Update: Appliances and Tools

Remember when your essential kitchen utensils and appliances consisted of forks, spoons, and a pizza wheel? Ever since we moved to Vermont, I have found myself spending more and more time in the kitchen - and it's not as if it's the biggest or most beautiful part of the house. It's a pretty small kitchen, not even a galley. It's more like a cut-out, a pass-through between the dining room and the living room. Because of it size, we've had to make it efficient. Anything that we didn't use on a semi-regularly basis stayed in its box and lives in the attic. And counter space is precious, so I've only kept out things that would be too heavy to haul in-and-out. In two earlier posts, I had professed my adoration for my food processor and a stovetop espresso maker, both of which are prominent residents near the stove. Now that love list has to make room for some new additions.

THE RICE COOKER
Roger's mom bought us a Panasonic Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker for our birthday/anniversary. It's the best thing ever! No more messy, encrusted stovetops from water boiling over in a pot, or burned bottoms. The rice cooker is also very cute. It's egg-shaped with a pearl-white texture - it reminds me of Mork from Ork's spaceship. But the best part about it is that it performs so well! Perfect rice every time, and it keeps it warm without making it dry. Easy to clean too. I recommend it highly.

THE ROLLING PIN
Second best thing ever! Christmas time means Christmas cookies. As most of my friends can attest, I like to bake. I'm not necessarily a good baker, but I love the smells and the manual labor that are associated with baking. When I was younger, I didn't cook much, but I did like to make cookies with my mom. I really got into baking when we were in Chicago. At the ABA, I participated in the holiday cookie swap. One year I made peanut butter cookies. Not very Christmas-y, but I liked their taste, and the criss-cross pattern you make with the fork tines. (Roger was impressed by this, too. It's like magic!) Anyway, this year I wanted to try more rolled cookies, formerly I trusted myself only to do drop cookies. So I needed a decent rolling pin, one that I could manage with just one hand.

In addition to King Arthur's Flour, there's another great kitchen store in the Upper Valley, Board and Basket They have all kinds of stuff, high-end and budget. They're locally owned and the staff is very helpful. I went down there with my problem, and they were so nice, letting me try out different kinds of pins, traditional wooden ones (with and without handles), silicone ones, and this beautiful marble one. Another customer said that the best thing for baking, pies and cookies, is a marble rolling pin: it stays cool so the dough doesn't stick, and the weight helps keep the dough flat and even. The above link links to a picture of the kind I bought, although mine has lighter veins in its marble. It wasn't expensive, either: it actually cost less than the silicone and the bigger wooden ones.

THE CAN OPENER
The Kuhn Rikon's Safety Lid Lifter deserves honorable mention. Unlike conventional openers, the Lid Lifter cuts into a can below the rim of the lid, so there are no sharp edges, and the final turn doesn't drop the lid into your soup. We needed a new can opener, because our big, bulky "ergonomic" OXO one got rusted (I left it too long in the dishwasher). Not so ergonomic anymore. So I found this inexpensive one, that's actually easier for me to use. It's designed for both lefties and righties, unlike the OXO one, with which I had to twist my wrist in an awkward position to crank. It's also pretty light.

All three items are functional, beautiful, and economical!