Tips & equipment for cooking

[shakey]

How about a thread on useful stuff for cooking & some positive tips.
Don't know how many of you manage to cook (could be an interesting poll but I don't know how to set that one up!)
But reading this makes me think back to when I first set up home and the struggles I had & some of the kit that's been really helpful for me. Trying not to focus too much on the expensive gadgets! Here goes:

I find the Y shaped vegetable peelers much easier to use than any other type. I have two of the OXO good grips ones (They don't fall out of my hands much & you can use them in either hand too!)
My sharp knives have similar handles making for a much better grip.
Hubbie bought me a food processor for my 21st birthday (that's going back a bit now!) but I used to use it to slice carrots, chop onions & prepare all sorts of vege etc, much quicker than doing it with a sharp knife & safer (as long as you're careful when washing up the blade!)
I now use an electric hand mixer to make cake mixtures (anything which uses the creaming / beating method) my arms tire too easily to do it by hand. (Mine's a kenwood so not the most expensive but it works fine.)
Washing out tins for recycling, after many cuts I've learnt to use a long handled washing up brush to wash these out!

Anyone else got any useful tips or really good finds for helping in the kitchen?

[Tim G]

Gadgets can be really good if you get somthing you know you will use and is good value so shop around.

Things that I would advise are:
- The good grip tools
- Silicone tools and bake ware
- Bigger items - that way its easer to hold and there is more working areara of it
- Invest in some decent knives which are - good to hold, sharp, have a blade cover or holder etc
- Non slip chopping boards like plastic ones or wodden ones - not the glass as things tend to slip on them
- Standing graters that you dont have to really hold - you can then focus on just grating the food and hopefully not your self
- A timer that you can set really easley so its not as easy to forget your food cooking.
- Mabie a slow cooker which you could just put the ingredents in and then let this cook away for hours.

[kathleenjames]

Oh wow amazing tips, I must try this during my cooking time.

[Ruth]

Hello

we were recently given new sharp knives as a present and oh my goodness how they make things easier - Hopefully Ive 'stoped cutting myself on them I must rememebr to treat them with caution.

Silicone implements are a must for me cos i can't STAND the sound of metal on metal!

clearing the work top before I start to make sure I've got maximum space.
Nice tunes in the background
a glass of wine!!! ( but only one before dinners on the table!!)