2008.11.25
Emma's kitchen
Blog reader Emma was the first to send a picture of her kitchen, along with her wish list, to my e-mail address. Here's what she had to say:
Hi, Lindsey!
Here's my kitchen. It's really pretty nice until you realize that it's a shared kitchen that used to be a dorm room (it still has a closet rod hanging over the fridge!)
So my wish list really starts with my own kitchen, but since I live on campus that's not going to happen any time soon! So failing that:
An immersion blender
A mandoline
A wok (and gas burners to go with it!)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Emma
Emma, when I was right out of college, I hit up a lot of yard sales and found quite a few kitchen gadgets to tide me over until I could afford new ones. In some cases, I'm still using the old stuff because it worked so well! I know it may be hard to find a good immersion blender at a yard sale, but I'll bet you $1 you could find a wok -- probably for $1!!
Emma, They have mandolins at Sam's Club in Roanoke for $29.95. I got one last week and it works great. Put it on your Christmas list!
Comment by Doug Chittum — November 25, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
My mandoline is from TJMaxx and has all the features as the fancy ones in Williams Sonoma. Just a mere fraction of the cost! I want an immersion blender too though!! Thats my wish.
Comment by ML — November 25, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
Oh, and Lindsey...I bought the Kitchenaid food processor this summer for my birthday. All the trimmings...3 bowls, egg whip, dough blade, extra-wide feed tube. I love it!! Sometimes a girl has just got to get HERSELF the perfect gift!
Comment by ML — November 25, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
I like the way you think, ML!
I have an immersion blender - my aunt gave it to me for Christmas one year. I've used it for soups, tomato sauce, shakes, etc. It came with a whisk attachment and a small food processor attachment.
Comment by lindseynair — November 25, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
With regards to a Kitchenaid mixer...check ebay! My hubby got me one 3 or 4 years ago for half the cost of a traditional retailer. I LOVE it! It is well worth the money.
Comment by Jennifer — November 26, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
I bought myself a Kitchenaid mixer one year with my tax refund. It is definitely worth the money. I have a meat grinder attachment for it that I love. I saw in a catalog, that they now have an attachment for grinding your grain. Unless you're a farmer or good friends with one though, I don't know where you would get you wheat to grind.
Comment by Debbie — November 26, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
Thanks for the tips, everyone! I think these will definitely be first apartment investments. Right now, I have no room for storage--the stuff you see in the kitchen isn't mine but stuff that belongs to people who are way more trusting than I am! Their pots sometimes get used without getting washed or go missing, which would make me really unhappy, so I keep my kitchen supplies in one of those rolling carts under my bed. It's kind of absurd but totally worth it.
Comment by Emma — November 27, 2008 @ 12:17 am
Emma, professional kitchens, in restaurants look better than yours, but you'd be surprised how unprofessional many look.
I used to work at Disney and it would be decades before they would update any of their kitchens. And still, many were built with the front of the house or just the theme park in mind. So, many are still very, very small. I call them two-butt kitchens.
At the end of the day, it's all about the food. And my husband would tell everyone, "all a chef needs is a really good set of knives."
(but I like the toys and gadgets too).
Comment by Amy Hanek — November 29, 2008 @ 12:46 pm