Single Purpose Items?

Within the last week I have come across three blogs where the writers advocated eschewing single function kitchen items. The examples which were given were an ice cream scoop, garlic press, and popcorn popper.

Although I agree in theory that it is a waste of space and money to have something that doesn't multi-task, when I start thinking about the practical application of this I realized that it's not such a good idea after all.

The two biggest reasons to have those sort of items would be that they are helpful because one uses it a lot based on ones lifestyle, or because by not having it one would have to buy the product already made. Examples of the first would be a coffee maker for most Americans or a rice cooker for most Asians, while examples of the second would be a waffle iron or an ice cream maker.

I love waffles and my husband loves ice cream and so we have a waffle iron and an ice cream maker. Since we try to be careful how often we eat out, going out to breakfast rarely happens. Having a waffle iron gives us the opportunity to have a favorite meal without it being costly. Even if we only use it once a month (we actually use it more), the space it takes up is worth the cost savings it affords us. An ice cream maker is handy because my husband goes through a lot of ice cream. It is much more affordable than buying ice cream and it also gives us the opportunity to make sure that there aren't artificial ingredients in it.

There are also other random reasons why single use items are handy:

My mother hammered into us never to use table spoons to scoop ice cream. Our freezer was very cold and she hated seeing all of her spoons bent. So we used an ice cream scoop because the alternative was having all our spoons look like they were doing the limbo.

Someone else might use a garlic press because she hates the smell of garlic on her hands. (They do make stainless steel "soap" bars to rid oneself of that smell, but those too are single purpose items.)

Another person might use a rice cooker to make sushi because he can't get sushi rice the proper consistency on the stove.

After reflecting on all of this, I realized that I have no problem with the kitchen items I have. The people promoting this are probably trying to avoid the rampant materialism so common in our country. If materialism is the reason they argue this, then it seems to be paradoxical: either one has material items to make or do things at home, or one buys things at the store because one hasn't the means to make them at home.

At least I don't have a coffee pot, microwave* or toaster. Those are items I have no problem doing without.


*It could be argued that this is not a single use item because it can cook, reheat, or thaw. I say, suit yourself. That is what I use the stove and refrigerator for.

Just Checking In

I don't have anything in particular to post, but I wanted to let you know that I haven't totally forgotten about this blog.

In other news, since it was a pretty warm day today, I decided to make this recipe which I posted a while ago. My husband still liked it and I was even able to get my son to eat it. Also, I recently found this muffin recipe which looks both healthy and delicious. The only thing keeping me from making it is that it makes 18 muffins instead of 12. I don't know what I could do with the extra batter.

I'm Back (for now)

Well, after a six month hiatus, I have returned. Although the main reason I haven't posted has been due to laziness, the other reason is that I just haven't made any meals lately that are both particularly good and interesting.

I have been thinking about changing the theme of the blog to something more general so I can blog about family life, but as I write this, I think I will just create a new blog which will allow me to do that.

Plato's Kitchen

For several months now I have been wanting to begin a food and cooking blog. The Internet has been a great resource for broadening my recipe collection and sometimes they are so good that I want to share them with others. Also, there are times when I find an article or blog post to be interesting or helpful and think others will benefit from them as well.

As for the title, I debated on whether I should name it after Plato. On one hand, the Platonic recipe is the best recipe, but on the other, Plato criticized "cookery" in the Gorgias because he considered it a skill harmful to one's health. I opted for the former because I hope that most of my recipes will be nourishing rather than harmful, as well as tasty enough to be a worthy contender for the Platonic forms. (Don't worry: that doesn't mean that I won't include a dessert every now and then!)