Kitchen Wishlist

*Boring post alert: I get really excited about things most people would consider mundane. Like stand mixers. And Food processors. I guess I'm a Real Adult™ now. You've been warned.*

I am really not a fan of kitchen items that can only do one thing. They seem wasteful both financially and space-wise to me. I am fortunate enough to have tonnes of cupboard space currently (both upper and lower cabinets) but even so, I hate cramming them full of things. That being said, If I can find an alternate use for appliances, or I decide giving up some prime cupboard real-estate is worth it, I will buy things that really only do one thing. And lately, as I get away from processed foods and delve into the realm of real-food eating, I find myself going "man, I need that!" more and more often, because streamlining my food prep is always good. Even if it means stuffing the utensil drawer with a few more things. My rule is, they have to be used at least a few times a month or it's just simply not worth having*.

Case in point: I was worried about buying a dehydrator because the damn thing is pretty big. I thought the novelty might wear off and it be banished to the back of the cupboard never to be heard from again. Thankfully, I find myself using it multiple times per week, and I've actually been eating much better because of it. I now have a constant stock of snacky-foods on hand, and I can dehydrate my prepared nuts and seeds so they will keep longer. Yay! 

I got this Salton Dehydrator From Canadian Tire when it was on sale for half off. 

5 Tray Salton Food Dehydrator

I'd seen some negative reviews, but decided to buy it anyway and I've used it multiple times now with no issues so far (*knocks on wood*)

On to my kitchen needs wants:

Stainless-Steel Sink Strainer

Preparing my nuts, seeds, and grains would be about a billion times easier if I had a strainer this size and this fine. Plus, since it fits over the sink, it would be perfect for drying small items like measuring spoons and bottle lids that tend to get buried in the dish drainer. (Again, why oh why are dish draining closets not widely used here?!)

Briefton's Spiral Slicer

Confession: I am really starting to dislike pasta. Probably because I eat it too much. It's fast and easy and I work in a restaurant so I'm surrounded by food all day, and just don't feel like cooking when my shift ends and I drag myself home. For me, it's the sauce that's the best part of the dish to begin with, and the only reason I put the pasta there in the first place is because rice is the bane of my existence and I need something to give my meal some body. Brilliant idea I did not think of: vegetable "noodles". Healthier, additional nutrients, added flavour, you can't go wrong!

Side note: nokedli is technically a type of noodle and is exempt from my "I hate pasta" statement. I love nokedli.

Over The Sink Cutting Board-Colander
In keeping with the dual purpose theme, and converting my sink into more counter space, I bring you this nifty little adjustable board. I wish it was in my kitchen right now.

Bavaria Salt and Pepper Mills

So not quite dual purpose, but I can forgive that if I'm getting fresh ground pepper and salt.

Bodum Coffee Grinder

I did finally buy a mortar and pestle for grinding spices, but when I have a large batch to grind (or, you know, coffee beans) I'd prefer to save my hands and toss it in one of these.

There's about a billion other things I'd love to have, but these are the basics. Or what I consider "essentials" even though I could probably live without 'em. Perhaps it's time to start a Kitchen Wishlist fund...

*I am not a total stickler for this rule. The cake decorating set I will one day own will probably not be used that often, but I'm willing to make an exception.

currently listening to: Commit This to Memory by Motion City Soundtrack

Salad "Recipe" (to keep your kitchen cool and the veghead caesar lovers happy)

Welcome to one of my favourite things in the world: The Smorgasbord Salad. The toss-whatever-and-however-much-of-it-into-a-bowl-and-chow-down dinner. Or lunch. Meal? Meal. It's perfect for days like today.

Just like the post today's adventures in the kitchen came from, it's hot here too. Like melt into a sad little hungry puddle who doesn't want to cook kind of hot. And my go-to food of choice in this weather is of course ice-cream salad! Problems arose today, though, when I remembered that I'm a complete scatterbrain who didn't pick up her favourite salad dressing the last three times she's been shopping. Of the twelve or so (I kid you not) dressings we have in the fridge, caesar is the only kind I like. And it's one that, while I love it to death, is not vegetarian friendly. Anchovies my friends, in case you were previously unaware. Those (adorable) little buggers really botch that option up for me, so today was spent on a quick search for a stupid-simple recipe for some caesar dressing that didn't require a drive into town to get some obscure item that wasn't currently sitting in my kitchen. This was the outcome:

A pepita escaped!

To make my version of this super yummy salad you're going to need (and bear in mind I'm only making enough for myself!)

-A handful of kale leaves, washed and torn into bite-size chunks
-A handful of spinach leaves, washed and squeezed well (trust me, you'll have a soggy watered down salad if you don't)
-A handful of pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), soaked*
-Croutons (I was treating myself, shush)
-Your wonderful homemade veggie caesar dressing
-Extra veggies/fruits of your choice

Feel free to tweak away at this. I like swapping kale and spinach for lettuce a lot so that's what I often do with salad recipes. Does kale taste kinda like broccoli to anyone else? Maybe I'm just a weirdo.

Surprise! Pepitas are green! Not quite the same as pulling them out of pumpkin goop, eh?

 *Pepitas are basically pre-hulled pumpkin seeds. You can buy them that way, or you can make your own, up to you. They're pretty widely available in my area. All the local grocery stores carry them, as does Walmart and the Bulk Barn. As for soaking your pepitas (or other nuts and grains if you choose to throw them in...or consume them, period), you don't have to do it, but I highly recommend it, especially to those of you who don't eat meat and need to reap all the benefits you can from seeds and nuts. Soaking raw nuts and seeds neutralizes those nasty [to us, not the nuts!] enzyme inhibitors allowing your body to absorb the vitamins, good fats, and all that other great stuff found within much more easily, along side beneficial enzymes that are produced. Also, they shouldn't mess with your digestive tract after being soaked (also why you should soak and sprout your legumes but that's for another day). Convinced? Soak away! If not, look into it more. The possibility of my food going easier on my teeth and digestive tract convinced me pretty quick, haha. Honestly, to me it's worth the effort. Especially with almonds, which are less bitter and almost creamy after soaking. Yum!

Getting back on track here, if you  are going to soak your pepitas, just toss them in a container and cover them with a warm water and sea salt mixture (your brine) for several hours, rinse them off well, and you're done! If I want them for lunch I'll start them the night before, for dinner I'll start them in the morning. You can take it a step further and dehydrate them if you want them to keep/want them crunchy, but I have no experience with that, I just toss them in my salad as is.

The Dressing. I store everything in empty baby food jars lately. They're a great size for leftover sauces, beads, buttons...

As for the salad dressing, I didn't have fresh garlic or lemon on hand, nor do I have my measuring spoons accessible, so I guesstimated the amounts of lemon juice, garlic powder, and everything else needed. Next time I think I'll be upping the garlic and cutting back on the mustard and lemon juice. And maybe throwing in another egg. But all that is just personal preference, my my mum tried it and really liked it as is. Ah well. I'll see what I can do with the leftover dressing. For now, I'm pretty pleased with the results considering how leery I am of dressings. I have a feeling dinner tonight will be another smorgasbord salad if the temperatures keep up like this, haha!


pssst! This spiffy link and this spiffy link were really helpful to me in regards to the how to's and why's of soaking. This one  and  has a list of beans to avoid sprouting and this one talks about the facts vs fiction of sprouting.

I was chatting with The Boyfriend, so excuse the webcam pic... but my cat is a goober and I just had to share. He was bugging for a chin scratch haha

Stay Scary,
Berlyn

So! I've finally gotten around to trying one of the recipes on my ever growing list. Welcome to broccoli pistachio soup. I was a little apprehensive about what it might taste like, but it's actually crazy delicious. Now don't get me wrong, I love broccoli, and pistachios, but I can be finicky, and the combination sounded strange to me. On top of that I was concerned that it was going to taste like I blended up broccoli and ate it as mush, which is not the case at all. I cooked, I ate, I enjoyed. All's well that ends well, and I'm so glad this ended well. I now have lofty dreams of thickening this up to use as a sauce for asparagus (perhaps with avocado? I'll let you know how it goes). But for now, on to the recipe!

 Unfortunately this recipe isn't mine. I found it over at A Profound Hatred of Meat a couple of weeks ago and have been at war with myself over trying it out ever since. Fortunately, I made some substitutes that worked well for me, that I will be sharing with you.
It's so quick, tasty and simple, I'll definitely be doing this again (perhaps by the book just to see how much the taste is affected). The recipe calls for:

"2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 heads broccoli, stems and florets roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt, to taste
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup pistachios, plus more for garnish
3 tbl coconut milk, for drizzling"


I of course, being my absentminded self, forgot to buy coconut milk and fresh garlic, and I'm not a big salt person. Figuring the pistachios would bring enough salt, I cut that out completely. My revised ingredients looked more like:

2 tbl coconut oil (any excuse to use coconut oil is a good excuse!)
2 heads broccoli, stems and florets roughly chopped
11/2 tbl garlic powder
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup pistachios, plus more for garnish
1 tbl coconut oil + a dash of dairy milk, (beaten together), for drizzling

I then followed the recipe as written. I regret not taking photos of my ingredients, or the stages of cooking, but there's always another dish another day. If you try this out, let me know what you think of it. And maybe shoot a comment over to APHOM. The name almost put me off when I came across it, but curiosity won out and I'm so glad it did. I think I'm going to have to try out a whole lotta recipes from this blog. Enjoy!

(A couple spoonfuls of soup mixed with a bowl of quinoa is also delicious!)

Stay Scary,
Berlyn