Kitchen Stuff I Like

J

Joejoe

New member
You may have all of these. You may not. But here's a selection of
random kitchen items that I have and particularly appreciate:

Faucet sprayer. Pull up for regular stream, pull down for spray,
rotates to spray wherever you want. Fancier faucets have the function
built in (but don't seem to be pointable without using a hand), so I
like this version a lot. Source: local hardware store.

Spray: http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0658.jpg
Stream: http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0659.jpg

Elbow length oven mitts. Dunno 'bought you, but I have scars on my
forearms from reaching into hot ovens with mitts that are too damn
short and hitting the door edge or upper racks with bare skin.
Source: Arizona Restaurant Supply, Tucson (but probably available in
many other places).

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0660.jpg

Cast-iron pan handle mitt. Handier than a full length mitt for
stovetop work. Source: ARS

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0661.jpg

Plastic squeeze bottle for cooking oil. Source: Dollar stores,
WalMart, etc.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0662.jpg

Simple timers. Despite their ugly green color, I love these. Minutes/
seconds. Whack the transparent half-globe to start and stop - good
for when your hands are wet or greasy. Returns to original value when
restarted - handy for timing multiple runs of things. Source: A
dollar store in Nashua, NH. Never seen 'em since.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0653.jpg

Stainless steel compost bucket and liners. In my house, all vegetable
waste goes in here and eventually gets dumped into the big compost
bins in the back yard. Liners are made of cornstarch and are
themselves bio-degradable. Source: I forget. If you're really
interested, buzz me and I'll look it up.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0664.jpg

Big strainer for bagels, dumplings, whatever. Cleans up more easily
than the wire jobs. Source: ARS.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0665.jpg

Digital picture frame for showing recipes. Hangs on a cabinet door,
taking up no counter space. Photograph recipes from cookbooks,
magazines, wherever, put 'em up here. Incidently, handy for, um,
digital photos of family, cats, etc. when not cooking :-) Source: any
electronics store.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0666.jpg

Salt *and* pepper grinder. One-handed operation! Source: Le Gourmet
Chef

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0667.jpg

Giant spatula. Good for pancakes, quesadillas, anything large.
Source: ARS

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Silvar_Beitel/RFC/IMG_0668.jpg


So there ya go.

--
Silvar Beitel
 
On Sat, 02 Apr 2011 08:55:14 -0700, sf wrote:


It worked as advertised for about a year. Then it started either
clogging or spraying wrong.

I'd have to clear the spray hole with a pin or spray it into the sink
or trash-can until it was cleared. What a PITA.

I paid something like $20+ for it.

It also "Over-Sprayed" and got all over the stove or table.

I dribbled or drizzled olive oil for decades before my sister talked
me into buying it. That's what I do now. Works just as well as it
always did.
 
On Apr 1, 3:29?pm, Silvar Beitel wrote:

I don't even have a chef's knife. I gave it to my mother. I get by
though. Wooden spoon and a plastic spatula. A couple of serrated
knives. It's hard to carve a roast that is true. I do have a couple
of mouse traps so that I can have a rodent dinner once in a while. No
seriously. I can make a lot of stuff with what I've got. Not at a
professional rate of speed, but the job gets done. I've got like a
wire whisk AND NO copper bowl for egg white beating. My most
important utensil I think is a cast iron around 12" diameter fry pan.
Outstanding. Great for browning.
 
On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 17:26:46 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote:

In any paper I've ever written, terms were supposed to be defined
first then you can use the acronym from then on. As far as nasty,
well there ya go. Kill me and you can be done with it.


--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:51:25 -0400, Boron Elgar
wrote:

snip
snip

Oh, heck. I never thought of letting the stuff freeze. I'd have to
use a plastic garbage can and see if the raccoons would leave it
alone.
Janet
 
On Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:29:43 -0700 (PDT), Silvar Beitel
wrote:


I have to disagree with you on this one.

I get cottage cheese in 3 lb containers and have always used them for
compost stuff. They have a lid, they are free, they can go into the
dishwasher and are easily sacrificed/recycled if they grown green or
nasty.

I was given a gift of the stainless mini-can, with filters and
compostable liners for my birthday last year. It came from King Arthur
Flour.

First off, the liners are wasteful and not cheap, but aside from that,
they dissolve with wet goop and the interior of the can gets sloppy.
It can go into the dishwasher, but frankly, it is big and takes up a
lot of room.

So...yes, that KA can can be washed, but its size means that it holds
a LOT of stuff, and that is why it requires an expensive filter,
because stuff sits there longer than it should. The top has holes in
it so it does seal, something that old cottage cheese containers do
easily.

It is so anti-recycling to use this set up, that I think it's a joke.
Again, it is certainly allowing some folks to save stuff for compost
in a way that is convenient for them, but to me, it just doesn't cut
it.

And yes, my kids laugh at my re-use of the cottage cheese containers.
The KA can looks a lot nicer on the counter, I admit it, but the
constant need of supplies to keep it functioning (filters & bags)
takes the pleasure out of it.

Boron
 
On Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:01:31 -0400, Boron Elgar
wrote:

snip

I get the cottage cheese or sour cream in the 3 or 5 pound containers
and use them as you do. Nice lid, empty every day, and as you say,
dishwasher or recycle when necessary. Oh -- they're free to me.
Janet
 
On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 09:11:42 +0200, "Giusi" wrote:

snip

The plastic ice cream containers with lids were my first compost
collectors. Unfortunately, the containers are now much smaller or
non-existent. I can only get cheap and nasty sherbet in those
containers now and no one will eat it.
Janet
 
On Apr 1, 3:01 pm, Boron Elgar wrote:

OK. Valid considerations!

We like having a larger compost pail because it's a long walk to the
outside compost bins in the back yard. Sometimes it's a semi-major
effort in the winter, here in New England. Uphill, both ways, ya
know :-)

The can fits the bill, looks OK on the kitchen counter (where it's a
lot handier than a scrap plastic pail that we'd be likely to want to
hide under the counter somewhere), and we haven't found the costs of
filters and bags onerous. Your Mileage obviously Varied :-)

--
Silvar Beitel
 
On Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:18:40 -0700, Dan Abel wrote:


King Arthur *used to be* a quality maker of quality products. One of
my nieces was the person who ran their test kitchen. After new
ownership of the company, its products were revised and the quality
dropped radically. My niece quit working there as a result. She was
told by the owners that her remarks about their products weren't
needed...hahaha, crack me up! Have a test kitchen and don't listen to
the person running it....ok...then why have one?
 
On Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:23:14 -0600, Janet Bostwick
wrote:


Those cheese containers are too small, they'd need emptying much too
often. And plastic absorbs nasty odors that can't be washed out, and
they stain. Compost containers need to be vented or they'll start to
ferment and they'll stink even more. I've been using the same $9
stainless steel one gallon compost bucket for more than 20 years, at
this point it's been free for a long time because now it costs twice
as much.
 
On Apr 1, 4:03 pm, Janet Wilder wrote:

Yes. It is neat. I have one, but rarely use it.

Because unlike you ...


.... I'm in way-the-heck-north New England. Land of drafty old
colonial expensive-to-heat farm houses, lowered thermostats, sweaters,
and cold viscous olive oil that doesn't spray out of the Misto worth
squat :-).

But it *is* a nice gadget. In the summer :-)

--
Silvar Beitel
 
On Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:13:57 -0400, Brooklyn1 wrote:


snip


My property isn't as large as yours, Sheldon. I empty the container
every evening after supper. I walk out the back door into the back
yard and over to the compost. Bring the container back in and rinse
and then wash it. No smell. I'm simply taking fresh trimmings out to
the compost -- they haven't begun to ferment yet.
Janet
 
On 4/2/2011 2:31 AM, Julie Bove wrote:


Julie,

Forgive me for asking, but is there anything that you have a "positive"
feeling about? You are always so negative.

BTW, mine fits just fine in my cabinet. Maybe I just have better cabinets.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
On 4/1/2011 3:29 PM, Silvar Beitel wrote:
Very handy but not for all faucets. I put one on my kitchen faucet, and
it caused too much pressure inward, and I got a leak and had to have my
whole faucet replaced.

Cute!


Page not found.


Great idea!


I have one of those, but didn't know what to use it for, so it just
sits. Now I know.

Pretty kitty!


I recently got a one-handed pepper mill. Love it! Mines this one:
http://www.target.com/Chefn-Vibe-Salt-Mill-Ball/dp/B0016NUZ4Q/ref=sc_pd_gwvub_2_title
but mine's for pepper. They must have sold of that one.


Thanks!
 
On 4/2/2011 10:55 AM, sf wrote:

The Misto? is working well for me. I am just using it to spray a
little EVOO in a frying pan. It is certainly preferable to the olive oil
Pam? in the can with a host of propellants.


--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
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