My Kitchen Wish List

I spent about an hour today (while Mia was asleep and I was procrastinating on doing Pilates), building my Amazon wish list. (In other words, pretend shopping for all the little gadgets I’d like to be using instead of what I have in my kitchen!) A full kitchen remodel is in the cards for our fixer-upper, but the kitchen is about fourth or fifth on a list of things that might fall apart and give us major grief before we get around to a fix. So, even though my kitchen is baby blue, a little cramped, and has the original 1970s cabinets (with a nice Corian countertop the previous owner slapped in to up the asking price when she put the house on the market), there are a few things I can do (short of remodeling) to make it more conducive to hard core traditional cooking.

Pretend shopping is almost as good as real shopping, except the packages don’t arrive after you are done, so, there is really nothing to look forward to after logging off. It is, however, easier on the old debit card, and I enjoy making lists so I reduce my risk of buyer’s remorse.

First on the list was the simple stuff I could really use on a daily basis: glass storage containers (both large for leftovers and small for packing lunches), glass pitchers and liquid containers, glass jars for storing grain, and glass mixing bowls. All of these are replacements for plastic products. Additionally, many glass containers can go in the oven, and now that I am microwave free, it’s really convenient to be able to pop leftovers right in, without transferring to a baking container. I also threw in a few replacements for worn out items, like a new set of wooden spoons and new stainless baking sheets. I thought of Mia when I added mini cookie cutters and stainless steel popsicle molds.

Next, I hit the slightly more elaborate stuff that just makes cooking easier: a pot rack (because my storage space is limited); a dough docker because it’s useful when making homemade pizza AND doubles as a back massager (or so we thought when I used to make pizza for a living in college), and a freezable lunch bag, which would really be handy for all those lunches I tote about.

After I covered the basics, I had a good time searching for my true “wish” items: a massive all clad stock pot; a meat slicer (to turn my roasted brisket into deli style sandwiches without the preservatives), a food dehydrator, and a beer brewing kit—we all have our vices. They didn’t have a Kombucha brewing system available on Amazon, but they did have a book on how to do it!

I didn’t get into the big kitchen items that are on my ultimate remodel list, like an oversized range, a custom sub-zero fridge with enough room for all our homemade pickles, a proofing box, and twin dishwashers. Those are still on my dream list, rather than my wish list, and I’m pretty sure some of them aren’t available on Amazon. But, time goes quickly, and one day we will remodel my kitchen. Until then, I think I’ll keep shopping for the little items that make our new lifestyle easier, and I’ll do what I always do: knock them off the list, one thing at a time!