, I share this with you because I'm actually a-ok with the label.  I love my step-dad, and he's allowed to call me such things. :)

So I thought I would do a post about how and why I earned the label...  Obviously this starts with knowing that I love the kitchen.  It's definitely MY room in the house, and above all others, I have to have complete say over where everything lives, how it's set up, etc. I love to cook- for myself, for others, for my kid, for my family, for friends.  I love to cook.  I also like to try new recipes and new techniques.  I love eating something at a restaurant or someone's house and then trying to make it at home.  So the base for earning the label kitchen snob has to be my love of food and cooking.

As someone who loves to cook, I want to be able to make the best food I can without having my tools stand in my way.  I am definitely not a person who wants to buy the most expensive anything just because.  Sometimes I want the most expensive thing because it's the best, and because you can't get the same result with anything less.  Sometimes, I really don't care.  Here are some examples...

Skillets and fry pans...  Now, I don't have Le Creuset pans... but I wouldn't mind if I did.  But this is one thing that I don't NEED the best, but I can't stand the worst.  Why?  A cheap pan is a thin pan.  A thin pan equals burnt food no matter what you do.  If the pan is too thin, the heat just penetrates right through, rather than spreading around and cooking food evenly.  Cheap pans are just not worth it.  My in-laws got me two fry pans for my birthday this year and I LOVE THEM.  They are a lovely heavy weight, they are non-stick, and haven't burned a single thing in them, even with my stove top burners that have two settings- off and high. This same argument can be made for pots, although it's not quite as important to me.  I often use pots just to boil water, most often for steaming vegetables.  But, if you're cooking a sauce or soup or something, you want a pot that heats evenly as well, instead of just burning right through the thin metal.

Speaking of cook-tops and ovens... you've seen what I have right?  Look closely... ok sorry, I realize it's too small to really see anything...but I'll tell ya.  It has THREE burners, which as I said can be either off or on high- maybe medium if you're lucky, and it only has three burners!  Did I mention, three burners? Also, the oven has on, off and a dial that ranges from big flames to little flames.  That's right, you can't set the temperature! Thankfully, because I realize that even ovens that have temperature gauges aren't always accurate, I brought an oven thermometer with me.  But let me tell you- the guessing game necessary to find the right temperature means having to turn the oven on about an hour before you need it to have time to turn it up and down as needed, until you find the right temp!  So anyway... here's what I'd like:
 Oh yeah, baby.  6, yes you read that right, 6 burners!  Not only would that be nice for being able to cook many things, but it also means that even when you want to use only a few burners, you can use large pots and/or pans and they all fit.  Because that drives me crazy about our current stove.  I can really only use two of the burners at once, because I don't have small enough pots and pans for three to fit at once.  And a large oven... ah.  I brought a nice cookie sheet all the way from the States only to find that it doesn't even FIT in our oven.  So it's useless. Big- big is definitely better when it comes to ovens and cook-tops!

Nothing compares to a Vita-Mix that I know of. I got my mom a Vita-Mix for Christmas two years ago and she loves it, and I loved it when I lived with her.  A Vita-Mix will easily run you about $500, but as I said, nothing compares.  It obliterates anything you put inside of it.  Smoothies are COMPLETELY smooth.  You can even make your own flour from grains.  Unfortunately, not only are Vita-Mixes not available here, but, as I said they cost $500.  That's not an amount we can spend on a blender right now.  So I got a $100 blender, and it's pretty good.  It is a "professional grade" so it has a big strong motor, but, it has left a few chunks in my smoothies.  But, it'll do.

Now, for my coffee, I just got a cute little $40 maker (the cheapest the store had).  Cause when it comes to coffee, I'm pretty sure it's the actual coffee itself that matters.  Of course it would be nice if my coffee maker talked to me, or turned on by itself or something, but, mostly I just need it to make coffee without grounds in it.  And it does that.  So I'm happy.

A few more little things...

I got this awesome little tool for my birthday when some of my in-laws got me an Amazon gift certificate (Thanks again J, J, L and G!).  I love avocados and this little slicer just makes it so easy to get nice even slices, and to scrape all the fruit out of the peel.  Just makes life easier. Not a necessity, but, for only like $7, it's worth it!

Stainless steel measuring spoons!  They don't have to be expensive (some are, some aren't), but, when you use your measuring spoons as much as I do, if you have plastic ones that have the amounts printed on them in ink, the ink wears off!  And then you're left guessing, or trying to remember what is what!  These stainless steel measuring spoons have the measurement engraved on the arms of the spoons.  No washing away or wearing off.  Same goes for measuring cups.  Also, these things can be dunked in hot stuff, withstand a flame, etc... I mean, stuff happens sometimes in the kitchen.  Plastic melts.

One thing I don't think I have ever had is a very, very nice knife.  But so far, I have done ok with the knives I have as long as I have a good knife sharpener!!!  Probably if I ever got a truly nice knife, I would never turn back, but, for now, as long as my knives are sharp, I make do.  Sharp to me means you can slice a tomato without squishing it.  I almost lost my mind when someone in Angola told me they just use serrated knives to slice tomatoes.  So not right.  When I couldn't find a knife sharpener in Angola, that was one thing my in-laws had to send us.  I was thankful!  Also, must have a bread knife.  Nothing worse than having your bread squish down because you're using the wrong kind of knife to cut it!

Another thing I'm particular about is cutting boards.  I like to have several.  One is a designated meat board.  It is the only board meat gets cut on, and it is a plastic board, not wood.  Because, ew, germs.  I like to have a small one for cutting things like onions, garlic and other strong foods.  Because what is worse than digging in to the mango you just sliced up only to taste onion on it?  Ew.  So yes, I like to have a few boards, and I make sure that my husband knows which one is the meat board.

I have to have some wooden spoons in addition to other cooking utensils.  They don't have to be expensive or special, but I have to have them.

I really love my metal steamer basket.  It's simple and easy to use and cheap and fits in most pots.  And yum for steamed veggies.

This is the actual one I have, and I love
that the bowl comes off.  Means you can wash
it easily, or use something else in its place. 

My kitchen scales have become very important to me.  The set I have are electronic and can handle more than a kilo of weight (I'm not sure on the max weight, but my point is that it's not just for spices, etc).  Being able to measure food by mass, instead of volume is a relatively new concept for me, as I grew up using only measuring cups and spoons.  But there are some times when the scales are so much easier, so much more accurate. So I love them too.

Now, just in case there is anyone out there looking for gift ideas or something...


I don't have and really, really want a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.  
This is the kind of thing that I want desperately, but, I will refrain from buying, or asking for as a present until we settle down.  It's a big piece of machinery, and I couldn't bear the thought of the cost of shipping or having it and then selling it when I was going to move.  Someday.  This puppy lives in my dreams for now.

One thing that I would like, and I think could be attainable here is a Crock Pot.
 A cool piece of machinery, I'm intrigued by the one pot meals that are possible as they slow cook... and I like the idea of not burning stuff on a too hot burner, etc.

So there you go... now you can decide for yourself whether or not you think I'm a kitchen snob.  As I said, I don't need expensive just for the sake of being expensive.  I think people who get the most expensive just because are people who have more money than they know what to do with.  But these are the things I like and want in my kitchen because they make a difference to what you can achieve in the kitchen.  Of course, this stuff is all in addition to the local, organic raw ingredients that I'd prefer to cook with as well! :)

What about you?  What's a gotta-have item for your kitchen?  Does it have to be the best?

ETA: I've just been informed that there exists such a thing as a tomato knife and it has a serrated edge.  I've googled and confirmed, but I'm not convinced that such a thing is necessary if you have sharp knives.  Hmmm... I know one person who loves hers... anyone else???