Useful kitcten utensils
These are the three most useful tools in the kitchen:
1) food processor
2) toaster oven
3) wok or shallow cooking pan
1) food processor: This is one of the best things ever! You can do so much with it. You can make soups, gazpacho (cold soup), burgers (especially vegetarian ones), hummus, salsa, and I'm sure there's more. I have a 15-20 year old Robot Coupe http://www.robotcoupeusa.com/ and it's really, really good. One thing about food processor cooking is that, although it's good to follow recipes, you can add or delete ingredients and amount of ingredients at your discretion. For example, tonight I made falafel balls in it (and baked them in the oven) and I looked at an online recipe but pretty much added ingredients to my liking. I call it the "zen" way of cooking. Just always remember to do this when you are not distracted by anything else (including pets or significant other, and absolutely no tv!)
2) Toaster oven: I was only introduced to this when I got it as a marriage present. I don't know how I survived without. Not only is it good for re-heating things that need crisping (like pizza, it takes sometimes better than the day before), but making homemade tortilla chips, croutons, or you can even take the burgers you made in the food processor (as long as there aren't too many) and cook them in there. Saves energy and generates less heat in the summer. Oh, and garlic bread is really yummy made in the toaster oven!
3) Wok or shallow stainless steel cooking pan: Wow, talk about combining a bunch of ingredients together for easy clean up. I like to cook vegetables in here and toss with cooked pasta or noodles (with added olive oil or sauces) to coat the noodles. Again, you can be more "zen" about what you throw in the pan. A wok or the shallow pan work great. One thing I really like to cook in the shallow pan is chicken. Either with red wine and herbs d' Provence, or Lemon and Capers. Tenderize (beat them till they're nice and flat), coat them with flour and in they go. The other nice option is the covers for these pans, so you can really cook the vegetables or meat and get the moistness that you desire.
So there they are. Three things (or four things!) that save me so much time in the kitchen. Use them and you may never use any other utensils again! (just kidding, other gadgets are cool too! Perhaps I'll discover another one I really like and post it in another blog!)
1) food processor
2) toaster oven
3) wok or shallow cooking pan
1) food processor: This is one of the best things ever! You can do so much with it. You can make soups, gazpacho (cold soup), burgers (especially vegetarian ones), hummus, salsa, and I'm sure there's more. I have a 15-20 year old Robot Coupe http://www.robotcoupeusa.com/ and it's really, really good. One thing about food processor cooking is that, although it's good to follow recipes, you can add or delete ingredients and amount of ingredients at your discretion. For example, tonight I made falafel balls in it (and baked them in the oven) and I looked at an online recipe but pretty much added ingredients to my liking. I call it the "zen" way of cooking. Just always remember to do this when you are not distracted by anything else (including pets or significant other, and absolutely no tv!)
2) Toaster oven: I was only introduced to this when I got it as a marriage present. I don't know how I survived without. Not only is it good for re-heating things that need crisping (like pizza, it takes sometimes better than the day before), but making homemade tortilla chips, croutons, or you can even take the burgers you made in the food processor (as long as there aren't too many) and cook them in there. Saves energy and generates less heat in the summer. Oh, and garlic bread is really yummy made in the toaster oven!
3) Wok or shallow stainless steel cooking pan: Wow, talk about combining a bunch of ingredients together for easy clean up. I like to cook vegetables in here and toss with cooked pasta or noodles (with added olive oil or sauces) to coat the noodles. Again, you can be more "zen" about what you throw in the pan. A wok or the shallow pan work great. One thing I really like to cook in the shallow pan is chicken. Either with red wine and herbs d' Provence, or Lemon and Capers. Tenderize (beat them till they're nice and flat), coat them with flour and in they go. The other nice option is the covers for these pans, so you can really cook the vegetables or meat and get the moistness that you desire.
So there they are. Three things (or four things!) that save me so much time in the kitchen. Use them and you may never use any other utensils again! (just kidding, other gadgets are cool too! Perhaps I'll discover another one I really like and post it in another blog!)
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