Kitchen Doohickeys, Widgets* and Gizmos

I've been cooking for a LONG time..... well, maybe I wasn't that young when I started but I couldn't reach the kitchen counter!  Fortunately I had a very handy, little, red, wooden chair on which to stand.  Maybe that was my first kitchen gadget!

So... I think I know a thing or two about kitchenware and the superfluous machinery sold to home cooks.  The reality is, you don't need much to make great food!   We all know the basic requirements for a well stocked kitchen; pots, pans, bowls, wooden spoons, etc, etc, etc.   I want to show you a few of my favourite kitchen gadgets.  You don't have to use them but they make cooking easier and  more fun!

You can never have too many measuring spoons and cups.  I especially like these big spoon shaped measuring cups.  You can use them as measuring spoons for  baking, reaching into deep containers and as portion control serving spoons.  They are just the thing for making waffles and pancakes evenly sized.  Saves on washing up, too.  Measure, mix and serve all on one spoon!

Speaking of spoons, I always have a supply of plastic baby feeding spoons.  The long handled ones are great for getting into spice jars with skinny necks.  They hold about a teaspoon so you can use them for measuring, if you aren't too fussy.  The ones in the jug, I use for making tea and coffee.  They won't damage the glaze on the inside of your mugs if you stir your tea too vigorously. 

Super scoops!  Make cookies, muffins and cupcakes with a spring-loaded scoop and you will NEVER go back to dropping batter with a spoon!  I paid an arm and a leg for the little one and I ADORE using it.  (Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit about the price)

Old fashioned enamelware, cook in it, serve in it, eat from it and you have an instant country kitchen.  Rustic dishes demand enamelware.  Everything looks more tasty when served from an enamelware dish.  I have great affection for enamelware saucepans.  I remember them from my Mom's kitchen when I was very young.  The best part is they are almost indestructible and inexpensive to buy. 

I just bought this silicone covered whisk and it has been a brilliant purchase.  Just as metal spoons will mark your cups, metal whisks will ruin the inside of your stoneware mixing bowls.  With this whisk you can beat away and not leave a mark. 

The pastry brush is also made of silicone.  I have always worried about what was living in my old pastry brush.  I never felt as if I could get it clean enough.  The silicone pastry brush is easy to clean but it isn't pretty.  Sometimes you have to sacrifice form for function. 

Speaking of not pretty,  wearing Onion Goggles won't make you look very attractive but they are great for keeping your mascara from running down your cheeks when dicing the stinky little alliums.  My mum-in-law, Maggie, gave me these for Christmas...one of the best gifts a cook could receive!

There you have it, a little tour of my kitchen utensil drawer.  If you have any handy gadgets, widgets or doohickeys, I'd love to hear about them.  Comments and emails are always welcome. 

*A Widget is a baby gremlin.   Just looked it up .... blimey, I didn't know that!