Tools of the Kitchen Trade (But Really Just for the Fun of It!)

The kitchen is one of my favorite places to be, and I believe I’m truly lucky to feel that way. There was a time when I was convinced that cooking wasn’t for me and my best hope was to someday marry a man who liked to cook. Fast forward through many years of working in nutrition, eventually opening my kitchen boutique, and marrying a man who only eats items out of a bag. I learned how little I knew about my future self.

Perhaps cooking isn’t your favorite pastime, but maybe your future self has some surprises waiting for you as well. With that in mind, the following tools and gadgets are some of my favorites. While you certainly don’t need them all, there may be one or two that spark some inspiration and give you the itch to spend a little more time in the kitchen. It’s a lovely place, I promise.

Air Popper: Our family loves making homemade popcorn; plus it eliminates all the nasties that line the bags of microwavable popcorn. Buy organic kernels and pop away. Drizzle the popped corn in lemon olive oil and grind on sea salt and cracked pepper. Or try our family favorite—warm pressed garlic in olive oil on the stove top, simmer until garlic is floating. Pour over popped corn shaking to coat evenly and then sprinkle with sea salt.

Citrus Juicer or Citrus Reamer: Fresh juice is the best! We pile up on local citrus while it’s in season and freeze the juice in upper case Mason jars, so we have some on hand year around. Have kids that don’t love water? Make special ice cubes by squeezing lemon juice and freezing in ice trays. Pick a favorite fruit like raspberries, or a refreshing herb like mint and freeze in each lemon juice cube for added flavor.

Garlic Peeler: whoever invented this is genius, and it will be cherished in any garlic-loving home. Pop a clove or two into the silicone tube, roll it back and forth with a little pressure and shake out peeled garlic. These truly work and are the one kitchen gadget that every person in my family has and loves.

Garlic Rocker: While we are talking garlic, I might as well throw in this rocker. I never feel like cleaning my garlic press, and I rarely feel like chopping garlic. This rocker takes the place of both tasks with a simple rocking motion that’s fun to use and easy to clean.

‘Give it a Rest’ Bamboo Spoon by Bambu: This is the last wooden spoon I ever need to buy for life. Period. Organic bamboo utensils designed by a family who moved to China from Oregon to pursue their dream of sustainable kitchenware. This spoon is a perfect weight, with a perfect sized handle and it has a little groove on the bottom that it sits on to keep food from the spoon getting all over your countertop. bambuhome.com.

Hand Held Spiralizer: Veggie noodles may be an old fad, but this spiralizer can handle potatoes and apples as well as all the zucchini you want for “zoodles.”  We regularly bake sweet potato curly fries with this handheld spiralizer, and we use it to slice apples for pie. With a small price tag, a small footprint and an impressive variety of skills this spiralizer has remained one of my most used kitchen gadgets for years.

Immersion Blender: I took a poll of favorite kitchen gadgets, and this gadget popped up over and over. The real advantage of having an electric blending wand is being able to blend soups and sauces right in their pots without dirtying the blender. Need a few more ways to use it? Try it when beating eggs, making salsa, pesto, pancake batter, smoothies, sauces, whipped cream and applesauce.

Popsicle Molds: Pretty much anything we put in a smoothie can be frozen in a popsicle mold for later. These are great for family experiments and for cool treats to have on hand when mom needs a break. I like these molds because they have a drip tray which helps catch some of the mess when kids are running around holding melting popsicles.

Waffle Iron: Waffles are just plain delicious which is why this is a standard appliance in most homes, but waffle irons are also more versatile than you might think. There’s a whole world of dishes that can be made with a waffle iron; sweet potato hash browns, grilled cheese, waffle frittatas, grilled apples, omelet waffles and cornbread to name a few. This flipside waffle maker from Presto is one of the top-rated irons from America’s test kitchen.