Photo: Pixar
Cooking for your family is always a balancing act. If you have young children, try to prepare meals in a way that doesn't make them uncomfortable without sacrificing the taste so much that adults can't enjoy their dinner either. And as those kids grow up, sports practices, dance schedules, music lessons, and other extracurricular activities always overlap with dinner time, which often spans several hours.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, my husband and I and our 14- and 12-year-old sons had settled into a very comfortable environment. Her soccer schedule syncs to her 7:30 dinner bell. Breakfast turned into fruit, cereal, and maybe a toasted bagel, and lunch was often pizza or chicken overrice from a food truck near school. But when lockdown started, I suddenly had to deal with four hunger pangs, with three meals and snacks a day.And in any case chef de maison I can tell you now that even if you find a recipe that everyone involved agrees with, you may not be able to find the ingredients you need to make it (flour, rice, canned tomatoes!).
It was a challenge, but I couldn't really back down. (After all, there are only so many times you can order pizza.) For help, I turned to the easy-to-use small appliances and kitchen gadgets I've accumulated over the years as a tech critic and mother. I turned to These are the tools that have helped me find new ways to feed my family and bring back some small joys in the kitchen. Hopefully they can help you too.
You can also lay this griddle flat for a larger cooking surface or press it down panini style. I was able to place burgers, steaks, chicken, hot dogs, sausages, and pork loins on it and get the same crispy sear marks (and beautiful sear marks) you'd expect from an outdoor grill. There are also different types of griddle plates that can be swapped out for different types of dishes. Smooth plates are perfect for pancakes. I went a little overboard with my waffle plate (sold separately) and cooked banana bread waffles, zucchini waffles, and even falafel waffles.
I became a fan of the Instant Pot from the moment I tried it for the first time. In the original, he could make bone-in ribs in less than an hour, but now he can make bolognese in 20 minutes, which he used to simmer for seven hours. Duo Crisp is even better. It also works as an air fryer, with one lid for pressure cooking and one for frying. Now I can pressure cook a whole chicken for 25 minutes, then replace the lid and get crumbly crispy skin in another 15 minutes. It also makes macaroni and cheese even more delicious. Once it's cooked, just add bread crumbs and brown the surface in a frying pan. At 8 quarts, it's larger than the original 6-quart Instant Pot, but I've come to appreciate that extra capacity considering I'm cooking for two growing boys.
De'Longhi Dinamica isn't cheap, but if you're a coffee lover, the joy it brings to your life is worth the price. This fully automatic barista-level machine lets you make gorgeously crafted espressos, lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos, and Americanos at the touch of a button. It gives my husband and I the caffeine boost we need for a long day. Also, my eldest son loves the automatic iced coffee feature. At Starbucks, he splits $6 and no longer runs out of money for chores. My second son also enjoys practicing latte art using an automatic milk frother.
Space is at a premium in my New York home, so I'm always intrigued when I find one product that does so many things. This brown uses a variety of attachments, including a blender wand, a whisk, an ice crusher, a masher, a smaller version of his 1.5-cup chopper, and his five-insert food processor. We use canes most often. It's so powerful that I almost exclusively make smoothies at home. I also used it to blend sauces and soups on the stove, and in late summer I did some serious grinding of tomatoes. Ah, guacamole. Lots of guacamole. The new hand blender “MQ735” announced in May came with a trigger to make it easier to adjust the blending speed, but due to the lack of attachments, I decided not to upgrade.
I found this countertop oven when I was looking for a replacement for my 4 slot toaster. Toasters were taking up too much counter space to just make toast. With 13 functions including toasting, baking and grilling, this product quickly became a mainstay in our kitchen. Also works as a high heat convection oven. Best of all, it's very easy to use. The child sets his preferences and markers on the glass door indicate which of the three racks he will use for each setting. My eldest son quickly took over the oven, frying a few strips of bacon and toasting a bialy for his morning bacon, eggs, and cheese. My younger son, on the other hand, was obsessed with making evenly cooked chocolate chip cookies. I use this tool for everything from roasting Brussels sprouts to crisping up chicken strips and fries to baking pizza on the included pizza tray.
I'm married to an Englishman and that means tea and lots of tea. Previously, we always had an electric kettle on hand for his coffee, but recently we replaced it with an EKG kettle. Its sleek design is much more beautiful than the old bulky silver kettle. Even at full capacity, she can raise the water to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in less than a minute and hold it for up to an hour. Although I don't use it for drip coffee (thanks to De'Longhi), the variable temperature control is great for coffee. As it is, kids raise the temperature to 212 degrees to cook ramen, a common snack during remote learning.
Last year, we moved from a brownstone apartment with a dedicated outdoor space to a full-service building. I love the package rooms, the personalized service, and the pretty rooftop deck, but I really miss gardening. We live on a high floor, so the plants and herbs get plenty of light, but the greenery, flowers, and tomatoes that I love to grow still don't get enough light. That's why I set up this compact hydroponic system that can hold up to 6 plants and has a 20 watt lighting hood (plus the necessary bulbs to provide a spectrum of sunlight for year-round use). is included). Once the kids help you put in the salad green pods (there's no soil to make a mess), the control panel will tell you when to add the accompanying plant food and when the plants need water. . The new garden hasn't been convinced to eat salad yet, but the boys like checking on the plant growth every day. Next up are heirloom cherry tomatoes that are ready in time for the holidays. I am saving petunias for spring.
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