Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is Favorite Kitchen Gadgets. I love kitchen gadgets, so it was difficult for me to limit it to just my current ten favorites.

1.  Rice Cooker

I recently treated myself to a rice cooker after talking for years about wanting one. My son used to eat a lot of rice, and I thought it would be nice to have a rice cooker so that he could make rice whenever he wanted. It's somewhat amusing that I waited to get one until long after he had moved out on his own. But now that I've gone gluten-free, I find myself eating a lot of rice. The cooker makes it perfectly practically every time, with very little effort from me. And if I get distracted, which I often am, the rice stays warm and yummy until I'm ready for it. Just a quick tip -- add some fresh lemon juice and a little cilantro to the water when you cook the rice. Delicious!

2.  Magic Bullet

I bought the magic bullet years ago, when it first came out. It is still sitting on my counter and it gets used almost every day. It's great for making my morning smoothies (a frozen banana, a chopped up piece of fresh fruit, and some almond milk), and I couldn't make my fresh pesto without it. I even use it to quickly froth up warmed almond milk to add to my coffee for a dairy-free cappuccino.

3.  Hand mixer

Would you believe that I made it 48+ years without an electric hand mixer? What in the world was I thinking?  Seriously, all those years filled with all those cookies, cakes, and pies that were all mixed by hand. Believe me, if you don't have one get an electric mixer right this minute. It is a necessity.

4.  Measuring Cups and Spoons

I shouldn't even need to explain these. Except to say that if you are trying to become half the woman you are, you need at least one (if not two) sets of measuring cups and spoons and you need to use them for everything.

5.  Kitchen scale

I used to think this was just for weighing yarn... silly me.

6.  Frother

This is a much quicker way to froth up the almond milk for cappuccinos. I have a tendency to forget it at work, so I may need to get a second one for the house.

7.  Keurig (this is actually at work)

The best coffee maker for someone who (a) lives alone and/or (2) loves a variety of flavored coffee and teas. I can have what I want, when I want it. And really, it isn't any more expensive than a regular coffee maker when you factor in the amount of stale, cold coffee I used to throw away.

8.  Re-freezable ice

I use this for keeping my lunch cold in my lunchbox, keeping my water cold on my bike rides, and even for preventing bug bites from itching. I have several of the small re-freezable blocks.

9.  Parchment paper

Parchment paper isn't really a gadget, but I love it. It's even better than aluminum foil for keeping my pans and trays clean when I'm baking.

10. Mason Jars

Again, this isn't really a gadget. But I use my mason jars for everything: storing dried beans, freezing cooked beans, making salads up for the week, storing homemade dressing, measuring out rice into portions, the list is endless.