Tag: cheap kitchen

What should I buy to fill my kitchen? What do I need? What kitchen stuff should I NOT buy?

I have to ask myself what’s a worthwhile investment every time I settle into a new country and a new kitchen. And my major decision maker is how long I’m going to stay. If it’s for 6 months I limit my purchases a lot more than I do if I’m staying for a year or more.

The other quandary that really weighs on me is the amount of waste. I like to use things until they are absolutely destroyed. I’ll keep using things until I know for certain that there is no possible way I can MacGyver it back to life. I feel terrible buying a bunch of brand new stuff that I know I can’t take back home with me because I know it’s just going to be thrown away after only being used for a few months. And then when I settle back down I’ll have to buy another one! It the worst part about moving countries a lot. If I was moving within the states and I could just drive it to the new destination I absolutely would. But stuffing pots and pans into my single suitcase just isn’t feasible.

So without further ado- here is my shortlist of the things you can get by without:

• Strainer/Colander
  • It’s a really easy skill with some practice to strain pasta using the lid of the pot
• Toaster
  • Listen. I love toast. It’s one of the things I always want the second I get home, but buying a toaster is silly. It’s expensive and it only does one job! Plus there are so many other ways to toast bread. You can pan toast it, you can toss it in the oven. You don’t really need a toaster, even though I will admit, its so much better in a toaster than it is in a pan or an oven.
• Pizza Cutter
  • Unless you are literally eating home cooked, uncut pizza more than once a week, you don’t need a pizza cutter. Use a knife and push down to cut, don’t slice.
• Citrus Juicer
  • Okay, make your own choice on this one, but either way, do not get an electric juicer. It’s not worth it unless you have an orange or a lemon tree with tons of fruit. You aren’t going to be buying enough fresh citrus to warrant one because it’s pretty expensive all over the world.
  • Personally if there was a very cheap, and small hand juicer, I might be tempted though, because I do make a fair bit of lemonade and lemon squares, but it only takes a little bit longer to juice them with a spoon and then scoop out the seeds.
• Crock-pot
  • If you are making soup once or twice a week and gas is expensive, then go for it. But otherwise, crock-pots are expensive, they’re bulky, and they’re awful to clean. They take up a ton of room and they are only helpful if you make a lot of soups.
• Rolling pin
  • There have been a lot of times where I needed a rolling pin and I had to get by without. But it wasn’t that hard. Any cylinder shaped object will do the trick. I’ve used cups, water bottles, I even used a bottle of toner wrapped in plastic wrap to roll out pie dough once when I had weird shaped cups. Plus rolling pins that are any better than a water bottle or cup are usually made of wood and pretty pricey.
• Mortar and pestle
  • Straight up you just aren’t going to be using it that much. I needed to grind some mustard seeds because I couldn’t find them pre-ground, a mortar and pestle would have been great, but I ended up grinding them with a glass bottle and a cutting board. Most things you can just make sure to find the ground version though.
• Garlic Press
  • If you love garlic and use enough to warrant buying a garlic press, why not just eat bigger pieces, either eat the cloves whole, or do a rough chop with a knife? You can also just toss a whole bunch of cloves into a food processor, its even less hassle than a garlic press if you want an absolute mountain of garlic.

And the things you absolutely DO need in your kitchen that you might not have considered normal necessities-

• Rubber Spatula
  • So many uses. So cheap. So helpful. So small. Saves food, saves sauces, saves a ton of hassle.
• Food processor
  • I thought for sure that a stick blender would be the best option. You can blend things in a bowl you already own, you can blends soups in their pot. But actually I have really been turned towards a food processor. You can mix stuff, you can cut butter into flour quickly before it sweats, you can shred chicken, you can mince garlic without getting your hands stinky, you can whip eggs, make sauces, its amazing.

After running this twitter poll I ended up buying this bad boy- a three way stick blender, hand mixer, AND tiny food processor! It’s by far the best option because it saves money vs. buying all three, and it saves space! I love it so much.