Kitchen Equipment Basics

I started cooking for myself when I was 18. My kitchen was the size of a small bathroom, and I had 2 burners and a toaster oven as my cooking gear. From there I progressed to the luxury of college dorm kitchens, and after a brief layover in an industrial kitchen in a food co-op, I moved on to my own place in NYC. Which, of course, meant a small kitchen I shared with two friends. I didn't have a lot of money to invest in kitchen equipment at any point in this journey, nor did I have the space to store a lot of bulky stuff. But that didn't stop me from cooking all my meals at home and potlucking with friends.

Here is my short guide to high quality kitchen items to buy on a tight budget.

pots and pans:
There are only 3 pots or pans you need in a starter kitchen. Yes, I said 3.
First: The 6 qt pot.
Second: The Chicken Fryer (any of these other options are great too)
Third: The Frying Pan (this is a high quality non-stick pan. Once the teflon comes off, the pan is very carcinogenic, so make sure to get a sturdy one. I like this cuisinart one.

In general:

• go with stainless steel
• aluminum core is good for heat conduction, copper is better but very expensive

utensils:

• any sort of basic stainless steel spatulas, ladels, and such will do
• basic measuring cups. (Though I do love my Adjust-a-cup if you want to splurge).
  
• basic measuring spoons (only really required if you plan to bake)
  

With measuring equipment, make sure that the measures are engraved and not painted onto the handle. Paint rubs off, and then you will be trying to guess which measure is which.



For the Oven
I don't do much conventional baking, but I do roast things all the time. and to that end, I recommend getting:

• one roasting pan/ lasanga pan, either in stainless steel, pyrex, or corningware
• one pyrex bowl (more if you are so inclined).

Appliances:
Basics:

• an immersion blender- its such a necessity. You can get the fancy model with the attachments, or the basic. Either are great.
• a crock-pot (crucial for people with too little time)

Extras:

• hand mixer
• rice cooker (I love this thing)
• food processor (the basic, or the amazing 3 in 1).
  

Dishes:

• always Corelle (microwave safe, dishwasher safe, union made in the USA, and will look brand new 30 years later).
  

Where to shop:

• Amazon has great deals (frequently 4 for 3 on kitchen items)
  
• Macys frequently has big sales- check the circulars (during college I got a set of pots, a roasting pan, measuring cups & spoons, and mixing bowls for a total of $50). Their "tools of the trade" brand is high quality and frequently on sale.
• If you live in NYC, check out the following for good deals on cookware:
  

1. El Mundo (134th & Broadway)
2. Lot-Less (97 Chambers St)
   

Cauliflower "mashed potatoes"

Super easy, homey comfort food. The touch of sweet potato masks the cauliflower flavor just enough so that its a very kid friendly recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup vegetable stock (could try it with water, but it will be significantly less flavorful).
  
• 1 medium sized sweet potato
• 2 heads cauliflower (medium sized) (or 2 bags of frozen. no real difference).
  
• salt to taste
  
• 1 tsp butter or 2 tsp canola or other mild oil
  

Equipment:

• 6 qt stock pot (or something else in this range)
• immersion blender

Directions:

• place stock in the pot, and turn on high with the cover on
• peel and chop the sweet potato and place it in the stock
• wash and cut the cauliflower into florets, and place it into the pot.
  
• Let the cauliflower steam until it it easily mushed with a fork, then add the butter/oil and the salt
• puree it all with an immersion blender and eat with a spoon.
  

Intro to nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast is one of those wonder foods that far too few people know about, but it tastes heavenly with a touch of oil and salt. Its a great source of B vitamins and protein as well.

Pasta:
Ingredients:

• mini shell pasta- 1 large salad bowls worth
  
• 3 tbs nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 6 roasted brussel sprouts

directions:

• coat pasta with olive oil, add the yeast and salt, and then the sprouts.
  

notes: obviously I wouldn't roast just 6 brussel sprouts for this recipe. but expect to roast about 6 brussel sprouts per serving, or make an appropriate amount of pasta.




Broccoli:

• nutritional yeast also takes great ontop of brocolli with a tad of either toasted sesame oil or olive oil
  

Mango Grapefruit Sorbet

I don't normally like sorbet. I like bold intense fruit flavors, so watering down tasty fruit with water and sugar never really appealed to me. But now I have an ice cream maker, which means I get to make intensely flavored sorbets.
Here is a version of mango sorbet with minimal sugar and tart fruit juice instead of water.

Ingredients:

• 2 large, ripe mangoes
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup grapefruit juice
• 1/6 cup rosewater
• 1/6 cup cream (or water, for the non dairy or low fat version)
  
• 4 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• zest of one lime
• zest of one grapefruit
  
• 1 tbsp. dark rum
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

• Peel and pit the mangoes and cut the flesh into pieces.
  
• Place them in a blender or food processor with the sugar, liquids, zest, rum and salt. Purée the mixture until completely smooth.
  
• Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  
• Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Vegan Spinach Mac n' Cheese

ingredients:
Cheese:

• 3 cups milk (i use 1-2%. soy milk also works wonderfully)
• 1 tbps paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic or 3 cloves minced (generous w the garlic is fine)
• 1/3 c. braggs liquid aminos (or 1/4 c. soy or tamari sauce)
• 3/4 c. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 block of firm tofu ( i sometimes put in 3/4)
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach- defrosted (you could use fresh, steamed, but its much more work for the same result).
  

Casserole:

• 1 box macaroni noodles
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Blend cheese ingredients in blender. make sure the spinach really gets pureed.
• Cook noodles according to package directions, place in casserole dish. mix in mustard.
• Pour soy cheese over the noodles until they're just covered. Mixture should be pretty liquidy. Make sure the cheese isn't too dry because it will thicken in the oven.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese darkens slightly and begins to
• bubble on top.

Chana Masala

ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes, or an 8 oz can of diced tomatoes (you can add quite a few more fresh tomatoes if you prefer, but I wouldnt add more than 16 oz of canned tomatoes because they just aren't all that exciting)
  
• 3-4 medium onions
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 5 tsp cumin
• 3 tsp turmeric
• 5 tsp coriander powder
• 1.5 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick (the stick is best)
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional)
  
• 1 tsp ginger powder (optional)
  
• 1/4 -1/2 cup heavy cream OR 1/3-1/2 cup of sour cream, yogurt, greek yogurt or labne
• 3-4 cans chick peas
• 1 large bunch cilantro- chopped (or 2 bunches if you're a big cilantro fan)

Directions:

• open the cans of chick peas and rinse them
• saute onions in olive oil till translucent in a large pot. add the spices.
• When the onions are well coated, add 3 -4 cans of chick peas. let simmer for a while. If you wait too long to add the chick peas, the spices will start to burn.
  
• add the tomatoes and the tomato paste. let simmer. if its drying out add small amounts of water. when it looks well steeped and flavored, add the cream. Let simmer for about 5-8 more minutes. add the chopped cilantro. stir till it slightly wilts.

Vegetarian Chili

(a super easy recipe)
ingredients:

• 2 cans pinto beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 cans black beans
• (or you can do 1 pinto, 2 kidney, or any other similar bean. just don't use chick peas or lentils. )
• 1 can corn, or about 1- 1.5 cups frozen corn (I prefer the frozen)
• 1 small can tomato paste (this is crucial- otherwise the chili will be watery).
  
• 1 16 oz can diced or chopped tomatoes (in a pinch, you can do without this).
  
• olive oil
• garlic (jarred is fine)
• tumeric
• cumin
• chili pepper flakes

Directions:

• add about 4 tbs olive oil to a large pot.
• Add in about 4 tsp crushed garlic
• Let garlic brown. Add about 1.5 tsp chili pepper flakes. This wont make it too spicy and its important to let the pepper sauté at this point
• Add about 1 tbs cumin and 2 tsp tumeric.
• Quickly stir in all the beans. If cant stir them all in make sure to stir in at least one can so that the spices don’t burn.
• Let simmer for about 5 min.
• Then add in all the tomato products
• Let simmer.
• Will be done in 5 min, but gets tastier if you let it simmer on low for closer to 20 min.
• If you want to make it spicier- put in more pepper flakes at the beginning and then add some ground cayenne pepper while its simmering.