Dieting continued AND cooking as an LP

[Guest guest]

As I was preparing our dinner for tonight, I realized that I'm really dependent

on some basic things in my kitchen to help me cook effectively and efficiently.

Otherwise, I feel like I'm working with Jolly Green Giant's tools in the

kitchen.

So just thought I'd share AND ask. Here are my favorite tools in the kitchen:

a mortar and pestle: lots of purposes for this one. for me, its primary job is

to help crush garlic before I chop it up. Love to use it to make guacamole too!

I put a dishtowel underneath so that the pounding doesn't damage my countertop.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GG6EDK/?tag=ababa-20

a santoku knife: gosh, don't you think that a chef's knife is a bit unwieldy?

I rarely use mine unless I really need to get some leverage to cut large pieces

of meat or fish. I've been told by an AH parent who is also a chef of an LP

that it doesn't matter the brand of knife, but how you take care of it

(sharpening, cleaning, etc.) Thank goodness! So I won't feel bad when the

husband doesn't clean my knives after using it just to cut a bagel! This is the

one I use:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A13ODE/?tag=ababa-20

OXO is just a great brand for ergonomic kitchen stuff. Anyway . . . what is

your favorite kitchen tools to cook with?

-Ellen