Originally posted 5/16/2020
One month in, 45 recipes down. That leaves 105 still to go.
Between the organizing I did during cookbook 1 and doing the new year organization challenge, my kitchen is prepared to handle just about anything thrown at it. Brick panini? No problem. Cast iron pizza stone? Piece of cake. I either have what is needed or have a suitable substitute. So I have no “ah ha!” moments to share this time around. What I do have is a deeper appreciation for a few things.
1 – Measuring cups
I do not think it is possible to have too many measuring cups. I have 30 (2 are dirty and not in the attached pic) and there are still times when I run out. The bigger ones double as mixing bowls but the cup markings are useful for large quantities, and the smaller ones double as tablespoon measurements as well. Several are so old that the markings have washed off over the years but are still good for use when you have to microwave some ingredient before adding it to the mix. I will throw them out when they break and not before.
2 – Kitchen Island with a granite top
When we remodeled the kitchen (top of my list when we moved in) I wanted the biggest island we could fit in the space. And that’s what I got. I think we have done a really good job of using the space well. The side that faces the dining area has the wine rack and plate rack as well as some shelves for a few nice things to be displayed – note the bottom shelf Star Wars/Star Trek theme. The side facing the kitchen has baking pans in the cabinet closest to the door and a pull out trash and recycling bin area in the side closest to the fridge. I LOVE having the ability to just pull open a door and sweep the debris from the entire countertop right into the trash for easy cleanup after a grueling gingerbread session. The drawers in the middle have silverware and small cooking utensils in the top, frying and sauté pans in the middle, and pan lids and roaster pans in the bottom. I added a small bin on the side next to the door for garden gloves, flashlight, binocs, and puppy squeaky toys for quick and easy access. And finally, I have to say that the introduction of affordable granite as a countertop choice for us average Americans has been a wonderful thing. I use the heck out of it for rolling out gingerbread, sugar cookies, kneading breads… you name it. It stays cool and is so durable.
3 – cookbook stand
Mark got me this during the first cookbook challenge and I have not stopped using it since. It frees up some countertop space and makes it easier to read. If you get one, pick one that is large enough for big books, sturdy enough for big books (mine is iron), and has the page weights. I don’t always need them but when working in the front or back sections of a big book they definitely come in handy. (Link below to one very similar to mine.)
4 – mixers, shredders, and choppers
I have 2 stand mixers and use them both. The larger one handles a tripled cake batter batch and large breads. It also powers the grinder for making gingerbread flour in large quantities. I do not like the lifting bowl, though. I much prefer the smaller one that I have had since we lived in Colorado about 20 years ago. It is still cranking out batch after batch of cookies, breads, royal icing, whipped cream… the list goes on forever. When the time comes to replace it I am going to try one of the new designs that have the motor below the bowl for super easy ingredient addition. The small hand mixer still gets used on a regular basis for small batches so I keep it around but in the pantry out of the way. I honestly could not function in the kitchen without my stand mixer, so in a house fire I would be handing appliances out the window instead of collecting pictures from the walls. JK! I would only save one appliance (the stand mixer) and as many of the pictures as possible. The shredders and choppers have certainly done their part as well to make cooking easier and more convenient. The emulsifier gets the least use, but it does get used. And, yes, that is a salad shooter in the picture! It grates hard cheeses like nobody’s business.
We have been very lucky to not be severely impacted by the Corona lock downs. South Carolina is starting to open back up and only a few items have been hard to find at times. I bought about 30lbs of flour (several different kinds) a week or so before our office sent us home to work remotely, so I was able to bake and cook without too much trouble when shortages were a bit of a problem early on. My pantry stays pretty well stocked with staples so picking up fresh ingredients has been manageable with only a few noted substitutions. Here’s hoping the next month sees us well past the isolations and back to as normal as possible given all that has happened to the small businesses in the last 6 weeks.
