Hello all and welcome!
I suppose I should explain the name of my blog before we start diving into the actual cooking part. I cook in a small kitchen in a small apartment. Actually—can something be called a kitchen when all it possesses is a counter top and sink? No, this would not be acceptable—I must do something about this!
Over the years I’ve tried incorporating a number of appliances to “create” a kitchen in my space. They have ranged from an electric skillet (too bulky) to a Cuisinart Griddler (not big enough and kinda messy when used as a cooktop). The items I have settled on and am currently happy with are a fridge (well, yeah!), a microwave, a toaster oven and a Waring Professional Extra Burner (LOVE!).
When I first started living on my own I purchased pots here and there. I’d pick one up at Christmas Tree Shops, another at Target, etc. About a year ago I was fortunate enough to win a radio contest and received a $300 gift card to our local home store. It was around this time that I had decided I was done with my cheap pots and pans and wanted a quality set. After some online research I decided to go with the Cuisinart Green Gourmet 20-piece set.
What a great decision! I love these pans! They conduct heat amazingly well (there was a learning curve). Of course, as with all non-stick pans, it is necessary to use the proper tools. The company recommended nylon tools, so that’s what I went with. I purchased a set from Calphalon.
I like these pretty well, but there have been a few hiccups. You can’t put too much pressure on them (as when breaking up ground meat in the pan) so for tasks like these I lean more toward my bamboo set of tools, though I do try to avoid using these with raw meat; and they do loose some of their strength and rigidity when hot (fishing out pasta from boiling water can be interesting). But they have not caused any blemishes to my pans, so for now, they’re staying put!
So, that’s about everything I have in my kitchen, except for some additional tools (knives, bake ware, etc.) Hope you’ll stick with me for a while! I’ll probably be posting about once a week (that’s another thing you’ll learn about me—I like to cook on the weekends only because after a long day of work, I just want to put on the jammies, lay on the couch and cuddle with the dog) as I cook my week of meals on Sundays (as a general rule).
See you soon!
~A Cook Without a Kitchen
A Cook Without a Kitchen 
I hope you get a better kitchen in future. I too have a small kitchen but I love it. It’s comfortable for me.
I’d probably get lost in a big kitchen, it’s been so long! 🙂 I recently made a trip to Canada for the sole purpose of visiting IKEA and picked up some goodies to improve my tiny kitchen. Stay tuned, I’m hoping to write a post about it (once I get everything installed).
Nobody ever wanted to cook after a long day of work…that’s totally understandable. It’s not the size of the kitchen that matters but the food that comes from it. Thanks for visiting my bog and for liking my apple cake. I really appreciate. Enjoy the rest of your week and happy weekend cooking.
Thanks, Liz! Thanks for stopping by!