Things every good, little faerie & sprite should have in their kitchen…

I'm sure I'll think of more over time, but this is a good start ;o)

Garlic Press

I usually don’t recommend single-function kitchen tools, but I make an exception for the garlic press.  With this magical tool, you can easily mince garlic directly over your cooking apparatus and get all the juicy, garlicky goodness…all without peeling a garlic clove.  I like the self-cleaning ones (see the picture below of the one with the red prickly things).  I would also suggest choosing one that has a nice grip as you’ll be using quite a bit of pressure and small, narrow handles will hurt your hands after a while.

Cooking Knife

My favorite type of knife is the Santoku design.  This type of knife is characterized by a flat bottom and has little grooves at the base of the blade to prevent food from creating suction (we’ve all had the stupid potato that just wants to stick to the knife ;o)  Before you purchase, hold the knife and make sure the grip is secure and comfortable in your hand.  Also, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a good knife.  I think mine cost me 10.99 at a local discount store.

Paring Knife

A good paring knife is essential!  With this little gem, you can peel potatoes, fruit & carrots, easily cut out the heart of an artichoke or core an apple.  The possibilities are endless.

Microplane Grater

You’ll love this tool!  It’s great for zesting citrus fruit, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Microplane graters work wonders for grating wedges of hard cheeses like Parmesean or Romano.

Metal Meat Mallet

Take out your aggression with this nifty tool.  You can flatten meat & poultry as thin as a sheet of paper.  I recommend the metal mallots because they are much more sanitary than the wooden ones.  This is a particularly satisfying kitchen tool when you’ve had a bad day.

10 or 12 inch Sauté Pan with a thick bottom

You’ll use this pan for almost everything.  Great for pancakes, frittatas, frying cutlet type meats.  It also makes a handy weapon should anyone break in & try to steal your treasured garlic press ;o) 

Heavy bottomed Dutch Oven or Stock Pot

Sauce, soup, stew, chili, fried chicken, pasta…there’s not much you can’t cook in one of these babies!

Wooden Spoons

Invest in a set of cheap wooden spoons.  Believe me, I can’t count how many I’ve gone through.  And the more expensive ones don’t make your food taste any better.

Glass Measuring Cup

Need I say more?  Useful for, oh, so many things…cracking eggs, measuring wet or dry ingredients, fishing out wayward bay leafs from your soup.  The list goes on & on & on.

Colander

What a great little number!  Use as a strainer to drain pasta or potatoes.  Works wonders for rinsing fruits & veggies.  It even doubles as a helmet in the event of an alien attack and is much more stylish than wrapping your head in tinfoil! 

Whisk

This strange looking thingamajig whips up whipped cream in a flash, is a perfect utensil for scrambling those eggs, mixing cake batter.  And who among us hasn’t used one as a microphone, belting out the tunes when we think no one’s watching??

Aloe Vera Plant

You’ll be glad you have one the first time that bacon fat sizzles up at you.  Just break a piece off & rub the goo over the burn…ahhhhh, sweet relief (make sure you’re not allergic to the plant before you go rubbing it all over yourself).