So, since we last talked we have decided to move from Iowa to Maryland because … reasons. It was on the schedule but we decided to move it up. Yes, we will continue to isolate as much as possible and take precautions in public. But it is time to trek. Plan on stopping in college towns for overnight pop-ins to sleep in a hotel along the way.
Tonight, I will continue the culinary trend and discuss what I consider essential equipment in the kitchen and what can be packed away. This has been an interesting exercise but I have a bit of a block on the kitchen. Let’s see where I land.
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Okay, the oven and range top are staying put. I have their use available to me until I move. (side note: my temporary kitchen will have smaller versions of the same. So we can say that an oven and stove top are essential kitchen items. I will also stipulate the need for proper refrigeration and storage. As for the rest, I will assign a few categories within which we can evaluate their necessity.
Tools:
Knives
Cutting Boards
Spoons, Ladles, Tongs, Spatulas
Hand Towels
After 25 years I have finally found the perfect kitchen towel. Go to the bath section and look for large hand towels with the appropriate thickness. My towels provide absolute heat protection at a quarter fold and are large enough to carry a large lasagna pan or roasting pan from underneath. I love my towels. Verdict: necessary.
Anything else is a specialty tool and is thus unneccesary by my estimation.
Equipment:
Microwave
Toaster Oven
Coffee Maker
Pizza Contraption
Electric Kettle
I will not discuss the necessity of the coffee maker. I will bring the electric kettle for your tea but coffee is essential and I don’t function in the morning well enough to operate anything more complicated than a Mr Coffee circa 2003. Verdict: you don’t have to come but the coffee make will be there when you get there.
Microwave and Toaster Oven sit on the fence for me. I agree that one or the other is necessary but think that each person should make their choice here according to their own needs. I will probably consider both essential. I need to point out that my toaster oven is a convection oven large enough to fit a quarter sheet tray and many of my casserole dishes easily.
Pizza Contraption makes frozen pizzas really tasty but fails the necessity test.
Electric Kettle is too small and useful to be anything but necessary.
Gadgets:
Hand Mixer
Electric Grinder
My hand mixer, aka burr mixer or speed mixer, is a beloved tool. It’s small, powerful, and multi-purpose. Without a Vita Mix I might have to consider this a necessary gadget. I also have an electric coffee grinder with a second bowl that I use for herbs and fresh ground pepper.
Buy your pepper in corn form and grind it at home. I cannot stress this enough. Fortunately, I can plan what spices to grind and how much pepper to have on hand for the short time in a temporary kitchen.
Specialized Equipment:
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Vita Mix Blender
Insta Pot
Yes, the stand mixer is awesome. But I lived without it for a long time. Face it. The KitchenAid is a nice-to-have but not necessary piece of kitchen equipment.
The Vita Mix however is exactly the opposite. This blender is comparatively small, light, and packable when you consider the multitude of needs it fills. I wouldn’t call it necessary but it will be the last thing I pack away and the first thing I look for when organizing the new kitchen.
The Insta Pot depends on how much space you have in the car van. I don’t have enough to justify it but it would get unpacked early should I be without the oven or stove top.
Pots and Pans:
I basically need one egg pan, a sauce pan, and something I can roast a chicken in. All others are on an as-needed basis and are, therefore, unnecessary.
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