Welcome to My Kitchen

I will start with the basics. Right tools if not the essence of a successfully prepared meal it makes half of the job done easier. I agree that in the right hands any tool can be improvised if necessary. But most of us are not trained chefs and are not in dire conditions. To omit redundancy, knives, cutting boards, spatulas, pots, skillets are not included in this list. I'm pretty sure even those who don't like to cook already have those. Listed below tools are a bit out of the beaten path. They can be affordable and some are once in a lifetime purchase.

1. Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Apart from being a beast in the kitchen and mixing anything from batter for crepes to the bread dough it also is used for other purposes. Like combining dry ingredients and beating heavy cream into whipped cream or egg whites into firm meringue foam. It's not exclusively for mixing though. By purchasing different Kitchen Aid attachments the possibilities are endless.  Meat grinder, pasta maker, shredder, juicer...you name it! This horse will plow through your kitchen needs every time you cook. On the photo is the meat grinding attachment I own.

2. Electric or stove kettle.  It allows you to boil water fast. Especially if you appreciate different types of hot beverages such as coffee, tea, cocoa...Soaking up ramen or other noodles,  reconstitute dehydrated ingredients or anything that needs boiling water fast will be served by this trusty tool.

3. Meat mallet (tenderizer). Makes meat tenderizing of any type a breeze and will crush nuts faster than you say shelter in place.

4. Electric pressure cooker.  Whether it's Instant Pot or another brand it will cut the cooking time by two to four times and will turn any piece of meat into a meal that melts in your mouth. Extremely handy when time is a factor. Although with certain limitations (should be careful with soups and legumes, vegetables can be easily overlooked) it's easily one of the most used tools I have.

5. Pizza stone. After it was bought at one of the Pampered Chef's parties a couple decades ago as an "obligatory purchase" it took time for me to appreciate its true value. The ability to heat evenly and preserve heat for a fairly long time is indispensable for bread and pizza baking

                                      

6. Food processor. From chopping to blending, to grating or slicing. It's your second power horse next to Kitchen Aid, especially when big quantities are involved.

7. Silicone spatulas. Versatile, pleasant to touch, flexible, and durable enough to withhold heat. Will break clumps and mix smoothly.

8. Steamer: bamboo or metal. Steamed dumplings, vegetables, or Asian inspired meals would need this simple gadget. Steam does the perfect job of not overcooking nutritious vegetables by preserving the vitamins, something that boiling might fail to do. And since the steam reaches higher temperatures than boiled water it cuts the time of preparation to single-digit minutes.

9. Scale. Not all cooking requires precision. Lots of cooks are eyeballing ingredients and get perfect results each time. Scale, however, would be incredibly useful in every day cooking if you a) bake b) try a new recipe c) preserve by canning or fermentation.  Baking is a science on its own and precision is important for an expected result. New recipes are the baseline so it's important to know what will be altered and by how much in the future. Incorrect preserving might kill you. Get a scale.

10. Thermometer. I confess I don't have one at this moment. I used to have two: one for meat, another for extremely high temperatures of candies, or fryer oil. Both went bad and I haven't replaced them. But I miss knowing the exact temperature since numbers are my thing and they are important.

If you're on the budget you always can compromise. Besides Kitchen Aid stand mixer any of those tools can be found for affordable prices. Try local Asian markets for cheaper steamers or Ikea for silicone spatulas, mallets and other kitchen gadgets. I would warn against Ikea's inferior quality though.  Affordable kettles and food processors are available on Amazon and Kohl's websites. Once retail will reopen it is worthy to check Home Goods, TJ Maxx, World Market, and other budget-friendly places with constantly changing inventory.