Kitchen Knife Basics

*This post is in collaboration with Wüsthof Knives.  They sent me the knives, but all the opinions are my own.

As silly as this sounds, I am actually quite passionate about knives.  Kitchen knives, mostly.  I don't care much about other knives, but kitchen knives are such an important part of my cooking, that a post on knives seemed like a good idea.

Even if it isn't comprehensive or as thorough as it could be (I had to film it on my own, on a pretty strict timeline, and didn't want it to be a 30 minute video, so it is missing a few points that would have been nice to include).  The video is fun(ish), and you get to see a lot of me, but this post may answer a few of the questions I didn't get to answering in the video.

What kinds of knives do you own? What kind of knife you would recommend I buy?

- We have a kitchen-aid knife block that we registered for when we got married.  It is okay, but definitely not my first choice.  Could I go back, I would have registered for one large knife, a sharp bread knife, and a small paring knife.  That being said, we use every knife from our knife block every week, so I can't bring myself to get rid of it or I would be washing my paring knife four times a day.

- We also have a set of knives from Adam's parents.  These were the choice knives for a long time, and I love using these.  They are big and sharp, and work really well.  Also, you can find them for a steal.

- I have two knives that Wüsthof sent me (this vegetable knife and a truly superb bread knife).  I LOVE these knives.  I think I would go the "go big or go home route" if I could choose again, because I would be willing to get rid of all my other knives just to have these ones, because they work so much better than my other knives combined.  But, because I already have the other knives, and I use knives ALL the time, I keep them all.  So much for the minimalist in me.

- I would recommend you buy quality on whichever knife you think you will use the most. If all your bread is pre-sliced, skip buying a bread knife, or at least buy cheaper.  If you cut apples everyday, invest in a paring knife.  Basically, wherever buy quality on the knives you will use the most.

What size of knife is the best to buy?

- Totally depends on the job.  Adam almost always says a big knife is better.  He says you have more control (especially when you are cutting something big like a watermelon, or a large butternut squash), and are less likely to cut yourself.  I like using big knives, but small knives are good for small projects like cutting apples.  I find myself using the big knives more and more these days.

What is the best way to take care of my knives?

- Hand wash them.  But for full disclosure, I almost always wash ours in the dishwasher (except the Wüstof knives... I care too much about those knives to send them through the dishwasher), points up, or laying on the top rack.  Just be sure to keep them out of the reach of small children if you decide to wash them in the dishwasher regularly.

- Sharpen them often.  I have struggled with this in the past, and still do.  Finally Adam bought me a whetstone for Christmas, and my knives are sharper than they have been in years.

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Eat All the Food November: PART 1

(I often use up egg whites in a lovely angel food cake.  If I don't have time to make angel food cake that week, I freeze the egg whites until I do have time!)

November (at least in the US), is a time to focus on gratitude.  To be thankful for the things we have, and recognize what we have been blessed with.  I think that every country should have a month where this is the focus (a few others already do).  Sadly, I think the focus in the US has been more on the turkey, pie, and football than gratitude.  However, I always make a conscious effort to be a little more grateful during the month of November, because I think Thanksgiving is such a neat holiday, and I really have been given so much.

A few weeks ago, I happened to see an article about food waste in the All-recipes magazine (you can see the entire article online here); I was fascinated and somewhat horrified by the statistics they shared.

(make meals where you can use a ton of random vegetables and top them with a good sauce)

According to All-Recipes:

1. 40% of the food in the US never gets eaten (from restaurants, supermarkets, and especially consumers).

2. An average family of four spends more than $120 every month on food that never gets eaten (they compared this to taking 2 out of every 5 grocery bags straight to the dumpster after purchasing them).

3. It costs Americans $1.5 billion dollars to dispose of food every year.

(make your own homemade vegetable stock)

In my mind, a big part of being grateful is being responsible with the resources we have.  That may differ somewhat from person to person, but everyone has to eat, and many of us are being downright wasteful with the food we have access to.

Since reading that article, I have come across a few other articles/television stories about this very thing.  France just banned supermarkets from throwing away food that is close to its expiration date, and is forcing them to donate it to food pantries instead (I think this is awesome!), Norway began buying up other countries waste a few years ago to burn as an energy source, John Oliver did a story about how big of a problem our wasteful ways are (his stories are really informative, but often contain language or suggestive humor), and Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation recently wrote an article about how much we waste and the problems that it causes to the planet.  And I wrote an entire article here a few months ago, related to this food waste topic, about how to save money at the grocery store, and how to use up the food you buy.  Needless to say, this has all been weighing heavily on my mind lately!

So, to honor the Thanksgiving holiday, during the month of November, I am going to make huge efforts to use up everything I buy from the grocery store.  I already try really hard to reduce my waste, but I know I can do better, and I need to hold myself to a higher standard.  Hopefully this will be a long-term change, but I want to give myself a time frame so that it feels more important.

I have often thought, "How much of a difference do I actually make?"  More than I realize.  Especially if I can encourage more people to take reducing waste seriously.  Any food that feeds my family instead of the fat raccoons at the dump makes a difference.  

(freeze fruits and vegetables to use later; keep in mind some need to be cooked before they are frozen)

Now how am I going to do this (and how can you do it too, should you decide to make a change like this?)?  All-Recipes had some great suggestions, and I have a few more to add.  

1.  Pay more attention to how your food looks and smells than what the expiration date on the package says.  Many foods will stay good long after their expiration date.  You can usually tell when something is about to go bad.  It will start growing stuff, get slimy, or smell bad.  If you don't see these symptoms, and it looks okay, go ahead and try it.

2.  Freeze stuff you aren't ready to use yet.  Not everything can be frozen.  For example, milk isn't a good item to freeze, because the texture changes when you freeze it, but there are loads of foods you can freeze.  Beans, cooked vegetables, cheese, butter, bread and many other food items can be frozen.  This will keep them good for much much longer than if you were to keep them in the fridge.  Next time you don't think you will be able to use something before it goes bad, think about freezing it.

I also like to turn fragile greens, like basil, mint or cilantro into a pesto that I can freeze and easily use later.

3.  Make a list when you go to the grocery store.  I can't even imagine going to the grocery store without a list.  I have no idea what I would make if I tried that.  I tend to make a detailed list, where almost every item has a very specific purpose for dinner during the week (I also check the fridge to see what needs to be used up so that last weeks extra veggies/cheese/fruit doesn't go to waste).  You don't have to be as detailed as I am, but making a list will cut down on random impulse buys and save you loads of money.

4.  Cook it.  Most foods that are on the verge of expiring will last longer if you cook them.  That could be using milk in a bread product, cooking a wilty set of greens into a soup, or whatever.  Cooking food can preserve its life, so it is totally worth doing when you can.

5.  Compost it.  I don't have a composter (we live in an apartment, and the idea of keeping worms and smelly compost on the balcony is almost more than I can handle), but if I did, I would take any food that went bad, or stuff that I was no longer willing to eat and compost it.  If you have the option, do it.  Some areas have composting programs available.  You might be able to donate your compost to a local farm.

6.  Save the ends.  All your vegetable ends and parmesan rinds can be turned into a delicious vegetable broth that can live again in your kitchen.  Save your ends in a gallon bag in the freezer and every few weeks, whip up a large bath of vegetable broth.

7. Only buy the things you will actually use.  If something is on sale, but you probably won't actually use it, don't buy it.  Or if you really feel like you need to buy it, do so, and then donate it to a shelter or food pantry.  Don't buy tons of greens or vegetables that you aren't going to eat.

(dry your own herbs)

That's all I have for now.  Are you amazing at using up little bits of stuff?  Let me know what you do.  Do you want to join in on the challenge (even a little effort is better than none at all)?  I would love to hear about it if you do!
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The Minimalist Kitchen Part 5: Storage and Organization + Giveaway

Kitchen storage and organization always has a multitude of answers that come in all shapes and sizes.  I don't think there is just one right way to store your kitchen tools and food, but I have lots of opinions about good ways to store things (and about everything else... Check out part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 through their respective links)

So let's jump in!  Also, the rules for today's giveaway are at the bottom of this post!

*ps.  there are some affiliate links in this post.  This means that if you click on a product and then buy it or something through my link, I will make a small percentage off of your purchase.  If you want to look it up on your own, please feel free. 

Pantry:  
1. Use glass jars and containers.  I have found that my food looks much prettier, and is easier to identify (and then use up) if it is kept in a glass jar.  I have collected a few different styles over the last few years, and I love them.

I am also a huge advocate of using fabric bags to bring home produce, nuts and grains, so I generally refill the jar from what I bring home in cloth bags. We have a bulk section at our grocery store that sells nuts, seeds, flours and dried fruit in bins, so I can get as much or as little as I need from those! It works really well and reduces the amount of film plastic and recyclables that come into my home.

Some of my favorite jars include:  These Large Glass Storage Jars, Small Weck Jars, Hinged Glass Storage Jars. I also like to use large and small mason jars.

2. Keep similar things together.  I always keep my large containers of flour, sugar, and wheat flour together on the same shelf.  Likewise, I keep my liquid stuff on the same shelf (oils, vinegar, honey, etc).  I also like keeping the nuts and grains together.  It makes them easier to find, and easier to remember to replace when you run out of something.

3.  Rotate through regularly.  Austin is quite humid year-round, and food goes soft very quickly.  This means crackers and cereal have a very short shelf-life, and if you don't keep flour in an air-tight container, you will end up with bugs in it.

I try to keep track of what nuts, random bits of grain and other things I have and use those up first, before buying new nuts and grain, even if I only have a little bit of something left.  I often will make a side salad with a small handful of almonds, walnuts or pine nuts on it.  I also like putting nut remnants on pizza.

4.  Keep larger pantry items, like potatoes and onions in a wicker or wire basket .  This will help give them good air circulation so your food items will last longer and will help make them look organized and pretty in your pantry.

Fridge: 
1. Keep the vegetables in plain sight.  You have seen those gorgeous photos of the fridge sparkling clean and filled with crazy amounts of fruits and vegetables.  The problem is that many fruits and vegetables do best if they are kept in the crisping drawers.  Then you can't see them, you forget about them, and they rot before you have a chance to eat them.

I generally keep the vegetables that I know I will use up in the crisping drawer, and keep the other stuff on the bottom shelf where I see it every time I open the fridge.  My drawer usually is filled with carrots, apples, lemons, beets and kale.  I usually have to keep chard, spring onions, cilantro, spinach and other greens on the shelf so I remember to use them quickly.

I keep my greens in large plastic ziplock bags (I try to reuse them a few times before throwing them away to make me feel better about using them), and don't wash the greens until I am ready to use them.  Moisture makes them go bad faster.

2.  Only make as much as you need.  For salad dressings, I typically make a half cup or so (sometimes this means halving or quartering a recipe).  That way we can finish it in a few days, and not have a ton left over.  For dinners, I make enough for us to eat for dinner one night, and have sufficient leftovers to eat for lunch.  No one wants to eat leftovers two days after you have made it.  Seriously, they are never as good, and something fresh always sounds better.

I also try to keep leftovers and dressing in glass or clear plastic containers (I am working on replacing these with glass) so they don't end up at the back of the fridge for weeks and I end up being scared to open them up.

3.  Keep like things together.  Same as in the pantry, your life will be much easier if you organize food by category.  Vegetables together, fruit together, similar condiments together, etc.  It makes things easier to find, and easier to know when you have run out of something.

Cabinets:
1. Stack things nicely, and find a home for everything.  This honestly applies to most of my life.  If a cabinet or drawer in your home looks chaotic, it is usually because not everything in the cabinet has a home.  My kitchen cupboards are organized by what is supposed to go in them, like tabletop dishes, cooking dishes, serving dishes, appliances, etc.  This works great for me and helps me easily find what I am looking for.

2.  Get rid of stuff you don't use.  If you don't use that old serving tray, get rid of it.  You cupboards might be in need of a thoughtful purge to get rid of the items you no longer use.

3.  Put things away every time.  Everything might have a home in your kitchen, but if you don't put it away when you are finished using it, it doesn't really matter if it has a home or not.

Did I forget anything?  Probably, so let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas for how to organize your kitchen!  Also, don't forget to enter the Instagram giveaway (see rules and link below!).

To wrap up this Minimalist Kitchen series, I decided it would be fun to do an Instagram giveaway!

In my post on Wednesday, I mentioned that we are going to Utah for the summer.  This means we are packing everything up here and putting most of it in storage for a few months.  I closed down my Etsy shop almost a year ago (much to my relief, honestly...), but still have some product left over and an Instagram shop account where I have been very passively listing some of them.

I figured it could be fun to send some of them off to a good home where they will be loved and used, rather than sit in storage here with the rest of our stuff!

INSTAGRAM GIVEAWAY:
I am giving away 2 sets of produce bags (each is a set of 6) and 2 sets of cloth napkins (each is a set of 4)!  With 4 winners total!

To Enter:
1.  Check out my Instagram photo about this giveaway, make sure you are following me, and tag two friends in the comments there!
2.  For a bonus entry, leave a comment here, telling me which set of bags or napkins you would want to win and your Instagram handle!

Contest will run until 11:59PM on Monday, April 18th.  Winner will be notified shortly thereafter.

Many of the sets are one of a kind, so when I send out the email to notify the winners, I will go based on who responds first.  Hopefully all winners can find a set that they like.

*This giveaway is open to Continental U.S. readers only.  Sorry!  International shipping is crazy expensive!

Check out the bags and napkins in the photos below!

Cloth Napkins:

 Produce Bags: 

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The Minimalist Kitchen Part 4: Kitchen Essentials

I have been thinking a lot about the minimalist kitchen posts that I have previously posted.  I felt like I broke the kitchen down to the bare bones to help you (and me) decide what is really essential in the kitchen, and what is just taking up space. The more I have thought about it, the more I feel like I needed to do one more variation on the minimal kitchen.

Yesterday, I was reminded again about the conversation that helped inspire this series in the first place, and thought about the folks who might need just a few things to get started.  Someone who looks at a registry to get ideas for what they might need to buy to cook some food at home, and has no idea where to start. Maybe this isn't you.

In fact, this probably isn't if you. But maybe you know someone who needs to know that their first set of kitchen tools doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars.  If they know what to get, they could get it from a thrift store for a whole lot less.

So look back at the first four posts to scale back your kitchen(part 1, part 2, part 3), and look at this final post for starting out.

Also, I am considering doing one more post in this series on kitchen storage.  Is anyone interested in a post like that?

rubber spatula, whisk, spatula, cheese grater, serving spoon, can opener (not pictured)

4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 glasses, 4 sets of silverware, 4 cloth napkins

rolling pin, a set of measuring spoons, cutting board, a set of measuring cups, a mixing bowl/serving bowl, mesh strainer, chef knife (not pictured), paring knife (not pictured)

This dude was trying to help me... :) Which is why the next photo is a little wonky/boring.  I was trying to take it as fast as possible before he grabbed the pot lid.  

saucepan, stockpot (not pictured and optional), frying pan (get stainless steel if you can. Non-stick give off wonky chemicals at high heats)

baking sheet, silicone baking mat, baking dishes

dish towels, blender (optional and the link isn't for this blender.  But I do love this blender.  I never thought I needed an expensive blender until we got one.  I don't think I will ever be able to go back), oven mitts (not pictured), tupperware (not pictured)

I am a little worried about saying that you should get a blender before any other appliance.  I thought long and hard about the appliances that I have and which one was the most multi-purpose.  A stand mixer can be super awesome, but they generally are expensive and are great for mixing (obviously) and kneading and beating, but not for a lot else, and each of those can be done by hand.  A waffle iron is the only thing you can make waffles in, but how many people will choose that as their only appliance if they need a multi-functional appliance?  Toasters are great, but can only be used to make toast and you can easily make toast in the oven, if you really need toast.

A blender, on the other hand, will make smoothies, puree soups and vegetables, whipped cream, salad dressing, some can make ice cream, and they can make pancake batter.  I don't use mine for all of those functions, but it can be used for a boatload of things! Plus, you would have a pretty hard time making a smoothie without a blender.  There are few things that can replace a good blender.  If I had to pick one appliance to keep with me forever,  it just might be my blender.

According to my calculations with the links that I have used (some of them are affiliate links, by the way, and I tried to choose as many of the same items as mine as I could, but some I did do the same time, but the cheapest or highest rated with the best price that I could find), it would cost you approximately $300 (shipping not included), to purchase this entire kitchen.  If you got it at second hand shop, it would probably cost a bit less.

As with every list that I have done here, your circumstances may require a slightly different list. But start small and buy things as you see a need.  That way you can make wise decisions about what you bring into your home and keep things simple and useful.

Happy Friday.

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