Award and Favorite Things...

I was nominated for the  Liebster Blog Award!!! Thank you Glo! It made my month! And soon  I will share my  five very deserving blogs to pass this on…. 

Until then…

These are a few of my favorite things

I feel like bursting into song…. “when the dog bites… when the bee stings… when I am feeling bluuuuueeee” I pull out some of my favorite things and then I don’t feel so baaaddd…

I know… that was off key.

But these favorite things  make the adventures in burning food so much fun.

Microplane grater:

Mama got this for me.. I use it all the time .. even Gabriel uses it and it still works.. something about zesting citrus that sets my teeth on edge with a large grater… (and it never would be fine.. more like chunks of zest.. and ends of fingers) Thank you Mama.. you’ve helped make many of lemon meringue pies.

Rubber spatula:

I am afraid to go in the kitchen and count.. but I believe it is more than 8 and less than 20… One of my pet peeves in going into someone elses kitchen is they don’t have enough rubber spatula’s!! when I cook I run through them like candy.. and probably because I have so many do I use so much, but some people only have two… two?? How can you cook with just two?? 

I love the bamboo handle ones because all while I am smearing a plastic spatula around in my food I can hold onto something wooden…

Pastry crimper:

I inherited one from Mama.. who inherited it from her Mama… I use mine for lattice tops for fruit pies or to cut my graham crackers before I bake them.. a valuable tool in my opinion.

Bread dough cutter:

 Something about slapping that chunk of bread dough on the counter and  cutting it into even sized lumps is so satisfying for me…  there is no handle to get in the way… just a straight edge that cuts through dough, bars, and ants with ease..

Cast Iron Skillets:

I will be the first to admit that I am a food and cookware snob… I do silently judge people by their pots and pans.. and do forgive me if I haven’t offended you yet.. but if your one of “those people” I am about to.

I rate people’s ability to cook by these criteria’s…

Cast Iron pans: You know how to cook and have a knowledge of cooking that was taught by your mother..

Stainless steel pans:  You know how to cook and you have the money to cook on the best..well second best…

Non-stick pans: You burn water.

Ok it isn’t that bad.. but in order to cook with cast iron you have to learn about heat… sticking.. what not to cook in them.. so on.. non-stick all you need is a plastic spatula. 

I could go into bigger detail but a hard-core cook or even a dedicated cook doesn’t use non-stick… in my NOT so humble opinion…

Dutch oven:

 Everyone should own one of these… I had three at one time and was only using two I gave one to a well deserving cook… Both mine are enamel covered and I cook everything in them. I even found a lecruset dutch oven at a thrift store...they are around.. you just have to keep your eyes open.

Kitchenaid mixer… (saved the best for last)

For years I would become green with jealousy of young women getting married and getting a kitchenaid for a gift…  here they have no kids and so much time on their hands… why do they get such a prized possession?

I would burn through hand mixers like no one else… those little guys don’t stand a chance mixing cream cheese for cheesecakes… stiff cookie dough… they crapped out over and over… did you know their beaters are covered in silver looking stuff?? And after awhile it will start to flake off in your food?? 

That pot of mashed potatoes had such promise..

I will never forget that day when I seen my first kitchenaid at that thrift store… I was at least 30 feet away… I felt like I was moving in slow motion and someone else would get to it first… ( I was practically the only one there ) Love at first sight… it had all it’s parts… the dough hook… *intake of air* the whisk *another gasp* the beater… * almost beyond giddy at this moment*  the bowl…. Oh my… my mind was racing at this point.. thinking that could it be? Could I join those group of women who have a …. a …. Kitchenaid????? Then there was the deciding moment… the price..

$12.95.

You would have thought I found the holy grail… I don’t remember if I even tried it to see if it worked.. all I know is I brought it home and used that mixer everyday… what a wonderful joy it was to walk away from the mixer to gather the rest of the ingredients… come back and the eggs and butter are light and fluffy..

I felt all grown up.

Fast forward two years.. add two feet to each kids height… and ten more lbs on me.. even though I loved my mixer if I had the chance to get a bigger one I would… by then I realized I always had to  doubled a recipe.. and needed something to have the power to be able to push through the tripled batches of cookie dough… but there was no way I was going to pay $200 plus for a bigger mixer… this would have to do and it beated it’s little heart out just fine..

Then I went thrift store shopping again…

This time it was a cobalt blue kitchenaid… a step up in power and it had two bowls… this time I was more rational and tried it out before buying it..

It was kinda like getting a new dog.. your old one is… well old.. you still love it but it doesn’t do or look the same as the new one.. you feel a little like a trader as you pack up the old one and put the beautiful blue one in it’s place… at least I did.. but I did know that in order for me to have such a magnificent piece of machinery I had to pass on my first mixer to a deserving wife.. I did and hopefully it will give her as much joy as it gave me..

These are just a few of my favorite things… I feel like I have offended my goal of people today and along the way shared what makes cooking such a joy for me..and as for why didn't I just take a picture of my own stuff instead of plagiarizing pictures off the internet?? 

Ask my Husband... and while your at it tell him I need it for this upcoming week.