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By Emily, December 9, 2009 9:04 am

My Christmas shopping was done almost a month ago (!), but in the event that you haven’t finished yours yet, I’ve put together a list of the 10 gadgets and tools in my kitchen that I love the most.  If none of my favs strike your fancy, check out the links to gift guides at the bottom of the post!

1.  Bottle Stoppers

There are a lot of types of bottle stoppers out there and, for what they are, a lot of them seem pretty expensive.  Brian and I are huge fans of these cheap lever bottle stoppers from Zyliss ($9.99 for 6, Amazon.com)…they don’t look like much, but unlike a lot of bottle stoppers, they actually create a airtight seal.

2.  Oil Bottles

Similar to bottle stoppers, oil bottles ($4.99, Bed Bath and Beyond) are a dime a dozen in stores lately.  I never knew how much I’d use one until I had one though (actually, we have 2–one for olive oil and one for vegetable).   One of the best perks: it’s easier to buy big, cheaper bottles of oil when you have a smaller container to dispense it from.

3.  Flexible Cutting Boards

At my bridal showers last spring, I received not one, but two packages of flexible, plastic cutting boards.  Frankly, I was not impressed.  I didn’t even want one package.  I wanted “high quality” cutting boards.  That said, Brian and I almost always use them.  They’re a great size for cutting a lot of things (big pieces of meat, a soup’s worth of veggies) and the flexibility really comes in handy.  I can’t find the exact set we have, but these cutting boards from Norpro ($5.99, Amazon.com) look pretty good.

4.  Dry Erase Board

No list is complete without one item that seems a little random.  This is that item.  A couple months after moving into our new place, Brian had the idea to add a small dry erase board to the door of one of our cabinets.  It’s super helpful for writing to do or shopping lists, but mostly it’s used for hanging up recipes so they stay clean while I use them to cook. ($9.98, Amazon.com)

5.  Garlic Press

My knife skills are pretty bad and we go through an awful lot of garlic.  I’m sure there are folks out there who disagree with the notion of the garlic press, but our Oxo Good Grips Garlic Press has definitely saved me a lot of time. ($13.00, Amazon.com)

6.  Pyrex Bowls with Lids

Another wedding gift we got but didn’t ask for was a  Pyrex 8-Piece Mixing Bowl Set.  In addition to being 4 different sized mixing bowls (who doesn’t need mixing bowls?!), they’re Pyrex so I can use them in the oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, and dishwasher (in my fantasy life where I have a dishwasher).  Best part: each bowl has a lid, perfect for storage and travel.  ($19.88, Amazon.com)

7.  Zyliss Cheese Grater

For those times when you just need a little cheese…or just don’t feel like getting out and then cleaning the food processor, this (as Brian would say, manly) Zyliss Cheese Grater is awesome.  It comes with 2 drums for fine or coarse grating.  Perfect for adding cheddar to the top of a bowl of chili. ($19.99, Amazon)

8.  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

It’s no secret that How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food is the most important book in my kitchen.  Anytime I have a question about how to make something, or how to use an ingredient, I consult this book.  If you know somehow who cooks, or has a kitchen, they could definitely use this book (or the original version).  ($20.47, Amazon)

9.  Slow Cooker

As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t grow up with a slow cooker.  In the (almost) six months we’ve been married, I’ve only used my Rival 5 qt. Crock-Pot a few times,  but I know I’m going to love it this winter.  What’s better than throwing ingredients in a pot and having dinner ready to eat when you get home from work? ($24.99, Target)

10.  Food Processor

Of the few things I had to have for my kitchen, a Cuisinart Food Processor was at the top of the list.  Pricey, yes, but such a time saver.  ($177.45, Amazon).

Still need gift ideas?  Check out these gift guides:

From Serious Eats, a collection of gift guides, including gifts for the gluten free, the coffee lover, the chocolate lover, stocking stuffers and more.

Slashfood has a list of The Best Cheese Books of 2009.  (♥ Cheese)

The Atlantic has posted their Holiday Gift Guide: Kitchen Edition.

If you need something unique, check out A Food Coma’s collection of Gifts We Want.

Change.org has a Sustainable Food Holiday Gift Guide.

A Year of Slow Cooking has a list of Holiday Gifts to Help Bloggers–why not buy a book written by a blogger for someone on your list?

Merry Christmas!

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By Emily, October 16, 2009 5:30 pm

I was really excited a couple months ago when I realized Mark Bittman had a new cookbook out.  As frequent readers can attest, I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with Mr. Bittman.  Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating had a big impact in changing the way I eat and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is my go-to cookbook.  One day my mother called me from work to tell me that Mark Bittman was on a morning news show–and we don’t even have television!  Needless to say, I got my hands on a library copy (always try before you buy!) as soon as I could.

Bittman’s latest offering,  Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, didn’t disappoint me.  Kitchen Express is unlike any cookbook I’ve ever used before (not that I’m an expert)–the recipes are meant to be “precisely imprecise” and are about “speed, flexibility and relaxation”.  With the assumption that the reader has some skill in the kitchen, you’ll be eating “twenty minutes later, max”.  The book’s seasonally arranged 404 recipes provide ideas for every meal of the day, including dessert, and feature many different ingredients and proteins.  Some of the recipes are for popular dishes (burgers, chicken piccatta, fish tacos, gazpacho, etc) and others are combinations I never would have thought of (Squid Salad with Red Pepper and Cilantro, Crisp Fennel Gratin, Moroccan Lamb Chops with Couscous, Apple Cider and White Wine Slushy)

Recipes, some as short as three lines, are written as paragraphs.  They often have no measurements listed, simply “a handful”, “a bunch” or “several”.  At first, this took a bit of getting used to.  As I’ve mentioned, I like really specific instructions when I cook.  But having some flexibility to make the dishes my own added to the fun and lowered the stress of “doing it right”.

Brian and I tried four recipes from Kitchen Express.  The dishes I chose were pretty basic and “comfort food-y,” but the book definitely contains items that are more unique.

Fall #11: Curried Coconut-Butternut Squash Soup

Fall #98: Brown Sugar Apple in the Microwave (no photo)

Winter #60: Chicken with Apples and Sage

Fall #84: Penne with Vodka Sauce

I was really pleased with all of the recipes we tried.  They were, as promised, simple and delicious.  Some took me longer than 20 minutes to make, but I’m willing to make allowances for the time it took me to dice my first butternut squash and peel, core and slice 2 apples (my knife skills are horrible).  I, surprisingly, found the lack of specific instructions liberating.  Without a “real recipe” in front of me, I felt comfortable adding additional spices or adjusting the amounts.  Hopefully, that sort of approach will transfer to my everyday cooking.

I highly recommend Kitchen Express for the intermediate cook who is looking for a cookbook of varied recipes that are great they way they are, but also ripe for innovation.  I’ve added it to my wishlist.

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By Emily, August 22, 2009 4:53 pm

First, a reminder.  The 6th season of Bravo’s Top Chef has begun! I realize I’m a little late in mentioning it, but I just got to watch the premiere today.  Las Vegas looks like it’s gonna be a good season.  I’m not going to do recaps or reviews this season, but I highly recommend these blogs if you want commentary:

Creative Loafing: “Hearts and Balls: ‘Top Chef’ Las Vegas Episode One”

Serious Eats: “‘Top Chef,’ Season 6: The Premiere

Endless Simmer: Top Chef Exit Interview: Episode 1

Secondly, good news and a promise.

I am painfully aware that this blog has been lately lacking the one thing it’s really supposed to be about.  Cooking.  I know I’ve had a million excuses (end of school, getting married, getting settled, moving…) for why that has been the case.  Lame.  This is supposed to be a blog primarily about my learning to cook healthy and meat free.

Starting this week (aka tomorrow) I am going to start trying out new recipes.  A lot of my cooking lately has been things I know are safe because I’ve already shared them on the blog.  This week’s menu includes several recipes I’ve never tried before.  I will share the results here.  Hopefully that’ll make both reading and writing more interesting.  Plus dinner around here’s getting dull.

My promise to you:

At least 2 new vegetarian recipes a week.  More if I can manage it.

You can hold me to that.

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By Emily, August 4, 2009 5:08 pm

Clearly getting married and then getting settled into my new life has kept me busy, because I was totally unaware that Mark Bittman published a new cookbook early last month! (Thank goodness for Facebook!)

The book, Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, has 101 recipes for each season and according to the review they’re “delicious”, “sophisticated” and “simple”.  Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about this discovery.  I’m definitely seeing if I can get it from the library soon…though I’m pretty sure I’ll end up owning it.

Just when I thought my Mark Bittman obsession was fading…

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By Emily, July 22, 2009 2:04 pm

A tip for all those cooks out there:
If you’re ever making tetrazzini (vegetable, in my case), make sure you add the flour to the sauce so that it actually thickens up and becomes sauce, not just a casserole dish full of pasta, vegetables, broth and hot half and half.

In short: Read your recipe carefully and completely.

(Despite this mistake, the pasta and vegetables were still edible, and so we still had them for dinner. Wasn’t really tetrazzini though.)

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By Emily, June 13, 2009 9:07 am

First of all, I really didn’t think that was how “nuptials” was spelled.  But that’s not the point of this post.

In just a few weeks, I’ll be living in Western Massachusetts, finally married to my Man after an 18 month, long distance engagement.  It’ll be a big change from living with my parents, but it’s one I’m very much looking forward to.  I’m so happy to be marrying him.

As a married woman, I plan to cook a lot more than I have been recently.  I’m looking forward to only having to run my meal choices by only one person, and he’s pretty much agreed to try anything once (he even loves beans!).  My plan is to only eat meat once or twice a week, which is going to take a ton of thinking ahead.  But it’ll be delicious, healthy, fun and hopefully result in a lot more blog posts!  That said, don’t expect much in the way of posts for the next couple weeks…things are busy here at wedding central!

My Man is much more into working out than I am.  I was pretty good about getting to the gym when I was in college, but since moving home my exercising has been sporadic at best (though I have been taking yoga and loving it since this winter).  I’ve been feeling guilty about my lack of activity lately, so it’ll be great to live with someone who already has an established routine.   My Man has grand plans to walk frequently, possibly join the gym and act as my workout conscience.  It should be really good.  I’ll keep you posted.

I was surprised by not one, but two, bridal showers this week.  Wonderful presents came my way, the most remarkable of which are a set of pots and pans from my parents and a KitchenAid stand mixer from my future mother-in-law (she must love me!), and half of our requested place settings of Fiesta dishes.  We also received cutting boards, glasses, a Crockpot, aprons, and a lot of other wonderful things that I’m not trying to reduce in value because I’m not mentioning them, but I suspect the world at large doesn’t need to know every gift I unwrapped.  I’m really excited to get into my kitchen to use all my new stuff.  Cooking is even more fun when you’ve got shiny new toys to do it with.

If there’s one thing on my registry that I really want though, it’s a Cuisinart food processor.  I realize it’s not the most frugal gift request, but I use my mother’s all the time and I can’t imagine creating some of my recipes without one.

What’s your most essential kitchen gadget?  Any last minute must haves to add to my registry?

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By Emily, April 16, 2009 4:32 pm

Sunday:

I’m beginning to think I have a death wish.  A normal person wouldn’t volunteer to bring the extracurricular activity they supervise snacks every week.  A mostly sane person would buy said snacks.  I, for some crazy reason, find it necessary to cook something from scratch every Sunday.  This week I made cupcakes with a recipe from Bakerella, which were really good and cooked really well, except for the part where I ended up with 30 of them, which is way more than I needed.  Needless to say, I gave away a lot of cupcakes.  Special thanks to Mark Bittman for the frosting recipe.  I really thought I’d bought frosting at the supermarket, but I hadn’t.  Such is my life.

I also made the White Bean Chili recipe from The Flexitarian Diet for lunch this week, but found it to be much more like tomato soup.  I wasn’t impressed.  I added a can of kidney beans and a serving of Israeli couscous to the mix, as well as some grated cheddar cheese and eventually found it pretty tasty.  Usually I just leave recipes as they are, so it’s pretty exciting to have created my own success.  Maybe soon I won’t need a recipe at all.

Monday:

Dad was traveling for a few days, so Mom and I took the opportunity to get some swordfish.  Half of this decision was prompted by a delicious looking picture on the inside of the newest issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray.  The Mango-Caper (and onion) Relish was well worth the effort it took to cut the mango.  Mom (who had never had mango before) must’ve said “this is so delicious, and pretty, and easy” fifty times before the meal was over.
We also made a side of asparagus.  Delicious.

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By Emily, March 29, 2009 12:37 pm

11:43: All I’ve eaten this morning was half a granola bar (still too sweet, I haven’t changed my mind) and a hand full of walnuts.  I want real lunch.  Time to finish the fried rice started this morning.

11:44: Gather ingredients: oil, bell pepper (green; you should’ve seen the produce selection at the supermarket last night!), onion, the rice I cooked this morning (now plenty cooled) soy sauce.

11:47: Prep veggies.  This always takes longer than I expect it to.  I’m a slow dicer.

12:00 Holy crap, this onion is strong.  Eyes are crazy watering.  I usually don’t react to onions.

12:03: My nose starts running.  Wow.

12:07: Done cutting that dumb onion, start cooking it in hot oil.  Add the peppers after a couple minutes.

12:12: My Man calls; we discuss rice while I stir the vegetables.

12:22: Add the rice to the pan.  Mark Bittman says (in the cookbook) to break up the rice chunks with one’s fingers.  I burn myself doing so and switch to using a spatula.

12:30: It’s not very brown…let it sit for a few minutes.

12:34: Add the soy sauce–now it’s brown!

12:38: Finally sit down to lunch!  It’s pretty good…I think the rice is cooked a little unevenly, but certainly edible.  Definitely perfect for school lunch this week.  Both parents try it and think it’s decent.  Success!

This concludes the cooking portion of my weekend.  Just kidding, I still have to make brownies or something for debate.  *sigh*

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By Emily, March 29, 2009 8:56 am

It occurred to me this morning that sometimes I can get around to the cooking, but not to the blogging.  I’ve decided to attempt doing it at the same time.  If it seems to work, expect it to be a regular feature.

9:00 am:  Finally drag my butt out of bed, with the realization that I have way too much to get done today, most of it in the kitchen.  I want to make lunch for the week (fried rice), breakfast for the week (banana nut muffins)–both from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian–and it just occurred to me that I haven’t given any thought to what I’m going to feed the debate team.

9:05: My parents finally clear out of the kitchen (yeah, 5 minutes isn’t really “finally”).  Dad made coffee for me.  I should probably mention at some point that I vastly prefer tea and they should probably not bother to make any coffee for me.  I pour a cup anyway.

9:06: Start making rice, following the instructions in the cookbook.  Yes, I need instructions to make rice.  Confession time: I’ve never made real rice before, only Minute Rice.  My Man thinks this is appalling.  It probably is.  Today is the day I will learn to cook real rice.  Either that or create a disaster.

9:10: I should eat breakfast at some point (those muffins are not getting started until after I take a scheduled phone call at 10).  I have a whole batch of cranberry-chocolate granola bars that I made Wednesday night.  Honestly, they’re way too sweet (maybe I should’ve left the honey out?)  I feel bad throwing them out though.  Maybe I can pawn them off on my parents.  Or high schoolers.

9:20: The water has almost boiled.  Took it long enough.

9:21: Check the recipe: “adjust the heat so the mixture boils steadily but not violently”.  What is that supposed to mean?  Turn down heat, read the part about “all visible moisture” disappearing and start to wonder if I’ve added too much water to begin with.

9:26: I think all “visible moisture”has disappeared.  This is supposed to happen 10-15 minutes after you start.  It’s more like 20.  Oh well.

9:27 Stir.  It seems way moist.  I’ll let it sit for a few minutes, off the heat.  Check email, nothing to report there.  I should look at Twitter at some point

9:30: Debate whether “Live Blogging” is the right term for this post.  Read one other blog post that backs me up, decide I don’t really care if its correct.

9:32 Check the rice.  Looks decent.  Transfer the pot into the fridge.  Really check email, Facebook, Twitter.

9:44: Dad offers me a refill on coffee.  I accept.  What am I, crazy?

Actual fried rice creation to follow…

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By Emily, March 17, 2009 8:02 pm

The New York Times ran an interesting article today titled “Who’s Cooking? (For Health, it Matters).” It caused me to think about how my goals and style influence my cooking.

The article has a companion quiz, “What’s Your Cooking Personality,” which I had to take, because I’m a sucker for those sorts of things.  According to the article, people are either giving, methodical, healthy, competitive or innovative cooks.  My answers were kind of all over the place.  Even though I’d like to assume I’m a “healthy” cook, the majority of my responses put me in the categories of “giving” and “methodical”:

a) Giving: Friendly, well-liked and enthusiastic, giving cooks seldom experiment, love baking and like to serve tried-and-true family favorites, although that sometimes means serving less healthful foods.
b) Methodical: Talented cooks who rely heavily on recipes. The methodical cook has refined tastes and manners. Their creations always look exactly like the picture in the cookbook.

The article itself notes:

“A lot of giving cooks believe they are healthy cooks, but they are by far the least healthy,” he added. On the other hand, “if you like food, then the healthy cook is not necessarily the person you want to hang out with.”

Not surprising, really.  So, now I’m thinking about whether or not the food I’ve been cooking is actually healthy.  And I do plan to actually cook something soon and share it with you all.

So what’s your cooking personality?  Are you as healthy as you think you are?