The Kitchen
What I actually use
This is not a list of everything available. It is the short list of things that earned a permanent spot in my house, plus a few I bought, used, and returned so you do not have to.
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Start here: my first five
If you only buy five things, make it these.
Grinding Tools, Spices, Herbs, Seasonings & Flavorings
If you buy one thing off this page, buy a grinder. It changes everything else.
Countertop spice grinder
A full countertop machine, not the little coffee grinder shape. Bulk is the reason. Grinding whole seed for a full jar of Gulf Coast Harbor Blend (Seafood Seasoning) in one pass is a different job from grinding a spoonful, and the small ones make you do it in four batches.
Used in: Gulf Coast Harbor Blend (Seafood Seasoning) on the Pantry page, Herb Crusted Wild Salmon
Rechargeable salt and pepper grinder
An electric grinder that runs with a button on top, which is exactly what I went searching for. Rechargeable, so there is no cord running across the counter.
Electric salt and pepper grinder set
The same idea sold as a set, so salt and pepper each get their own. Electric, with the button on the top.
Mortar and pestle
Slower than the grinder, and better for garlic, fresh herbs, and small amounts of toasted seed where you want texture instead of powder.
Organic spices
Bought organic, in bulk, and used up within six months. There are more of these than fit on one card, so they have a shelf of their own.
Herbs and seasonings
Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and the rest of what gets crushed into a blend or added at the end of a dish. This is the short list; the full lineup lives behind the link.
Flavorings
Real flavor doesn’t need alcohol. These are the extracts and vanilla I actually reach for in my own kitchen: non-alcoholic, organic, and as close to pure ingredient as I can find. A little goes a long way in baking, smoothies, morning oats, and homemade treats. Everything here is linked so you can bring the same quality into your own kitchen.
Flavorings going up as I link them
Pantry staples
The swaps only work if the replacements are in the cupboard. These are the staples that stand in for what I gave up: organic pure maple syrup and organic raw honey, carob, almond, buckwheat and sprouted oat flour, mesquite flour, organic sprouted rolled oats, organic rice and amaranth, popcorn kernels, black and dark red kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas and lentils, extra virgin olive oil along with avocado, sesame, coconut and sunflower oils, blackstrap molasses and coconut sugar, organic raw and roasted nuts, Himalayan and Icelandic sea salt, and roasted dandelion and chicory for the morning cup.
Organic decaf coffee and espresso
For anyone who isn’t ready to give up the morning cup. Every one of these is organic and decaffeinated with the Swiss Water process instead of chemicals, and most are low acid and tested for mold.
Cooking and prep
Pots and pans
The skillet and everything else that goes on a burner, with nothing sprayed on the inside to wear away. Sheet pans are not in here; they live with the baking.
Used in: Pinto Bean Breakfast Bowl, Sweet Bell Pepper and Chickpea Skillet, Pan-Seared Herb Chicken with Spaghetti Squash
Knives and sets
One good knife you keep sharp beats a block of dull ones, and how it sits in my hand matters more than the brand on the blade. My everyday chef’s knife is here, with the rest of the knives and sets to follow.
Baking pans
Sheet pans and the roasting pan. Everything that goes into the oven on a rack.
Used in: Roast Chicken and Potatoes, Herb Crusted Wild Salmon, Deconstructed Apple Pie Bowl
Sourdough tools
Everything the loaf touches between the starter jar and the oven. It had been sharing the baking shelf and it had outgrown it. Everything here is for sourdough made at home with organic, sprouted, whole grain bread flour, the one exception to my no gluten rule.
My sourdough recipe lives in the cookbook.
Mixing tools and accessories
Everything that whips, blends and mixes lives here. The stand mixer handles dough and big batches, the smaller tools take the quick jobs, and the bowls hold it all, with lids so nothing needs plastic wrap.
Used in: Deconstructed Apple Pie Bowl
Thermometers
Two rather than one, because they do two different jobs. The instant read checks chicken and fish at the end, and the candy thermometer watches the number the whole way up.
Used in: Roast Chicken and Potatoes, Pan-Seared Herb Chicken with Spaghetti Squash
Kitchen scales
Both scales live here. Spice blends and bread dough come out more consistent measured by weight than by spoon, and the two jobs do not want the same scale.
Fine mesh strainer
For sifting freshly ground spice so the blend is even, and for a hundred other jobs. Buy the sturdy one, not the flimsy one.
Organic cotton straining bags
Reusable bags for straining, so a broth or a nut milk comes out clean without lining a sieve every time.
Unbleached cheesecloth
Unbleached and undyed, for straining, wrapping herbs, and the jobs a sieve is too coarse for.
Waterproof apron
Turmeric does not come out. Neither does beet, and neither does the oil that spits when a pan goes into a hot oven. Waterproof, wide across the chest, and with pockets, because whatever you need next is never in reach once your hands are covered.
Food prep gloves
Heavy black nitrile gloves, food safe and latex free, for handling raw chicken and fish, mixing meatballs, or working with hot peppers.
Cutting boards
Three to choose between rather than one right answer, for different counters and different jobs.
Measuring tools
Cups and spoons in glass, in metal and in wood. Three sets to choose between, so there is one that suits the way you cook.
Pressure cookers
Two to choose between rather than one right answer. Both cook under pressure, and the difference is mostly which other jobs you want the same pot to take on.
Used in: Organic Pinto Beans
Food processors
A few to choose between rather than one right answer. The work is the same, chopping and shredding and turning whole ingredients into something the recipe can use, and the difference is mostly how much of it you do at once.
Cheese graters and zesters
From shredded mozzarella to bright citrus zest, the right grater makes quick work of prep. A quick hand tool for small jobs, or an electric shredder or stand mixer attachment for big batches.
Used in: Warm Custard Spice (Sweet Baking Blend) on the Pantry page
Peelers
Swivel, Y shaped, julienne and rotating, each good at a different job. Single ingredient cooking means a lot of peeling, so I keep a few styles close.
Funnels
For getting what I am pouring into the jar instead of onto the counter. One fills by hand, and one fits onto the mixer.
Nama Cold-Press Juicers
Fresh cold-pressed juice starts here. Two models from Nama, side by side, so you can pick the one that fits your counter and how much you make.
Utensils
The spoons, spatulas, tongs and turners that do the everyday stirring and flipping, plus the mashers, ladle, skimmer, basting brush and skewers that cover the rest. Nothing coated that can flake into the food, just wood, stainless steel and food-safe silicone.
Parchment paper
Unbleached and chlorine free, so nothing white-washed goes under my food in a hot oven. A roll for lining pans any size I need, and pop-up sheets for when I just want to pull one out and go.
Serving platters
A whole roast chicken, a holiday spread, a family-style pasta. When the food comes to the table, it deserves something better than the pan it cooked in. Ceramic and porcelain, nothing plastic, and four to choose between depending on your table and how many you are feeding.
Outdoor cooking
Some dinners belong outside. The pellet grill burns real hardwood, so the smoke and flavor come from the wood itself, not lighter fluid or anything sprayed on. The grill and the pellets I feed it are both here.
Kitchen gloves
Two kinds of gloves, two different jobs. The heat resistant pairs handle a hot grill grate, a cast iron handle or a pan straight out of the oven. The disposable ones are for raw meat, hot peppers, beets and turmeric, and cleanup, and they're latex free and powder free so nothing rubs off onto the food.
Hot air popcorn popper
Hot air does the popping, so there’s no oil and no microwave bag. I pour in the organic kernels, set a bowl under the spout, and finish the popcorn with a little Henhouse Gold from the Pantry page.
Used in: Henhouse Gold (Chicken Seasoning) on the Pantry page
Ninja Creami
Homemade ice cream, sorbet and frozen treats from real ingredients, with nothing I can’t pronounce. I freeze the base, and the Creami turns it smooth and creamy.
Preservation and storage
Cooking this way means cooking more often, so keeping food properly is half the battle.
Vacuum sealing and freezer
The sealer, the bags and rolls, and the labels and marker that go with them. Everything that gets food into the freezer and back out again, all on one shelf.
Canning starter set
A water bath canning pot with the pieces that go with it. Buying it as a set means nothing gets forgotten.
Glass storage jars
Glass, because it does not hold onto smells and does not stain, and you can see what is in it without opening it. There are more sizes than fit on one card.
Used in: Organic Homemade Chicken & Vegetable Broth, the spice blends on the Pantry page
Beyond the kitchen
If you are reading labels on food, you tend to start reading them on everything else too. These are the everyday things I switched over and stuck with.
Toothpaste and toothbrushes
Short ingredient lists and no artificial dyes, and a choice between a brush you charge and one you do not.
Shampoo and conditioner
Fragrance free or lightly scented with real essential oil. It took a few tries to find ones that did not leave hair flat.
No link yet. I am working through the list and this one goes up as soon as it is ready.
Deodorant
The category with the most disappointing options. This one is a mineral salt stick, unscented.
Hand and dish soap
Plain, unscented, and refillable so you are not buying a new plastic bottle every month.
No link yet. I am working through the list and this one goes up as soon as it is ready.
Laundry
I stopped buying detergent and buy the parts instead. They’re all here, completely unscented, no perfume covering anything up, just clean. Perfect if you’re sensitive to fragrance.
Household cleaner
One concentrate that handles counters, floors, and glass instead of six bottles under the sink.
No link yet. I am working through the list and this one goes up as soon as it is ready.
Water filtration
It is the ingredient in everything you cook and the one nobody thinks about. The plumbed-in filter and the countertop one are both here, plus the spring water I keep for when I’m away from my own tap.
Glass water pitchers
All glass, with no plastic touching my water, so nothing leaches in and it never holds onto a taste. I fill one from the filter and keep it in the fridge. There are two to choose between, depending on the look you like and how much you pour at once.
Kitchen towels
Organic cotton, and plenty of them. They dry hands and dishes, grab hot handles, and go through the wash more than anything else in my kitchen.
Post-op care and recovery
Robes that work around bandages and drains, wedges and pillows for resting, cushions for the ride home, and the wheelchairs, walker and grabbers that cover the first weeks back.
Travel Refrigerator/Freezer
I don’t leave home without it. It keeps my food safely frozen or refrigerated. Here are the fridges I trust and the batteries that keep them running when there’s no outlet.
Body Wash
Honey, castile soap and jojoba oil. On their own they are just ingredients to the body soap I make, and the recipe is coming soon.
Trash bins and bags
From small to tall, we can trash it all. A small bin catches scraps as you chop, a tall one handles the rest, and the right bags keep it all tidy.
Product links are being added. I am finishing the vetting and the affiliate setup, so specific brands and links go live shortly. If there is a category you want me to cover, tell me and it moves up the list.
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