Single-use Culinary Tools

We moved into a new house recently.  It has a good-sized kitchen with lots of storage space.  But I have completely run out of room for uni-use kitchen tools.  There’s just no space left.  I don’t have room for shrimp de-veiner, the Shake It & Make It Ice Cream Ball, the Tomato Musher or the Turnip Twaddler.  I’m physically blocking access to all cabinets on the chance that any of these tools were to find their way to the house.  

Every year at the state fair I watch as the hawkers pitch their specialized, can’t live without kitchen gadget that will be used once and then shoved in the back of the cabinet forevermore.  I’ve been to the Tupperware and Pampered Chef parties (and have even hosted some myself,) where great, must-haves like the French-fry microwaveable tray were pitched with far more enthusiasm than the tool merited.

We seem to get swept up in the thought that we could use the item to make something delectable, or save precious time in the preparation process or do something not possible with regular kitchen tools.  Oh yes, and it’s so affordable too.   Sometimes it takes us a long time to realize as much as we like the idea of something, the execution of that something isn’t meant to be.   At this point, I can look at an item and say, “Really?  Do you see yourself using this more than once or twice?”  That makes it easy to pass.

The Big Boy Update:  We found a box in the storage room and were about to break it down for recycling when I realized it was big enough for my son to crawl into.  The box was the one his car seat came in, and the perfect size for a toddler.  He loves crawling in and out of it, being dragged around, covered up and then “found.”  Looks like it’ll be recycled later, after all the fun has been used up.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Last night she slept a long time between each of her meals, and the second night time meal almost pushed out to the 9:00 morning meal.  She’s doing well on her own without much “bridging” to the next meal from us.  She had her two-month checkup yesterday with shots and we watched her temperature and gave her some Tylenol for possible fever.  She did very well yesterday and through the night.