Kitchen Renovation Pictures

Day 0 - We remove all our food, dishes, oven, and refrigerator. Set up temporary kitchen in the dining room.

Day 1 - Rip out cabinets, walls, floor. Bye, bye, pretty red counter. Bye, bye, Lazy Susan...

Knives: Choice, Care, Storage, PLUS Product Recommendations

I purchased some new knives at the beginning of the summer, and I have been dying to tell you all about it.

Purchasing or Registering for Knives 

When buying knives, I recommend two or three very good knives that will last your whole life, rather than a set that appears to have more value.  The knives in the set may be of lower quality and they are likely to take up valuable real estate in your kitchen.  Additionally, the knife blocks that come in sets tend to be very bulky, take up a lot of space on your counter, and only fit the knives with which they are sold.  However, if your family eats a lot of steak and you depend of a full set of quality steak knives, go for the set.

Restaurant discount stores can be a good place to find quality knives, but you may also see some of the top brands in mega-marts and grocery stores.  I did some price comparison and feel that I got a good deal on Amazon.com.  Stick to well known brands.  Knives made in Europe are generally higher quality.  Specifically, Germany has an excellent reputation for blades.  (I never buy a pencil sharpener without making sure the blade was made in Germany.)

Update on My Pots and Pans, PLUS Recommendations.

I started writing a little update to my post “To Stick or Not to Stick: Alternatives to Teflon” and I decided it was worthy of a separate post.  If you haven’t already read the first post, please do.

At the store, I couldn't lift any of the cast iron cookware I had been romanticizing.  I think I am finally over my craving for a cast iron pot or pan, unless I take up weight-lifting.

After writing the above article I decided that it was worth having a little non-stick pan just for cooking eggs.  I don't use oil or heat the pan above medium, and it heats in the time it takes me to crack and scramble two eggs.  They take about two minutes to cook.  When the pan cools, I just wipe it clean with a dry rag.  I never leave the pan in the sink where it could soak or someone might drop silverware in it.  I use a silicone spatula to scramble the eggs. 

Make eggs in an Electric Kettle

When I was in college, I used my inexpensive electric kettle (of the brand pictured below, from Amazon) to make everything from tea to mushroom barley soup, to mac and cheese.  I think an electric kettle is an excellent high school graduation gift for a young adult moving into a college dormitory.

Today, I mostly use it for tea, coffee, reheating the bath, and... EGGS!

Do you want eggs with silky, tender whites and pure yellow yolks in about 15 minutes start to finish?  Use an electric kettle!  (Also known as a "kum-kum" in Israel.) 

Pressured - Part 2: It's here!!

Can you see my huge smile reflected in my new pressure cooker??  I got an 8 liter Stainless Steel Soltam Pressure cooker on sale at the grocery store for 195 NIS - about $55.  It's not the set or capacity I wanted, but it was a good deal and I have it now!

And, one month later, my cook books are finally here!  Unless you need pretty, shiny, pictures showing what your food will never look like in real life, I HIGHLY recommend the cook books by Lorna Sass.  They are packed full of recipes, tips, variations, a comments that will give you a good idea of how the dish will come out.  I love great food photography, and I don't read many cookbooks.  However, since I'm new to the pressure game, and I can't keep opening the lid to taste the dish, I thought I could use some help.  These are better than the Joy of Cooking!
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To Stick or Not to Stick: Alternatives to Teflon

Yesterday my father sent me a link to a N.Y. Times article: How Not to Wreck a Nonstick Pan.  Excellent advice if you are using non-stick, but it touches on the dilemma of whether or not we should use non-stick cookware like Teflon.  The column by the same author, Teflon Is Great for Politicians, but Is It Safe for Regular People?  discusses the risks.

Non-stick coatings definitely release toxic chemicals when heated to high temperatures; that is undisputed.  These fumes are especially harmful to organisms with delicate respiratory systems, like birds.  Whether these pans leach harmful compounds into our foods during normal use is inconclusive.  In addition, if you really do use less oil with non-stick cookware, it is difficult to weigh the benefits of less fat against the possible effects of Teflon.

Pressured

Soltam Pressure Cooker 8L

The first time I was in Hannah K.'s kitchen, I saw a pressure cooker sitting on her stove.  Ever since I realized  normal, modern people use pressure cookers, I've been a little obsessed.  My husband saw me browsing pressure cookers online a couple weeks ago and said, "If you buy that, we won't be able to afford food to go in it."
After what seemed like a never-ending and downright abusive summer, winter stormed into town yesterday morning.  In the afternoon I was simmering black-eyed peas and thinking about broaching the pressure cooker subject again, when my husband came out and said, "You can buy a pressure cooker."

www.bookdepository.com

The pressure cookers made today are much safer and quieter than their predecessors.  I've been doing lots of research and many pressure cooker owners were recommending books by Lorna Sass.  I couldn't choose just one, so I am purchasing Pressure Perfect and Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure.  I don't use many recipes, but I like cookbooks as reference and educational texts, and these seemed to fit my needs for a reliable pressure cooker tutorial.  In addition, with a pressure cooker, you can't stir, watch, taste, and feel your food as it cooks, so I thought that I could use some instruction to keep from ruining a lot of food or my cooker while I'm getting the hang of it.

I've determined I want an 8 qt pressure cooker, if I can afford it, but I'm not sure which one.  Do you have any experience with old fashion or modern pressure cookers?  Do you have any cookbooks you can't live without?

UPDATE:  I've done a lot of internet research and checked out some local pressure cookers.  I just determined that the Israeli brand, Soltam, may be the same as Fagor (but $50 more).  I'm currently waiting for my books to arrive before I commit to a purchase.  But my current leader is this Fagor set on Amazon:

Uncommon Uses: Medicine Syringe and Melon Baller

In this post I want to feature two things you probably have in your kitchen and don't use often enough: A melon baller and a medicine syringe.

The medicine syringe I just thought of today.  I have a 1.5 kilo container of honey and I wanted to get a tiny bit on some pears.  I strongly recommend it the next time you want to drizzle any syrupy substance on cake, toast, etc.  I also plan to try it for piping icing and filling donuts.

The melon baller I use all the time.  Anytime I want to carve out a zucchini or winter squash, or make avocado salad.  When pears are in season I use it several times a day.  Just slice the pear in half, pull the stem with your fingers toward the center and use the melon baller on the seeds.  Look how much less waste I have when I use a melon baller to scoop the seeds out of these apples instead of cutting pieces from the core.

My kids like when I put cinnamon in the middle.

When my kids come home from school I try to have fruits and veggies ready.  Today for a treat everyone (including my husband) got a drizzle of honey and cinnamon in their little apples and pears.  My son loves red bell pepper and my daughter likes avocado.  You can see I used the melon baller to scoop out the avocado.