How to stock your kitchen

I don't know if there's a kitchen that doesn't do any mixing. But if you're among those who has the passion of baking and making pastries, I think today's secret of making a perfect bread is in a bread machine.

If I'm not mistaken, this machine has been around for maybe ten years, and its so cool that it works quietly on its own. The best thing about this is that you can make white bread and whole wheat bread come out better than some bread you bought at the store. Even whole wheat bread can be very good, full of flavor and soft to bite. Perhaps you too can be amazed by how perfect you can make a piece of pastry every time.

Not only a bread machine can easily make bread, apparently, you don't need to exert all your effort in kneading. A good neighbor of ours (who lived two blocks away) enjoys this bread machine thing and it's been wonderful of her sending children living close to her, fresh from the oven pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, (perhaps anything that she could think of putting in the machine) and those gleeful children keep looking forward of the delicious plates of fragrant sweet treats almost every weekend! That's amazing. If you are getting impatient with the conventional baking using your own two hands to work the dough, then a bread machine is all worth in your kitchen.

In fairness to my not so big but strong arms, I still prefer the traditional, hands-on approach of baking bread for my family. Maybe I'm just the old-fashioned Dad. But whenever I'm busy (as I always do) I don't have to worry about having some weekends without my homemade baked-surprises for the whole family.... I even have amazed my wife I made my first calzones one of the best she ever had.... Thanks to my bread machine!

Here is a starting list of items (with thanks to the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. But watch this space as we will be adding to this basic set of products.

- Fry pan - 10" get an oven safe pan for versatility
- Sauté Pan - 12" with lid. This is a bit different than the fry pan as the sides are typically straighter
- Sauce pan - with lid - Two of these are useful - 1 quart and 3 quart - along with a double boiler insert for the larger.
- Dutch over - a 6 or 8 quart pot with a tight-fitting lid.
- Baking sheets - Two baking sheets should be included one could have turned up edges (jelly roll pan)
- Loaf pan - Two 9x5 bread pans
- Cake pan - Two 8" or 9" square cake pans with 2" sides along with one 13x9 baking dish.
Two round cake pans are a good addition
- Casserole dishes - two or three casserole dishes ranging from a half quart to 3 quarts (with lids)
- Muffin pan - One 12 cup or two 6 cup muffin tins
- Pie pan - A 9" by 1 1/2" pie plate with sloping sides
- Cooling rack - Round or square with rack for cooling food

These will provide the basic set of pots and pans.

A basic knives can be purchased as a set or as individual knives that fit each activity in the kitchen.

* Chef's knife - Usually an 8" knife that is easy to handle.
* Bread Knife - Serrated edge knife that will saw through foods with a hard exterior
* Paring knife - A shorter knife of 3" to 5"

There are a myriad of other knives to add to this list as well as specialty knives for boning, carving, butchering and so on. Knives wind up being a very personal choice and depend on the style of cooking.

There are a wide range of tools for the kitchen. But here are a few of the basic items:

* Stand mixer - A stand mixer generally works better than a hand mixer and fixtures can be added for pastry, slicing, and other functions
* Blender - Having a heavy duty blender provides flexibility for preparing everything from smoothies to omelets to whipped cream
* Colander - Two colanders are useful; one for draining hot things such as pasta and one for cold things such as vegetables or lettuce
* Cutting board - Two cutting boards should be used one for meats and one for everything else
* Grater - The square box-type grater may be the most flexible (A mandolin would be a significant upgrade)
* Mixing bowls - A set of three mixing bowls ranging from 1 quart to 5 quarts is a minimum. Multiple sets adds flexibility

There is an array of small tools that make life easier in the kitchen.

* Measuring Cups - A set of dry that can filled to the top and wet (usually with a pour spout) that usually can be seen through ranging from 1/4 to 1 cup
* Measuring spoons - These usually come in sets looped together but individual measuring spoons add convenience
* Pastry blender - This U-shaped device is used for cutting butter into flour
* Digital instant thermometer - This thermometer is essential for grilling
* Tongs - The best utensil for moving chicken, meat and other small items
* Spatulas - An array of three or four spatulas for mixing, turning, scraping, cakes, pies to suit your preferences
* Turners - Two or three turners (flat bladed unlike spatulas) with or with out holes
* Pealer - For removing skins
* Whisk - One or two whisks for baking and cooking -- mandatory for omelets