Friday, April 9, 2010

Ain't a minimalist

I have a serious kitchen gadget problem. After reading a blog entry about setting up a minimalist kitchen, I feel even more guilty - to a point that I was laughing out loud when I read through the gadgets listed as not-so-necessary.

Yes, I am serious. I bought a standmixer before I did my house hunting. It's that bad.

It's been 3 months since I moved in, I have collected quite a few things in the kitchen. I was actually surprised that I can fit all that stuff within my 20 cubic feet of kitchen cabinet space. I mean, a standmixer has already taken up at least 1.5 cubic feet!

I thought the standmixer was essential, considering the amount of dessert I make on a regular basis. But no, the only (half) time that I used my standmixer was when I was making fresh pasta, and that's when I broke the motor of the machine. Since there are only 2 of us, the portions I have been making are so small that a hand held mixer can do the job.

So what do I have so far? Let's see.

My kitchen gadget collection as of today:
1.    a standmixer
2.    3 pasta attachment
3.    a tiny food processor
4.    a rice cooker (I am asian afterall!)
5.     a toaster
6.   a kettle
7.   a henkel knife set
8.   a hand mixer with 2 sets of attachment
9.   a waffle maker
10.   two 9-inch, one 7-inch, twelve mini tart shells
11.   two baking sheets, muffin pans, one mini muffin pan
12.   a set of 3 square cake pans, two oval pans that I have never used before, a rectangular pan that I found in my mom's basement
13.   one cake stand and one english afternoon tea set
14.   a turntable
15.   2 spatulas, 3 pallet knife, a digital scale, 2 wire whisk, 4 piping bags with lots of piping tips
16.   a small bamboo steamer
17.   3 (!) blow torches (2 were gifts!)
18.   a vinoglobe decanter
19.   a set of expresso cups and saucers, a set of magarita glasses (gifts!) a set of basic wine glasses, a set of water glasses and a set of mugs
20.   2 sets of creme brule plates, 8 ramekins
21.   a baking rack and pan that came with my apartment
22.   two tea/coffee carafe
23.  some mysterious cake decorating gadgets that I am not even sure how to use

That's all I could think of right now. I was thinking about buying a paella pan and a mandoline but I haven't have the time to look yet. I mean, I can't make paella without a paella pan and english cucumber sandwiches without a mandoline right? My knife skills aren't that good yet to cut things paper thin and the regular pan cannot create the crispy goodies of a good paella.
Oh, and I really want to make my own ice cream. I want an ice cream attachment!



The big question is, where am I going to put them?

2 comments:

  1. It reminds me of my old school days when I had a sandwich maker, a waffle maker, a blender, a hand-held blender, a deep-fryer... It turned out that I only used most things once or twice at the most so I ended up selling them real cheap in garage sales. I must spank you for keeping 2 extra torches instead of giving them to your friends and loved ones like me and Rita! In any case, speaking from my own experience, throw away/give away/sell anything you haven't used in a year. And if you don't want to end up being a 140-lb woman like me, DO NOT buy the ice-cream maker attachment, my friend.

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  2. J, do you have an ice-cream maker? But if I were to eat ice-cream regularly then isn't it make more sense to make my own than to make the crap we got from the supermarket? Good ice-cream like Haggen Dazs is expensive you know!
    I have been thinking about getting a hand held blender. I know I don't have space for a blender but the desserts I make sometimes need to use a blender. Right now it is a difficult process of making a puree out of my tiny food processer and hand mixing with a spatula.
    As for the torches, one I had since school which takes 2 hands to turn on with a lighter - very difficult to multi task in the kitchen. The other one is a gift from my brother so I can't really give it out. So I really have 1 extra. Do you want it?

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