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| Loch Ness soup spoons! Love it! and don't need it... but really cute |
I don't know about you, but I'm in the kitchen a lot. And I've learned over the years that I like to keep things that I use almost daily close at hand. So you might consider my kitchen 'cluttered' as the countertops are not clear... my pots are hanging over the counter easy to reach... and baskets hold containers of wooden spoons, spatulas, etc.
But what I wanted to talk about today is a few of my favorite kitchen items. Some of these were given to me, some I bought... but all are things that I use constantly and am grateful to have them.
Today I will mention just 4:
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| garlic smasher |
Garlic Smasher. This is my most used item ever since it was given to me by a friend a while ago. We use garlic in almost everything and this little gadget smashes it easily.
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| Gracula |
And this is a new garlic smasher called Gracula... and believe it or not, it works great. It was also a gift from a friend recently and I used it for the first time this weekend. Works well... and so cute!
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| egg ring |
This is an egg ring... although it was originally bought for pancakes, it works for both. Makes the best perfectly formed fried eggs... (just do remember to spray the inside of the ring before using). We use this a lot.
and lastly (for now anyway)...
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| long tongs |
Long tongs. This item probably everyone has... but I didn't... for ages I just used a fork or a spatula to turn things over, etc. But after we got the toaster/oven air fryer, it became a necessity.... sometimes having to turn things over in the middle of cooking. I love this gadget as it does help me avoid burns... especially in the Aga.
So, this is my exciting post for the day. Am I being sarcastic? (Yes... and granddaughter is learning sarcasm lately. She's 10. I have to say, "Really??" a lot these days, and she laughs and says, "No, Grandma, not really".)
Oh, one more pic... this is a gadget I saw on Pinterest that I probably need. I love corn on the cob, but my grandson doesn't like it 'on the cob'... so I cut it off with a knife for him. This looks like it would work well.
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| corn cob scraper |
What about you? Any favorite gadgets? Think this corn cob scraper would work on all corn cobs?... some are thicker than others, so I'm not so sure.
Well, it's Friday already. DH and I did go to the Senior Center yesterday... just to walk and sign up for a one-time class (Fitness and Weight room orientation). We did meet 2 people this time - Jennifer who works at the front desk and is kind enough to answer questions... and John, another senior who was commenting to us as we did our laps around. And they were serving 'Baked Potato with pulled pork' at the Cafe. It must be very popular as the line was really long (and I have to say that it did look and smell good). We didn't stay to eat though as we had some errands to run.
And that's it! Have a wonderful weekend! I've heard people say on their blogs that "Fall is in the air", but I haven't seen any evidence of it here yet...
Hugs (virtual),
Rian
The tongs are the only gadget I have in my kitchen from your list here. I have a jar opening thingie that I could not do without.
ReplyDeleteHi Olga. I have a jar opening thingy that doesn't work too well. But I do think it's a handy gadget to have around. Right now my jar opening thingy is DH.
DeleteI don't like sterile kitchens, I think seeing food and gadgets out makes things look homey. And I am loving the Gracula! I have a garlic press, but I do like the looks of that smasher... as for your long tongs Rian, I get it--for years I used paring knives to peel potatoes and cucumbers. Then last year I got a pair of vegetable peelers and wow what a difference they make.
ReplyDeleteI go for the homey look too... and convenience. And Gracula surprised me when he worked so well. It's funny, so many gadgets out there and some really not needed. But I guess it's a personal choice as to which ones we really like. I have a few choppers (one I inherited from my mom) but seldom use them to chop onions, I prefer to do that manually.
DeleteI am with you. The things I use often are always close to hand. I have a wooden spoon given to me by my parents. It is old and stained but fits soooo well in the hand. And some special knives, designed to make chopping with my shaky hands safer. And they do.
ReplyDeleteEC, I have my mom's old colander... old and a bit bent, but I use it almost every day.
DeleteI love the gracula, though I tend to be lazy and use garlic powder. The long tongs are a must here too. My son would like the gadget for the corn on the cob. He insists it has to be cut off too.
ReplyDeleteMae, I tend to love fresh garlic... and for some reason I find corn tastes better on the cob.
DeleteI have the egg ring, perfect for egg McMuffins, and pancakes. My favorite kitchen gadget is a blackbird pie venter. An old English piece that you sit in the middle of two crust pies, lay your top pastry over it and the steam comes out of its beak as it's baking 😁
ReplyDeleteIt was my mum's.
Hugs,
Jo
Jo, I have one of those blackbird pie venters! But mine is not from England since I think I bought it at William Sonoma's years ago (wish mine was from England). I do have a few pieces from Harrods, but nothing that actually belonged to family. I can see why that would be your favorite gadget.
DeleteOh I really do need one of these. Several years ago I broke off a little corner of one of my front teeth. I got it fixed but the dentist did warn me not to take a bite out of something and pull away (like eating an apple or corn on the cob etc.) because the fix might just break off again. So now when we have corn on the cob mine has to be stripped off the cob before I can eat it. A messy business and it's had to hold since it is fairly hot. So this would be just the ticket for me. Now that I know it exists somewhere in cyber space I will have to hunt one down. So glad you mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteAlso a funny thing that this reminded me of. I often will buy several pieces of corn to have as corn on the cob and boil all the pieces. Some to be eaten off the cob and the extras are kept for another meal. Well, when my son was about six or seven he came up as I was heating up the corn kernels and asked whether this was new corn or used corn. So ever since then this dish has been called "used corn". We all like it sautéed in butter with some chopped onions for extra flavor.
Victoria, go on Amazon or Pinterest... I think there are several kinds of corn scrapers. I generally cut them off with a knife too, but it is messy... so I also need one of these. And I like the name, "used corn". My grandson said something when he was little that we kept up with also. Here we have the 'lite' rail system besides regular trains. Once he asked me if we could one day ride on the 'dark' rail (meaning the big trains).
Deleteawwww, you live in texas, i suppose it will be a long time until you see fall!!
ReplyDeletecool gadgets...i have seen that first garlic smasher on several of the cooking youtube videos i watch. i have one from pampered chef, it's fine, probably cost me my first born but you have to buy something if you go to a party so i must have purchased it a long time ago. i have both long and short tongs and yes they are great!! i should get the egg thing, i would like that...but my kitchen is so loaded as it is, but i like that!!!!
Debbie, I use that egg thing several times a week. It's so easy and makes DH's fried over easy eggs perfectly.
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