a fresher, lighter kitchen

Fun news: we are revamping our kitchen this month! We moved into this house 6 years ago, and we always planned to make the kitchen nicer. But I am weird, and I settle in/nest where I am, and have been perfectly content with its imperfections. But now that we are rolling, I am really looking forward to the new-and-improved space! On the agenda is staining the cabinets, replacing the tile, tiling a back splash, and getting solid-surface counters. My husband is doing all the work (minus counter installation). For the sake of later comparison, here’s what the kitchen looked like (this was a while ago, but the finishes are the same):

While our kitchen’s torn up, we have moved into the basement, where we have a second kitchen area with some refinished secondhand cabinets. (My brother-in-law’s family used our basement for a couple years while they built their house). The basement kitchen is much smaller, so I am taking this opportunity to pare down to the very basics for now. This means fewer place settings, only a handful of gadgets, utensils, and bake ware, and a pared down pantry. (The irony is not lost on me that I am striving for a minimalist kitchen while having TWO kitchens in my house, trust me).

Right now I LOVE my smaller, efficient kitchen, multi-tasking tools, and simplified menu plan. It’s a great lesson to remind myself how little I really need to cook for our family. I’m always happiest when I can simplify! It’s inspired me think about how I’d set up my kitchen now, knowing what I now know. Obviously it’s not practical to just discard and replace everything I already have, when it’s all perfectly functional. But I am definitely thinking about my eventual goals for our kitchen, especially now that it will be spruced up and sleeker. So my plan is to keep everything additional packed away (except for food), even after we move back in upstairs; I will get out other items as I need them, but if they are still packed away in six months, I’ll seriously consider parting with them (some maybe sooner if I can sell them).

I thought I would do a few posts on setting up a more minimal kitchen, if doing it from scratch. Today I’m focusing on just the cooking-related items. I will do a later post for dining essentials and cleaning essentials! Here are my essentials for cooking (I don’t own all of these exact items – this is just my #goals collage):

1. A nice wooden cutting board.
2. Wooden cooking utensils, a silicone spatula, and a metal whisk.
3. Kitchen scissors for cutting greens, herbs, etc.
4. Three good knives.
5. Stainless measuring spoons.
6. Stainless measuring cups.
7. A box cheese grater.
8. Glass prep bowls. I have various sizes from a thrift store and I use them all the time.
9. A medium cast iron skillet.
10. A graduated, pouring measuring cup.
11. A heavy mixing bowl.
12. A metal colander.
13. An enamel Dutch oven. I have this exact one from Lodge, and I love it. I use it all the time.
14. Salt and pepper grinders.
15. Mason jars (and other glass/stainless storage) for pantry item storage, produce storage in the fridge, leftovers, picnics, taking food to people, and to drink from when hosting large groups (so you don’t have to store more glassware).
16. A good food processor. I love my 9-cup Cuisinart. I’ve had it for almost 10 years and I still use it regularly.
17. Stainless pots. I have 2, but 3 would be more practical.
18. A glass French press. I love my Mr. Coffee, but French pressed coffee does taste better..
19. A Vita-mix or other blender. I use ours almost daily for smoothies, and also to make almond milk, peanut butter, dressings/sauces, and grind coffee beans.

And my baking essentials:

1. A half sheet baking sheet (and cover)
2. Cooling rack
3. Rolling pin
4. Silicone baking mat
5. Baking dish
6. Loaf pan
7. KitchenAid stand mixer
8. Bread machine (yes, I really do use mine weekly!)
9. Silicone muffin cups

I own far more than those items. I also own the following probably non-essential items (the asterisk (*) means they are on the chopping block):

1. A toaster*
2. A juicer*
3. Deep fryer (given to us, never used)*
4. Yogurt maker*
5. Electric mixer*
6. Tea kettle*
7. Second 9×13 baking dish*
8. Tart pan*
9. Multiple loaf and mini loaf pans*
10. Mini muffin pan*
11. Tortilla bowl makers*
12. Ramekins*
13. Stock pot*
14. A citrus juicer*
15. Sifter*
16. Tortilla press*
17. Pizza stone*
18. Nesting mixing/serving bowls*
19. Mesh strainer*
20. Salad tongs*
21. Multiple silicone spatulas*
22. Dough scraper*
23. Cocktail shaker*
24. Tea ball*
25. Sun tea jar*
26. A toaster oven
27. Belgian waffle maker
28. Crock Pot
29. Kitchen scales
30. Immersion blender
31. 9×9 baking dish
32. Muffin pans
33. Donut pan
34. Large cast iron skillet
35. Cast iron pizza pan
36. Second cutting board
37. Tile trivet I use as a cutting board for garlic
38. About 10 various knives
39. Vegetable peeler
40. Can opener
41. Jar opener
42. Ice cream scoop
43. Small metal colander
44. Silicone tongs
45. Pasta server
46. Ladle
47. Silicone flipper
48. 5 cookie cutters
49. Pastry brush
50. Cork screw
51. Wine stopper
52. Various BBQ tools
53. Cooking thermometer
54. Mortar and pestle
55. Nut milk bag
56. Silicone bowl covers (to replace cling wrap/tin foil)

I wouldn’t consider any of the above items to be critical to a kitchen, but many are really nice to have for my particular cooking habits (like the second cast iron skillet, silicone bowl covers, nut milk bag, and cork screw).  But looking at the list, there are plenty of duplicate-function items. Silicone muffin cups eliminate the need for muffin tins; we don’t need a toaster AND a toaster oven; we don’t really need two colanders AND a mesh strainer AND a nut milk bag; I can boil water without a kettle… The trick will be figuring out the most versatile items to keep.

What do you think? What’s in your ideal kitchen? Am I an insane person for listing out what I own? (Don’t actually answer that).:)

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