6 Kitchen Things I'm Loving Right Now

Hello friends...Didn't think I'd forgotten about summer blogging did ya?! We've been quite busy with travels and visits and fixing our fridge (winter is HERE ugh at least in the freezer) so a lot of our cooking lately has been very ad hoc and using what we have in the pantry. The end of month budget also seems to be approaching more quickly...perhaps from all the delicious berries we've been picking and yummy farmers market finds. All the seasonal things!

In addition to all the lovely summer produce and flowers I've been enjoying, I wanted to share my favorite things that I've been loving in our kitchen this month. When we got back from our Europe trip I realized how much I missed these!! Oh the comforts of home. I picked these 6 things to share with you because:

+ I use all them nearly every day

+ They're super durable and clean well

+ They've passed the small kitchen test (worthy enough to take up valuable space)

+ I would gift them to anyone and be super excited to be gifted them as well!!

So here we go!

Cast Iron. Our Lodge cast iron had a bit of a vacation but is back in full force. It’s just the best for searing meats (fish, steak, scallops, chicken, anything!), and fried eggs. It can take a little while to build up the seasoning (read more about that here), but it’s totally worth it! Nothing beats the crispy texture of a fried egg or seared steak in it. Or bacon. Or a burger. Or a frittata. You see where I'm going with this {anything flies}. I also have a mini cast iron that I use for cookies and that’s also amazing.

Hard Anondized Nonstick Pan. The opposite of a cast iron! I’ve always been wary about the chemicals in non-stick pans, but understand that the newer “hard anodized” ones are supposed to be better. I love this big saute pan we got for our wedding because it cleans SO easily and holds a good amount of food as well. Perfect for scrambled eggs or a quick veggie stir fry. Thinking about getting another one when we have a bigger kitchen!The Perfect Spatula. I picked this "Kaiser Perfect Spatula" up recently after I took a few chunks out of my favorite orange spatula in our food processor (oops). I love that this, like my old one, is narrow enough to get in smaller places. Key locations include nut butter jars, sauce jars, bowls of frosting, and pots of coconut rice.. Plus, the 100% silicone washes so easily. Given the name of the brand and performance experienced thus far, I’m tempted to try some more.

Over the Sink Strainer. One reason: berries. We’ve had a lot of blueberries and blackberries this summer and we’ve needed a big over the sink strainer to wash ‘em all!! I love that I don’t have to hold this colander and can just dump things over it without worrying if it will fall or slip. Other great uses: pasta, potatoes, beets…basically loose produce that you want to rinse en masse. I also just discovered this COLLAPSIBLE strainer that I would probably get since it seems way more space efficient! #utility #engineering

Anthropologie Bowls. These bowls (search "latte bowl" on Anthropologie's website) are perfect for oatmeal, yogurt bowls, curry, rice bowls…anything! Super cute colors and not expensive in case you break and need to replace 😊 I love them for my food photography, but of course they're quite functional as well.Peugeot Salt & Pepper Grinders. Your pepper will never be the same again. Seriously, freshly ground sea salt and pepper makes a HUGE difference! With summer produce at its peak, you can make some great meals with veggies + good olive oil + good salt + pepper (caprese salad! tomato salsa! fresh pasta!). With these Peugeot ones you can control how thick or thin you want the grind, too. These were a gift from my aunt many years ago and I adore them! I have the red ones, which you can find at Williams Sonoma, but there's also an Amazon option pictured here which I also like!

Hope you find these links helpful, and inspirational for some easy eats 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions, and if there are kitchen things YOU love! And of course, bon appétit.