Living in NYC, you don’t have the luxury of keeping an endless collection of kitchen goods. When we got engaged, I followed all of the ‘registry lists’ and ended up with way more then I really needed. Some of those things were given as hand-me-downs to my brother once he moved to the east coast for law school, and some were just given away in our last move. Here are a few items I’ve gotten in the past few months that I can’t live without.
Architec Endgrain Acacia Cutting Board
Admittedly, I over-registered for cutting boards. I had a rubbery one from Crate and Barrel, a big wood one from Macy’s, and a bunch of plastic ones. The only one that made it through 2 years in our first apartment was the big wood one. However, it was a light-colored wood that became discolored with repeated use, and is too big to leave out on the counter. This cutting board by Architec is great…smooth lines, the perfect size to leave out, and it has gripped feet at the bottom so it won’t slip when I try and hack into that fall squash.
Architec Purelast Mixing Bowls
I’ve got a great set of glass mixing bowls from Crate and Barrel that nest into each other and are perfect for apartment dwellers. The problem is, I often use these bowls to store fruit or snacks in and around the kitchen. Plus, whenever I mix up pancake batter or a sauce, transferring from the bowls ends up in a big mess. These Architec bowls are perfect for pouring, and are slightly weighted at the bottom with a gripper ring. They are made of recycled and natural ingredients and have a lovely, speckled appearance close-up.
Keurig Mini Brewer
Nespresso machines came out right around when we were registering, and I remember loving the coffee drinks produced, but being worried that the company would go out of business and I’d be stuck with an expensive machine and nowhere to buy pods! I’ve been kicking myself ever since for not getting one! This Keurig was a late housewarming gift from my mother-in-law, who has the bigger version and is obsessed. It’s no Nespresso, but it does produce decent and quick coffee. We don’t use it often, but it has come in super convenient on days when I forgot to buy more coffee or really need an afternoon pick-me-up. If you need your coffee mainstream, Dunkin Donuts sells K-cups, and Starbucks is coming out with their own K-cups in November. I find that Amazon.com is the best place to get K-cups at the lowest price.
I bought this scale months ago, pre-WW, when I went through a baking period. For measuring out dry ingredients, a scale couldn’t be an easier way to get as close as possible to one-bowl recipes. The scale has since come in super helpful while on WW, a tablespoon can be heaping or leveled off, and there is a difference in points and calories, but weight is standard and an easy way to measure portions.
Admittedly, I originally viewed this trash can because I simply wanted a sleek, stainless steel can that was medium-sized. In our old place, we could re-use grocery bags and walk 5 feet outside our door to the trash chute. Our new place is a walk-up, and we take our garbage outside ourselves. We immediately began using normal-sized kitchen trash bags after we found we’d have to visit the trash every day or two with the small grocery bags. This touchless trash can is SO helpful…especially when my hands are wet or gross from cutting food or manhandling dough. Odors do not escape from this guy. It occasionally opens when we walk past it (especially freaky in the middle of night when I’m getting water), but otherwise, it’s been an enormous upgrade from our small under-the-sink Ikea plastic can.
