My top 5 (non-cookware) kitchen must haves

Part of making my kitchen a sanctuary and making cooking an enjoyable experience is the added touches that I have included in my kitchen. All of these are in the recess behind my kitchen, where I am lucky enough to have a fabulous window which lets in plenty of light and fresh air, perfect for keeping potted plants, so let's jump right in!

1. Window herb garden

Having herbs within reach of my stove makes cooking healthy dinners a snap. I can snip a sprig or two without having to head outside, which is extremely helpful when it is wet or muddy or dark out since I don't have hardscaping or very good outdoor lighting. When they outgrow the pots, I can plant them in my backyard garden. I also store my garden shears on the shelf above, so I always know where they are when heading to the garden.

 

2. Candles

I'm a sucker for a pretty candle, especially if it smells good. While I don't like to burn scented candles while cooking or eating, I do like to light it while I am washing dishes or in the evening, for ambiance. My elephant pot usually acts as my wedding ring holder while washing the dishes, but it holds a tea light rather well, too!

 

 

3 (and 4). Hand soap and lotion

I often suffer from dry skin, especially in the winter. By keeping some near the sink, I can easily slather some on after washing dishes. I prefer to have a separate hand soap from the more concentrated dish soap. I love a light citrus-y scented hand soap and lotion, especially when working with "smelly" ingredients.

 

5. Blinds

My kitchen faces the setting sun, so it gets extremely warm, even without the oven on. The last few hours of daylight are blindingly bright, which of course are the hours when I am trying to get dinner prepped and cooked. I love my cordless blinds, they have such a streamlined look. They also double as cover to hide my extra decorative vases and bowls, which I store on the shelf above the sink.

So tell me, what are some of your favorite extras in your kitchen?

 

Five Tips to Make Gourmet Burgers at Home in Under 20 Minutes

1. Start with good ground meat

Usually I use an 80:20 ground beef from the supermarket. If I'm cooking for my mom, I will use a 90:10 ground sirloin. If you have an option to buy ground beef from the butcher's counter, do it. Or you can be really fancy and grind your own (if only I had the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid, sigh...). Don't think you have to be limited to beef either. You can mix ground sausage with your beef, or use lamb, pork, turkey, or even chicken, depending on the flavor profile you are looking for.

2. Add interesting mix-ins

Salt, pepper, and Worcester sauce are my seasonings when making my basic burger patties, but why stop there? Try adding minced garlic, herbs, bacon, or cheese directly into the meat. Or add some zing by adding salsa or diced chili peppers.

3. Give your patties dimples, then don't overcook

Nobody wants a hamburger ball on a bun. When you form your patties, indent the centers a bit. This will prevent them from getting rounded when they cook. I like to cook my patties in a dry (no oil) cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. It gives them nice color on the outside while keeping the center juicy.

4. Add interesting toppings

Just because your having burgers doesn't mean your toppings need to be standard. Experiment with flavor profiles. Try caramellized onions with balsamic vinegar, salsa or pico de gallo, spinach, horseradish mayonnaise or fancy mustards. This is true for cheeses, too. How about using goat cheese, Gouda, or smoked Mozzarella? The combinations are endless.

5. Toast your buns, and then waterproof

Nothing ruins a good burger than a soggy bun. Pop the buns in the oven or under the broiler for a minute. I put my spread and lettuce (or other greens) on the bottom bun to prevent the meat juices from dripping into my bun, making it soggy.

What is your favorite way to eat a burger at home? I'd love to read your comments, and if you have an important tip I missed I would love to here it!

Five Tips to Get Dinner from Refrigerator to Table in Under 20 Minutes

There are days when I am wrapped up in an activity and before I know it, it's 6:40 and my family is hungry. I try to have dinner on the table by 7, when my husband gets home from work. Here are my 5 tips for getting dinner from the fridge to the table in less than twenty minutes.

1. Have a plan, and then have an alternate plan

I try to grocery shop twice a week, usually Tuesdays and Fridays. On Tuesday, I get to the farmers market in the morning, and then to the grocery store. On Fridays, I shop for the weekend meals. Since my husband and kids eat breakfast and lunch at work/school on the weekdays, I cook a few more meals on Saturday and Sunday. By looking at the weekly ads and through my store coupons, I figure out a meal plan for the periods between store visits. I always plan some meals that are quick to put together and maybe one or two that might take a bit longer. If need to, I can rearrange the days if my schedule gets impacted and need to have dinner on the table in 15 minutes.

 

2. Have a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry

Again, I accomplish this by shopping twice a week. We usually drink through two gallons of milk in about 4 days, so I use that as an indicator for how often I need to shop. I pick up a flat of eggs every other week at the farmer's market ($7 for 30 organic brown eggs). Keep your fridge organized, using first-in, first-out methods. Place older ingredients in front of new ingredients, and keep perishable foods in sight, so you remember to use them.
I keep fruit and salad ingredients in one produce bin and keep the longer keeping vegetables in the other, so that I can quickly assess what I have and what needs to be used first. I make sure to keep a few lemons or limes in my fruit bowl to add a citrus pop to dishes. I also stock my spice rack with the essentials plus I make some rubs and spice blends from scratch.

 

3. Know your knives

Start with quality: Quality knives are an worthwhile investment, especially if you plan to cook 6-7 times a week. Find knives that are comfortable in your hand, and you are comfortable using. They should be versatile enough so that you only need four, maybe five knives to do all your cutting tasks. I have a chef's knife, a paring knife, a carving knife and fork, a serrated bread knife, and pair of kitchen shears.

Keep your knives sharpened: Take care of your investment. I only cut on wood or poly boards. My knives never run through the dishwasher, I only hand wash them. I don't soak my knives in the sink (for safety reasons). I visit my local knife sharpener at my farmer's market at least once a season. Some specialty shops also offer knife-sharpening services.

Practice your cutting techniques. A sharp knife can be your best friend when cutting fast and accurately. You won't have to use as much pressure when cutting, reducing the risk of cutting yourself. Go at a pace comfortable to you, and try for even cuts when slicing and dicing. Practicing will allow you be able to cut quicker and with more confidence and your cuts will also be more uniform, leading to more even cooking times.

 

4. Don't be afraid to cook on a higher heat

Thin cuts of chicken or pork can benefit from higher cooking temperatures to brown both sides without overcooking. A high heat is also essential when searing off steaks or meat before roasting. Caramelization in vegetables lends great flavor, adding to the sweetness and nuttiness. Try roasting broccoli or carrots instead of steaming, they will have a totally different flavor profile.

 

5. Forgo the rice and potatoes.

So many people are trying to cut carbs out of their diet. I am not one of those people, and I do like to eat them. But these tend to take the longest to cook when you are trying to go from fridge to table in under 20 minutes. Rice takes at least 20 minutes on the stove, and potatoes need at least that much time if you are not using the microwave. If I'm in a hurry to get dinner on the table, I often look to salads and vegetables to round out the meal. If serve a green salad plus one or two more vegetable sides with a protein, I don't miss not having a starchy side. It's also a great way to get your family to get to their 5-7 serving of fruit and veggies daily.

What are your top tips for feeding your family quickly? I'd love to hear your comments!

Keeping Up Resolutions

As part of my New Year's resolutions, I resolved to finally get my house organized, and to keep it that way. I have good days and bad when I comes to cleaning. As S enters toddlerhood, it seems to be more difficult to keep things in their place, as he figures out how to push furniture around and climb to get to things. We have installed child locks on our drawers and cabinets, but there is still plenty for him to get into since my house seems to be in a constant state of remodel. My big goal this year is to convert our unused dining room into my office and crafting studio. But until then I have 6 or 7 boxes of craft supplies, semi-organized, spread around the floor of the room. It makes crafting a bit difficult, since when I am ready to craft I have to search the boxes looking for the right stuff, and then said stuff ends up everywhere, in the kitchen, living room, not put away in the correct boxes in the end, creating more mess for me. I have piles of stuff in more places than I would like.

Today I tackled one area that was particularly bad, the message center of my kitchen counter. It is an area that stuff collects on, mostly because of its convenience. In about a 2 by 2 1/2 square foot of counter is not only our message center but where I store my dish-drying rack. I didn't take a before picture, mostly because I was embarrassed with how bad it had gotten, but I placed everything on my kitchen table that was piled on about a 1 by 2 square foot space (And maybe because my dish-drying rack was full) to show you.



A lot of what was there had to go somewhere else. Why I needed two mason jars full of pens, I do not know. And the vase full of bottle caps-I plan on making some cool coasters for upcoming birthdays. Same with the tub of wine corks and empty spice bottles. They will be used in future crafts, they just had to get put with the craft supplies in the other room. Same goes with the glue gun, crayons, and stickers. The A&D ointment, that went back upstairs in the changing table. The recipe print-outs went to my computer desk, to eventually get digitized. The extra pens, tape, staples and Tupperware of paperclips also went to my desk for now, as did my black journal, which I had used previously to record my toddler's eating habits.

 

So what did that leave to put back onto the message station? I tried to leave only the necessities: the chargers for the phone and iPad, 1 mason jar of pens, pencils and scissors, a small stack of post-its for taking messages, 1 roll of tape and the stapler-for convenience, plus a small jar for rubber bands and a spice jar full of paperclips. I also keep the corkscrews/bottle openers here. Tucked behind the pens is a calculator and the extra memo pad for writing shopping lists and to-dos. Recently, I have had to push the telephone farther away from the edge, as S is really into playing phone, and I don't want him to make any actual calls.

 

I still have a long way to go to fully organize my kitchen how I want, but starting small is the way to go, especially when you are chasing a toddler all the way. Hopefully along the way the leftover bits of home improvement will get done. For next time: I'll show you my herb garden that I keep in my kitchen window, and maybe even share a recipe. Stay tuned!