Kitchen Gear Essentials: Here are the necessary
Appliances/equipment
utensils and appliances that one should have on hand for
any type of cooking, simple or advanced.
Coffee grinder used for grinding spices
Cooling rack (preferable one that can be in oven)
digital scale
Food processor
Mixer
Mortar and Pestle OR
Pizza stone
Salad spinner
Sheet pans (of various dimensions) aka cookie sheets
Vita-Mix blender
Utensils
10 inch no nonstick skillet
Can opener
Cast iron skillet
Cheese grater
colander
Cutting board – designate one, plastic or other non-porous,
for only raw meats/fish/seafood.
knife sharpener and honing steel
knife, chefs
knife, serrated
knife, slicer
knife, utility
ladle
Large soup/pasta Pot (aka stock pot)
Large, medium, small sauce pan
measuring cups
measuring spoons
Microplane or Zester
mixing bowls, metal or glass
Non-stick pan – (once flaky, or looks “worn”, throw out)
Scissors
spatula, fish
spatula, grill
spatula, off set
spatula, rubber
spoon, slotted
spoon, wooden or metal
Steamer - that can be placed at the bottom of a stock pot or
large
Strainer/sieve
thermometer - dial or digital
Tongs– spring loaded
vegetable peeler
Wine opener
Wire whisk
Preserving fresh herbs
To dry - Bundle fresh herbs, as example below, then loosely wrap paper towel or newspaper around, then hang for
weeks/months until dry. Once completely dry, remove leaves from stems and store leaves in air tight container out of
sunlight.
To freeze –Wash and thoroughly pat dry fresh herbs. Remove leaves from stems. Then either roughly chop leaves and
store in a jar, as example below, or mince herbs until they’re sort of a paste and store in a zip-lock baggie (remove as
much air as possible to avoid freezer burn). If you want to have a serving of pesto on hand, simply make pesto (see attached recipe) then fill ice cube trays with it. Then wrap with plastic wrap and freeze. Each cube will provide 2 servings of
pesto.
Pesto
2 C fresh basil, ½ C olive oil, ½ C pine nuts, 3 cloves garlic, ¼ tsp salt, 1/3 C parmesan cheese
Mix in food processor or blender (or mortar and pestle), adding olive oil last. Pesto should be a paste. Season to taste.
When using in pasta, just before pasta is done, stir a little hot water into pesto, to thin out if desired. Toss drained pasta
with pesto and serve immediately.
Freezing fresh fruit and vegetables
Generally frozen fruits are great for smoothies and most veggies are perfect for and soups or as roasted or pan fried.
Simply clean fruit/vegetables as normal, peel, if needed, cut into bite sized pieces, place on cookie sheet, single layer and
freeze over night. Once completely frozen store in air tight container or zip-lock freezer bags (remove as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn) in freezer until ready to use.
Freezing meat/fish
Portion meat/fish, tightly wrap each piece (a chop, filet, breast, thigh, ground, etc.) in plastic wrap, (remove as much air
as possible to avoid freezer burn) then put in zip-lock baggie, date, and store in freezer. Eat within 3 to 6 months.
Freezing cooked grains and beans
Simply cook your grains and beans (lentils too!) as you normally would, then cool. Once cooled, store in a sturdy zip lock
bag or air tight container, making sure all the air is out and freeze until later use. These will be perfect for soups,
pancakes, and more. Will last about six months or more.
Meal Planning
Stretch your ingredients, using them in different ways, in different dishes. For example:
dinner 1
dinner 2
dinner 3
breakfast 1
breakfast 2
breakfast 3
broiled chicken, roasted vegetables, brown rice
chicken roasted vegetable wraps
chicken, roasted vegetables, brown rice soup
oatmeal
oatmeal pancakes ( can also use oatmeal in place of breadcrumbs for turkey meatballs or loaf)
scrambled eggs with roasted vegetables, brown rice
Shopping tips
Shop perimeter
Keep a running list of what you’re out of visible, write it down immediately
Don’t shop when you’re hungry
Avoid “corner store” trips – cost more, and not so fresh
Don’t eat anything you see on tv.
Regarding packaged goods – generally, the more “health” branding it has, the less healthy it is. (Companies put mega $$
into marketing, not so much into food quality)
Avoid foods that contain more than five ingredients, and anything you can’t pronounce
Find out when your grocery store gets its produce/meat deliveries, then go a day or two after as it’ll be available to buy.
buy organic (according to environmental working
group www.ewg.org):
(General rule of thumb, if the skin is thin, go for organic)
Peaches
nectarines
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes
If you can’t buy organic, try to get it local:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Onions
Asparagus
Peas
Sweet corn
Mangos
Bananas
Kiwi
Pineapple
Avocados
Papaya
Food Portions—keep it simple and stick to baseballs, light bulbs and check books. Most portion sizes are equivalent
these items.
If you want to get detailed on portion sizes, consider the following:
Woman's fist or baseball -- a serving of vegetables or fruit is about the size of your fist
A rounded handful -- about one half cup cooked or raw veggies or cut fruit, a piece of fruit, or ½ cup of cooked rice or
pasta – this is also a good measure for a snack serving, such as chips or pretzels
Deck of cards -- a serving of meat, fish or poultry or the palm of your hand (don't count your fingers!) – for example, one
chicken breast, ¼ pound hamburger patty or a medium pork chop
Golf ball or large egg -- one quarter cup of dried fruit or nuts
Tennis ball -- about one half cup of ice cream
Computer mouse -- about the size of a small baked potato
Compact disc -- about the size of one serving of pancake or small waffle
Thumb tip -- about one teaspoon of peanut butter
Six dice -- a serving of cheese
Check book -- a serving of fish (approximately 3 oz.)
1 teaspoon (5 ml)
about the size of the top half of your thumb
1 ounce (28 g)
approximately inch cube of cheese
volume of four stacked dice
slice of cheese is about the size of a 3 1/2 inch computer disk
chunk of cheese is about as thick as 2 dominoes
1 handful (palm) of nuts
2 ounces (57 g)
1 small chicken leg or thigh
1/2 cup of cottage cheese or tuna
3 ounces (85 g)
serving of meat is about the size of a deck of playing cards
1/2 of whole chicken breast
1 medium pork chop
1 small hamburger
non breaded fish fillet
1/2 cup (118 ml)
fruit or vegetables can fit in the palm of your hand
about the volume of a tennis ball
1 cup (236 ml)
about the size of a woman's fist
breakfast cereal goes halfway up the side of a standard cereal bowl
broccoli is about the size of a light bulb
1 medium apple = A tennis ball