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5 Unnecessary Kitchen Tools I Love

Published on October 30, 2015 By Emily. Updated on October 30, 2015

Recently, Bon Appétit posted a collection titled “Totally Non-Essential Kitchen Tools We Can’t Live Without”.  The post got me thinking about the unnecessary tools I utilize regularly that definitely aren’t needed, but totally make my time in the kitchen more enjoyable. 

5 Unnecessary Kitchen Tools I Love

bookweight

1. My Bookweight – It’s hard to hold open a cookbook when your hands are dirty.  The bookweight does a great job of holding open a book, while making it easy to read.  Mine almost always lives in the kitchen and I use it regularly, though the bookweight could also find uses in other rooms of the house.

2.  A garlic press – lots of professionals will recommend learning how to properly mince garlic, thereby getting better flavor and removing the need for another “unitasker” in the kitchen.  But I love my garlic press.  Regardless of what a recipe’s instructions say (mince, smash, slice), I almost always press it. I find chopping garlic to be such a pain and this press works wonderfully.

storage containers

3.  Lots and lots of storage containers – I believe that I’ve commented before about my possibly too big collection of storage containers.  And just a few weeks ago, Brian and I bought another big set of Pyrex from Woot.  The size bowls in this set are awesome and they’ve allowed us to use even more glass instead of plastic.  (Also, you may be thinking “that picture doesn’t look so bad…”, but many of our pieces were in the dishwasher.  It’s a big of a puzzle to get everything to fit.)

4.  Podcasts – I like company in the kitchen.  Oftentimes, this company comes in the form of podcasts.  I enjoy listening to podcasts while I cook because they’re not as distracting as a show, but I still feel like my brain is getting some benefits while my hands are busy.  I use iTunes to manage the podcasts on my laptop, but I’ve also been listening using AntennaPod on my Android phone. 

pastry mat

5. Pastry Mat – My love of my pastry mat is no secret and I’m still using it on a very regular basis, most often for pizza dough.  Can you roll out dough on the counter?  Of course, but I’m not good at keeping my counters quite as clean as maybe I should.  Plus, it’s much easier to wash the pastry mat in the sink than it is to clean a flour-covered counter, at least for me.

What are your favorite unnecessary kitchen tools?

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Comments

  1. Jocelym says

    November 1, 2015 at 9:59 am

    I don’t know if this is considered unnecessary, but I love my bread machine! I use it at least once a week, if not more. And my pastry brush, since I make rolls so often and brush butter on.

  2. steak knives says

    November 28, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    kitchen tools Website wonderful, I hope to see more offers and new threads

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Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
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It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
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New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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