Kitchen Tools to Make Life Easier

Before we start cooking there are a few tools that come in very handy and will save you a lot of time and hassle.  Here they are prioritized:

1) Mandoline Slicer

I personally am not a big fan of chopping, slicing and dicing (especially when it comes to those nasty onions.)  However, if you give me a mandoline slicer, I'll slice until I run out of veggies and look for more!  Those of you who have one know exactly what I'm talking about!  This is the only tool I use multiple times a day every day! It doesn't matter how much you spend, you will get your money's worth and then some. 


2)  Slap Chop (or any other hand chopper)

In Asian cuisine, you use alot of fresh garlic, ginger and crushed peanuts (especially Vietnamese and Thai).  I use 2 Slap Chops and have them handy at all times.  One I use for mincing/chopping wet ingredients and the other for dry ingredients like nuts.  That way you're not stuck washing then wiping dry the blades every time.  They're inexpensive, easy to clean, less hassle and a great time saver.  The guy on the infomercial knows what he's talking about it!

3)  Rice Cooker/Warmer

Rice is such a universal side dish. Almost every nationality eats rice.  I personally would rather eat the uncooked grains than sit over a pot and watch rice cook.  Thank goodness for rice cookers.  The one our family uses is a Tiger rice cooker.  It looks very Asian, but it's been with us for over 10 years and still working beautifully.  You can spend a lot or very little for one.  The key is to have one that keeps the rice warm for at least several hours without drying it.  I prefer Tiger cookers since they seem to have a better steaming system that cooks the rice faster and keeps it more moist.  You can also cook those prepackaged rice/pasta boxes in it as well.  While the rice is cooking or warming, you can work on the rest of your dinner.  Rice is cheap and it doesn't have any nasty trans fat, oil, butter or preservatives either.  I almost always have a batch of rice sitting in the cooker or fridge to make fried rice for the boys.  Total time and money saver! 

4)  Salad Spinner

If you don't have a salad spinner, it's time to buy one.  Our diet today is so heavy in starch and protein that fresh green veggies and herbs are used more as a garnish than a side.  You must know that every meal plan  that will be posted on this site has been prepared for my family.  It is extremely important to me that we not only eat well, but healthy at the same time.  I've got killer salad recipes that are so good, you'll want to make it the main course and skip the starch!  But you can't make it with soggy lettuce!

You can click on the links below and purchase these tools directly from Ai's Kitchen Store on Amazon.