from garden to kitchen–necessities and guilty pleasures for homesteading

So, exciting day!  Two years cancer free, and I took my sister’s Christmas gift, a certificate to my most favorite local kitchen emporium (http://sites.google.com/site/commonhousefly/home) and bought a whole bunch of guilty pleasures that are as functional as they are fun.  In walking through the store with my daughter, I started thinking about all the kitchen necessities and guilty pleasures for homesteading.  Tonight, I thought I’d start a list, but as you know, as I go through my day tomorrow, I may think of a few more so check back.  Got thoughts on necessities and guilty pleasures?  Please comment!

• large colander for washing, draining, and holding fruits and veggies for all homesteading activities
• a large bowl for mixing, holding, marinating, preparing anything  (especially sugar and fruit for jam–check out my blogpost on canning or “we’re jammin'”)
• a really good wooden spoon–nothing better for mixing and stirring
• whisks in all sizes
• multiblade scissors or chopping instrument for herbs that cuts without mashing them
• a blender that has at least 5 settings
• a large pot for soups and stews
• a saute pan that simply releases the flavors of veggies
• garlic press to add flavor to those veggies
• a citrus press for lemons, limes, and clementine oranges
• a good food processor (it is worth the investment)
• a good paring knife with an eco-green cutting board
• a large stainless steel tea ball, not only for tea but for herbs and other spices you want to infuse into jam, pickles, etc.

Well–that looks like a good start and will certainly fill your cart on your next outing.  I’m gonna go dig around a bit and see what else I can find that I can suggest, but I wanna hear from you–share on!