Boil and Trouble - Burning Water and Boiling Over

I think we have all heard all sorts of old wives tales.  While I am not saying that some of them may work for you, there is a reason that they are called old wives tales.  Burn your hand, use to be that you would put butter on it.  That's right, we added oil to a hot surface.  Strange but true.  Another one my mother swore by and use to tell me I really thought were true for a very long time.  You know which ones I'm talking about.  Like if you swallow your gum it will stay in your stomach for 7 years or eating chocolate causes acne.  Some though made sense and actually turned out to have some truth like drinking warm milk to help you get to sleep.

While trying to clean up a horrible mess that happened after my pot boiled over.  Yeah I know a watched pot never boils.  Well as my dad would say, pots don't boil.  (Groan)  :)  I wondered what I was doing wrong.  I had tried all of my friends suggestions.  Salt, oil, blowing on the bubbles (you have to be there to see them coming up to blow on them), spraying the inside top of the pot with oil spray, even putting a wooden spoon over the top.  In the end the secret is just common sense.  When the pot begins to really boil, turn the heat down.  Also the most important one, use a pot big enough fr the job you want to do.  If you fill up the pot only half way with water, the is no way that it will boil over.

Measuring is another trouble area.  I wanted to be like a real chef and cook without having to measure.  Guess what?  This is an easy one.  Yes, with time you will probably learn what a teaspoon of something looks like in your hand, but real chefs measure all of the time.

Cooking is only trouble when you are not having fun, so let it boil.  :)

Not your Average Popeye - Basic Vegetable Cooking

I talked in the past about my problem with canned vegetables.  My kids have also had aversions to vegetables, even if I have always tried to cook them in different ways and introduce them to many different vegetables since they were small.  One of my sons started out eating vegetables as a baby but by age one refused to eat any vegetable except potatoes and maybe corn.  This included not eating spaghetti sauce (he ate his noodles plain or with mayonnaise) or ketchup.  :)  Another son likes salads, but will refuse to make one.  I have tried what many mothers have tried, cauliflower mashed potatoes, blending vegetables so they kids can't see them, or letting them know that they only have to try one bite.

So while I don't have any kid vs. vegetable solutions, but I do have some great tips for cooking vegetables. :)
Believe it or not, these tips come from an unusual site for food tips.  http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/best-cook-vegetables?page=2

I have copied and pasted the article here in case you cannot follow the link.  You just never know where you will find the information that will make your life easier.  Now if I could just find one to help my kids eat these deliciously cooked veggies.

Sautéing Vegetables

The word sauté comes from the French verb meaning “to jump.” It refers to the way foods added to a hot, lightly-oiled pan tend to jump. Sautéing is a quick and easy way to cook vegetables with relatively little oil. Sautéed vegetables retain their vitamins and minerals, as well as taste and color. This method is best suited for tender vegetables, such as asparagus, baby artichokes, snow peas, sweet peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

Kitchen Tip: Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces so they can cook all the way through quickly. Heat the pan first over relatively high heat. Add oil. Wait until the oil begins to shimmer before adding the vegetables. Cooking time depends on the desired tenderness.

I use this a lot with mushrooms.  I gives them a texture of meat and with the right seasonings, can be a great vegetarian meal.

Stir-Frying Vegetables

Stir-frying is very similar to sautéing, with two important differences. Stir-frying is done over very high heat, and the food is constantly stirred to prevent it from burning on the hot pan. Stir-frying is often done in a wok, the classic utensil of Chinese cooking. But you can also stir in a sauté pan, as long as the bottom is thick enough to distribute the high heat evenly.

Kitchen Tip: Sautéing and stir-frying are best done with a cooking oil that stands up to high heat, such as canola oil. Once vegetables are done, you can toss them with a flavored oil such as olive or sesame oil.  

This is good for all of the classic Chinese veggies and fried rice.  Basically anything that can stand up to heat. 

Boiling or Simmering Vegetables

Like sautéing, boiling vegetables is a quick and easy technique. When you want to retain the flavor and crispness of vegetables such as green beans or broccoli, wait until the water is at a full boil. Toss in the vegetables and cook them quickly, a technique called blanching. Simmering also uses water to cook vegetables, but at a lower temperature, before the water begins to boil. This slow-cooking technique is great for dried bean, potatoes, beets and other root vegetables that require longer periods of cooking in order to become tender.

Kitchen Tip: Adding salt to boiling water enhances the flavor of vegetables. Don’t overdo it. Vegetables shouldn't taste salty. And of course excess salt increases the risk of high blood pressure.

When you boil at a high heat, make sure when you have finished to take the veggies out of the water so that they do not continue cooking.  This is why you will see chef's on cooking shows put vegetables in ice water or an ice water bath after blanching them, so as to stop the cooking process.

Roasting Vegetables

Roasting vegetables such as asparagus, squash, or onions is as simple as putting them on a baking sheet, drizzling them with a little vegetable oil, and popping them in a 400 degree oven. “The high oven temperature of roasting cooks meat and vegetables quickly and caramelizes the sugars on the surface, creating a crunchy and sweet flavor,” says Scott Samuel, a chef and instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Roasting helps to preserve not only vitamins and minerals, but also flavors that can be lost with boiling.

Kitchen Tip: Build a meal around foods that can all be roasted in the oven, such as roasted chicken or fish and roasted vegetables. Seasonings such as bay leaves, garlic, or mixed spices can be added for flavor.

Try putting a little cheese on top at the end, to have that melted yummy taste at the end.  Also roasting garlic is great to use as a spread for bread as it becomes very creamy.

Steaming Vegetables

Steamed vegetables are synonymous with healthy eating for good reason. Steaming cooks vegetables without submersing them in water, so they are more likely to retain vitamins and minerals. Unlike sautéing, steaming doesn’t require oil, so it’s a great way to prepare vegetables if you’re watching calories. The best vegetables for steaming include broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, leafy greens like spinach, and other relatively tender vegetables.

Kitchen Tip: Aromatic spices such as cinnamon sticks, lemongrass, and ginger can be added to the steaming liquid to permeate vegetables with subtle flavor.

Steamed veggies are also great to add later to salads.

Grilling Vegetables

When the weather is warm, grill vegetables outside on the barbecue. Like roasting, grilling locks in flavor and caramelizes the surface of vegetables, giving them a crispy sweetness. Grilling is a terrific way to prepare corn, sweet peppers, zucchini and other squash, onions, potatoes, and a variety of other vegetables.

When they say other vegetables they mean it.  I have grilled jut about everything (hmmm topic for a future blog) including tomatoes, lettuce and garlic.

Making Vegetable-Based Sauces

Vegetables feature in many classic sauces and spreads. A classic favorite from Spain, romesco sauce, combines roasted red peppers with almonds, hazelnuts, olive oil, and vinegar to create a flavorful sauce that can be used with fish or vegetable dishes. Classic Italian pesto sauce is made with generous handfuls of basil blended with pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. To make a rich-tasting vegetarian pate, sauté mushrooms and onions, season with Italian spices or herbs de Provence, and blend in a kitchen blender.

Kitchen Tip: Invest in a good food processor, which makes vegetable-based sauces and spreads much easier.  

Take your time about buying a food processor.  It is a big investment and is one to make when you know you are ready and you know you are going to use it.  

It's in the Bag - Bag Cooking Basics

I think some of the most interesting conversations that I have ever had, have happened in the break room at work.  Especially around the table at lunchtime.  Probation officers tend to want to share their biggest gross-out stories while eating.  :) Teachers I hate to say, start out erudite and end up whining or complaining 98% of the time.  Social workers talk about the latest politics and the sad state of society.  Non-profit talk about anything but work and often end up talking about the embarrassing stories from their own lives looking for the biggest laugh, groan or sympathy vote.  While these are all huge generalizations, I must say that the group that I noticed talks the most about cooking tips is the Non, or Not for Profit crowd.  It was where I was introduced to "The Bag." 

Okay, I had heard about oven bags, I'm not a hermit crab, but I had never been that interested in them.  Somehow it just didn't seem right to basically steam food in the oven.  Whether it is right or wrong I am soooo glad that I jumped in and tried it after hearing about the success my fellow co-workers had had with them.  First off, it is still cooking in the oven, so it greatly reduces the chances of burning the outside and leaving the inside raw.  Second, all of the mess is kept inside of the bag.  Third, cooking time is reduced.  Fourth, the meat is very juicy.  Last but not least, you can cook vegetables together with the meat and have a complete meal ready in one shot.  Before you go for it, read all of the instructions carefully or you could have an explosion in your oven.  No, this did not happen to me, but I have heard about it happening.  Really! (This is me rolling my eyes.)

I had seen the idea of oven bags in cooking with aluminum foil pouches or pans topped off with foil, but this is not the same.  What I had never seen, but have later found out to be a commonly used bag in the past, is cooking with a paper bag.  In the lunch room we were discussing cooking turkey for Thanksgiving and someone mentioned that their father had always used a paper bag.  Hmmmm, okay why not?  I tried it and I will never cook a turkey another way again.  I am going to try cooking my chicken the same way.  So how do you cook in a paper bag?  Well it is pretty easy.  Get a clean paper bag from the grocery store, one of the brown ones.  Cover the entire inside with butter.  Stuff your turkey with whatever fruits and or spices you like.  Cover you turkey with salt and other spices you regularly use and then put the turkey in the bag (I cooked a 25lb turkey as I have 6 boys including my husband and so I had to use 2 bags), fold the edges down and put in the oven.  Cooking time and temperature is the same as it says on the package the turkey comes in.  That was it!  No basting, checking or looking at the turkey.  5 hours later I took it out, and it was brown, juicy and delicious.  There was lots of meat juice that I used to make the gravy.  So my recommendation is to definitely, "Bag it."

Looking for the One - finding the perfect cookbook for you

How I met and then got together with my husband is an amazing story, especially from the point when I knew that he was the one.  That though is not the story that I'm going to share.  :P  Finding the one and knowing that it is the one is always hard.  We do it all the time without realizing it.  Carpool partners, lunch buddies, study partners, chat room friends, the right major in school, the best tablet etc.

Looking for the best cookbook when you are starting out is just as or more hard than any of the aforementioned.  I found mine without even looking.  It was my mother's Betty Crocker Cookbook from when she got married in 1965.  It is still my go to book.  With the plethora of cookbooks, the beginner may find themselves wondering which one is the right one.

Here are some tips that will help you find the perfect match:

1 - Pictures:  A good cookbook explains things using pictures that help you know if you are on track. Also if it looks good enough to eat and after it is, even better.
2 - Simple to understand: While there is a whole new world full of cooking vocabulary, a good cookbook will use simple everyday words and explain any new words as it goes along.
3 - Thematic:  If you need vegetarian recipes, low-calorie, gluten-free, make sure that you focus on that and not on the author (unless they are an expert in the theme), the reviews of critics or the famous people talking about it.  The choosing of a cookbook needs to be all about you.
4 - Ingredients:  You should have or be able to easily get the ingredients asked for in the recipes, this includes cost.  :)
5 - Layout:  Is the book easy to follow and does it get you excited to get in the kitchen and put on your apron?
6 - Extras: Do you know anything about ounces, cups, teaspoons, cuts of meats, cooking times, substitutes?  No?  Then make your cookbook does.

Just as in finding love, finding the right cookbook will help you to fal in love with your own food.  :)
Happy Cooking!

Elements - Fire, Wood, Metal, Water: Kitchenware

I remember sitting in Chemistry class and wondering about explosions.  On one hand, if I could make it look like I did it on purpose, no one got hurt, and I didn't get caught but all the students knew it was a prank pulled off by me, Fantastic!  (Hey I was a Junior looking to lower my geek factor)  On the other hand, what if I blew up the school, (missing a day of school is the only positive there) or got myself hurt, (again missing a day of school) or expelled (yes, I was terribly bored in school and looked for any excuse to miss a day) or looked even more like a geek because I was the only one to have it happen not on purpose. (Zero positives, expect getting sick from the embarrassment and missing a day of school :) 

The whole explosion thing was brought about from a discussion of how different elements interact)  In the kitchen, there is chemistry everywhere.  Don't believe me, catch a few episodes of "Good Eats."  But for our conversation, we will stay with the basic, What kind of spoon should I use?  Wood?  Plastic?  Metal?  Silicone?  The discussion is really based on the elements you will be working with.

Working with a hot pot and ingredients - Wood and Silicone holds up to heat very well and does not transfer it to your hands.  Also, they will not melt. Metal does not melt, but it will transfer the heat.  Plastic melts but does not transfer the heat.

Strong enough not to break - Wood, Silicone (if well made), Metal - hard to break.  Plastic breaks.  :)

Insulated - When you are working with some types of recipes in the future, like candy, you want to make sure that the utensil you are working with does not suck the heat out of your ingredients.  Your best bets here are Wood and Silicone.

Soft enough not to scratch your pots and pans - everything but metal, although wood may scratch some types of non-stick pans.

If you can't tell by now, I really like using wooden utensils, but ceramic is easier to clean.  Have fun and take your time trying out the different options depending on what you need.

 

Searing Heat in the Kitchen

We had been married for about a year and just moved into our first home.  My husband was excited to share our new abode with a close friend and invited him over to eat.  I had by that time learned some of the basics of cooking, so I wasn't to worried.  Big mistake! :)  My husband asked his friend what he liked to eat.  His friend was for anyone else very considerate and said,  "Oh nothing fancy, meat and potatoes is more than fine.  Meat, my nemesis.  But I took a deep breath and made a suggestion of a roast in the crock pot.  My sweetheart thought for a moment and looking me in the eye said,  "Actually, I promised him that we would have sautéed steak and mashed potatoes."  WHYYYYY!  "I don't know, it just sounded good, because I haven't had it for a long time."  Imagine me fuming and thinking to myself; "yes, I know.  You haven't had that since we have been married if you don't count the time I tried and it turned out like a tire or the two times we had steak at a restaurant.  But hey, new house, new challenges, I could do this.  For those of you who hate to wait for the end of the story; it all turned out great and I discovered a whole new area of confidence and cooking. 

Here are the tips I used to cook a great steak - (and pork too)

Oven Roasting: You will see the chefs on TV do this and it is how they do it in restaurants:

• Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees F
• Turn the burner or element on high heat, and warm up a oven safe skillet until it’s piping hot.
• Put a small amount of oil that will spread across the pan.  Usually this is about 2 teaspoons.  Do not use Olive oil for this.  Let it heat up, about 30 to 45 seconds.
• Using tongs, not a fork because you don't want to put holes in the meat that let the juices out.  Then put the steak in the pan and sear it for about 90 seconds on each side. This locks in the juices.
• Finally, place the pan in the oven to finish cooking. Roast the meat for 6 to 9 minutes, based on how you want it cooked and how thick it is.  The thicker and the more well done you want it, the longer you keep it in the oven.
• Don't overcook your meat.  Trust me, 9 minutes is enough for almost any steak
• Beware the urge to turn your meat over lots of times.  Just the once when you flipped it to sear it is enough, really.  :)
• If you want to know how the meat is, don't smash it. That will only push the juices out of it.  Guess what, the harder the meat is, the drier it is; so press a little and it should press down like the flesh on the top of your fist between your thumb and finger feel when you press down.
• Take the meat out of the oven and off of the pan right away, your steak will keep cooking for a few minutes just based on the heat the steak has.  Also, letting it set a few minutes lets the juices settle into the steak. Yum!

Multiplies, Cubed and Squared - using flavors in new ways

The first time I lived in Chile, I paid for a pension.  Basically, it is a rented room in someone's home.  The lady looks after you is referred to as your "mamita" or little mother.  My pension not only included the room, water, electricity, and water but food as well.  While it gave me the chance to sample a lot of different homemade traditional food, it meant that I didn't get a chance to practice or try new things unless I could get someone to take a day and cook with me, which over 15 months happened a grand total of two times.

Even so, I was impressed by how they took staples to use them in so many different ways.  Beyond that was the ability to take a base and multiply its use by using it in so many different meals.  In Chile this base was "pino".  Pino is cooked ground meat with onion, salt, and cumin. Once cooked this pino can be used in empanadas (turnovers), pastel de papas (shepherd pie), pastel de Choclo (a cross between shepherd pie and corn pudding), fried stuffed potatoes, budin de zapallo italiano (stuffed zucchini casserole), and last but not least stuffed tomatoes or mushrooms.  Pretty amazing, but coming home I found I was able to apply it to food here at home, once I began to think of how to do so.

One of my favorites is to take a sauce and re-purpose it for another recipe.  For example, I bought an adobo  flavor packet at the local Asian market to cook meat for dinner.  I took the left over sauce and juice from the meat and used it to make gravy the next day to use on our potatoes.  When I realized that I had made too much gravy, I put away the extra and used the the following day by adding sour cream as a layer for a layered casserole.

Sometimes it isn't about reusing the same thing over several times in different dishes, but rather using things in a new way when I don't have what I regularly would use because I want to try something new or when I don't have what I would usually need.  The layered casserole I used the gravy with, I usually make with mushroom soup, but I didn't have any.  This meant that I had to come up with a replacement or try to think of something else to make.  I wasn't about to come up with another meal, so desperation became the mother of invention and a great twist on a standby meal.  :)

Please feel free to think about the flavors you like and how you can reuse different bases in new ways and comment with your ideas, experiences and comments.

Everybody's Doing It - food from around the world

Remember when your mother asked you if your friends jumped off a bridge would you do it too, just because everyone was doing it?  I have to admit that at the time bungee jumping was becoming popular and my answer at the time would have probably been, "yes Mom, I think that would be fun."  Then again I wanted to try jumping out of a plane and paragliding or hang-gliding.  Today, I have to admit that I have turned into a chicken.  A whole freak out experience that occurred during my pregnancy with the twins, but that is as they say a story for another day.  A few years back, I would watch the Amazing Race and wondered if I could overcome my grown-up fears and participate in the roadblock.  Truthfully, probably not.

In the food world, everyone is into new vegetables, spices and recipes.  I am doing it too.  Part of the reason is my husband finding a Philippine restaurant and falling in love with it.  After eating there I discovered Baby Bok Choy.  It is great in salads, soups and meat cooked in it's own juices.  It is a lot like cabbage but not as bitter, easier to cut and goes good with all sorts of other vegetables.

I know that the the whole fusion-cooking thing seems like a passing fad, but everyone is doing it.  LOL

The interesting tidbit that I have discovered is that there are similarities in many different cultures with the ingredients they use, their cooking methods and use of staple foods in many different ways.  Learning from other cultures and the use of foods that we can now find in our local neighborhoods makes the enjoyment of food a whole new experience.  :)

Heat to Hot - cooking tips

Like many of you, I am always looking for a shorter way to do things.  I was convinced, as most younger people are, that many of the rules and regs that others imposed on me, were truly unnecessary.  In the winter, preheating your car before leaving made sense (it can get really cold in Iowa), but checking your mirror every time before you leave made no sense to me at the time.  There are a lot of valid shortcuts in Math and sewing and I have even celebrated a few cooking shortcuts in a prior post, but when it comes to heat and pots and pans. there is a rhyme to this reasoning. 


Here are some great pointers i picked up from Discuss Cooking.  It is a free site where you can ask questions and as the title says, discuss cooking.  It is more for foodies, but you can find some answers to those basic questions you never thought to ask.  :)

It is unnecessary to preheat a Teflon pan, but it doesn't hurt either.

The caramelizing from putting foods into an already heated pan will add another dimension of flavor.

Preheat an empty pan for about 3 minutes or so.

Add the required amount of oil and heat for another couple of minutes.

Add meat/poultry/whatever you are cooking. If it is meat or poultry do not turn over until the meat/poultry has naturally "unstuck" from the bottom of the pan. In other words, don't force a piece of meat/poultry from the bottom of the pan.

Plus, cooking time is more accurate. If you start with a cold pan, the initial start of your cooking time could be off by as much as 5 minutes, and when making something like a chicken breast, that 5 minutes could make all the difference.  If you sear that breast first and then roast it, you will have 2 different methods of cooking applied to the same food, each bringing out the flavor of the food in a different way.

TV Cooking Show Junkie - Theme of the Day, Oil and Vinegar

I feel like Sheldon who learned how to swim by watching the internet and practicing on the floor.  Whenever I watch shows on food channels, I think that I should try that, or maybe I could do that too; but more often than not I am thinking that there is nooooo way I could do what the chef is doing.  I love to watch the shows and now that I have accepted that I will never BE a chef, I look for the ideas that are easy to integrate into to what I do and leave it at that.  I have gotten much better with meats, learned to like butter (Thank you Alton) and learned to accept that I do not like the flavor of olive oil, even if it is good for you.  :)

So the tip for today has to do with the cooking helpers - oil and vinegr.  There are a lot of different oils and the prices are all over the place as well.  They do have different tastes and vinegar is another often used ingredient with many different uses, prices and flavors.  Growing up I have always liked lemon but it has taken me a long time to learn to appreciate vinegar.

Here are 2 links to help learn more about them and to see what you like best.


http://mideastfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/a/cooking_oils.htm

http://busycooks.about.com/od/quicktips/qt/vinegartips.htm

Odds and Ends - Kitchen and cooking tips

As I drove home from work today, my head began to hurt and my stomach began to feel like I had eaten knives.  It is one of the oddest things when you can feel yourself getting sick, but you really don't know what to do next.  Rest and fluids? Vitamin C? Tums and mint tea?  It is a lot like when you have certain things happen in the kitchen and you wonder, "What now?"

Here are a few of my "What now?" moments and what I did.

Too many peeled potatoes - in a large bowl put your left over potatoes and then cover them with water and leave on the counter.  This will keep them from turning brown.

Left over bones and bits of meat and vegetable tops and skins - toss it all in a pot with about 8 cups of water and let it boil for about 2 hours.  Add salt and pepper to taste, take out the bits and pieces and you have a stock base for lots of different recipes.  It is easier to buy it ready made in a box, but there is something about the smell of a soup stock cooking in the house.

There are fruits and vegetables that should not be put in the fridge.  Also some can be helped in the ripening process. Here are a couple of links that may help.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS5DZzyuUXw06DMRsAfz9-igeNDl7XNe6_xfM92N33FXwAx9PoB-Q

http://www.cookingindex.com/info/34/features/what-should-i-store-in-my-refrigerator.htm

Chilies and soups change taste with time and are often better the next day.  Spices develop more flavor, heat gets hotter and flavors mix and change.  Don't be surprised if you like some dishes more the next day.

Shortcuts are not Cheats - over the counter packets

One of my worst memories of food is sitting at the table and being told that I could not leave until I had finished everything on my plate.  I know that several of you also had the same experience.  All I know is that after sitting there for more than 2 hours on several occasions, I finally had the idea to get things moving, so to speak.  Let's just say that I found ways to hide food without using a napkin.  Hmmm, never thought about that before.  My mother did not use napkins but rather a dish towel.  Anyway, now that I have definitely gone into the realm of TMI, not all shortcuts to save time are bad.  In fact, most are great!  So while I was looking to save time sitting at the table, you can save lots of time for your cooking.

There are lots of seasonings sold in packets.  Most grocery stores have them, and for even more variety visit the Hispanic or Asian section or the if you have them Mexican or Asian supermarkets.  Until you find what spices you like, this is an easy and fast way to get your dishes going.  There are packets for just about everything from sloppy joes, to meatloaf, to soups and gravy. 

Another great shortcut are oven bags.  They cut down on cooking time and mess.  In fact, often times you can use the juices from the mess for other dishes, but more on that next time.

Heating up frozen food is kind of the lazy route as well as things like Hamburger Helper.  They are not as fresh or very healthy for you, but in a pinch they can work as a starting point.  Canned soups can also be an interesting starting point for different dishes.  Think about the flavors you like and what parts might be hard for you to make, like the sauce for the pasta and go from there.  As we go along, I know that more ideas will come to you as I share my experiences and challenges. 

In the end, shortcuts are just that, time savers.  So don't feel like you are not a real cook or chef when you pop open a can, box or pouch or something already made.  Even real Chefs have their shortcuts, so keep at it until you find your standbys and then Stand By Them.  :)

New Year, New things for the kitchen

Having got married in a time when Target did not have a wedding registry, we ended up like most couples with 2 or 3 punch bowls and several things that are nice to have, but you just not sure when you will ever use them.  On the other hand, my friend got married when Target had just come out with it's registry.  To say that  she went wild is about right.  The interesting part is that even though she asked for things, she actually got them.  What is interesting about this is that she asked for several things that she realized later that she had no idea when she would ever use them as she had never used them before getting married and several of those items were for the Kitchen.  :)

So what does a beginner need in the Kitchen to get started?  Here is my basic list.
- Cutting board
- 2 knives
- 1 crock pot
- 1 set of measuring spoons
- 1 set of measuring cups
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 strainer
- 1 grater
- 2 cooking pots
- 1 frying pan
- 1 mixer
- 1 pair of oven mitts
- 2 kitchen towel
- 1 serving fork
- 2 spatulas (one to flip and one made of rubber to scrape)
- 1 basting brush
- 1 baking sheet
- 2 baking pans (one 8 x 8 and one 9 x 13)
- 1 set of silverware, including steak knives

There are lots of more things to get, but this will get you started without pulling out your hair :)  The important part for now is not to worry about buying the newest and the best.  There are lots of other items I love, but they are not essential to make a basic yummy home cooked meal.  By the way, I have gotten a lot of these items used.