Moving Kitchens
This journal post is the 150th I’ve published on my site! During that time, a lot has happened, but one constant has remained the same: my kitchen. Graham and I have been living in our Berkeley apartment for three and a half years, and this week we will say goodbye to it and move to a new home. I’m so excited to share more about that soon, but first I wanted to write about the essential kitchen tools we’ll be sure to pack up in one box so that we’re able to cook meals right away. Pared down to its most basic, that list includes:
Knives – we own a limited number of kitchen knives (all pictured in the photo above!) and they’ll likely travel together, but if pressed, I’d say you could get away with one small paring knife for cutting garlic cloves, fresh fruit, etc. and one larger chef’s knife for chopping an onion or carving a roasted chicken.
Skillet – one large (12-inch or so) cast-iron skillet can cook an impressive variety of foods from pancakes to pasta sauce (but be careful not to cook acidic ingredients like tomatoes in it, because they can react with the metal). Cast iron can be used on the stovetop and in the oven, which is convenient for roasting the aforementioned chicken.
Pot – you’ll be happy to have a pot that you can boil water in, for cooking noodles or blanching vegetables.
That’s it! Well, at least in terms of bare bones tools. I also like to have olive oil, salt, pepper, and butter on hand, plus maybe a couple of lemons if possible.
