(Part 2) Best kitchen utensils & gadgets according to redditors

>They did find a scale ...

Better not go into my kitchen or else they'll find a scale too. Anyone who does any sort of cooking in their house is going to have a decent scale.

>... bunch of small plastic bags

Anyone who does any sorts of DIY or arts & craft projects has a 'bunch' of small plastic bags. I can open a kitchen drawer and probably find two dozen from when I have purchased screws, fasteners, bolts, nuts, etc from the hardware store over the years.

http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2


There ya go, and its even 1.10 cheaper than hes selling them for. Probabl even cheaper if you buy several and get cheaper shipping. Buy a bunch and sell them the same way he is.

cheaper version with better ratings

People really seem to love it

Microplane. For people who still zest with something like this, it's life-changing.

Supposedly Swing Away was bought out and is cheap crap from China now. The old USA factory makes the good ones under the name ez duz it. I just bought one a few weeks ago and it has opened 3 cans so far. I'll report back in 10 years and let you all know. Make sure to get the black handle one.

Amazon link for anyone interested:
https://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-3028-Deluxe-Opener-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ

EDIT:
After looking at the Amazon page, there are counterfeit ones being sold. So make sure you buy directly with Amazon.com as the seller. I remember reading the comments and being careful when buying mine so hopefully I got a good one.

I can help you out! A phin is my daily cup, so I've got my particular model dialed in pretty well. Also, I have some foodservice experience so I can sort of estimate how you could make this work.

I use 16g-17g of freshly-ground beans in this 11oz phin. I use water between 200F-205F, splash in just enough to cover the grounds -- so that no "standing water" is visible" -- and wait 30s. Then I fill the phin and cover it. Grind size is the 5th setting on a Bodum Bistro burr grinder. I can make 4 phins in my kitchen in about 5 minutes, and then 3 minutes of cleanup, so assuming the people at your festival line up in an orderly fashion and you've got a very good process... You need a way to boil water, a set of 24-50 phins, and a team of 3-6 people to divide up the tasks:

• Boil 3 liters of water
  
• Measure out 16g parcels of pre-ground coffee into 8 x 11oz phins stacked on cups
  
• Pour hot water onto coffee to soak, then pour again to brew
  
• Take phins from pouring station to serving area; place alongside ice glass
  
• Recover, wash, and dry the used phins; discard coffee grounds
  
  To do 900 liters like this will require a dedicated team of 3-6 people; they will be producing no more than 2 servings per minute, even at peak demand.
  
  

  If you're trying to make that many liters, you need to forget the idea of a phin.
  

  
  You have plenty of time to work ahead, so I would suggest buying some large 10-gallon coolers and some large nut milk bags and going for cold brew. Use this table to figure out your ratio. For each 10-gallon cooler you'll want to fill a nut milk bag with 60+ oz. of coffee beans, ground moderately fine, and let it sit for ~24 hours before removing the nut milk bags. If you're willing to accept some shrinkage, you can taste the coffee each hour after ~20 hours have passed and figure out when it's perfect. The key is to remove the nut milk bag once the brew is strong enough.
  
  Cold brew can sit refrigerated for almost a week without going bad. You're going to need 24 of those 10-gallon coolers, though, and 24 nut milk bags... and that means minimum 90 pounds of coffee beans.
  
  

• 24 Coolers @$50 = $1,200
  
• 24 Nut milk bags @$9 = $216
  
• 100lb. coffee @$12/lb. = $1,200
  
• Foodservice-size pouches of sweetened condensed milk = ???
  
• Truck rental to move 240 gallons of coffee and coolers = ?
  
  This is going to be much less expensive than trying to buy several hundred phins (!) and boiling 240 gallons of water on-site / on-demand. You probably can sell back the coolers, or get a good resale price for them on the open market, when you're done with them.
  
  Each cup is going to cost you $1.50 or more to produce -- not counting the labor and assuming nearly-free water -- so sell it at a fair price.

They're now called "EZ Duz It." I have one, and it's phenomenal.

Admittedly, the name inspires little confidence, but I'm pretty sure I could bludgeon a bison to death with it, and then smoothly open a can o' beans to go with my 900lbs of fresh meat. So, I'm willing to give the toothless illiterate who named it a pass.

Maybe I'm missing something but what is the difference between that and the $25 spiralizer version? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRIR87M

I've had the cheap one for a while and it works great.

Not anymore. They sold the brand and they're being made in China now, and they're shit - crap out of the package, and got even duller very quickly. The EZ-DUZ-IT is, IIRC, made in the old Swing-a-way factory in the US, and it's the bomb. Number one can opener on Amazon right now. Trust me. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071OUJDQ

Maybe overkill but I have this by the sink so I can do just that.

I bought this one and I love it.

unrelated to your quest for a super-hot hot sauce, but you might also want to invest in one of these:

https://www.amazon.ca/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM

edit: hrm. sold out. must be a wide-spread problem 'round these parts!

There are several dozen threads on this if you use the search bar.

Most people recommend the EZ-DUZ-IT which just looks like a standard can opener to me.

Swing-A-Way can openers used to be good, but their production got outsourced. Buy EZ-DUZ-IT instead, made on the original production line.

Alright, I'm about to drop some knowledge down. I've posted this before (maybe on a different account) but I'm a coldbrew addict, and I'm about to change your lives.

Here's what you're going to need:

1) Space in your fridge.

2) A pound of your favorite coffee, ground, COARSE just like OP said (none of that Folgers bullshit)

3) One of these bad boys. Trust me.

4) Also, one of these. Ignore the name, They're magic.

Alright.

Take your water pitcher and actually remove all the pitcher filter shit. You can use any big container but I need a spigot to pour directly into my mouth. Once the filter and top plastic is out, all you should have is the vessel and the lid.

Fill your nut milk bag with your coffee. Place in the bottom of your pitcher and fill until the bag is covered with water, and let sit for a few minutes.

Empty out all your silt water and refill to the BRIM with water. Place it in your fridge.

If you're picky about your coffee strength, after 6 hours taste your coffee and then taste every hour until you hit a strength you desire.

Personally, I go 24-36 hours on my brew, and then squeeze the bag. My wife mixes the coffee with water since its very strong. I like the feeling of jitters in the morning.

Take the grounds and grow plants, compost, whatever floats your boat. Put the lid back on and put it back on your fridge. It will keep for 10-14 days, but I doubt it will last that long :)

buy one of these and add water. Scented water if you're feeling pretty.

30 USD on Amazon. Plenty of different models to pick from.

Noted. But they do say

>But if we pick junk, and you return it, we make nothing. We think that’s a fair system.

I concur. Although if you really didn't want them to get any kickback, just remove the referral ID

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00395FHRO/thesweethome-20

To

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00395FHRO

Although that's just being mean (or spiteful?)

I liked the site for the long articles describing their research and alternatives (as opposed to just propping up a recommendation). So even if I didn't purchase anything, I'd still walk away with a better survey of products, features, and prices than before.

Ahhh you have not heard of stainless steel soap! It's magic. Takes hockey smell off my hands, pussy smell off my face, and shoe smell off my feet. It's cheap, easily washable, and you can have it tomorrow.

https://www.amazon.com/Amco-8402-Stainless-Steel-Absorber/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=stainless+steel+soap&qid=1565376191&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I recommend these giant ice cube trays instead.

I usually keep one of these filled with good water for serving whisk(e)ys on the rocks.

From my post months ago, only had to do it at one place, you don't even need to use a lock box but even a Zip tied cooler bag will do:

This is the answer.

But no it isn't to stop the hamplanets from raiding your stuff - it's to prevent any less motivated innocent bystanders from suffering a terrible fate.

Pack a few planet attractors into it like brownies, muffins, sweets laced with ghost peppers in the front. Mark them with some nice green "diet aid" post its. Leave the stuff you normally eat unmarked.

If a hambeast raids your stash they will have a trip to the bathroom/ER to remember. If HR gets on your back tell them you are on a diet, the spicy diet stuff is the price you have to pay for cheating. The lockbox was to protect your co-workers. After all who would raid something like that if secured by padlock.

(Source - me protecting my lunches from co-workers. I just spiced up my regular meals to levels few could manage to eat and kept them in a theoretically secured but easily by-passable cooler with padlock. 2 "incidents" and no one dares touch my food anymore.)

The cage is a visible display of oppression, a greener patch of grass on the other side of the fence, a delicious eclair in the display case.

It will become a challenge, an obsession, something to overcome. Once conquered he will get the sweetest taste of victory..... then the ghost chillies kick in.

I have a Misto oil sprayer (https://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0) and it works great with any fine oil. But I support your brush-on idea.

I find a lot of things don't need oil at all. If I am (for example) going to brown some onions, I'll lubricate a non-stick pan with a little chicken or vegetable stock. Adds flavor and achieves the goal without adding oil calories at all.

EZ-DUZ-IT - look no further

EZ-DUZ-IT. I'm not kidding.

I love my Misto for this. Just a light coating of oil, but not so much that they feel greasy.

Bonus because it's also great for popcorn, or garlic bread.

I use a fine microplane for ginger, garlic, and zest.

And a coarse microplane for cheese.

Both are very sharp, and I hand wash them to keep them that way as long as possible.

Calorie-free pan stray isn't actually calorie free. The serving size is just so small that they are legally allowed to list it as 0 calories. It's just regular oil in a spray can. You can just buy [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV) and use your own oil. That's what we do in my house.

You can change your life for $30. This Spiralizer is one of the best diet purchases I've ever made.
I've tried eating small amounts of pasta, I've tried shirataki noodles, but nothing beats buying zucchini and making pasta out of it for dirt cheap.
A PLATE of zucchini noodles (200g) was 33 calories, add a little marinara/Alfredo and your meat of choice, paired with some mixed veggies, and you'll have a HUGE meal for something like ~425 calories.

Other options: find "satanic" music and start playing it, loudly, whenever he is in the room. Start drawing pentagrams all over the place - don't destroy any property of course, but I'm sure you can get creative. Itching powder in his laundry soap could be hilarious (and it's easy to make - look it up). Since he's so picky about the bathroom, drop deuces in there and never flush - and trim "down there" a bit as well, leaving the clippings all over the bathroom (and I do mean ALL OVER). Let him deal with it (get an agreement with another room to use their bathroom if you have to - I'm sure you can work out something equitable). Any time he doesn't immediately flip his laundry when the washing machine goes off, throw it on the floor and step on it. Root his PC and do terrible, malicious things to it. Install these things in several places around the room. Get with your buddies and eat as much kimchi as you can stand on a friday, then stay in the room over the weekend and gas him out with your terrible BO and flatulence. Curse like a sailor, of course - make it a game with your other roomies to see how much cursing you can fit in to a single sentence, and keep score. If he's got a problem with sex, hang up posters of hot women all over your side of the room. Make some gay friends, especially ones who are dating, and invite them over all the time (make sure they're in on the joke, else they'll think you're using them) - could be fun to watch his reaction to them making out, especially if they start getting a little more physical.

... that's all I've got so far.

Edit: Oh, buy a few of these if you need them. "Because fuck you and your 'communal fridge' bullshit"

How about one of these bad boys?

Fridge locker! Just for the expensive food she shouldn’t be eating. You can use them outside the fridge too.

The pre-grated stuff you get in the cold aisle at the supermarket doesn't count, and neither does the "Parmesean" that costs way less. Go to where they have the fancy cheeses and get a solid wedge or block of Parmigiano Reggiano.

I also like Pecorino, but same idea.

You might want one of these graters, also very useful for zesting citrus and grating nutmeg.

Yay! I can actually help with this!

Adagio Teas has my FAVORITE loose leaf teas in the world. It depends what kind of tea she likes to drink, but you can get her a bunch of samples and go from there. You'll also get frequent cup points you can use later if you get some samples.

My favorites are:

(Black teas) Yunnan Gold, Golden Monkey, and Black Dragon Pearl: all chocolatey and rich, I drink them with soy milk and listed from not-very-earthy to smoky-earthy.

(Green teas) Gyokuro, Sencha Overture, and Jasmine Yin Hao: I prefer Japanese steamed greens which are more grassy and vegetal than Chinese pan roasted ones, but if she likes nutty green teas Dragonwell is also great.

(White teas) Silver Needle and White Peony: Awesome because they're low in caffeine (I was just informed they aren't necessarily lower in caffeine, so let's just say awesome for the sublime nectar-y taste), my white teas have been kind of lonely since it's winter here, but in the summer they're perfect. Apricot liqueur and honeysuckle come to mind.

But I'm not a big fan of blends (she may be), or Oolongs, or Pu Erhs, and definitely I don't drink anything not camellia sinensis (like honeybush), and a lot of my favorites are pretty expensive (but so worth it), so if you know she loves peppermint or chamomile by all means do that! If you only got one from Adagio, I would go with yunnan gold undoubtedly. You can get a sample for only $5 and it's heaven. Nobody dislikes this tea, not even people who say they don't like tea!

(And you can use code 6905673943 for $5 off!)

---

Next she's going to need a way to brew it. I abhor doing dishes, my mother has made me some wonderful tea cups (she does ceramic pottery) but you can definitely just use the coffee/tea cups you already have to start. If you wanted to make it a cute holiday basket, of course, a tea cup would make the whole thing look adorable. At the risk of sounding like I work for Adagio, a glass cup like this is so perfect because you can watch the color of the tea as it brews which is a great indicator of tea strength!

Since I hate dishes so much, I have ended up using just empty, fill-able tea bags (I get the 2-cup capacity ones here) which is really great for re-steeping because you can just save the tea bag and put it in the fresh water.

Temperature is super important if you're brewing anything other than super robust black teas or herbal teas. For example, I steep my favorite green tea at 170 degrees F, which is a lot cooler than the 212 of boiling water. I bought this thermometer more than a year ago, and I've never had any problems... plus, getting a temp-specific tea kettle is so expensive :/ To walk you through how I personally make my tea:

1. I pick which tea! The hardest part!
   
2. I boil some water in an electric kettle, but any kettle is fine
   
3. I measure out about a teaspoon of the looseleaf into an empty teabag... the tea you buy will give you measurement instructions for how much!
   
4. I pour the boiling water into the teacup and measure the temp. If it's supposed to be brewed at boiling, I don't bother measuring, otherwise, I'll wait until it hits the correct temp to brew
   
5. I put the teabag in the correct temp water and time it. Again, the tea you buy will probably come with instructions for how long to brew.
   
6. I save the teabag to use it again for my next cuppa!
   
   I'll often put agave sweetener in my tea, and soy milk if it's a black tea.
   
   I have also bought this for steeping and I adore it but it's another dish to do for a student without a dishwasher... It's a spring-loaded receptacle where you place your loose-leaf, and when it's done steeping in the hot water, you put it on top of the teacup. The gravity pushing on the spring releases the tea from the receptacle leaving the leaves and it's really really cool and efficient and you can make more tea at a time... but for a beginner, I would really recommend empty bags.
   
   ---
   
   Best of luck!
   
   tl;dr Adagio is not a cult
   
   edit: linked to Adagio

You can get them from Amazon too.

I'll just go ahead and list a few of the things I use on a regular basis.

Koriko shakers are awesome. They look cool and function amazingly. Good investments. End of story.
http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/Koriko-set-of-2-Weighted-Tins-large-and-sma-p/sha_korikoxxxx_0028_set.htm

I prefer using a julep strainer over a hawthorne strainer, it works fine for me when I'm not muddling things into the drink I don't want served.
http://amzn.com/B001VZAMPQ
http://amzn.com/B000H7VF64

Get speed pourers. Even if you don't plan on free-pouring, they're nice to have a more standardized pouring speed so you can pour out of an entirely full bottle without worrying about spilling too much.
http://amzn.com/B002J8RRAM

A cheap bar spoon is an awful experience. A decent bar spoon is fine. An overpriced barspoon is (generally) just overpriced metal. However, the Tanqueray spoons and the Standard Spoon on kickstarter are actually pretty nice quality stuff. But that said, almost everyone I've met likes the regular old bar spoon.
http://amzn.com/B000VQOP5O
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/workofmyhands/standard-spoon-for-craft-cocktails

Have a jigger on hand, even if you free pour. Just for when you have nicer ingredients and want to try out a drink with them and would rather have the proportions right than have to revive the drink.
http://amzn.com/B00080B07Y

I make a lot of bitters myself or super small batch infusions, so having a set of mason jars on hand has been extremely helpful.

I use cheapo squirt bottles ( http://amzn.com/B007OM9W2E ) to store simple syrup or other infused simple syrup.

If you get super into infusions and stuff like that, I've heard a lot of good things about the iSi system; I have a friend with one, he absolutely loves his. I have to admit, it takes a lot of work and patience out of infusion. As well as whipped cream, or carbonating things, or what have you... now I might want to get one.

These two items are somewhat paired (at least for me) -- a water filter and an ice tray. For ice, I'm talking like the Tovolo King Size ice trays. Water filter -- doesn't matter, as long as it filters from what I can tell.
http://amzn.com/B00395FHRO

Something that's nice to have on hand so you can double-strain is a fine-mesh strainer. Can be harder to find on the cheap though, I ended up breaking down and going to a Bed Bath & Beyond for mine since everything on Amazon was fairly expensive the thrift shops near me didn't have one.

Get nice glassware. I remember when I was younger and someone demonstrated the importance of having nice glass when tasting wine. The same thing applies. This isn't exactly bar-tools, but it's critical to your cocktail experience. Drinking out of cheap glasses, or the wrong glasses, will really hurt the presentation and your perception of the cocktail. In essence, t's important to take pride in both how you make the cocktail and how you serve the cocktail.

That's all I got for now.

I give kind of strange gifts but this year I'm giving my family can openers in their stockings. They're cheap and made in the USA, and last a long time. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0071OUJDQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages01

So, some suggestions. These might help you, and will probably piss fatty off.

• Buy a few fridge lockers, and a lock for at least one cupboard. Clearly label them as yours, and make sure that he knows that they are off-limits. Anything that's too big for a fridge locker, or is in a box? Tamper evident tape is your friend. All your food gets something that clearly identifies it as yours. I recommend stickers.
  
  
• Since fatty evidently is very interested in money, keep a running total of everything he has eaten and what you have done to maintain the house. Give him a bill at the end of the month. If you can prove he ate half of something that costs $5, he owes you $2.50. If you washed his dishes, he owes you X dollars.
  
  
• All your belongings are now for your use, and your use only. As such, they live in your room (which stays locked) when you're not using them. He's not allowed to use your shit. Make sure all your belongings are labelled in some way. If you use a dish or knife or anything, you take it from your room, use it, wash it, and it goes back into your room.

I love my OXO. It has a nice wide plate that can accommodate all sorts of produce and unwieldy objects, and a pull-out display for those occasions when I'm scaling onto a wide bowl or half-sheet pan that would otherwise obscure the readout on a smaller scale. There's also a backlight you can click in when it gets dark in the kitchen. It switches between ounces and grams, no prob, and the latest version of this scale can do ounces-only, rather than splitting measurements into pounds and ounces.

For small measurements, anything under 4g, I recommend a jeweler's scale like this one. Measuring anything under 1/8th of an ounce is a real crapshoot on large format scales.

I'm bulking, but it's been a pain in the ass. I've been upping my water intake recently to prevent cramps, so it was pretty hard to find my new maintenance.

At the start of my bulk a month ago (I was 5' 7", 141 lbs) I was eating 2100 calories a day. I wasn't gaining anything. I upped it to 2300 three weeks ago. I think I was on a very, very slow bulk, and it was irritating me because there was no change in the scale over the past week (I weight in every morning and I take a ttestof the results over two seven day periods, the result of which was a p-value of .61). I upped it to 2500 about 3 days ago and I'm hoping to see a change this week. Trying my best to slow bulk since I don't want to be a fatass (already went down that road before).

My diet is pretty static. Because I'm smaller, I don't have to stuff my face 24/7 like some taller bulkers. I don't eat breakfast (it irritates my stomach if I eat too early), but I usually bring a cooked meal to work every day. Bulking has left me pretty hungry, so I usually have to eat it a little early at like 10:30 (the composition of which varies, but usually it's 40g+ protein and around 700 - 800 calories, usually a meat with a grain like rice or pasta). I'm also obsessed with jolly ranchers so I snack on them through the day (usually around 6 total candies, which is like 140 calories).

For a snack, I'll usually eat some peanut butter + jelly (if I don't have bread, it actually tastes pretty good just to mix the two together and eat it off a knife). I'll also mix a Yoplait yogurt with a serving or two of fat free cottage cheese - don't knock it till you try it. I hate the taste of cottage cheese, but it just tastes like yogurt if you mix it so I can get a good source of milk protein.

For dinner, it's pretty much the same thing as lunch. I just eat to fit my macros, and if I have leftovers at the end of the day, I will snack on random things (chocolate, nuts [pecans, peanuts], whatever). For example, yesterday my calorie intake looked as such:

Food | Calories | Protein
:--|:--|:--
Angel Hair Pasta | 300| 10
Chicken | 150 | 30
Canola | 80 | 0
Alfredo | 105 | 2
Yogurt | 90 | 5
Yogurt | 90 | 5
Cottage Cheese | 96.3 | 17
Cheese Stick | 60 | 6
Ground Beef | 450 | 45
Mozz. Cheese | 81.66 | 17.5
Rice | 275 | 6
Canola | 80 | 0
Chocolate Mangoes | 200 | 3
Pecans | 130 | 5
Peanut Butter | 200 | 7
Total | 2499 | 149.5

I track everything in excel for calories because I weigh my own food. I do not keep track of carbs and fats. I actually used to do leangains which I had a whole book of about 80 days of excel files for keeping rigorous track of fats carbs and protein for rest / workout, but I'm way too lazy to do that again. I have to use some hardcore math sometimes to figure out and estimate how much fat / water is lost through cooking things like ground beef using the original uncooked weight. I use this food scale, as I travel (I go to school in Indiana, work for the summer in MA / RI and live in WA) and it's easy to carry. On normal days, I also eat protein powder with whole milk, one or two scoops depending on my needs for the day.

I lift five times a week, TWFSSu. I chose this specifically because I knew it would fit my schedule for next semester (I have my engineering senior design project so it's going to be pretty hard to fit in workouts otherwise). I'm running the PHAT philosophy, and because I started back up with half beginniner-intermediate numbers for some of my lifts, I lift heavy on all days for the primary movers like bench, pendlay, squat, deadlift and OHP (which means no speedwork until I get out of linear progression). I do the standard hypertrophy work on F,S,Su after the primary movers, though.

I bought a Vegetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer (it's like 1/3 the cost of a spiralizer, and takes up 1/8th the space). I use this wonderful device almost every day. It really helps fulfill that pasta craving, and you can experiment with fun sauces to put on the noodles. You can make a quick lunch by sautéing some meat and veggies, toss the noodles in and you're done.

My advice (especially for soupy recipes like the chicken noodle soup), is to put the noodles in just before you serve. They will stay firm that way. Otherwise the noodles will continually cook down and get more mushy.

Also, make sure you cut the noodles to a manageable size. Otherwise it will just make one giant, 10' long noodle... which is weird and annoying.

no, you literally soak raw almonds and then blend it in a blender.

Because the solids are difficult to strain by gravity, you use nut bags. Speaking from experience, do not try to substitute nut bags for a cum sock.

I've only made canna caps a few times so I'm still tweaking things but here's what I've got so far.


Ingredients:

• 1oz bud - your choice of strain.

• 8oz (1 cup) coconut oil or butter. I prefer coconut oil.

• 1.5tb soy lecithin

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 215° F.

Chop up your herb finely.

You can grind it but I've found it's easier to strain if chopped.

Sprinkle evenly into a small oven safe dish.

Cover well with aluminum foil, crimping up around the edges.

Place in oven for 30-45 minutes.

After 30-45 minutes, remove the dish and let it cool, WITH the foil still on. Letting it cool down slowly, allows any vapors to settle back into the material (theoretically).

Note: for the extraction process I prefer a Nesco 6-Quart Roaster Oven. I prefer this over a crock pot because it has temp control.
I used this in combination with a Digital Cooking Thermometer which comes in handy not only for more accuracy but also because you can set an alarm on it if the temp gets too high - in which case you'd just add some water to the mixture.

While you wait for the container to cool, Melt your coconut oil or butter in a pan on low heat.

Once cool, remove the foil lid from the pan and place the decarbed herb into the roaster/crock pot.

Pour enough distilled water over the herb to float it, then add the oil or butter over your herb and stir it up.

Set the temperature between 200 and 220 Fahrenheit and let cook for 12-18 hours, stirring occasionally.
Note: this step is where that digital thermometer with temperature alarm comes in particularly useful. Set it and forget it.

After 12-18 hours turn off heat and and strain the oil from the herb using a stainless steel mesh strainer, pouring the extract into a class or ceramic dish.
Note: I prefer a steel strainer but it's possible to use cheesecloth. Coffee filters do not work. Also, I don't throw away the herb. I let it dry as much as possible, grind it finely and put it in capsules also.

Place dish in refrigerator over night or until the oil or butter has hardened.

Once solid, separate oil/butter from the water, discarding the water.

Place solid extract in an oven safe dish and heat at low temp until liquid.

Once liquid, add 1.5tb of soy lecithin to the extract and stir gently until homogenized.

You now have cannabis extract ready to be used for cooking or for filling capsules.

Here are some things that I used that may help you.

1,000 Herbal Oil Capsules - Size "00"

Size 00 Capsule Holding Tray

Soy Lecithin Powder - 1 Lb

Glass Eye Droppers

Hope this helps. Happy cooking :)

As someone who does everything in the kitchen by weight I don't recommend this -- it's the least useful form factor for a digital scale and topping out at 1000 grams isn't nearly enough.

This is the one I use:

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1418137628&sr=8-11&keywords=digital+kitchen+scale

It's a bit more, but still not bank-breaking.

It has a pull out lighted display for weighing large objects, switches between ounces and grams to a one gram accuracy, and most useful, I've found, it weighs up to eleven pounds.

I make all my recipes by weight now. I just put a big bowl on the scale and keep adding ingredients.

C'mon OP...

• Bialetti Moka pot
  
  
• Lido 2 hand grinder
  
  
• Lodge cast iron skillets one large one small
  
  
• Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven
  
  
• All clad copper core sauce pan
  
  
• Miele washing machine
  
  
• Miele C2 vacuum cleaner
  
  
• Vitamix 5200
  
  
• Duralex glasses - tumblers??
  
  
• Zojirushi NS-LLH05 rice cooker - only 1 left!
  
  
• Cuisinart Perfectemp Kettle
  
  
• OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale
  
  
• OXO Good Grips Cutting board
  
  
• Corelle winter frost dinnerware set
  
  
• Light my fire titanium fork-spoon-knife - spork?
  
  
• Darn Tough socks
  
  
• Exofficio briefs
  
  
• Felco 2 Secateurs
  
  
• Wahl Peanut beard trimmer
  
  
• Dualit Toaster
  
  
• P38 can opener??
  
  
• Zwilling J.A. Henckels knife set
  

Get a fridge locker! it does not have to go in the fridge. You can store your half of treats in it and he can't get in without the combo!


P.S. I love that gif!

they make whiskey stones which are cubes you put in the freezer and then to your drink.

I use these silicone ice molds (big) (medium/smallish). If you want to do a little extra work, here are instructions to make clear ice.

And if they are dicks...

Here's how you fix that

You need a fridge locker

You have to pick up a microplane grater. Do yourself the favor, it's less than $15 and you deserve it you beautiful bastard.


It will revolutionize cheese for you, more and more specifically make Parmigiano Reggiano a spiritual experience

This is $10: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Food-Multifunction/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1526912253&sr=1-6&keywords=food+scale

No reason to not have a food scale if you want one.

I just picked up one of these bad boys. Tape one probe to the motherboard and the other to any hard drive. If you don't have tape I'm sure a magnet will do the trick. Clip the receiver onto your belt and head home.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GE77QT0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

/s

These vacuum corks are pretty good and they aren't terribly expensive http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-Vacuum-Bottle-Stoppers/dp/B000GA3KCE

Here are some of my favorite tools:

• Mini measuring cups/beakers - I love these! No more spilled/wasted vanilla extract.
  
• Instant-read thermometer - I use this to check on the temperature of my dough/ingredients and even to confirm things are done baking.
  
• Maybe you already have these, but if not, I use my kitchen scale and oven thermometer all the time.
  
• Bakeware rack - This keeps my baking sheets and smaller pans better organized and more easily accessible than just stacking them on top of each other.
  
• Marble slab - keeps pie/pastry dough cold as you roll it out (I keep mine in the fridge so it's always ready).
  
• Pastry strips for making sure pie (or rolled-out cookie) dough is rolled out to an even thickness. Pastry cloth/sleeve for keeping dough from sticking.
  
• Cookie scoops - for drop cookies, muffins, cupcakes, and really anything that needs to be portioned out evenly (including non-baking stuff like meatballs). Whenever I use these, I'm always really grateful for them. Mine are Zeroll dishers I got from King Arthur Flour, but Webstaurant Store has them for cheaper, and Oxo has a line of cookie scoops too.
  
• If you make layer cakes, you may already have a turntable, but if not, this one is really good. I also like this cake lifter.
  
• Of course, there's also stand mixers. Super-helpful for things like whipping egg whites for meringues/souffles/angel food cake, creaming butter and sugar, and kneading bread dough. If you ask for a stand mixer, the KitchenAid Pro has a stronger motor than the Artisan. I have the Artisan, and it's worked fine for me for several years, but if I could go back, I'd go with the Pro instead. An extra bowl is very handy as well.

[Maybe try one of these] (http://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370120056&sr=8-1&keywords=fridge+locker).

Also, cook a massive thing of brownies/cookies and lace it with exlax chocolate. Then tell him to buy his own fucking food.

Has been recommended here before - http://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-IT-Deluxe-Opener-Black-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ

kettle: http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Variable-Temperature-Electric-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417710975&sr=8-2&keywords=bonavita

Scale: http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU/ref=pd_sim_k_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=04WC4XNEDPNT7K81849C

Hand mills (good to take with the aeropress while traveling):
http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Ceramic-Skerton-Storage-Capacity/dp/B001802PIQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1417711031&sr=1-2&keywords=hario+mill

http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Canister-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill/dp/B003EEGDSM/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1417711031&sr=1-3&keywords=hario+mill

Or if you want to go all out you could get a small roaster and some green bean samplers to have some fun with.

A spiralizer is better for making noodles. They're a fraction of the cost and it's more versatile.

https://www.amazon.ca/Spiralizer%C3%82%C2%AE-Tri-Blade-Vegetable-Strongest-Heaviest-Gluten-Free/dp/B00GRIR87M

I have a Vegetti that's about 3 months old. I've only used it 5 times with zucchini but it's turned out great. I'm looking forward to using it more often.

http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W

My favorite dish is sautee 1 spiralized zucchini in a little oil, then add one of the Laughing Cow wedges in the pan and smush it in until it melds together with the zucchini pasta. It tastes awesome.

I bought a bag of 1000 empty size 0 gel caps on Amazon.
I bought one of THESE to fill it.

I bought THESE tips.

I also bought one of THESE to lay out all of the caps to make them easy to fill.

Having had some practice at this point, I can fill all 100 in like 20 minutes. I probably go through like 150 per month.

I then keep them in the fridge so the coconut oil stays solid and they don't leak or melt.

They will leak if you sit on them, or if you leave them in a hot area (over like 80 degrees).

Using the 3 cup batch (which is the smallest that the magic butter maker will do) I get like 650ml (there is some loss from not getting 100% of the oil out of the cannabis flower). With each cap being 500 microliters exactly, I get 1300 pills from 6 ounces of flower, or almost a year's month worth of caps at the rate I eat them at minus whatever I use for cooking (I didn't turn all of my oil into caps so I could use it in cooking).

I found that emptying the magic butter maker into one of THESE and then squishing the solid remnents in the filter bag helps to get the most oil out of each batch.

The hole in the tip of the pipette's is slightly too small to prevent clogging, so before I use each tip, I open it up a smidge with a dental pick I bought at CVS for this purpose. I just push it in and pull it out once, I found that opening it more than that makes it drip and doesn't help any more to prevent clogging.

I haven't personally done anything with the leftover flower, but I suppose you could bake with it. I figure I have extracted most of the cannabinoids, so I just accept it as some loss.

Also, if you do the squeezing without gloves, don't do it before you have to drive anywhere...just a suggestion.

I have this one and I like it a lot. The two probes are handy and it's got a bunch of pre-set meat and doneness temps so it's easy to use for anyone who doesn't already know what temp they want their meats to be cooked to.

I'll throw my vote in for a sharpening stone. If he doesn't already have a nice sharpening set, maybe consider getting him something like a nice diamond sharpening stone; I've seen them for $50 or less.

Tools are always nice. Here are some suggestions to think about:
~ microplane grater
~ Japanese mandolines can be fun to have around.
~ Fish spatulas can be a handy tool.
~ Does he have a good quality peeler? Everyone has a "normal" peeler, but I like to have a good quality horizontal peeler, like one of these, to use sometimes.
~ Does he do a lot of baking? If so, maybe some silicone baking mats for his baking sheets, or maybe some parchment paper.
~ Does he like to use fresh citrus juice very much? Does he have a citrus reamer?
~ Does he like to use fresh garlic? Maybe a garlic press?
~ Silicone spatulas?
~ Does he have a pepper grinder for fresh ground pepper?
~ Does he have a set of mise en place bowls or something to use to keep his stuff organized when he's working?
~ Does he have a scale? You can find plenty of options for home-use digital scales that can weigh up to 11 or 12 pounds, and use either pounds, or grams (if he's doing anything metric.)
~ Something like a good quality cast iron pan can be a lifetime investment, because if they're well cared for, he'll be able to pass it on to his grandkids someday.
~ A dutch oven will always be useful to serious home cooks. The enameled cast iron type are very popular, but they come in many different sizes and shapes, so keep that in mind when picking one out.
~ Knives are always nice. Paring knife, utility knife, serrated slicer, etc.

Those are just a few suggestions that popped into mind. Good luck, I hope you find something nice for him.

I'd definitely pick up a microplane to go with your box grater when you get the chance, this is a super nice one that's kind of the gold standard.

Fantastic for hard cheese, really the only tool for zesting citrus, and also great for getting a quick garlic or ginger paste.

I don't have time to make sure it's comprehensive and everything but I can throw some stuff together real quick:


Knives

You really only need 2, a chef's knife and serrated knife. A pairing knife is occasionally useful but rarely necessary. If you really like sharp knives, buy a whetstone and learn to sharpen, cheap knives can get just as sharp as expensive ones.

• https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-Chefs-Knife-8-Inch/dp/B008M5U1C2
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Update-International-KP-05-German-Offset/dp/B0029SMITC/
  
• If you want a pairing knife, just buy an ultra cheap one, it's not something that really needs to be sharp
  
• Here's a cheap and decent whetstone if you want to learn to sharpen knives. Def recommend doing that, there's a million Youtube vids about it, not that hard really https://www.amazon.com/Sharpening-Whetstone-Non-Slip-Sharpener-Waterstone/dp/B074YJRL7T
  
  ​
  
  Pots and Pans
  
  You need four or five things here. I'd say your mainly looking for a large saute pan, a stock pot, and a sauce pan. If you cook eggs you can grab a non-stick saute pan too. Don't use non stick pans for things that don't stick to pans. They wear out fast and they're garbage when they lose their coating. Oh and a sheet pan.
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Finish-Aluminum-Frying-Commercial/dp/B002AGY7OW/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=aluminum+saute+pan&qid=1563996953&s=home-garden&sr=1-3
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Standard-12-Quart-Stainless-Stockpot/dp/B01M7RNBZA/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-719-16-Classic-Stainless-Saucepan/dp/B00008CM69/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sauce+pot&qid=1563997129&s=home-garden&sr=1-3
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Standard-02569-Nonstick-Anodized/dp/B079ZLDG14/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/New-Star-Foodservice-36831-Commercial/dp/B009LA10OA/
  
  ​
  
  Other Shit
  
  
• Possibly the most useful cooking thing ever https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Products-FG1962000000-Silicone/dp/B0000CFO2S
  
• Cheese grater, garlic press, zester all in one https://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Classic-Zester-Grater/dp/B00004S7V8
  
• A wooden spoon, like any wooden spoon
  
• A spoon with holes in it, you probably have one already
  
• A sturdy metal spatula, like this https://www.amazon.com/Winco-TN719-Hamburger-Turner-6-Inch/dp/B001VZAKGM (fucking lol at calling that a "harmburger turner")
  
• Any type of cutting board is fine as it long as it's not glass or marble or something (those are probably the best example of conning rich people with an actively horrible product)
  
• This is better than any colander out there and has other uses too https://www.amazon.com/New-Star-Foodservice-34127-Perforations/dp/B009LLIJCA
  
• Some kitchen scissors, any are fine but these are nice https://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Chen-51-0621-Unlimited-6-25-Inch/dp/B0009XYW9
  
• Any knife steel, a cheap one like this is fine https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Knife-Sharpening-Rod/dp/B07J1TZ4DK/
  
• A ladle and a whisk, you probably already have them
  
• A cheap immersion blender is a great alternative to ridiculously expensive food processors/blenders
  
  ​
  
  This is just suggestions if you don't have the stuff already, I think the real bottom line is that the stuff you already have is likely fine, and being a good cook is about knowledge and technique and putting effort into tasty food for people you care about, not gear.

You can get this little doodad and use regular oil but spray it like Pam. [Link] (http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465172360&sr=8-1&keywords=misto)

This: http://www.amazon.com/Amco-318402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY

I have one. It really does work. Not sure why.

I bought this scale and it's maybe a centimeter thick 20 cm long and about 15 cm wide. They're more affordable and portable than you'd think. It's a worthwhile investment imo.

I highly recommend this one:

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA

A lot more expensive than Babish’s, but you can take the top off, still read it with giant pots on it (numbers come out on cord) and it is extremely accurate.

It is America’s Test Kitchen’s most recommend.

Though, if you want visual style the etekcity looks sleek, can’t argue that.

Sounds like she needed one of these

Whiskey Stones

You put them in the freezer, and then when ready to have a drink - place them in your glass, pour your liquor, and you get a chilled drink without dilution.

King Cube ice trays, however, are totally worth it even if you don't use them for your whiskey (I do). They fit perfectly in an Old Fashioned glass and have massive surface area to cool the whiskey quickly without watering too much (just a splash). The cubes also last forever.

Get a refrigerator lock box.
http://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM

Get a fridge locker and keep all the food you don't want him to eat in it. Here is one on Amazon that you could try out. The lock on that box looks like it is only three digit so maybe get an extra padlock with a key so you can make it extra secure.

invest

Normally I would never recommend these let alone chilling your whisky, but I can make an exception. Whisky stones are probably the best way to chill if you have to. Historically, when people wanted to chill their whisky they would go to the river and pick up a stone out of the water so there is even more history for you. Be forewarned that if you chill whisky you will lose some of the flavors present in scotch, so if you are studying tasting notes and don't understand why you don't get a specific flavor that is why.

As for bottle suggestions I don't know exactly what to recommend since you have no taste history to go off of besides MacGregor. Because of this I am going to say if you like bold tastes go with a Laphroaig 10. The smokey-brine in this whisky is fan-fucking-tastic. As RustyPipes put it 'If you want a Koala bear to crap a rainbow in your brain'. If you like sweeter more complex flavors go with Bruichladdich Rocks.

Edit: I originally sounded like an enormous prick so I changed that.

I think that ice not only dilutes as it melts, but dulls the character and nose of whisky by dropping the temperature too drastically. You miss out on a lot of the complexity. If you want to chill your whisky (though not as harshly as with ice) without risking dilution, pick up a set of whisky stones. I have that set from Teraforma, myself, and I think they are awesome. When I use them, I add water to taste, then take the stones out of the fridge and use them to cool the whisky just a bit, if needed.

It is! Mine are the tovolo king trays, but it probably looks a bit bigger than it is because the glass is pretty small. When I went to look it up I noticed these bigger cubes for the first time. I have the sphere version of that and it works well, so I imagine these mega-cubes are nice too.

Well, a big thing for me involved giving up gluten. I've heard conflicting reports about whether gluten intolerance is actually a thing, but I started to notice changes both in my appearance and my overall health as soon as I cut it out of my diet completely. Giving up gluten definitely isn't the best choice for for everyone, and it is possible to lose comparable amounts of weight without making this particular change. However, I gave up gluten (and a great deal of my regular dairy intake) at the recommendation of my doctor after seeing multiple specialists about a wide variety of bizarre health issues that all seemed to point back to gluten in my diet.

If we forget the gluten aspect, there are still a ton of things that helped! I gave up pop and juices completely. If I wanted something to drink, I either had coffee or water. I also made sure to cut back on my portions significantly. I purchased a food scale (this one for those that are curious) and started making a point to weigh everything I ate to make sure I wasn't overeating without realizing it.

For me, it was a bunch of small changes that really added up. I switched from regular bacon to turkey bacon. I ate salads for lunch instead of french fries. I snacked on portioned servings of nuts and seeds and dried fruit instead of chocolate bars and candy. If I HAD to have a snack after dinner, I popped popcorn in my air popper. For dinner, I always focused on having a good protein (often chicken, but sometimes pork or lean cuts of beef), with a serving of rice and a few servings of veggies. I carefully counted and kept track of how much dressing I put on those salads, and how much oil I cooked my food in.

The important thing for me was to remember that I didn't have to do everything all at once. I implemented these changes over a period of time, which made it easy to stick to. And believe me, I still indulge. I just do it a lot smarter than I used to.

My opinion, for the cost:

Jennings scale
Plastic v60 02 and filters
Encore grinder
I have the Fino kettle but I'm sure the hario is fine
I have a flow restrictor from here
Plus your phone (to time), favorite mug and a notebook to keep notes.

Here is a Microplane off Amazon, and here is a Joyoldelf off Amazon. Take a look at the photos. Even the close-ups, the blade shape and layout are identical. And yet there's also a possibility that it works worse because it was a knock off.

Is it really worth getting in a tizzy over someone calling that specific style of zester "a microplane" when it immediately gives you an instant visual representation of what they're using, so that we can try to help them better/faster?

"I have this issue" should be met with possible solutions, not "WELL I DON'T HAVE ISSUES SO YOU MUST BE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING."

This is the one I use.

EDIT: Also including a video because you might just be using it incorrectly.

Just looked at your thermometer. That would be safe in a slow cooker and probably stay visible through the glass.

For an oven, I can't recommend getting a digital probe thermometer like this enough.

• The probe stays in the oven, while you can read the digital temp outside. The backs are usually magnetic and stick to the front of the oven. No losing heat when you check the temp.
  
• Most have a timer, making it useful even when you don't need the temperature.
  
• Most have an optional target temperature, triggering an alarm as soon as the correct temp is reached.
  
  I use one literally every time I cook meat or bread in the oven or on the grill.

When buying new gear like this, I often find it worthwhile to buy the good stuff from the beginning. It'll cost more upfront, but in the long run you save money by not sinking it into gear that you're just going to upgrade away from. I know you're looking for a starter kit, so I'll outline some entry level stuff and then some recommended upgrades.

For a burr grinder, a decent entry level manual grinder is the Hario Skerton. One complaint with this is inconsistent coarse grind size, which is what you'll be using with a French Press. Orphan Espresso makes an upgrade kit that fixes this problem, but personally I feel that if you're going to spend $40 on the Skerton and $15 on the upgrade kit, you should just spend a few more bucks and get something like the Capresso Infinity. This grinder is going to be way more convenient, versatile, and consistent than the hand grinder. For one last option, there's the Baratza Encore. This is probably the best grinder you'd want for French Press, because anything better / more expensive would just be overkill as they're primarily aimed at espresso.

The Press itself isn't too important. Bodum is usually the recommended brand.

You'll also need a way to heat water. You could go with a stovetop kettle, but I think electric kettles are more convenient, and are roughly the same price anyway. You can get a pretty standard one for less than $25. But getting a gooseneck kettle is going to help control your pour better and ensure the coffee grounds are completely saturated. If you don't want to worry about getting the perfect temperature for brewing, a variable temperature kettle will take care of it for you.

Other than that, you might want a kitchen scale to get the right coffee-to-water ratio, and a thermometer to check your water temperature.

Try one of these to get rid of the smells from your hands. Works like a charm for garlic and I imagine it would work for your pepperoni smell too.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B000F8JUJY/ref=ya_aw_oh_bia_dp?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...I work at amazon, buy this if you cook a lot ,…steel soap, get a lot of good reviews about them.

This one.

This gets asked a lot and the general consensus is usually these

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071OUJDQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_DR.-zbX8365AE

EZ-DUZ-IT manual opener

And FWIW I’ve used a few different versions of the OXO openers and they kinda suck.

That device is called a spiralizer and it makes long, curly, almost pasta-like strands out of vegetables. Here is an example.

Several products using the same name, many with a similar hand crank design. This one seems like a possible match:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GRIR87M/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1458171166&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=spiralizer&dpPl=1&dpID=41UwlTmlUFL&ref=plSrch

If they like Pasta so much, try making some Zucchini noodles. They taste great with most of the sauces that go on normal pasta. I personally love making keto Alfredo sauce for mine. And for $11, The Veggetti is an awesome little tool for making them.

They cook up in a few minutes in some butter and taste fantastic. So you can make it for yourself and still share in the "pasta" with the rest of the house. Plus, if they're vegetarians too, maybe you'll turn them on to something new.

Cheerios crusted chicken parm!

Turned out to be quite good with zucchini pasta and tomato sauce.

I got a Veggetti to make the pasta and it worked really well.

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP20-Wireless-Meat-Thermometer/dp/B01GE77QT0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524846443&sr=8-3&keywords=thermopro

If you buy from Amazon, I highly recommend paying the extra few cents (4 cents right now) and make sure you buy one where the seller is Amazon.com (not just fulfilled by Amazon.com) to reduce the chance of getting a counterfeit.

For instance, two "just launched" Amazon sellers are offering the can opener at the cheapest price of $8.87. Your "made in usa" can opener will be shipped from Brazil and Canada. You can see in the product reviews going back three years that counterfeits are a big problem with this product.

I like the Hario scale, which has a built in timer. Reasonable at $40 on amazon and hasn't failed me yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU

It's great to know the little replacements you can make to kind of make-up for the missing carbs. These aren't so much romantic as they are practical:

• Spiralized zucchini instead of pasta. If you sautee it in butter or olive oil, it's really just as good!
  
• Cauliflower: rice it! mash it! roast it! I've only been ketoing for 2 months, and I couldn't care less about rice and potatoes any more!
  
• Crisp, sliced veggies, like cukes and celery for dipping instead of crackers or chips. Or, you can get fancy and make crackers using cheese, or crisp up some pepperoni! I've also been known to eat guacamole with just a spoon ;-)
  
  The more you make full, satisfying meals without carbs, the more normal it will start to feel. It used to be Meat, Vegetable, Starch on our plates, and it felt weird to have a plate of Meat, Vegetable, Vegetable, or Meat, Meat, Vegetable or (my personal favorite) Meat, Cheese, Meat. But now, it's completely second nature!

If I were to build my kitchen from scratch, it would be pretty much what I have today w/out having to go through all the old, cheap stuff that I wound up buying getting rid of because it was low quality and wore out or broke or didn't work as well as it should have. So as follows:

All Clad Stainless:

• 12" skillet
  
• 1.5 qt pot
  
• 3 qt pot
  
• 8 qt stock pot (I have the 12 qt but most people won't use something that big
  
  Cast iron:
  
  
• 12" skillet
  
• 8" skillet
  
• other cast iron pieces for grilling that most people won't use
  
  Enameled dutch oven (Staub):
  
  
• 3 qt round cocotte
  
• 7 qt round cocotte
  
  Various Appliances:
  
  
• Kitchenaid mixer (hand mixer first, then stand mixer)
  
• Cuisinart stick blender
  
• Coffee maker (I have a Cuisinart, but I'm not stuck on the brand)
  
• A toaster oven (again, I have Cuisinart, but check reviews)
  
• An electric kettle (no brand specific)
  
• Vitamix (optional - I love mine and use it daily)
  
  Knives:
  
  
• Shun 10" chef knife
  
• Shun 4" utility knife
  
• No name super-thin flexible fish filleting knife that debones poultry like it was butter
  
• Honing steel
  
• Magnetic strip for storing knives
  
  Other misc stuff:
  
  
• Fish turners in all sizes
  
• Good set of bamboo (not wooden) spoons/spatulas
  
• Set of silicone scraper/spatulas
  
• Oxo tongs in various sizes (at least short, med, long)
  
• A mandoline slicer
  
• Epicurian cutting boards
  
• Microplane grater/zester
  
• A variety of mesh strainers (I use them more than colanders)
  
• Thermopop instant read thermometer
  
• A good quality probe thermometer (the kind you leave in the oven)
  
  Bakeware:
  
  
• A basic set of Corningware
  
• A couple of half sheet pans
  
  
  Fun things to have if you think you'll use them:
  
  
• Pasta maker or attachment for your Kitchenaid
  
• Ice cream maker
  
• Bread machine
  
  These are the things that I have right now that I'd get from the start if I were starting over from scratch. I have other stuff, but it's been gathered over time and I'm sure I've left out a few things, since I'm kind of working off the top of my head. Oh yeah, like a good set of storage stuff (Rubbermaid or similar) and a garlic press ... and ... and ... :)

Cooking spray is only LISTED as 0 calories if you use a 1/3 of one second spray. It still has calories and most people usually use more. I always log it for 9 calories/ 1 second spray.

That being said it is a very good way to use MUCH less oil to cover a bigger surface area. I don't know if the sell it in Sweden but you can get a mister bottle like this to make your own!

Get a thermometer for your meats. I use this one at home.

Stop caring about grill marks. You're not cooking on a grate. You don't need to make it look like you are.

Cut back on the oil. Commercial restaurant appliances are very different than what you're working with in a dorm.

In the same vein: stainless soap

http://www.amazon.com/Amco-318402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369069376&sr=8-1&keywords=Chef+soap

It's not gonna last forever no matter what ya do. But the best way to keep it fresh is to keep it refrigerated and use one of those inert gas "wine savers" or a wine vacuum gadget. Here are some links:

Wine vacuum

Wine preserver

My OCD just got really creeped out by those bags! They'd work perfectly!!! Here's another suggestion for items other than sandwiches: Food lockers

Let me help you out

http://www.amazon.com/Teroforma-1220-Whisky-Stones/dp/B002GZX2DE

It is a real thing. It chills the whiskey without adding water. The person who ordered that most likely did now know about this and the restaurant likely did not have them. If they brought a glass filled with rocks and whiskey, I doubt you'd post this.

You should probably just get her this

The fridge locker!
At least it should slow them down....
http://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM

I dunno if you're at all familiar with whiskey stones but they're essentially small cubes of soap stone you put in the freezer and then use them to chill your whiskey without it getting watered down. The soap stone carver who came up with that must wake up laughing.

I am not fond of them. I received a set as a gift and I've only used them once. Stone on glass is an uncomfortable texture and I got a slight mineral-y taste from them.

I like these better.

Or this. Perfect for rocks glasses.

Keep in mind that there's a huge difference between box graters! Most graters are stamped metals, meaning that it's made with machine that takes flat sheets of metal and punches out the teeth so they stand out at an angle. This is your typical grater that you find everywhere.

Unfortunately, the teeth aren't very sharp as a result, and grating something with this grater will ultimately tear, not slice, your food.

What you want is a grater where the teeth have been etched. This process involves chemically photo-etching the surface of the metal into a triangle shape, like that of a knife edge, before the teeth are punched out. It was pioneered in the 1970s, I believe, by a company called Microplane. The result is a grater with super sharp teeth that last many, many years of use.

Microplane makes really good graters. I have this handheld microplane, and this zester. Both great and will easily deliver lots of grater cheese without much muscle power. I use the wider microplane to grate directly over dishes. One of its benefits is that you can rest it on the table, at a slight angle, and use a pushing motion to grate. This requires less muscle power than pushing the cheese down the side of a box grater.

For grating larger amounts of cheese ahead of time, I use this amazing Cuisiart box grater, which also has etched teeth. The Wirecutter has been naming it the best grater for years, simply because it is superb.

A pro-tip: If you're not tall, put the box grater on a chair or something lower than your average countertop. You want to be pushing down. If you put a box grater on a countertop, your arm will have less leverage.

Some people like cranked rotating gadgets. I don't like them, for a couple of reasons. First, these things usually have multiple parts that need to be cleaned — a friend uses one that has three parts (drum, handle and the lever that closes down on the cheese to push it down). It's finicky to clean, and I hate cleaning it.

The second reason is that the action of turning the rotating handle while simultaneously forcing the cheese down is just not good physics — you have one force pushing down and the other pushing laterally. The only way to get good traction is to rest the thing on a table. You can also get table-mounted nut-grinder types of gadgets, but they need to be clamped to a tabletop or similarly sturdy surface.

Finally: Blenders can grate cheese. I don't know about small personal blenders like Nutribullet, but a higher-powered one like a Ninja can certainly grate soft and hard cheeses really well.

I actually used to do this. Now I have a digital probe thermometer that I can leave in the meat while it's cooking.

I'd search for a Bartenders Kit - something like this - to get a good sense of what equipment you might want for the types of drinks you'll be making. I definitely wouldn't buy one of those kits because they're almost always crap, but just for reference.

Basics that I have in my bar are:

• mixing tins (I like the full-metal ones, others prefer the Boston Shakers w/ the glass)
  
• a stainless bar strainer
  
• a layering spoon/tool (yes, I have the turtle)
  
• a long cocktail spoon for stirring drinks
  
• some cocktail rimmers for rimming margaritas, lemon drops, etc.
  
• some jiggers for your higher-end stuff and pour-spouts for the basic stuff
  
• and a wine key + decanter + aerator if you're into wine (plus a vacuum pump for bottles you don't finish off right away).
  
  I just included the links for reference - you'll probably want to search a little for the highest-quality tools, because you really don't want flimsy stuff.
  
  For glassware, I like to just pick out unique stuff that I find in my travels, but I have all the basics - rocks glasses, highball glasses, long-stem martini glasses, margarita glasses, pint glasses, Guinness glasses, a couple of snifters, and a Chimay glass.
  
  For the booze it's kind of up to you, but just think about what liquor types a bar has in its speed-well for your base, and then just add higher-end, unique stuff from there. I always have a nice vodka, rum, tequila, gin, bourbon, irish whiskey, cognac, and brandy in the cabinet.
  
  Then I have the popular mixers/liquers - Grand Marnier (skip the Triple Sec and get the good stuff), Bailey's, Kahlua, Amaretto, Limoncello, Frangelico, Chambord, White/Dark Creme de Cacao, Blue Curacao, Sweet/Dry Vermouth, sour mix and simple syrup, soda + tonic, juices, Fireball, various Schnapps, etc.
  
  And then from there I just gradually collect bottles of high-end stuff that will get sipped slowly and dress the bar up a bit. Just picked up a bottle of Kraken that has one of the cooler labels I've ever seen (and tastes pretty damn good, too).
  
  Have fun!

Here it is on Amazon for the lazy, still under $10.

https://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-3028-Deluxe-Opener-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ

http://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-IT-Deluxe-Opener-Black-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1412715324&sr=1-1&keywords=ez-duz-it

I'm Vietnamese too and have been doing keto/lazy keto for the past 2 years. Lots of Asian foods have loads of hidden sugars in it, so I typically find a recipe that I crave and make it at home. I google "low carb Asian bla bla recipe" and many of them use stevia sweetener or others as substitutes. The taste is a little different than regular sugar but eventually you'll get use to it.

Sadly I only use a slow cooker to cook chilis, but check out r/ketorecipes for some ideas.


Here's a list of my top go to's:
Cauliflower rice

• I always have a few heads of cauliflower in the fridge. I cut it down into smaller manageable size and put it in the food processor (grater if you don't have one). I then pulse it until it gets it into a "rice" size. I put the amount that I want to use and heat it up until it's nice a fluffy (~2 min but play around with it). I put the remaining grated cauliflower into the fridge for later use.
  
  I make sushi by mixing the "rice" with chive cream cheese. I also add some furikake if I'm feeling fancy. Just make sure to check the nutrition facts as many are high in carbs. I found one that was 1-2 carbs per tablespoon. Just use sparingly. I also make low carb spam musubi with this "rice" as well.
  
  Zoodles
  
• This is a god send and I just recently started adding this to my meals. I bought this spiralizer last month: http://www.amazon.com/Spiralizer-Tri-Blade-Vegetable-Strongest-Heaviest-Gluten-Free/dp/B00GRIR87M. There are cheaper versions but this guy I feel won't cramp my hand as much--plus it's so fancy lol
  
  I spiralize the zucchini to the preferred thickness, and sauté in some vegetable oil on medium heat. Make sure it you don't cook it down too much as it will become mushy. Typical I take it off right when it starts wilting. Lots of water will be released too and I usually take a colander to drain afterwards. I also put cold water over it to stop the cooking process. You can easily add it to your mom's pho or any Asian noodle dish. Remember to not overcook the zoodles--especially when you put boiling pho broth as it will make it even more mushy :)
  
  
  Shiritaki noodles
  
• I put this at the end as this personally isn't my favorite item but your mileage may vary. At the Asian market that I go to has a Japanese brand. http://i.imgur.com/wttmPVA.jpg
  if you dunk it in water to rinse the smell out and nuke it in the microwave, then it's a good ramen noodle substitute.
  
  IMHO the tofu shiritaki brand is very chewy and I've tried it MANY times with different cooking techniques --but it still tastes weird to me. Definitely try it out if you want as some folks had success stories.
  
  
  PM me if you have other questions! I'm not the best chef but I get by with my cravings :) I typed this on my phone and can add more items when I'm back on my computer

Yes. Use good organic whole milk for a treat but regular whole milk is also good.

I use Ellie’s best nut milk bag to turn it from regular to Greek yogurt at the end. Here is a link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLT6X9W/

this is incredible over-priced, or am I missing something? I use essential the same set-up and it cost a little under $20.

https://www.amazon.com/1-gallon-USDA-Fermentation-Glass-Jar/dp/B006ZRBGSC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491232715&sr=8-3&keywords=gallon+jar

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1491232680&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=nut+milk+bag&psc=1

A $10 kitchen scale.

Along with info from r/ultralight, it has helped me get down to under 10 lbs of gear, which makes one-bagging so much more enjoyable for me. It stays at home, of course!

This is the one I have:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084

Not sure if this is allowed but I just bought a scale from Amazon that I am incredibly happy with. I was like you, really wanting one but thinking I couldn't afford it. Obviously idk your finances, but I found this one was waaaaay cheaper than I thought they were. It's ten dollars and it has seriously revolutionized CICO for me. Plus its ultra slim and nice!!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got a kitchen scale from Amazon and it's like 10 bucks. It's pretty nice, I've been using it for a couple of months now. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_KSFHJeosUvLC1

Heres the deal with the weber smoker:


If you aren't filling up that top grate with 3 racks of ribs, or even filling the bottom grate there is honestly no point in using it unless you just want a fun hobby thing to do.

If you only want to do 1-2 racks of ribs, go grab a weber 22 inch kettle off craigslist. I got mine for 20 bucks.


It's ROI for charcoal use and time is very high compared to other smokers. Here are some tips that have gotten me lots of rave reviews on bbq using ONLY this smoker:

1. Always cook as much as you can.
   
2. Temp sweet spot is around 225-250
   
3. DO NOT TRUST THE LID THERMOMETER. It is always cold/off by 20 degrees minimum.
   
4. Get a good remote thermometer. The thermopro here is a good one to start with.
   
5. Consider getting a bbq controller. Its like CHEATING with a cook. I have the BBQ IQ130 (bluetooth), but the 120 on amazon here is amazing.
   
6. You can fill both the top and bottom grates with food. The max I have done is 2 small 14 lbs briskets on the bottom, and 3 pork butts on the top. Get a heavy duty table to use to set your stuff on when you need to wrap and rotate meat during a cook.
   
7. FILL THE WATER PAN UP, PERIOD. It acts as a buffer and helps control temp and keep it regulated. I fill with cold water. Every 2-3 hours on a cook I have a hose I carefully put in it, fill it up, and it keeps temps where they need to be.
   
8. Once every 4-5 cooks, do a HIGH HEAT BURNOUT with WOOD to get all the random flaky shit off it.
   
   The weber is a great backyard cooker. Many people win LOTS of competitions with them. It will serve you for MANY, MANY years if maintained well.
   

Most people use a different type of dual probe thermometer for smoking. One gets attached to the grate right next to the meat so that you can fine tune your smoker temp. The other is placed in the center of the meat for the duration of the cook.

Nice ones like this one are wireless, so you don't have to sit by the smoker and you can set alarms if the temp gets to low/high on either probe.

Because I love kitchen gadgets...

You can get a basic food scale for about $10 or you can get more fancy (pull out display, lighted display, weighs up to 11 lbs. so you can also use it to figure postage for packages).

Here are some ideas:

• Shun Nakiri knife?
  
  
• Microplane grate. This is what I use for finely mincing ginger and zesting citrus
  
  
• Spice dabba, indispensable for keeping whole (i.e., unground) spices in a compact form factor.
  
  
• Silpat baking mat, great for converting any baking pans into a nonstick version. I've used it to roast vegetables, bake cookies and even macarons.
  
  
• Mandoline, self-explanatory. Great for making uniform slices or strips of vegetables for gratins or casseroles. I made the ratatouille in Pixar's Ratatouille with this!
  
  
• Combination pressure-cooker/steamer/rice cooker/slow cooker. This is an electric pressure cooker that has the advantage of not requiring the same amount of babysitting as a typical stovetop pressure cooker. If your GF cooks with a lot of beans and lentils, then pressure cooking is something she'll appreciate.
  
  
• Plenty by Ottolenghi features highly inventive vegetarian cooking using a wide assortment of vegetables. The book has a middle eastern emphasis, but still contains recipes from all over the globe. My favorite is the Soba noodles with mango and eggplant.

Get one of these: www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Classic-Zester-Grater/dp/B00004S7V8

You'll never look back.

I prefer a microplane. I can also zest citrus fruit and grate nutmeg. And they are only $8-10

https://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Classic-Zester-Grater/dp/B00004S7V8/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1480179639&sr=1-2&keywords=microplane

One of these

If you use oils you can buy something like This Can that allows you to fill with your own oils and spray so you don't need to buy aerosol containers or waste money on overpriced oil cans.

One way to use less oil is to use a spray bottle (one designed for oil). it still coats the food but you use less of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV/

you did mention that you went straight from the fridge to the pan. that means the meat is starting out cold in the center and will take longer to heat up. he started with a steak that had been left to warm up to room temperature.

i agree with /u/AManAPlanACanalErie that using a thermometer takes a lot of the guesswork out. if your steak isn't hitting the internal temperature that you want after searing on each side for 1.5min or whatever, you can toss into a low heat oven to finish off. i have a thermometer like this that i stick in the steak as I'm finishing the sear. If it is still below the temp I want, I throw it in the oven for a bit to finish it off, leaving the thermometer in it. You want to make sure the tip of the thermometer is in the thickest part of the meat.

You plug the headphone-jack type thing into a part that will usually have a digital display of some sort that will show you the temp of wherever you have put the spike part. You would typically put the spike in meat that is in the oven and have the digital reader part on the counter.

Here's a picture of one!

If you get noxious smells on your hands (say from garlic or tuna, etc), you can rub your hands on stainless steel. You can check with kitchen supplies on Amazon or in a store and they will have what looks like a stainless steel bar of soap, otherwise using a spoon or faucet will work. There's some sort of chemical reaction that happens and your hands will lose the noxious smell and pick up a metallic one. The metallic one will then wash away with soap and water.

Here's one example and here's another

For the garlic try rubbing your hands with stainless steel. http://www.amazon.com/Amco-8402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457062784&sr=8-1&keywords=stainless+steel+soap+bar

This is probably the best answer, but it doesn't work on all bottles. You can also just recap it if you have a capper.

One more important tip is do not use an air pump wine stopper - example. The pump makes the beer flat. Maybe, this is obvious to everyone else, but boy, did I feel silly after giving it a go.

I have the $50 Oxo and can highly recommend it, with a couple reservations, though it's sufficient for normal kitchen use. A couple things to consider before getting a scale, and the reasons for my reservations:

How much you will need to weigh at one time. This Oxo has an 11-lb capacity. They also make a 5-lb ($30), and a 22-lb ($70).

How little you will need to weigh at one time. The Oxo measures freedom units in 1/8-oz increments and 1g socialist increments. 1/8 oz = 3.5g, so measuring in metric is more precise on this scale. If you want to weigh 3g of salt, it might not even register until you've got 6g on the scale - it's not very sensitive for small amounts.

Other than that, I've had mine for a about 3 years and never yet changed the batteries. The magnetic, pull-out control panel/display is really useful for putting big things on it, and doesn't have any weak points as far as I can tell. I use it daily.

Also, are you using this for personal or business use? If you're using it to weigh something that's regulated by weighs and measures, you might need one that's certified. I don't know much about this, but I know it's a thing, FYI JIC.

It's time to get a digital scale and start weighing ingredients, which is what all professional and serious amateur cooks do these days. Oxo makes a good one that has been highly rated by ATK, SeriousEats etc:

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=oxo+scale&qid=1569259526&s=gateway&sr=8-2

As far as this recipe, I've made it with duck eggs and I used the equivalent weight as for chicken eggs. These in-a-jar recipes are very flexible anyway.

Having made it with both types of eggs, I can't say it made any noticeable difference (maybe if you tasted them side-by-side, you might detect something).

But it is cool to tell your guests that you are serving them "duck egg cheesecake"!

I’m American, but I love weighing ingredients. I have an Oxo brand digital scale and I also keep my flour and sugar in large Oxo containers.

I’m terrible with math, so I use the zero function on the scale before adding each ingredient. Easy!

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=oxo+food+scale&qid=1571705231&sprefix=oxo+food&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-10-Piece-Airtight-Storage-Container/dp/B0029096ZO/ref=sxin_2_osp60-cef0d719_cov?ascsubtag=cef0d719-1890-4ade-be64-00252940cb2a&creativeASIN=B0029096ZO&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osp.cef0d719-1890-4ade-be64-00252940cb2a&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-search&keywords=oxo+food+storage+containers+with+lids&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B0029096ZO&pd_rd_r=8608dbe4-a76a-4384-804b-81ebfd1c6cdb&pd_rd_w=b2W2l&pd_rd_wg=g1wdY&pf_rd_p=33b90d57-4392-4d9b-9557-da4c9de25645&pf_rd_r=34HKW47DKJRSD3YS6J8R&qid=1571705273&sprefix=oxo+food+s&tag=mlbonsitepub-20

As a person with a newly diagnosed kid, I can agree that everything is super overwhelming in the beginning and help from friends is welcome. The thing we needed most was the space to learn about our new life, and someone to just talk to about everything. Seems contradictory, but I would reach out with no expectations and wait to hear back.

In terms of more tangible things, you could pitch in to hire a temporary cleaning service, even if only once during the 1st couple weeks. or help buy some of the items they will need such as a quality digital food scale, Frio insuling cooling case, or books. The two books I've found to be the most helpful are Think Like a Pancreas, and Sugar Surfing.

Also the JuiceBox Podcast is really wonderful, and I highly recommend it.

Link to the food locker purchased

I purchased these whiskey stones a few months ago. I've actually been pretty happy with them.

Here's the thing: I prefer my bourbon a little chilled, but not cold. I think that ice-cold whiskey masks all the subtleties of the flavor, but slightly chilled, it really brings something out. Now, all my bourbons are room temperature, and I don't like ice, because I don't want the taste watered down... so the stones are a nice solution.

Everyone is correct here that stone is a bad conductor of heat, but that's sort of the point. I drop three stones into my glass, give it 30 seconds or so, and my bourbon is just slightly chilled down. Perfect.

Also, the soapstone frankly looks pretty badass, IMHO.

non-mobile amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

video from /r/videos : http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/24biru/man_selling_peelers_in_nyc/

Losing weight! Because it's not easy to do it or to admit you need too, but I'm doing just fine, staying on it, not caving at all even though it would be easy to buy something not diet approved. I've stuck to it for two months now and am starting my third, and I feel GOOD and I feel AWESOME :D

measuring food is SO key

see how this Amazon link truncates after "/B003MSZBSI/"?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MSZBSI/

That is an acceptable Amazon link; it is the shortest URL that will still resolve to the item page. All the stuff in the URL bar that often follows that is metadata that tells Amazon how you got to the page, some of which can be an affiliate code that gives someone a financial reward for sending someone to Amazon. The rule is in place so that /r/Coffee does not become a platform for affiliate marketers to monetize. When /u/Anomander asked you to prune your links, that is what he meant. Remove all the extraneous URL cruft that can give financial kickbacks.

Basically, just make sure your Amazon links don't have this sort of stuff on the end of them:

/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostfalco-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00Q5HFZFC&linkId=54d91b506e451fbeeadb9c6b975b6c54

This is the food scale I use. I've had it for about 2 years. It's still on its original batteries and I use it multiple times per day. (: I'm no expert, so there may be better and cheaper ones out there, but I really like mine!

I'm using a Jennings CJ-4000. It's reasonably priced, accurate, doesn't automatically shut off, and can be powered through a wall outlet or with batteries.

Grab a jennings it's what is used in a lot of cafes. For ratios I would start at a 1:16 ratio amd adjust from there.

I find .1 to be overkill. Before the Pearl hit the scene it was pretty much the Hario scale and the Jennings CJ4000 that saw major use in coffee shops. I have both of these and an AWS pocket scale and I like the Jennings the best. It may not have as fine a resolution but it's way faster. The Hario scale lags quite a bit.

I'm going assume that you are in a moving out of your parents' house-type situation, so you have clothes, a personal computer, and personal toiletries (shampoo, razor, toothpaste, etc.) already

Bedroom: (Total: $195)

• Mattress ($100): I can sleep on anything, so I'd start cheap, but this would be the first thing I'd replace
  
• Sheets ($10)
  
• Heated mattress pad ($30): Instead of investing in a lot of cheap blankets, a heated mattress pad will get you through the coldest of nights
  
• Blankets ($30): 1 wool blanket from Goodwill, 1 fleece blanket from Walmart
  
• Pillow ($15)
  
• Lamp ($10): Maybe this is just me, but I love reading before bed, so lamps are useful!
  
  Living room: (Total $640)
  
  
• Couch/Futon ($400): my sister got an AWESOME, over-sized couch for $500 8 years ago from a discount place, and the thing looks good as new. Getting a great deal on a couch can take a couple of months, but I think it's totally worth it. Okay, maybe you don't have time to wait and you need someone to hold visitors for a while. I'd get something like this
  
• Coffee table ($20): Walmart, Goodwill, Craigslist, etc
  
• TV ($200) + TV stand ($20): I'd hold off on buying a TV if you have a computer/large smartphone. Maybe you can't hold off, so you get a cheapo 32" TV If this thing lasts you 5 years I'd count you as lucky. Get a TV stand used.
  
  Bathroom: (Total:$67)
  
  
• Toilet plunger + brush ($10): First thing you should buy for your apartment
  
• Toilet paper ($10)
  
• Shower curtain + Liner: ($15)
  
• 2 towels ($20)
  
• liquid hand soap ($2)
  
• Rug ($10): Honestly I hate those terryloop/shag rugs that they sell for use in the bathroom and I use a cheapo weaved rug. I can't seem to find these on Walmart however, but they're like $5 in my country's Walmart equivolent
  
  Kitchen: (Total: $430 + $200 reserved for future + $200 in food = $830)
  
  
• Most places in the US include a fridge and oven. Microwave is iffy, so I'll say you have to buy that (although, you could definitely hold off on a microwave/water kettle, I just find them so convenient)
  
• Microwave ($50)
  
• Electric water kettle ($15)
  
• 1 large pot, 1 sauce pan, 1 large frying pan, 1 small frying pan, 4 plates... fuck it. Everything for $60. Take $200 and gradually replace key pieces at Goodwill/Garage sales/etc. over time
  
• Can opener ($9): Yes, there's a canopener in the set, but honestly, a bad canopener is more frustrating for me than a bad knife.
  
• Microwave-safe sealed containers ($16)
  
• Pyrex/Corning-like baking dishes ($30): can usually be found for cheap at Goodwill
  
• Baking pans ($25)
  
• Mixing bowl set with lids ($15)
  
• Dish drying rack ($10)
  
• Sponge and soap ($5)
  
• Dish towels ($15): get something absorbent here
  
• Oven mitt/pot holders ($15)
  
• Hot pads ($5)
  
• Wine key ($10): You might not have wine glasses, but you have mugs! Keep it classy. This is also a beer bottle opener. I bought a cheap $15 set of wine glasses a couple of years ago and they're still going strong. If you like wine/having friends over, a set of cheap wine glasses would be good to have, but I'm not going to include them in this list.
  
• Food basics ($200): Spices, oil, cocoa, flour, rice, pasta, etc.
  
  Cleaning supplies: ($103)
  
  
• Really depends on the place, but lets say you don't have carpet.
  
• Broom and dust pan ($10)
  
• Mop and bucket ($20)
  
• Gallon of bleach ($4)
  
• air freshener ($2)
  
• 3 garbage pails (Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom) ($15)
  
• Rubber gloves ($5)
  
• Laundry detergent ($10)
  
• Glass/window cleaner ($2)
  
• toilet bowl cleaner ($5)
  
• multi-purpose cleaner ($5)
  
• microfiber washclothes ($10)
  
• Paper towels ($5)
  
  Total: $1835
  
  Leaving you with $165 for your first week's of food!
  

Get the new one. The vintage stuff is cool, but make your own vintage stuff.

The point of getting vintage stuff now is that a lot of it is considered high quality. In this case, you have access to the same quality new. The bonus is that you support American folks making your high quality materials. The resale market adds little to the people pressing these things out.

EZ DUZ IT has multiple colors too.

Black

Red

Blue

White

Edit: The black EZ DUZ IT will not help you acheive laser fusion. Thanks /u/PsykoDemun

A manual pour over is a great way to make coffee, giving lots of control and allowing you to pull out different flavours through controlling just about every variable there is.

However, because there's so much control, the user really needs to know what he's doing: how much water he's adding; where that water is in the coffee bed; how long the water is in contact; how hot the water is ... and so on. To that end, if you're going to get a chemex, wave or V60 you really want a pouring kettle and scale with timer built in. This scale is pretty much the "go-to" option but there are other choices available. As for the pouring kettle, you want something with a goose neck to give good control. There are literally hundreds available at every price point. If you don't want to spend on this as well, a good teapot can be a usable substitute - just remember you want to be able to control how much water you add and direct it precisely onto the coffee bed.

https://www.amazon.com/Spiralizer-Vegetable-Strongest-Heaviest-Gluten-Free/dp/B00GRIR87M

I bought this one back in March and have no complaints.

really? I have one like this and it works well: https://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W

never used it for carrots though

I have this thing called a Vegetti that is excellent for making zucchini/squash pasta.

I have the Veggetti, pretty much the same thing. Bought just on pure impulse at the grocery store and was pleasantly surprised at how well it works, but you do kind of have to give a tiny bit of muscle to put downward pressure on the veggie into the device while turning. I can see how it'd be hard to film without an overhead view.

In any case, I recommend having one of these type of devices.

Here's the Veggetti: http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W

I bought on of these. I love it.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00IIVRB3W/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426473328&sr=8-1&keywords=veggetti&pi=SY200_QL40

So I'm on mobile and don't know how to link! I used a Vegetti and bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond for like $15 I think!

Coconut. Use as little oil as possible (refined if you can find it), just enough to completely soak the kief. Then get one of these https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W. Strain it while it’s hot enough to almost burn your hands, wearing nylon dish gloves makes it less painful. And squeeze the ever loving fuck out of it to get every last drop.

Another option would be to make some qwet hash, and then just decarb and mix it with the coco oil, no straining necessary and this allows you to use a very minimal amount of coconut oil, making the end product potent as fuck. With that method i squeeze 50,000 mg of thc into a less than a pint of oil regularly.

I use [this bag] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLT6X9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_eswdBb9CV16VN to make horchata. I put all the ingredients in the bag, and when it's done steeping, I pull it the bag and press it to get the delicious out.

I like a dual probe thermometer (example). One probe for the meat internal temp and one for the smoke chamber temp. For the smoke chamber temperature, I just lay the probe on the grate.

An advantage of having a wireless thermometer is that you can set alarms. So if either one of the temperatures varies outside a given range, it will alert you no matter where you are around the house. That way you'll know if the smoker needs fuel, if it's caught on fire, if the meat is almost done, etc.

ThermoPro TP20

Jennings CJ4000 scale: $32 with Amazon Prime, great for pourovers, runs on batteries or adaptor, auto shut-off can be turned off, 0.5g resolution. Pretty much the standard in all cafes

http://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ4000-4000g-Digital-Scale/dp/B004C3CAB8/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1373501436&sr=1-1&keywords=Cj4000

CJ 4000 is my suggestion. Small, battery or wall outlet powered, and really responsive. With the Clever pour speed is not as much of an issue but in the Chemex you'll want the scale to update as soon as water is added. Also it has a cover which doubles as a measuring tray.

Jennings - $27 :: 4000g x 0.5g

Hario - $42 :: 2000g x 0.1g + timer

Brewista - $88 :: 2000g x 0.1 + timer

*I have the Hario and I like it. The time it takes to register weight is a little slow, but I don't care. Also I've spilt water on it (not more than 1/5 cup, and some ended up below it, near the battery) and I immediately clean/wipe and have had no water damage

Edit: Links & Notes

Jenning's CJ4000 $26

20 year warranty, .5g resolution, 11 lb capacity, AC adapter included.

Holy crap, thanks for the heads up! I went and grabbed mine and compared and the one I posted looks like crap. This one looks identical other than the handle color. I'll keep this in mind.

Swing Aways are made in China now, and aren't as good anymore. By the American version, http://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-IT-Deluxe-Opener-Black-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ

Mine works great.

I've owned both of these and quite like both:

Hario

HuiSmart

The Hario looks a bit cleaner and it has large base. However, I like the silicon cover the HuiSmart comes with especially when making pourovers or placing my portafilter on the scale. The HuiSmart is also cheaper, which is nice.

What I use for coffee now is https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Drip-Coffee-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU/, has timer for pourover and is accurate to tenth of a gram. Little lag but not enough to make me really want anything else any time soon. I know that price is above what you asked for but wanted you to know the price of one that could very well last quite a while.

The one I used for years making french press with a blade grinder (calm down it's just a spice grinder now), and still use for other kitchen tasks, is https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-ZK14-S-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen/dp/B004164SRA/. It's cheap, it works, and mine has lasted I think 5yrs now. It does not read to a tenth of a gram and does not have a timer though. And, it just doesn't look as cool.

http://www.amazon.com/Tri-blade-Vegetable-Spiralizer-Lifetime-Vegetables/dp/B00GRIR87M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394496527&sr=8-2&keywords=spiralizer

this looks highly rated but i don't even know what i should be looking for!

A spiralizer is your best bet if you want the best mix of efficiency, cost-savings, and ease of use/cleanup. This is the one I use. Check the reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Spiralizer-Tri-Blade-Vegetable-Strongest--Replacement/dp/B00GRIR87M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414531331&sr=8-1&keywords=spiralizer

I bought [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GRIR87M/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_CbExwbJVRR7XD) last year. Spiralizes perfectly :)


If you're looking for something a bit fancier.. This:

Lurch Super Spiralizer With 3 Extremely Sharp Adjustable Interchangeable Blades (1.5-5.5MM) -Tornado Blade, Spaghetti Blade And Thick Blade For Vegetables, Fruits And More, Includes Stainless Steel/Wood Corers With Recipe Book

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JPW237C/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_TfExwb0WJQZ0T

I'm thinking about purchasing this one next if my current one kicks the bucket. Plus. There's a good recipe book that comes with it.

Its multipurpose. If you ever want to make Vegetable Noodles you can use this to make them spirals. Ive also been cooking for myself for over 10 years and cannot for the life of me cut anything efficiently. So this isnt a terrible gadget for an at home cook.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRIR87M

i bought one last year and use it constantly! it's great!

edit: just noticed that OP linked you to a kindof big and expensive one. I got the lil cheap one and it works for me:

http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451418361&sr=8-1&keywords=vegetti

Use a vegetti for the zucchini noodles! Super easy to use.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IIVRB3W?pc_redir=1407737043&robot_redir=1

People have recommended this nut milk bag for cold brew on this subreddit before. I might just get it now.

Nut and grain milks are so easy to make once you try it you will feel silly for ever spending money on it. Just take a cup of ANY kind of (usually raw) nut and soak it over night. Rinse it out then put it in any kind of blender with 3.5 cups water and a squeeze of honey or maple syrup and blend it. It does not need to be an expensive Blendtec blender, any 20 dollar Black & Decker/Oester will do just fine. Once blended pass it through this 10 dollar reusuable mesh bag and refrigerate. Lasts for 2 or 3 days and tastes amazing. My favorites are cashews and hulled sunflower seeds (by far the cheapest)

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W

I've only felt a kava hangover once so far, and it was with a tudei variety I bought from a botanical vendor. Where did you get your kava from? If your vendor didn't supply reliable info regarding the source and variety of your kava, then I'd recommend trying the Waka (warning: very pungent) or Fu'u from Bula Kava House, or any variety of kava from Gourment Hawaiian Kava.

If your kava is good, the next thing I'd suggest is trying the traditional hand-straining prep, rather than blending and straining like you're doing right now. You might be consuming too much plant material with your current prep method, which I've found to increase the possibility of short-term nausea. I'm hand-kneading my kava with this nut milk bag that I bought on Amazon. It feels very durable compared to the previous three strainer bags I've burned through already, and it's large enough to make big batches of kava if you wanted to. I usually add about 2 Tbsp of kava to my strainer bag for every cup of lukewarm water I use, then knead vigorously for ten minutes. You know you have a potent batch when your kava has an oily sheen on the surface, similar to an oil spill on asphalt.

My normal kava night involves 6 Tbsp kava and 3 cups of water, which should be around 4-5 shells. I usually drink my first 3 shells within 30 min, then drink each remaining shell in 15 min intervals. This will leave me feeling pretty good for 3 hours or so, at which point I will be perfectly relaxed for sleep. This always leaves me feeling refreshed in the morning with no nausea whatsoever.

Good luck!

Invest the $15 in a microplane. Seriously AMAZING. Garlic minced, lemons zested, ginger grated in an instant!

A Microplane Zester is a great tool for just this purpose. It is pretty easy to clean and can be used for cheeses and zests. I use mine all the time.

The microplane zester/grater is worth an investment. It's much sharper and finer than a normal grater since it actually cuts through the material than just grating it. A tough, fibrous root like ginger and galangal becomes a neat pile of pulp with barely any leftover.

>Her gastro doc is taking things very slowly and deliberately

He's probably just using some algorithm. He's probably checking for some sort of lactose intolerance, gall bladder disease, other stuff before he goes into (expensive) diagnostic testing.

Anyway, roasting typically used oil to the best flavor/texture. Steaming should be your go to for veggies. A bunch of veg is pretty darn tasty if steamed correctly; cabbage, spinach, broccoli, carrots; add some salt/pepper, maybe some lemon juice for brightness and you have a staple veg for every meal.

Fish in foil is a good one too, you can reduce/omit the oil and still be okay.
\
If you want to minimize, but not completely omit oil in a recipe (say grilling chicken breast or salad). Check out the misto

I hated the waste from aerosol cans as well. I switched to the Misto and it has worked wonderfully for me. You might want to give it a try too!

I suggest http://amzn.com/B00004SPZV
We have this one and like it, the hand sprayer one looks like it would work well also.

You can use shortening or veg oil, same difference. You'll need enough that will come halfway up the side of the pan WHEN THE CHICKEN IS ADDED. If you fill the pan halfway with oil and then put in the chicken, you will have a bad time.

For your flour dredge, easiest way is to add your flour to a gallon ziploc bag. Add salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, cumin, and whatever else you might like to season the breading. Shake it to mix up the spices and flour.

Now you can add your chicken pieces to the bag a couple at a time, and seal and shake the bag to coat.

Remove the coated pieces and set them on a rack or plate to rest for a second while you do the rest.

If you want a thicker breading, make an egg wash (mix 1 part egg, 1 part water), dunk the coated chicken pieces, and put them back into the flour for another coat, then set them aside to rest for a few minutes so the coating can set.

When all the chicken is coated, and your oil is hot (should be about 350F. If you don't have a thermometer for this (get one, an instant read digital thermometer is like ten bucks), stick a wooden spoon or chopstick into the oil. It should bubble nice and steady. If it doesn't bubble or produces weak bubbles, you're not hot enough. If it goes crazy with bubbles, you're too hot.

Note that you will need to boost the heat when you add the chicken to compensate. You've just added a bunch of cold mass to the pan.

Fry it on one side for 4-5 minutes, then flip. Your first side should be nice and deep brown.

While you're waiting, prepare the landing spot. Ideally it's a cookie sheet lined with papertowel with a rack on it.

Fry another 4-5 minutes, pull and temp your smallest piece. If you're at temperature (160F for white meat, 165 for dark), put it on the rack.

This part is important. Unless you're doing a bunch of identically-sized pieces of the same type, all your chicken will not be done properly at the same time. I suggest pulling the chicken 5 degrees early and let them coast the rest of the way. If your outside is getting really dark and the inside isn't done yet, pull it and consider finishing it in the oven or even the microwave.

Eventually you will get good enough after a couple times that you'll be able to tell right away what to do, but you really can't fuck it up too bad if you keep an eye on the temperature of the meat. A thermometer is pretty key. This one is great for 12 bucks: https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Commercial-Waterproof-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B00009WE45/

Amazon

I would buy a good box wine, just as I buy screw top wines.

I'll suggest you use the Vacu Vin to keep partial bottles drinkable for days. It's cheap, $14, and worth it to me. Like you, I used to feel I had to finish a bottle, especially something nice. Now, a glass, close it up and have another later in the week.

I use a hand pump, and it works fine for me:

http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-981460-Vacuum-Stoppers/dp/B000GA3KCE

What the principle of the video was using one of those suction based "wine saver" corks. Like This.

The process: cut up fruit and place into wine bottle w/ your alcohol; use vacu pump thing for 1-2 minutes until seal feels tight; let sit for 5 mintues.

The vacuum is supposed to help the infusion. It sounds interesting and might be worth a try. The time in the video seems a little short for me, but who knows.

I mean, not to be overaly reductive, but "More" is essentially the answer to your question.

Unless you legitimately have a digestive problem where you're not absorbing what you eat (which isn't impossible,) then ultimately, you're intaking fewer calories than you burn. If you're really curious, buy a cheap food scale and spend a couple weeks accurately logging all the calories you eat. I bet it's fewer than you suspect.

But ultimately, even if you don't want to do that, just eat more. The body stores excess energy as fat. That's literally what fat is. If you're not putting on fat, you either have a medical condition or you're eating at a net-zero over a long enough term.

A tad over 8# shoulder. Rubbed down with horseradish mustard, pepper, and garlic. Lightly injected with cajun butter.

Put it on about 8:30 p.m. at 225°, with apple juice in the water bath. Did two rounds of smoke with Pecan chips, then let it go all night. Set the alarm for 200°.

Woke up to the alarm about 8:45 the next morning. Pulled it, and let it rest for about an hour and a half in foil. Pulled apart like a dream, and was moist throughout.

I found the MES30 local on CL for $80, missing nothing, without even a full season on the inside. I am a fire fan, but a man can get used to set it and forget it.

That sucks! Can you still return it? Amazon is pretty good about working with you and that just sounds broken :(

I bought this one and I can’t complain yet. Basic but got the job done and has high reviews... https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01JTDG084?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

This one: http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373566948&sr=8-1&keywords=oxo+kitchen+scale

Accurate as hell, 11 pound capacity, nice and thin, uses "real batteries," back lit display, doesn't auto power cycle for a good long time and the pull out display seems like a gimmick but you realize it's not at the same time you realize that you're glad that it can do 11 pounds. I love mine.

Honestly, be that asshole.

You don't have to be rude about it, just be honest. Tell them money is tight, and as much as you'd love to share everything you have with them, you can't and would appreciate it if they didn't eat your things. If the one girl is your friend and the other you just met respects you, they'll understand.

And if they don't let up, you could buy one of these.

Or if you don't want to talk to them, just go ahead and buy the locker without saying anything and they'll get the hint.

Or you could just get real whiskey rocks

edit: wow, I had no idea whiskey rocks were so terrible (I've never used them)

Those are some chinese knockoff

this is what they're supposed to look like: http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

Here's an amazon link for that product for $2 (+$2 shipping).

Looks like your links got the reddit hug of death.

Those are from a Tovolo King Cube ice tray. It's pretty awesome for drinks on the rocks. <$9 on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/kitchen-dining/dp/B00395FHRO

I don't really understand your question: you want a hot cold brew? You want a cold brew but want it warmer than it currently is?

If you're looking for a solid cold brew, I have the 1000ml Hario Cold Brew pot and this recipe is golden:

Pour 108g of coffee into the filter then place the filter in the pot. Pour filtered water through this filter until it reaches about a quarter inch from the top. Let it sit for 12-18 hours in the fridge. Remove the filter and discard the coffee. You now have a good concentrated base for iced coffee.

I plop a square ice cube in a glass, pour the concentrate and filtered water into the glass at a ratio of 1:1. I drink mine black but if you add cream/milk/flavoring, then change up your water with a whatever mix you want. Add sugar in at the end. Since this is cold, I recommend syrups over crystal sugar as you may find the crystal sugar settling at the bottom.

Been doing this for a year and have settled on this recipe being my fav. Good luck!

So true! I bought this sleek one and have loved it. Been surprised at amounts sometimes.

Just a few suggestions from someone who has been making bread regularly, twice week for almost a year to feed a family.

"....we've decided to bake our own bread as much as possible."

Awesome! If you plan on making bread more often, one of the main problems you might run into is inconsistent results (I definitely did). For example, you could use that recipe you've just posted to make bread every single week, and the bread will have different characteristics every single time. It might come out fine one week, and "dense inside and a little too crispy outside," the next. This isn't good. Why is it happening?

The problem with recipes like that which use measurements such as "6 1/2 cups of flour" is...you really can't be very accurate with volumetric measurements. It's simply unreliable. Imagine taking a measuring cup, gently spooning flour into it until it's exactly 1 cup. Then, imagine taking an identical measuring cup, but this time ramming it into the flour like most people do, as hard as you can, densely packing the flour into the cup until it's exactly 1 cup.

Which one has exactly one cup? There is no answer. It's a false question. If you took those two measuring cups and weighed them on a scale, the densely packed flour would weigh some arbitrary amount around twice as much as the cup with the lightly spooned flour. Imagine if you worked in a bakery and were supposed to scale up this recipe to "50 cups of flour" for a batch of dough. After the so called "50 cups", your ratio of water to flour would be off by an order of magnitude or more! Hopefully I've explained this well.

So what can you do to combat this problem? Stop using volumetric measurements, and measure by weight for the most important parts of the loaf: the flour and the water. Invest in a cheapo little kitchen scale. Here's the one I bought, and it works really well. You said you're trying to live frugally, so paying 20 to 25 dollars (or whatever kind of currency is used where you live) for a scale may not be a viable option. For me, a scale was one of the best investments I've ever made.

One more thing before I shut up about the scale; a scale can enable you to easily switch between different types of dough; you simply change the ratio of water to flour depending on what kind of bread you plan to make. In General: if you want to make, say, pretzels or bagels, you need a drier dough; a smaller ratio of water to flour. If you want to make a nice loaf of sandwich bread, like you're trying to do, you'd want a moderately wet dough; a middling ratio of water to flour. If you want a rustic artisan-style loaf, like a sourdough, you'd want a very wet dough; a high ratio of water to flour. If by chance you're still reading this horrendously long post (I'm very sorry about that), please just take a quick look at this video.

Finally, I'll quickly address your question of long term dough storage, such as freezing. I honestly don't know what happens to frozen dough, because I've personally never needed to do this--so I won't speak on it. However, I can attest to the benefits of slow fermentation inside the refrigerator. Dough kept in the refrigerator will be good up to around 2, maybe 3 days tops before you have to do something with it or risk over-proving the dough. You probably could still use it after that long, but you might do better to incorporate it into a new dough mixed in with fresh ingredients. Which brings me to my main point.

Dough--or in this case it may be more accurate to call it a preferment--kept in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours (or even sitting out on the counter for 6 to 8 hours) develops such a wonderful flavour! If you really get into breadmaking, you will no doubt experiment with bulk fermented dough, or dough that has been allowed to sit in (or out) of the refrigerator for extended periods of time. In short, I'll just say that many types of bread will greatly benefit from such a method. Benefits in ease of folding/kneading, as well as fragrance, taste, texture, and crust, and crumb structure in the finished loaf.

It is likely many people will disagree with this post, but it's what works for me. :/ Have fun!

As /u/dirtmonger mentioned, you should invest in a scale. I have the cj4000 model and I really like it, I use it for everything from coffee to baking to cocktails and fermenting.

Second, are you using filtered water? Your response to /u/MrMurgatroyd where you mentioned things not fermenting or just rotting made me think that perhaps your issue is chloride/chloramine. It doesn't take a lot of contamination to throw off the lacto-fermentation.

My third thought is the quality of your produce. This is a relatively controversial opinion, but in my experience (and that of big name fermentation folks like Sandor Katz) home grown and organic (read: not walmart organic) produce tends to yield better results. The persistent pesticides present on conventional produce, or even the industrially administered USDA allowed organic pesticides/herbicides, can really mess with your ferment. I've had the best luck using local produce from CSA's and farmers markets. Yes, you're paying a bit of premium, but it seems less likely to fail to ferment and you're supporting local farmers and often times they're growing heirloom varietals that are important for genetic diversity in an increasingly industrial monoculture.

Best of luck, try and remember that even experienced fermenters have failures with some regularity. It's not an exact science.

If you are bothered by it, you can buy a vacuum cork to pull the air out of an opened bottle. Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GA3KCE/ref=pd_aw_sbs_k_1

• Bench scrapers. I use them for both picking up chopped up bits and for clean up. Nothing cleans a countertop better than a bench scraper.
  
• Microplane. For a long time I didn't have a micro plan and anytime I needed to grate anything I had to use my box grater. Also, it's great for ginger and garlic.
  
• Vacuseal. Goodbye freezer burn. Also, it's great for leftovers since you can just reheat your leftovers in a pot of boiling water. Better than microwave or even the oven.
  
• Wine sealer. Something to seal up bottles of wine. I use:
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GA3KCE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  It works pretty well and makes wine last a lot longer.
  
• Prep dishes. Little dishes for herbs, liquids, etc. I probably use like 5 of these each time I cook.
  
• Strong gloves. If I'm cooking something that is annoying to touch(garlic, chicken, eggs, chilis) I put on gloves. I like a tight fitting glove.

I love my OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display, 11-Pound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5-CCCb3QYSF7V

This is one amazing. I’m weird and have tried 5 different food scales and this one is by far my favorite.
It’s $50 but it can hold up to 11 lbs which is wonderful because you can put huge pots on it and just add whatever by zeroing it out. I’ve weighed a weeks worth of food up to 4000 grams at once before (not including the pot). All the other ones I’ve tried max out at 5 lbs which really doesn’t hold much, if you’re trying to zero a heavy pot and food.

You can also pull the screen out so you can read the the display under large plates. The scale part is also detachable so you can wash it easily. Runs on batteries. I’ve been using this one every day since January and haven’t needed to change them yet.

I highly highly recommend it.

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display, 11-Pound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1Wj7CbVGK0XZZ

Mine makes me angry when trying to weigh something in a big bowl or plate because it covers the display so my rec would be one with a removable display like this: https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA

Food scale? I have this one: https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA

Bathroom scale I just have a Walmart one

I've got the OXO

It's pricy, but goddamn I love it. I use it more than any other kitchen gadget, and we cook a lot.

Buy nice, or buy twice.

I use this OXO and it is perfect because it has a metric conversion. They do make one for $30. And I use MFP as well and save the ingredients I use most often.

I really like the OXO scale:
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377795918&sr=8-1&keywords=oxo+kitchen+scale

The 5 lb capacity one is cheaper if you like that better. The scale is very easy to clean and you want the 1 g resolution for baking.

If you want a really great scale this one would be hard to beat. Not the cheapest, but it has a lot of great features: backlight, pull out display panel so you can read the weight when there are large bowls on there, weighs up to 5K/11Lbs. Make sure you don't get the all black one that looks like the stainless one. It doesn't have all the features and can only do half the weight.

Would getting a fridge locker be an option, or do you think they'd see that as a challenge to their right to your food?

https://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM/ref=sr_1_1

http://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM I guess you can do this

People have been stealing out of my fridge at work so I just got a fridge locker. I found one at Dave and Busters and used my points. Best 1800 points ever and it makes a great conversation piece in the break room. https://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001UFNCHM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421640034&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=61CBXSOCW4L&ref=plSrch
Link for the lazy. Its awesome BTW.

If you want to cool your scotch without ice, try whiskey stones.

Chills without freezing, and add water to dilute to your preference.

For alcohols get these

I actually use rocks in my whiskey...

I frequently freeze orange slices to throw in any wheat beers. Works great.

Also whisky stones.

bitch please, I just polished off a half fifth of scotch... on the rocks! and unlike Eddie Valiant, I don't mean [ice](
https://www.amazon.com/Teroforma-CLASSIC-Whisky-Stones-Handcrafted/dp/B002GZX2DE)

You can still purchase these on Amazon. Though not with the same experience. http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2/ RIP Joe Ades

I think this is also it: http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2/ref=wl_mb_wl_huc_mrai_1_d

I doubt this comment will be seen, but they are made by a company called Zena, in Switzerland. That particular model is the Rex.

They are on amazon for $2.00: http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

• 8" chef knife
  
• 12" cast iron skillet (Lodge or similar)
  
• 3qt sautee pan (stainless with copper core -- All Clad, Cuisinart, or similar)
  
• 8qt stock pot (brand unimportant -- don't spend too much)
  
• 5L cast iron dutch oven (Le Creuset / Staub or similar)
  
• serving utensil set (solid spoon, slotted spoon, salad fork)
  
• cooking utensil set
  
• Rosle tongs (one small, one large)
  
• colander
  
• nesting mixing bowl set
  
• large stainless steel bowl (bigger than your mixing bowls)
  
• meat thermometer if you're going to cook meat. I love my Thermapen.
  
• high quality, large end cut cutting board (Boos block or similar)
  
• steamer basket for your stock pot, if it didn't come with one
  
• cast iron pizza pan (you will use this for roasting root vegetables, baking eggs, and all sorts of non-pizza things)
  
• set of silicone spatulas
  
• set of stainless steel nesting measuring cups that will free stand without falling over
  
• set of stainless steel nesting measuring spoons
  
• spoon rest. :P
  
• silicone oven mitt or trivets to grab hot stuff
  
• a vegetable peeler like this: http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1416602816&sr=1-1&keywords=vegetable+peeler+swiss
  
• a cutting board veggie scraper, along these lines: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000VLVW0/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687782&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000SSZ4Q4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=18JMTVY3KJD8SJP9G52Y
  
  I think this about covers the very basics. There's an equally long list of optional items, depending on your priorities. Stuff like a microwave, toaster oven, blender, cookie sheets & baking pans & cooling racks, salad spinner, other types and sizes of pots & knives, etc....

http://astore.amazon.com/konyh-20

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kuhn-Rikon-Metallic-Swiss-Peeler/dp/B0089KFZ6W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1416952521&sr=8-4&keywords=swiss+peeler

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Potato-Peeler-Swiss-Guaranteed-quality/dp/B002XMEHZ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416952316&sr=8-1&keywords=swiss+peeler

http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417279864&sr=8-2&keywords=swiss+peeler

It freezes well, I tend to make a big batch and freeze it in one of those silicone trays that makes for a nice sized frozen block. Stuff works well in chili, too.

Try these.

I got some for Christmas and they are nice in drinks. They melt slower so wont dilute as much, but still give you a nicely chilled bourbon.

It's easy!

• Get one of these Coleman six-pack coolers
  
• Get one or two of these Tovolo ice cube trays
  
• Set your freezer so it gets nice and cold. -18C/0F should do it.
  
• Cut some holes in the bottom of the ice cube trays. This is easier said than done since those things are really flexible ...I used a box cutter and cut square holes.
  
• Remove the lid of the Coleman cooler (it's detachable)
  
• Fill the Coleman cooler about, oh, 2/3rds to 3/4ths the way up. Just use regular cold tap water.
  
• You don't want your cube tray sitting on the bottom of the cooler. Figure out a way to keep it off the bottom. I like to use a (cleaned, duh) cottage cheese plastic container that's about 1.5 inches tall and about 3 inches across. Anything, though, to keep your cube tray well off the bottom of the cooler.
  
• Ok, float (well, sink) your ice cube tray until it's very lightly sitting on top of the spacer you used
  
• Pop the cooler into the freezer. It'll take about 1.5 days to get frozen solid
  
• After about 1.5 days take the cooler out of the freezer and pop the block of ice out
  
• Use a bread knife to slice and dice. You'll find that you can't cut the ice very deep but if you score it and then tap the blade with a hammer or something nice and heavy then the ice will tend to split as you've scored it.
  
• Once you've extracted your ice cube tray, pop those clear cubes out. You're a [adjective the cool kids use to describe cool people] now.
  
• Hey, don't throw out all the ice that was around your cube tray! All that slag can be used for shaking or for your own drinks when you don't want to use the "good" ice.
  
  That's it. I've made hundreds of ice cubes this way and it's quite reliable.

Tovolo King Cube Ice Tray - Stratus Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00395FHRO/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_vI9Sub1KMXQRJ

I like these larger ones better

I've got those, and the King cubes (and the rocks, three sets as presents, actually).

I think I prefer the King cubes slightly since they're easier to fill and make a ton of and they tend to come out clearer.

They're pretty cheap on Amazon. This is the bad boy I've got in my freezer.

Welcome. Its a big world of booze out there and it can be quite intimidating. My first and best suggestion is to find a good bar with a passionate bartender and let them take you under their wing. They can tell you about what they have in stock and will typically let you try a nip of this and a tot of that before committing. This way you get some tutelage and you don't have to buy a bottle of stuff you may not like. I realize in Utah this may be more difficult, but I understand there are clubs you can become a 'member' of in order to get this kind of experience.

Here is a tasting starter I wrote in another thread that will hopefully help with the appreciation side of things. Also, you don't need to store spirits in the freezer. It is a good way to weaken flavors, which is just fine if you have crappy booze and the flavors are bad. You on the other hand want the full complement of good flavors so room temperature is where you want to be. If you do like a little chill, I suggest these. They will cool your beverage and release a little bit of water, which leads me to my next point. For beginning drinkers the taste of alcohol can be overpowering and hide many of the nuances that are part of the experience. I like to bring out those nuances in one of 3 ways. 1) On the rocks with that ice I mentioned. 2) Splash of water dilutes the alcohol a bit. I suggest about a 2-1 or 3-1 booze-water ratio. 3)And soda. My personal favorite. The ice chills, you get the dilution effect, and the carbonation can really make some underlying flavors come through in a big way. I do this with almost every new spirit I come across in addition to trying it neat (room temp, nothing but booze). 1-2 booze to soda ratio. For added effect you can use a mineral water.

Here are some of my thoughts on the best of each category:

Vodka: Silver Tree (though booze snob that I am, vodka is the least interesting spirit.) Svedka is good too. Ketel and the like are over priced. The point of vodka is medicinal. It is supposed to be colorless odorless, and tasteless. In short :This is not the booze you are looking for

Whiskey: Leopold bros. Maryland rye, Bullit Rye, Jameson

Scotch: Laphroig 15 is my favorite, but for a good entry try either Dewars or Johnny Walker is fine.

Bourbon: Weller, Makers Mark, Bullit

Tequila: Casa Noble reposado Is my all time favorite. I work in a bar with over 150 tequilas so that is a question I get a lot. The best advice is to make sure that what ever you buy it is 100% agave. Reposado means a little time in oak. Anejo means more. Blanco means none. It will take some time and experimentation to find out if your palette likes oak or not.

Rum: Ron Zacapa 21 year, Appleton Estates, Oronoco, Sailor Jerry

Gin: Leopold bros, Magellan, G'vine

Wine: Beginning wine drinkers usually like big Argentinian malbecs on the red side and either creamy new world Chardonnays or Sauvignon Blancs on the white side. Oregon Pinot noirs are also popular. Rioja (red) and vihno Verde (white) are both underrated styles. (Dont worry if you dont know what I mean when I call a wine creamy. The person in the liquor store should get it and know what to grab.)

Beer: Like wine its a whole big world. I suggest buying a few brewers boxes. They are a selection of 3-5 styles from a single brewery in a 12 pack. Once you have a few favorites picked out head to /r/beer for more suggestions.

Sorry thats so long. Let us know how you are coming along.

I really like this Ozeri and would buy another. It cleans up easily, lightweight, durable and you can easily switch between oz, g, ml.

Get a cheap kitchen scale (I use this one), and it's a whole new world! So much easier than using volumes, and much more precise.

If I use a recipe that's been given in volume, I weigh each ingredient and make a note of the mass for future use.

There are a bunch of well-rated ones on Amazon in the $10-$15 range. I have this Ozeri one and it's fine.

Ye we have a scale , at first i would use scale , but later you can pretty good eyeball stuff,so when im eating out i eyeball . But at home i pretty much put everything on a scale

http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Professional-Digital-Kitchen-Tempered/dp/B003MSZBSI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421004898&sr=8-3&keywords=kitchen+scale

got this one , its pretty good.

And in terms of bodycomposition if you want to gain muscle or lose fat its not important to eat 100% "clean"(but i do it for my health) , i have for myself set up a rule that i get atleast 500 g of grean veggies, good protein, 2 fruits and oats, then i put some stuff here and there into my diet.

After some time you will begin to mix stuff up, i like to use peanut butter in the morning with oats , bananas , milk and some vanilla whey for the flavour. Its pretty good. Cooking is a skill like lifting ;)

I want to take a moment to address these points you've raised. Please keep in mind that my intent is to be supportive and not critical.

> I use to eat 800-900 calories a day and would gain 20 lbs a year

How were you tracking the number of calories? 800-900 is a very low amount of calories for any grown adult, so I'm a bit dubious of that number. If you're serious about counting calories, you need to get a basic food scale. The margin of error when eyeballing portion sizes is just too great.

> I've been eating very healthy

Eating healthy and eating at a caloric deficit are not always one in the same. You could eat nothing but organic meats, fruits, nuts, whole grains, etc and still gain weight if you're eating more calories than your body expends.

Use this calculator to determine the number of calories your body burns at rest, and multiply it by 1.2 to estimate how many calories your body burns in a given day if you're sedentary. Subtract 500 from the result, and this becomes your daily calorie target.

Too few calories over a sustained period of time can have the unintended effect of stalling weight loss, so you want to make sure that you are maintaining a reasonable deficit.

> I have a sever allergy to dairy products, and I feel better if I avoid wheat.

This is perfectly normal. I too am lactose intolerant and typically avoid wheat products.

> Lets keep the conversation going, I'm desperate for solution

I know I may get some flak for this, but I can't highly recommend the Ketogenic diet enough. It's essentially a super-low-carb diet that causes your body to adapt itself to run on fat (both dietary and bodily) instead of sugar. There's a whole subreddit and amazing community for it over at /r/keto. I've personally been living the keto lifestyle while I'm training for a 100-mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe next Sunday, and I can't sing its praises enough.

Like I mentioned, please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

Cheers,
Dave

I am looking to start making my own juice, and already have a digital scale. The amazon page says its range is from 1-5750 grams, will this be a problem? I have heard that you should get a scale that can read down to .1 grams

Here is the scale for reference: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MSZBSI/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Old one
New one

The new one looks nice, and the light-up display is nice, but I get different weights depending on if I put items towards the front or back of the scale. I ordered another of the original this morning, haven't decided if I'm going to return the fancier one or keep it for a back-up.

Jennings CJ-4000. I've had one for a few years and it work great. Comes with an AC adapter or can just run on batteries. Has Tare (really, all scales should have that).

Here's a link, probably the most used scale in coffee. Pros: It's cheap, reliable, and has a large capacity, very solid build. Cons: Not waterproof (though I've never had trouble with it) and a larger body (compared to the Brewista).

1. Slightly coarser than right in the middle.
   
   
2. Not necessary. The comparison class of the Bistro is the Baratza Encore and the Capresso Infinity. Most people think the Encore is the best, but I doubt anyone would tell you it's so much better that you should buy one when you already have a Bistro. And if you're using a drip coffeemaker, there's not really a need to step up to the next level.
   
   
3. Use somewhere between a 1:15 and 1:17 coffee:water ratio by weight. It's hard to tell by volume, since dark-roasted coffee is much less dense than light-roasted coffee. (If you don't have a scale, and you want one, this is a good one.) Different beans will work better at different ratios, so experiment!
   
   
4. If you want to step into specialty-grade coffee at a low price, Happy Mug is high quality and well-priced. Or you can check out your Trader Joe's to see if they carry anything locally roasted. Look for a roast date (not a "Use By" date), and pick something roasted within the past 3-7 days.

You also need a scale and excitement to learn!

SCALE: This scale is somewhat of an industry standard. If you spend more, you won't get much more. If you spend less, you may regret it!

EXCITEMENT TO LEARN: You seem prepared to make great coffee! That's awesome! I think you'll soon realize that is doesn't take much insight to start making better coffee than your local starbucks or even some local third wave shops (good coffee shops). But you also need to be ready to realize when you haven't made the best cup and use it as an opportunity to improve!

This hobby is so much fun. You're going to have an absolute blast!

I know this doesn't help you now, but what you should have bought is a microplane. Grates ginger, garlic, cheese, and zests citrus fruits.

I know you said no to utensils, but I think these are possible exceptions:

Microplane grater - Best grater ever. Amazing for garlic, ginger, hard spices, cheese, citrus zest, chocolate shavings, etc. etc. I have one, and would be happy to have another just because they're so useful.

Victorinox tomato/steak/utility knife - This knife is marketed in three different ways because they're just so damn handy. I'd just go for whichever is cheapest, they're all the same. Incredible knife for little jobs that always seems supernaturally sharp. Cuts cleanly through even the ripest tomatoes, sails through thick-skinned limes, dices ginger like no other, slices garlic paper-thin, neat and tidy (and un-squished) sushi rolls, bagels, etc. etc. I have 3 and would be happy to have another. I've given plenty of these as gifts and they're always appreciated.

Silicone spatula/spoonula - Pretty much every other cooking utensil has grown dusty and unused since I got my silicone spoonula. More heat-resistant than plastic or wooden alternatives, so nothing bad happens when you leave it resting on the pan. Insanely easy to clean. Amazing for getting every last bit of sauce/icing/batter/etc. Best thing ever for cooking omelets or scrambled eggs. I wash mine immediately after use every time because I know I'll be using it again soon. I would happily replace every wooden spoon and plastic spatula in my kitchen with one of these. Then I'd have 6, and I would be very happy.

SilPats. Best thing to put on your baking sheet, ever. Also provides a great work-surface for sticky doughs/batters, melted chocolate, caramel, etc. You don't really need multiples of these I suppose, but I certainly wouldn't complain.

Impress yourself! Because you are worth it, and you deserve a nice dinner. Make a very simple roast chicken; much easier than you'd expect. You can often find a chicken (at least where I am) for about a dollar a pound, and you'll get a few dinners out of it. Can save the bones to make soup or stock if you like, but for now...

I am a fan of two recipes, but there are 10,000 variations. Neither of these call for butter or oil, or anything exotic. So, it's basically just you and the bird. Roasting pan or cast iron, some way to raise the bird up (roasting rack, or one of those silicon trivets will do it, too), salt, pepper are the themes between both. The second recipe is slightly fancier and also calls for a lemon and some rosemary. You can use dried rosemary.

1. Thomas Keller's roast chicken. Roasting pan, roasting rack, salt, pepper, bird, oven at 450. You can tie up the bird, but I never do. You can take some of the extra steps (fooling with the wishbone), but I never do that either. Takes an 45-90 min depending on the size of the bird. Make a salad or some mashed potatoes (flakes don't suck -- throw in a little garlic if you got it) to go with it.
   
   ---this recipe is simply badass in its simplicity and its ease. Literally bird + salt + pepper + heat.
   
   
2. The Toby Ziegler (from the West Wing) method:
   bird, lemon, salt, rosemary, black pepper, a lemon.
   
   ---Zest the lemon if you have a zester. If you find yourself with a spare $10ish lying around, get a microplane. If you don't, don't worry about it. Cut the (maybe naked) lemon in half. Squeeze some of the lemon juice onto the bird. Get the zest onto the bird if you have it. Rub with some salt. Throw some rosemary on there. Get some rosemary and salt inside the bird, and put the lemon halves inside, starting breast side down. Put on roasting rack, 350 for... whatever the package recommends based on weight. I would hit the bird with some black pepper. Maybe throw a little garlic inside the bird. Not critical.
   
   ---I also tend to put in about 2 cups of liquid into the roasting pan -- usually 2 or 3 to one water to white wine, but if you don't have white wine (I buy cheap white and cheap rose for cooking) it's fine. I tend to flip the bird (haaaaaaaaa) after an hour or so. This is a much slower method.
   
   
3. throw together a simple salad to go with it. Some romaine, some tomato, a cucumber, some balsamic. If you have some fresh herbs around (maybe some basil) throw it right in there with the lettuce. A little feta or parm if you have it.
   
   
4. cranberry sauce is not a bad thing. I've got a recipe I like if you want to do that, but I am happy to buy the Ocean Spray stuff in the can because it tastes good. I don't always get it. It's not exactly health food, though.
   
   -----------------------------
   
   Other thoughts:
   
   
   
5. How to be poor and buy spices anyway: in the US (I'm in the Boston area), there are a good number of discount spice brands. I do not just mean the value brand at the grocery store (as often times those are teeeeerrible). If you have Badilla as a brand (check the Latin foods aisle), this is pretty spectacular, and cheap. Option 2 is find yourself an ethnic grocery store and buy Sadaf or one of those brands; e.g, I have a European grocery store near me (who also sell crazy cheap produce -- trying to help you stretch your budget), and got a large jar of taco seasoning for $2.50. This is versatile, and I've got some evil plans for it. But I mean, it's a brand I've never seen before (Castella), and 10 oz of the stuff. One of those places will probably have bullion cubes/powder, vinegars, and oils pretty cheap, too; I get sunflower oil for like $1.80/liter, which is awesome (if you like sunflower oil, but it's pretty versatile). I literally cut my produce bill in half starting to shop at a little Euro grocery, and my friends who live near this big Latin/African grocery have had similar benefits.
   
   --the bigger grocery stores sell like bulk tins of black pepper. These are often only a couple of dollars, and many times are the cheapest way to get it. If it gets a little weak, use a little more.
   
   
6. I really love Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. There is a new and updated edition that (used) runs about $10 shipped, but the classic big yellow book is about $5 shipped from Amazon. Idea fuel really, and it is how to cook frickin' everything.
   
   
7. learn to appreciate dried beans and their many uses. Cook the hell out of them so they get a good texture. I generally stick to chick peas, navy beans, and some other white beans. Buy the cheapest bags of them you can. These should never be an expensive item.
   
   
8. Do you have a slow cooker? Before you worry I'm saying "go throw $25 out the window," this is a solid yardsale/church rummage sale type of find. And people let them go for $5. A lot. See if you can get a 5-6 qt one. These are a common size. Slow cookers are awesome.
   
   
9. make your own salad dressings. This is kind of fun. A 16 oz glass jar is a great size. I splurged on a couple of those salad dressing jars that have recipes and fill lines on the sides, but the writing comes off. They were about $2 each, though, with screw top lids. But improvise. This is where the cheap spices, oils, and vinegars from the ethnic groceries come in :)
   
   
10. once in a while, have dessert in whatever fashion that looks like for you. Go for a walk after if you want, but as I tell my diabetic mother, "a little handful of french fries is not going to kill you, and neither is the occasional piece of cake." Her sugar is very well-controlled, but the point is don't be an asshole to yourself.
    
    -----------------------------
    
    I hope this helps. PM if you like. I know depression and anxiety all too well, and not wanting to cook is common with that -- and just makes you feel worse.

I get your need for speed, so I'll let you in on my trick. Plus, it knocks out another rule of the kitchen: never own anything that performs only one job.

Get yourself a Microplane grater. A coarse one. This one.

Peel your cloves of garlic, then grate them into nothing. Be careful once it gets down to the nub, or you're going to lose some finger skin. Takes five seconds, you have perfectly minced garlic, and you can use it for all kinds of other stuff: mincing ginger or onion, grating cheese, zesting. They come in a bunch of sizes, too.

For example, I wanted to purchase a
Microplane Zester/Grater and some of the reviews suggest that some of the products received were fakes/knockoffs, even though purchased directly from amazon and not from a shady reseller. Similar cases for other kitchen/household products.

I always thought amazon would check the products in their warehouses since they are working with companies/suppliers directly, but it seems that is not always the case.

Getting oil/fat on every square inch. I don't mean that in "make it unhealthy" but that's how it's going to crisp up. If you have an oil mister that'll do wonders with light, even coats.

I too enjoy cooking with oil that's sprayed on.

Also, agree that roasted veggies are far better than steamed; weather you use oil or not. Alternative to chilly flakes is garlic (and olive oil).

BTW: you can get sprays in disposable aerosol cans, but also one of these reusable bottles:

https://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV/

Grab a misto oil sprayer or something like it.

Remember that oil spoils over a short period of time, so only put small amounts in the sprayer and clean it regularly.

My wife bought a pump up oil sprayer. It works great. This is the one we got. http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV

if you don't have a whirley-pop just grab a dutch oven and follow a process similar to this. i do like the whirley-pops tho

i like to use butter since that's the taste i grew up with, and you can melt some butter and place it in a misto olive oil sprayer to get the flavor without the sogginess. after that, just some plain salt for me

Use a Misto. You can use whatever oil you like, so even infused olive oils are a possibility. It uses a simple pump to pressurize. I have four for my choices.

http://amzn.com/B00004SPZV

If you have two, why don't you do one as a perfect standing rib roast and play with the second one?

I'll get to the playful ideas for the second hunk of meat later.


Part One - an instructional on making prime rib:

Keep in mind, for some of my less essential estimations, I'm totally guessing. Just use your brain.

My procedure was born from the standing rib roast episode of Good Eats. I couldn't find the whole episode for you online, but [here's a clip from it] (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dry-aged-standing-rib-roast-with-sage-jus-recipe/standing-rib-roast.html) in case you're interested.

Basically, the trick is to take your time with it. This method is foolproof if you're patient and if you give your meat a day to hang out in a salt and pepper rub-down, a couple hours to get to room temperature, and a chunk of time to roast in a very low oven.

Why a low oven if you can reach medium rare in less time with a hot oven? Because a low oven will help keep the whole mass of the meat at roughly the same temperature while it cooks. The thermal assault of a hot oven would decimate the roast's outer inches before beginning to cook the raw center. Look at [one] (http://www.heroacres.com/heroacres/PrimeRib.jpg) and [two] (http://literalminded.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/prime_rib.jpg).

As for special equipment, you'll need [something like this] (http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1411674292&sr=1-1&keywords=digital+thermometer+probe). Don't rely on interrupting the cooking and sticking it every 20 minutes once it gets close. This isn't a horror movie. The less you stab it, the less blood, the better.

So here's how it'll go:

A day or two before your dinner (I prefer two), season the meat.

Rub the meat (giggity) with salt, pepper, and whatever else you want. I like garlic and mustard powder. Classic flavor combos exist for a reason. Wrap it in saran and toss it in the fridge to let that salty/savory crust develop. The seasoning needs to support the otherwise monotonous roast, so don't miss this opportunity as step 1 to getting an A+ crust on there.

When you wake up the day of your prime rib dinner, take it out of the fridge. Let the roast come to room temperature (about 2 hrs), rub it with a mix of non-extra-virgin olive oil and some good mustard. This'll help that crust we've been talking about.

Insert the meat thermometer at center-mass. Set the device to alert you at your desired temperature. Count on about degrees of carryover cooking once it's out of the oven. I set mine last time to 127 I think. Put it in your favorite ovenware, cover it with foil to aid even-heating, and put it in a cold oven. Set that oven to 200 degrees, or 250 if you're feeling pressed for time.

Once it beeps, let it sit on the counter. You'll notice there isn't much juice for gravy. That's cause being gentle kept the proteins intact and the juices inside. Fear not, gravy and Yorkshire Pudding lovers-- juices will flow soon. When you're an hour away from dinner, crank your oven to 500. Turn it on convection mode if you have it.

Once it's up to temp, stick the roast in and keep your eye on it. It helps if your window is clean, cause opening and closing will partially reset the searing process (you want to leave the inside at perfectly medium rare). Start checking after 5 minutes, then every 2. Once you get that golden-brown/brown, you're there. Pull it. Let it rest for another 15-20. Enjoy.

Part Two - playing with your meat:

Lots of cool ideas on this thread already. This will speak to some of that.

If you wanted to go the Korean bbq or Philly Cheesesteak route, a nice trick is to partially freeze the roast so that your knife can slice it thinly. It's a restaurant trick for carpaccio, but it's super-useful here. Then have fun on YouTube and Google, weigh the pro's and con's of all your options, and learn how to make the most kickass cheesesteak possible. Then tell me about it. Or don't. Not like I've told youanything about food.

The other obvious route is to make steaks. If you wanna make that a project, try dry-aging the roast in your fridge and cutting steaks out of that. I love dry-aging my own beef. If you have a beer fridge in the garage or basement like I do, it's a pretty damn easy task. Just put it on a non-reactive rack and let it sit in the open air.

I have no idea if it helps, but I generously sprinkle salt under the rack to make sure any excess moisture is being sucked out of the air instead of feeding mold.

It'll smell a little beefy and maybe a little funky, but that's fine. Trim the crusty edges and treat them like normal steaks. Be careful, cause their reduced water content (flavor dilution, as dry-aging aficionados know it) make them cook faster.

Have fun!

Learn how to cut up a chicken. This saves you tons of money, I bought a whole chicken for $4 last weekend, enough for 3 meals for my wife and I.

here is a really good short how-to.

Get a good digital thermometer, preferably one of the ones with a probe that can go in the oven. A lot of recipes tell you to cook until "done" or the internal temperature reads something. A good thermometer will help keep you from over or undercooking things, especially meats. This is a decent one.

I completely agree with this. I only had my machine about a month before I went to the Auber PID. Early on I attached a multimeter thermocouple to the base of the boiler to get an idea of what the temps were doing near the grouphead.

The PID is great because you get a live temp reading in the well on top of the boiler and it changes instantly. Since the PID, I added a grill thermometer to take a temp reading on the top of the grouphead. The thermometer has an alarm I can set so I know when the machine is up to temp. It also has a stopwatch so I can time my shots and everything is on the screen at once. I did a ton of searching to find a thermometer with all of these functions displaying at once and in a small size. Definitely recommend it.

You're welcome. It's definitely one of the easiest ways to cook a perfect steak if your new to it. It's hard to go wrong, unlike if you were cooking solely on a grill/in a pan.

The two most important things to remember here are cook on a rack like this, not flat on a cooking sheet.

And use a meat thermometer like this one. Don't just guess at the temperature.

Strange. That's exactly how mine behaved when it got wet. If it were me, I'd throw it in the oven just to satisfy my curiosity. Also, are you sure the part that plugs into the base isn't getting wet? Mine has a huge warning about that, but I haven't personally experienced what happens when it gets wet.

Anyway, if you continue to have problems, you might try this thermometer. It's cheap, but mine has held up through 18 batches and survived a drop into my sparge water despite not being labeled as waterproof.

• 1: purchase a meat thermometer
  
• 2: pick a meat that you would like to eat
  
• 3: reference this handy chart
  
• 4: pick a dry rub like this one, for example
  
• 5: turn oven to broil setting
  
• 6: cover meat in rub
  
• 7: cover cooking sheet in aluminum foil
  
• 8: put meat on cooking sheet
  
• 9: stick thermometer into thickest part of meat
  
• 10: remove meat from oven when the temperature on the thermometer hits the temperature that you found from that handy chart above
  
• 11: (optional) prepare microwavable veggies like broccoli or cauliflower while doing next step
  
• 12: put a pat of butter on top and let the meat sit for a minute or two
  
• 13: (not optional) eat
  
  

I highly recommend how-to-brew as well. It will tell you nearly everything you need to know, and if you read this subreddit religiously, you'll learn boatloads.

As far as the general process goes, the next logical step up from extract+specialty grains (what you have been doing) is a partial mash, also known as a mini-mash. Here is a clone of Rogue's Dead Guy in partial mash form. It's a delicious beer, and you won't have to change much to your process, and it can be done in a 21 qt. pot which is what a lot of beginners start with. If you have a smaller pot let me know and I'll scale the recipe for you.

The additional equipment you will need is a large nylon mesh bag and an accurate thermometer. The difference for your process would be that you add all the grain to 4 gallons of 160F water and then to hold the mini-mash at 152F for a full hour. You will need to be fairly precise, but it's not that hard. After the hour pull the mesh bag of grains out, let it drain, then start your boil as normal. Add the extract when there are ten minutes left in the boil.

You can read How to Brew for details of this, but mashing is basically the process of using naturally occurring enzymes in the grain to convert the grains starches into sugars that the yeast can eat. Malt extract is a concentrated version of this "sweet wort" that has already been mashed for you.

I know this is somewhat incomplete because I haven't partial mashed in a while, but I have a document on it I could round up if you want.

As far as adding or changing ingredients, I would start by either adding 2-4 ounces of a different grain that is in the same category as grains already in the recipe. For example, if an Irish Red calls for 4 ounces of crystal 40, maybe add 4 ounces of crystal 120. You can also google for recipes to see what other people are using and maybe swap out crystal 40 for crystal 60 in a recipe, or chocolate malt for black malt. If you have doubts, post the recipe here. There are several recipe guru's that hang around here that are more than willing to help out with a recipe.

You can get most of them from Amazon. I've been using Ken Forkish's recommended Cambro clear plastic bins with covers and they work great, 12qt for mix / rise and the 6qt for sourdough storage. You can get bannetons and bench knives from Amazon too.

Get a 2nd dutch oven so you can do two loaves at once! 10" Lodge cast iron ovens are fantastic and durable and have tons of uses outside of baking too.

Maybe the most important thing you can get for her if she doesn't have one already is a kitchen scale. One that goes to 1g would probably suffice though if you're doing smaller yeast measures you might want .5g or .1g.

Also recommend getting a thermometer.

Of course if you're in Canada and are Amazon impaired hollar and I can let you know where to get this stuff in the 3rd world above the 49th parallel.

Getting a probe thermometer might help reassure her. The ambient air temp inside the fridge is irrelevant if the actual yogurt is still at 38 degrees.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009WE45?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_3 We this exact model at my work to test hot and cold foods for safety.

No, do not precook.
It'll be way too dry.

There's no worry of under cooking meat if you have a thermometer.
You must own a meat thermometer!

I have this Taylor 9842


Slow cookers, I believe, cook at temperatures between 190º and 300º (depending on the device).

Chicken needs to be cooked to 165ºF/74ºC.
It's fast and easy to check when chicken is done and tasty.

Your mash time seems a bit long. 2-row should be done with the conversion in less than an hour.

Use a good calculator to hit your mash temperatures. I use BrewPal on the iPhone and am always within 1 degree of my target. Also, make sure you stir the mash well and just leave a thermometer in there to get an accurate reading.

I use this thermometer and am quite pleased with it. It gets a steady reading in less than 30 seconds, but you can kind of estimate where it will end up within 10 seconds (the last few degrees take a while to dial in).

Hop bags aren't required. Unless you're letting the beer age for a long time, the hops in the fermenter won't hurt anything. Just filter on the way into the keg using a hop bag on the end of the siphon tube.

Taylor for less than $10.00. It's fast and accurate enough between freezing and boiling temps. I've been using it for over 5 years (back when they were selling for $14). It's going to take you about 8-10 seconds to get a good reading.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009WE45

I just picked up a Thermopop too (last week). It's much faster than the Taylor and will become my go to digital thermometer going forward.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OMaaAbM5GRN57


Rub away. I guess it works. Reviews are promising.

This is the product.

yes. you can get these metal soap bar looking things. they take the smell off your hands. if you don't have that, an older banged up insert will work. Just rub your hands on the metal.

https://www.amazon.com/Amco-8402-Stainless-Steel-Absorber/dp/B000F8JUJY

Like this!

The specific products I listed are just examples, you can obviously choose to buy a cheaper or more effective version

-------------------------------------------------

Unusual: Amco Rub Away Bar $7.50

Use this to remove body odor when you do not have the resources to bathe properly

Underrepresented: Coghlan's Double Mosquito Net $12.19

Nothing drives me crazier than swatting insects while trying to sleep

Behold!

It's tequila, not wine... I don't understand why you would need to do this. If you're really keen on doing this you could use a vacuum pump instead. Then again, your tequila will be fine, even opened, for years and years. You will possibly lose some noticable volume after 10 years (angels share), but you should have enjoyed it by then!!!
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000GA3KCE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rSlFAbPMYWVR7

What's your budget? That's going to make a difference in what gets recommended. If you can only spend $100 vs $500 there are going to be some compromises that you'll have to make, especially when it comes to the grinder.

Scale:

• This basic scale does not include a timer, but you could just use your phone or something https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004C3CAB8
  
  
• This scale comes with a timer and some advanced features https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3U7RKH
  
  
• The Acaia scales are the top-notch pro-level deal which don't really add much compared to the Brewista scale, but people like them. https://www.amazon.com/s/ie=UTF8&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Acaia
  
  Burr Grinder:
  
  
• Most basic hand grinder that will give you the least amount of problems for the price: https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Coffee-Grinder-Black/dp/B01MXJI90S
  
  
• Jump on up to the AerGrind, Feld2, Lido, Helor 101, Kinu M47, Commandante... these hand grinders are top-notch and a great value, giving the best quality grind until you hit the $500-600 price.
  
  
• If you want to go electric, don't get anything less than the Encore which you can get refurb for $100. It won't be as good of a grind as the better hand grinders, but it's a great grinder for the price.
  
  Pour over cone:
  
  
• I really can't recommend anything other than the V60. I don't see an advantage to the Wave or Chemex. They all make the same quality level of coffee, but the Wave filters can be annoying, the Chemex filters are extra thick and you may not care for it, and both Wave and Chemex are more expensive. Get the $5 plastic V60-02 and some white filters for $10 and you're set. Or you can get a fancier glass or metal one if you want. Get a server/carafe if you plan on making that much coffee but it can just sit on a mug. If you want to try the Chemex filters, they fit in the V60-02 or V60-03. If you want to try cloth or metal filters, there are options that fit in the V60's.
  
  Gooseneck Kettle
  
  
• Bonavita Variable Temp is perfectly fine but not amazing quality; mine has lasted a couple years just fine but I can't use my well water in it because it rusts it due to high sodium levels... also it tends to heat the water too much if I don't have at least a pint in it (I often don't). It's not too annoying though, just be aware it's not perfect but is good for the price https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV382510V-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40
  
  
• The Oxo kettle would be the competitor at that price, which I haven't used but it's worth looking at reviews for it https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F/
  
  
• For a cheaper kettle option you'd have to go stovetop. Hario Buono is a good one for that.
  
  
• A desirable kettle if you can afford it is the Fellow Stagg EKG.
  
  
  Prioritize the grinder and make that the most expensive part of your setup. You can easily deal with a $10 scale, $5 pour over cone, $35 kettle, but a grinder that is $25 vs $50 vs $150 will make a huge difference in not just the taste quality of your coffee but the more expensive grinders will also reduce your frustration level by giving you less fines and more even grinds so it will be easier to hit the brew times, taste notes, and reduce the bitterness.

The Jennings CJ4000 is a great scale that is found in a lot of coffee shops. It is nicely built, sturdy and can weigh to .5 of a gram. For the cost, I think it's a good buy.

The temp controlled one is great because it can hold the temperature for up to an hour and it gives you precise temperature control (obvious) which is good for teas or using different brew methods (some aeropress recipes use 175 degree water for instance). Whist I love the variable temp I wouldn't say its needed. As for scales the one I would recommend is the Hario Drip Scale for its water resistantness and its built in timer, but the American Weigh Scale or the CJ-4000 will also work well. The Kalita Wave is also a good recommendation and is more beginner friendly than the v60. I'd still say go with the v60 though, I think it produces a better cup.

I've had great luck with my Jennings CJ4000.

http://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ4000-4000g-Digital-Scale/dp/B004C3CAB8

I think to best answer this request, we'll need a bit more info. Are you ok with a manual grinder, or do you prefer an electric grinder? Do you want a drip brewer or a pour over set up? Are you looking to get into espresso? And, what is your actual budget in your local currency?

And now for a guess at what might work for you...

A [Melitta Plastic Pour Over Dripper](https://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Ready-Single-Coffee-Brewer/dp/B0014CVEH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527536804&sr=8-1&keywords=mellita) $5 to $6 (a lot of grocery stores carry these in stock)

A box of #2 Cone filters at your local grocery store $2

If you want an automatic drip brewer, and you are making smaller amounts for just you, the [Bonavita 5 cup](https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV1500TS-Carafe-Coffee-Stainless/dp/B00SK5IXPQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537674&sr=8-4&keywords=bonavita+brewer) is wroth a look. it runs about $66. I have the 8 cup for the wife and I and we love it.

Filters can be purchased, again, at your local grocery store for about $2.

[Brewista SmartPour Kettle w. Thermometer](https://www.amazon.com/Brewista-Variable-Temperature-Kettle-BKV12S02NA/dp/B01CFBBUVY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537033&sr=8-1&keywords=brewista%2Bsmart%2Bpour&th=1) $40. There are cheaper ones, but I personally have this one and have loved it.

[Scale](https://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ-4000-Compact-Digital-Adapter/dp/B004C3CAB8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537139&sr=8-1&keywords=Jennings+CJ4000) This is a must. $30

[Bratza Encore](https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527537371&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=baratza+encore&psc=1&smid=A302OQK4GZWXCC) Grinder is the default recommendation around here, and for good reason. It's high quality, and easily serviceable. New they run $139, but you can save $40 and pick up a [refurb](https://www.baratza.com/product/encore-refurb/) (still with the 1 year warrantee) for $99 direct from Baratza.

If you want a cheaper option, and don't mind a manual hand grinder, there are a few options, but the [Hario Skerton Pro](https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Ceramic-Grinder-MMCS-2B/dp/B01MXJI90S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537536&sr=8-1&keywords=hario+skerton+pro) is about the lowest cost / still decent quality grinders, grinder that most would recommend. It runs about $60, and personally, I'd spend the extra $30 on an Encore refurb.

Happy Mug Beans are a pretty great option. I really enjoy the Big Foot Espresso blend (despite it's name) as a pour over, and even like it in my drip brewer. The Inspirational Artist Blend is a great option too. But really just try them out and see what you like. Their bags (for 1lbs of whole beans) run $11 - $13

Hope that helps.

...It's a $5 expense. It's not like you're buying a new car. Go ahead and roll the dice.

Edit: found one on Amazon for $9, 4.8/5 rating with 880 reviews. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071OUJDQ/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_8CTstb0VQK3DX

Actually you don't want to buy the current Swing-A-Way as it is pretty cheaply made. Ez-Duz-It is the can opener you want, made in America, and supposedly its made by the same people who produced the origianal Swing-A-Way

I would recommend the EZ-DUZ-IT without reservation for a new can opener, manual or otherwise:

http://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-IT-Deluxe-Opener-Black-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ

The blade is sharp and grips the can easily, and it turns like butter due to the huge amount of torque you can generate with the oversized handle.

Thanks! Is this the same one as a single pack?

https://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-Deluxe-Opener-Black-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ/ref=pd_sbs_79_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0071OUJDQ&pd_rd_r=52SG1B0G471C6JT10CVR&pd_rd_w=uL5RF&pd_rd_wg=sFnJJ&psc=1&refRID=52SG1B0G471C6JT10CVR

I bought this one, EZ-DUZ-IT 3028 Deluxe Can Opener with Grips, and it works great.

You should add this can opener to your list!
/u/ladyllana gifted this to me and embarrassingly it's totally improved my life! I've always bought dollar tree can openers, and I've never had a nice one. It's crazy how much better your life will be with a nice one! ❤️

here it is for 36 apparently!

Here are some alternatives:

Bonvita variable temp gooseneck kettle

Hario [scale]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GPJMOU/)

American Weigh scale

This is the best https://www.amazon.ca/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU

Have a 4-years-old-strong one.

I have a Hario that I love

Edit for fat thumbs

I use the Hario and have not had any issues:
http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU

Totally! I love talking about gear.

Grinders:

• Bodum Bistro (on the way out, needs new Burrs, but I really like it for course french press brews)
  
• Mazzer Mini (probably the only coffee thing I have bought new...a splurge but my espresso has benefited immensely)
  
• Baratza Virtuoso - Probably the best all around grinder. Can do course and fine grinds, has a timer, no-static grounds catcher. I like it a lot.
  
• Porlex JP-30 Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder - My hand grinder, it's ceramic and does a consistently good pour-over grind..the only issue is it gets very hot when grinding and when grinding you want the beans to suffer no heat at all. It could be because I have to hold it with my hand when grinding and I'm transferring heat + the friction of the burrs? I really don't know how to improve it but I've started using this only on trips when I have to have a grinder and can't tote around my Baratza.
  
  Scale - Hario Drip Scale w/ Timer - It's black, measures to the tenth of a gram, the first one I bought is slow and it struggles to keep up with measuring my water grams...then I bought another a year later and it's much faster so I'd say if you get one that seems sluggish / slow, return it it's like they added a new CPU or something later in the life of the machine.
  
  Aeropress sometimes....it's the fastest way to make coffee with really easy clean-up. For the event I'm just gonna brew 2 batches on everything except espresso (since I don't want to tote that thing in the office). I hope it turns people on to better coffee.

I have a Spiralizer. The price has gone up a bit since I purchased it.

for the pasta salad? no we just ate it raw but it turns into almost a slaw and mixed with cherry tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, peppers, onion, cubed cheese and pepperoni if you want. Then you just dump some Italian dressing over it or w/e you like and it's great as a side dish. We make it with master noodles all the time in the summer but if we use zucchini instead of pasta its way healthier.

this is a similar recipe http://inspiralized.com/italian-zucchini-pasta-salad/

this is the spiralizer we have but they have tons of different ones.
https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Blade-Vegetable-Strongest-Heaviest-Spaghetti-Gluten-Free/dp/B00GRIR87M

I have had the mid-range Cuisinart food processor for years, and it's a fantastic machine. However, it doesn't do the nice long zoodles - it's more of a shred. Getting one of those spiralizer tools is probably what you're after:

https://www.amazon.com/Spiralizer-Vegetable-Strongest-Heaviest-Gluten-Free/dp/B00GRIR87M

With something like this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GRIR87M/ref=mp_s_a_1_sc_2?qid=1458308572&sr=8-2-spell&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

Sorry for the messy link!

Directions unclear, made dick noodles.

As an alternative when you're just not feeling the sauerkraut vibe (which is always for me...) the Vegetti works as advertised--we just grab a couple of zucchini and make up veggie pasta. Great because it really lets the flavor of the sauce come through. Great as an alternative to our normal spaghetti squash.

Is this what you bought?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IIVRB3W

I've been wanting one for a while now... Anyone know is any work ebtter than others?

You're going to laugh at how easy it was! I'm making it again tonight.

• Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer: $12 on Amazon
  
  What you see there is from one small zucchini.
  
  
• Capellino brand frozen pest from Whole Foods--any brand will do, and making it is obviously easy too
  
  I threw a few Tbsps of the pesto in a small skillet to warm it up, and when tasting it, it wasn't garlicky enough so I used my garlic press to add another two cloves. Once warm (within seconds), I threw the noodles in to sop it all up and warm up (again, just a few seconds). Put on plate. Eat.
  
  Not pictured was a pile of blackened asparagus I ate along with it. I'm doing the 'zoodles' again tonight as a side to my roasted chicken. :)

Other kitchen stuff might be good, too.

Specifically: spiralizers. I have both a big one and a the baby version. Zoodles are not a pasta replacement for me, but rather the best way to eat zucchini and also to bulk up a meal for verrrrrry few calories. The baby is great for portability (I've taken it to the office and friends' houses) but a pain in the ass to clean and not great if you're spiralizing either a large quantity or anything that is not zucchini size/shape/textured. The big one has three blades, works very well with different veggies, and is so much easier to clean, but it doesn't have a small footprint.

I think there are other ways to make them, and you can also get a smaller handheld version instead of the bulkier countertop one. I'll try to remember to link it when I get home…on mobile right now.

Edit: Link to the smaller handheld spiralizer. Notably cheaper than the Veggetti Pro, fits into a kitchen drawer, but kind of a pain in the arse to clean. I've found them on Amazon and at Walmart stores. :)

Seconding zucchini or squash noodles. We got a Veggitti a few months ago and its been a life saver as far as pasta cravings are concerned.

I have heard many positive things about the Veggetti.

I don't know what your budget is, but maybe a spiralizer -- super fun cooking. If your budget is smaller, there are these. I have one, and it works okay.

Buy one of these NUT MILK BAG 😂 and make your own alternative milks. Oat milk is super cheap to make and you can always eat fortified breakfast cereals to get much needed vitamins.

Use your Santa gift for something better. Get a $9 nut milk bag, no seriously. Put some coarsely ground coffee in the bag. Put the bag in a pitcher with water and let it "brew" over night (about 12 hours). Boom, done. Dump out the grounds, rinse bag and use over and over again.

Shopping list:

One yellow onion, two if you love onions

Head of celery

Seven or eight carrots

Package of wild rice

A bunch of spices, if you for some reason don't own spices

Powdered chicken bullion

The Thanksgiving turkey carcass that you froze, of course

Your turkey pan drippings

A "nut bag" or "mash bag". You can get a nut bag on Amazon here, or you can go to your local homebrew shop and ask for a mash bag. It takes the place of cheesecloth, and it's totally worth the investment.

Stock prep:

Put the mash bag in your slow cooker.

Thaw that turkey carcass. When it's room-temperature, hand-separate the meat from the bone. Stick the meat in a plastic bag in the fridge, and put the bones in the mash bag you put in the slow cooker. Stick the drippings in the mash bag, too.

Quarter an onion, separate out the layers, and toss all four quarters into the bag. Cut four of the carrots and four of the celery sticks longways and shove those in there somewhere too.

Add a 1/4 teaspoon of sage, a 1/4 of thyme, a 1/4 of rosemary, a dash of parsley, four or five good grinds of pepper, a teaspoon of salt, and two bay leaves. I purposely under-salted because that is something that can be done at the table to taste.

Toss a teaspoon of bullion on top.

Fold the bag up and try to tuck it underneath itself. Make sure it's easy to remove from a bunch of hot liquid in the morning, though!

Fill the crock pot about half an inch from "full" with cold water.

Turn it on Low, then go to sleep.

Good morning!

Go into the kitchen. It will smell like Turkey Mecca, but be patient! Put a towel down and, being careful not to spill a bunch of crap everywhere, lift the bag out of the slow cooker and transfer it to a plastic bag. Move the plastic bag to the garage while you wait for it to stop steaming, then compost the bones and vegetables or else give them to Fido.

Peel the rest of the carrots and slice them into coins. Same with the remaining celery: wash it and cut it into pieces. If you LOVE onion, you can cut up a whole damn onion and add it, otherwise stick to half or a quarter. Add everything to the delicious-ass broth, then walk away for two hours.

When that two hours is up, and when the entire house smells like God has blessed you with the Eternal Turkey Soup, come back and get out that bag of turkey meat. Make sure it's bite-sized pieces, then add the entire horse-honkin' thing into the slowcooker.

Set a timer for 1h30m, then reread The Name of the Wind for a couple minutes.

Finally, make your wild rice on the stove. This stuff is actually really good, but any will do. Make two cups of it, and cook it on the "light" side, because it'll suck up some soup too.

(You can also add a box of fusilli to the slowcooker about 40 minutes before you want to eat if you want Turkey Noodle Soup, but I promise you, the rice is worth your time.)

When the rice is done, dump it wholesale into the soup. Click the little knob to "Off".

It's ready.

Say a quick prayer, because this soup will make you feel like you've been touched by the turkey angel.

Edit: two pictures - the bag inside our crockpot, and the morning addition of turkey

I have this one, and it works really well and it's a great price!

Do you have a good thermometer system? If not, you need to get one.

I did and it changed the way I smoke and dramatically changed the way I grill. No more guesswork and I have a remote sensor which is great.

The results with this new method on the grill are astounding!

I can't recommend this enough.

this is what i have

I bought the ThermoPro. I really like it. Sadly the probe clip that comes with it is pure nonsense, so I had to order a different one from Amazon but that's a small price.

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-Wireless-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B01GE77QT0

i have this one. It takes a watch battery, i got a 6-pack of them at dollar store for $1

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Food-Multifunction/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1550594272&sr=1-5&keywords=food+scale

Digital Food Scale Digital Weight Scale, Grams and Ounces by Greater Goods https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_eG7gDbQNMHC23

Cheap and simple. Works great.

This guy has served me very well this year for just $10, no less! I love how little space it takes up too

Super basic beginner kit:
$9.99 French Press
$10 scale
$11/lb Coffee,roasted and ground to order, from Happy Mug

And that's it. No kettle needed, just boil water in whatever pot you already own. If you want to make life a little easier a fine strainer makes cleaning the french press a breeze. That you can pick up at the dollar store.

I used an electric smoker until the heating element burnt out. You can smoke good meat on it but I definitely prefer my charcoal smoker with wood chunks. Find a decent quality lump charcoal to use. I order fogo from Amazon but it is a bit pricey, avoid the cowboy brand... It is the only lump charcoal I've thrown away for bad flavor. This is a good resource for lump charcoal reviews, even if the web site looks like it is from 1992.

Get some decent temperature probes, one you can put on a small clip and attach to your grill and another to get internal temp of meat. Something like this.

A cheap boning knife like this is great for trimming meat. If you plan on doing brisket I'd consider it a necessity for fat trimming.

Get kosher salt and use it liberally on your meats. I usually try to rub everything a day before I cook it with salt, like a dry brine. If not a day at least a few hours.

Use hickory or oak to start out. They are really good for all around smoking and have great flavor.

An electric charcoal starter is also handy if you are going to cook frequently.

Franklin's YouTube channel is a great resource for smoking.

I think amazingribs.com is a good resource for when you are looking to cook a meat you've never cooked before.

I bought this one cause it was cheap and had good ratings. It’s fine but I might get a better one in the future. I would say it’s a good cheap starter though.

Buy a digital one that goes to the gram

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MvNVBbZJT9F2W

This is the one I’ve used since January and it has been awesome! It’s incredibly accurate, cheap, and it’s pretty small, so you can just slide it into a drawer when it isn’t being used!

> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh by scale I meant to weigh myself. I have a really awesome scale from amazon that works incredibly. Thank you tho :)

I have this one, and while it feels kinda cheap, it works like a charm.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Food-Multifunction/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1497298249&sr=8-5&keywords=food+scale

then you can eat anything!

hi all! i'm planning to buy a food scale today. is this one okay? what would you recommend?

I have a Greater Goods food scale that I got on Amazon and I love it. It’s on sale right now for $9.95 too which is a great deal!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rELTCb7HMTZ51

This one is $8.50. If you can afford it you should get it!

I'll second the suggestion for a food scale, they're relatively inexpensive so it's a worthwhile investment.

Food scales: this is what I use, this is what Keto Connect uses and this is what I bought for a friend of mine.

Some users here prefer the cronometer app so they can also track their micronutrients and is worth checking out.

I like this one. I paid about $9 for it , it is on sale now and there's a coupon so it might be even less
https://smile.amazon.com/GreaterGoods-Digital-Kitchen-Multifunction-Measures/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=greater+goods+digital+food+scale&qid=1574693338&sprefix=greater+goods&sr=8-3

https://smile.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Food-Multifunction/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521248647&sr=8-3&keywords=food+scale

You absolutely MUST use this technique! It is called a reverse sear. Search "Guga foods" on YouTube
(Or click here, he talks about pan frying in the beginning too, and the reverse sear is around the 15 min mark, a fun video regardless and cast iron plays a role)
https://youtu.be/4oLnJiYN_GE

Also, get a nice thermometer, you won't regret it. I just got this one from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GE77QT0/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Digital Kitchen Scale / Food Scale - Ultra Slim, Multifunction, Easy to Clean, Large Display (grey)

This is the one I got

Lazy is always just a click away 😄
GreaterGoods Digital Food Kitchen Scale, Multifunction Scale Measures in Grams and Ounces (Grey) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RukuDbDA0J75P

I have one and like it a lot. One thing I will say is that you'll need to get a thermometer because the built in one is garbage. Mine runs between 60-80 hotter than what built in one says. It ruined my first few cooks, but once I got the extra thermometer I was set. This is the one I got and I like it, but use whatever you feel like: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GE77QT0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Food-Multifunction/dp/B01JTDG084, works great

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Food-Multifunction/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1523901646&sr=8-3&keywords=food+scale&dpID=31GGl-hpA3L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

$12.50 on Amazon. For how important it is, food scales are about the cheapest "dieting" implements you can buy. Aside from food tracking apps, which are usually free.

I have a Flame Boss 300, its amazing.....keeps my KJ within ~3F of the set temp. A little pricey, but well worth it.

You can get a Thermopro TP20 with the clip to mount a probe to the grill, and a meat probe for $50

As far as your question, you can....just be mindful of where you are taking your reading. Don't use internal walls or the heat deflector, to get a good reading youd need to get it from something on the grill surface, or if you are doing indirect, maybe a drip pan or something right under the grill (I use a 16" cast iron skillet as a drip pan, sitting on my accessory rack in my KJ)...its far enough above the heat deflector and close enough to the grill that I feel comfortable with the reading

If he's into grilling and smoking, does he already have a wireless temperature probe? It's a lifesaver for me. https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-Wireless-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B01GE77QT0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481037076&sr=8-4&keywords=wireless+temperature+probe

I use one from Greater Goods, because they care about their workers, give back to charity, and have paperless starting guides. I got mine on Amazon.

Cool mirror! Back in my pill snorting days I made my own mirrored bottom box with stuff I got from Michael's lol. I've always been a big arts and crafts fan haha. It was awesome! Pro-tip: get a micro plane like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004S7V8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_a8iaAbY3E315Z and rub your pills on it to make the fluffiest nicest powder, it's just perfect for insufflation. Sure crushing them works, but now you can feel like you're on Top Chef while you prepare your dose!

Reggiano is always worth it. It has a more intense (and better) flavor, so that you do't need as much. Buy a microplane and live well.

Microplane

As a guy that like cooking and gadgets here are my suggestions:

• A mandolin (1 and 2 - extremely useful kitchen gadget. I recommend a V shaped blade over the straight blade, it just cuts better.)
  
  
• A knife sharpener (I use an electric one, but any multistage sharpener is a great gift.)
  
  
• Flat whisk (This is very useful for making any sauces, glazes and especially gravies.)
  
  
• Microplane grater (I got one of these and I have never gone back to my old box grater. They come in 2 shapes: long and narrow vs wide and short, I prefer the long and narrow. They come in 3 or 4 'coarseness' levels from zester up to extra-coarse. I would recommend zest for a first one.)
  
  
• Mini Ramekins (A set of these in the size range of 3 to 4 inches or 4 to 6 ounces has a variety of uses: creme brulee, warm cookie or brownie desserts, individual souffles. But what I use them most for is holding my measured spices together for when I cook. When I need to dump all my spices onto a heap of cooked meat, I can just dump them on instead of measuring them out one at a time directly onto the meat.)

Any combination of Sambuca, Rumplemintz, Frangelico, Rumchata, Irish Cream, Whisky, Creme de Cacao/Banana/Menth, Fireball and Tuaca, really. Almost any combination is good.

Frangelico Rumplemintz = Hazelnut Peppermint

Sambuca Tuaca = Vanilla Licorice

Whisky Whisky = Whisky

Add some whipped cream (fresh if you can get/make it) at the last second and get yourself a microplane and shave some fresh cinnamon and nutmeg on top.

I was actually starting to draft a little cooking ideas post like this. This is just what I found value in and will ramble because I haven't really edited it down at all. So if anyone reads it and has notes please let me know, it's fairly directionless at the moment. It is also from the perspective of and aimed towards young single people but not exclusive to. I am also well aware a lot of you folks are good cooks or at least have a functional kitchen and I in no way want it to sound like I'm more knowledgeable than anyone with an hour to watch youtube videos.

​

TL:DR Make sure your skills are on point before getting convenience tools as you might not need them, a cast iron or good stainless steel skillet and a good couple of knives can do most things in a kitchen, plan meals before you shop to avoid wastefulness.

​

This post is big, flawed, and broken into two main sections. One is purely skills based, stuff you can totally do for free and can start doing right this moment. That's a big part of minimalism for me, gaining skills and getting good at some things rather than owning and being okay at a ton of things. The second section is more of a buy guide, again all from my experience.

​

First off is to focus less on the equipment and more on the technique. Fundamentally, knife skills, understanding of cook times, heat, and technique, creativity and planning are some terms I like. In addition I have thoughts on tools and ingredients

​

First, learn your knife, do drills, practice good form constantly. When I started in a fast-food-y sandwich shop when I was 16, the manager (who was a line cook for years) suggested I practice things like chopping a carrot as thinly as possible, or celery, or breaking down onion and garlic. Then I got to work with the prep team (which was cool because they taught me Spanish) to learn basic stuff like sauces and cooking meats. The result is a few years later, I have a decent knife. Not as good as a legit cook or anything but enough that I can confidently use a sharp knife to do anything a home cook would ever need to.

​

Cook times. It's way less intimidating to work on food when you know "okay my chicken will take this long, oven takes this long, rice needs this much time", and so on. From a minimalist perspective, this will help you cut down on some tools such as a plug-in type grill, rice cookers, stuff that times or cooks food for you. Learning how to use heat also really improves the versatility of something as simple as a cast iron pan. Technique will allow you to make staple dishes or at least be able to take a guess at how to prepare just about anything, and the most valuable tip for that is look up how to make individual components of dishes rather than just recipes over and over. This becomes relevant in the next portion as well.

​

Creativity. As some people are mentioning, "aspirational groceries" cause clutter and waste in the form of garbage and money. Creativity helps solve this when paired with planning. When shopping, I found it valuable to plan out meals for the week. Buy what you need, make a note of what isn't used, and refine. That's planning. Creativity is ending up with some random ingredients and Macgyvering it together so you don't waste or overspend. That is made much easier by having solid cooking techniques so you have a bit of a starting off point for creativity.

​

Now into the stuff. I personally think a couple things are fundamental. Babish from YouTube has a great List . First off, get a good 7" to 8" Chef knife. I use a Gyuto but that's more because I impulse bought one when I first moved out and had all the money in the world from not having any expenses and was talked into it by a very nice saleswoman at the knife shop in town. Wusthof is a great name in knives and if you can get a hold of an 8" one of those, a bread knife, and maybe a pairing knife (I don't really use mine much but some people do) you will be able to do most things. I'd avoid buying a knife set just because you're more than likely paying for an extra 3 or so knives you won't use, and they're cheap for a reason. But to each their own, it is very convenient to have the steak knives, honing rod, and scissors that most of them include. No judgement here. Plus they're really really affordable.

​

Now as to everything else, I'm not as researched. I think a good cast iron skillet is fantastic from a minimalist perspective as you can do most things that you'd really ever need to do on it, from frying to saute to some baking. Kent Rollins is first off a joy to watch but more importantly uses very limited tools. He does have his specialized "bertha" stove but for the most part it's just him with either open fires or a hot stove cooking in cast iron pans and dutch ovens. If you want to know more, I'd just watch the babish video above, he talks more about why he has what he has, such as this expensive but amazing set of pots and pans. Off the top of my head: baking sheets, a large cutting board, a meat thermometer (safety), measuring cups and spoons, box grater (or one coarse grater and one microplane grater), spatulas, tongs, etc.

​

Like I said this is mostly ranting, and I'm going to research and trim it down for the future, but these are my thoughts at the moment.

It's not a required tool, but I love having my microplane around.

I am a manager at a Cannabis distributions company. I assign 1 staff member daily to microplane hash all day.Microplane Zester Grater made in USA stainless steel blade for zesting citrus and grating cheese - plastic handle - black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004S7V8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_afnXBb780CVJQ

I can't say enough about how awesome [seltzer bottles] are. I picked up a couple vintage ones from ebay that I use. There are a ton of ways you can go, but making variations on simple syrups is a great approach. A basic simple syrup is equal parts (volume wise) sugar and water. You put it on the stove until it first starts to bubble and then kill the heat. At this point you can add herbs and let them steep for an hour or so and then strain the syrup and press on the herbs. I've had great success with mint, basil, thyme and lavender. You can also use citrus zest; I find a microplane to be essential for this. Ginger is also great for a simple syrup and I use the microplane for this as well.

Another great technique is muddling. You take some fruit and/or herbs and muddle them together. I prefer a plain wooden muddler with flat ends.

Here are some recipes; you have to experiment with quantities, but here are the ingredients:

Basil cranberry soda: cranberry juice, seltzer water and basil simple syrup.

Peach and basil soda: muddle peaches with basil, add seltzer water and basil simple syrup.

Blueberry and thyme soda: for this I puree the blueberries and run it through a strainer and then add thyme simple syrup and seltzer water.

Strawberry and mint soda: For this I chop and macerate both the strawberries and mint (add some sugar to the chopped strawberries and let them sit; it vastly improves the texture and flavor of the strawberries) and then puree it. I've also done this with cardamom instead of mint with the addition of orange zest gathered with a microplane. You then puree this and seltzer water.

Chai soda: I infuse a simple syrup with cardamom, ginger, black tea, cloves, nutmeg and smashed cinnamon sticks. I use four times the amount of black tea I would use to brew a cup of tea. Add seltzer water and you are good to go; a little whole milk can be a great addtion as well. A basic recipe follows:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

8 bags of lipton tea opened and the tea is then emptied

6 cardamom pods; crushed with a spoon

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon of cloves

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

2 cinnamon sticks; crushed into dime size pieces

Watermelon mint soda: Purreed watermelon, mint simple syrup and seltzer water.

Peach ginger soda: Macerate the peaches, puree them, add ginger simple syrup and seltzer water.

Blueberry lavender soda: Pureed and strained blueberries, lavender simple syrup and seltzer water.

There are a ton of ways you can go with this sort of thing. Sometimes some fresh lemon or lime juice can help balance the acidity. Have fun. Enjoy the fruit that is in season. Create your own fun drinks. Cheers.

Moritaka 240mm AS Gyuto

Catskill 19x14 End Grain cutting board

All Clad Thomas Keller (no relation, unfortunately) 5qt Sauteuse

Bamboo flat spatula, the one on the far right.

Dish washing net cloth. No dishwasher, so it's all hand wash in my house.

Bonus round: Instant read thermometer, Microplane, Immersion blender, SS Mixing bowls various sizes, Stock pot/Dutch Oven

I am not sure of what you already have or what you would need, I am listing a few things on top of my head:

• Crock pot
  
• Cast iron skillet
  
• Dutch oven
  
• Victorinox chef knife
  
• Microplane zester
  
• Bread maker machine
  
• Mandoline
  
• Mortar and pestle
  
• Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
  
• Tartine bread
  
• Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
  
• Espresso maker
  
• Cookie Sheet and cooling racks
  
• Meat Thermometer

I use lime zest but have not tried orange juice / zest. Microplane is awesome :) Not expensive! http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Classic-Zester-Grater/dp/B00004S7V8

Right product, right place. I honestly like that stuff for what it is, but it isn't the right stuff for the job. If you don't have a microplane, seriously pick one up. It will help you make better food.

http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Classic-Zester-Grater/dp/B00004S7V8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426870728&sr=8-1&keywords=microplane

That's kinda what I was going to do with it. I have a few "sticks" instead of chunks left. I have a knifething that will hollow out a cucumber, and i was going to put the stick and cream cheese in the cucumber and slice it like sushi. (I don't know what the knifething is. It's long and looks kinda like this grater, but it's not a grater and it's more "U" shaped. A friend got it for me in Lebanon.)

> I have a Misto oil sprayer (https://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0) and it works great with any fine oil. But I support your brush-on idea.

How well does it work at actually misting the oil? I have an oil sprayer that looks like a knockoff of the Misto, and it'd be more accurate to call it a "squirter" than a "sprayer".

You should be able to find it in a can at the grocery store. I'm a bit of a purist though, and I like really good olive oil that you'll never find in a spray can.

Anyway, Amazon has tons of options. It doesn't have to be specifically for oil, most food-grade sprayers will work:

http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV

http://www.amazon.com/Lifetime-Brands-Misto-Oil-Sprayer/dp/B008C9UA9W

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Steel-Sprayer-Mister/dp/B000SSW6TM

http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Spray-Bottle-Cooking-18-Ounce/dp/B00FMXG8XI

http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Gourmet-Olive-Sprayer-Silver/dp/B009I5U3GY

http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Raichlen-Barbecue-Marinade-Bottle/dp/B003FZAVWO

http://www.amazon.com/24-Oz-Sprayer-Bottles-Pack/dp/B00008VXNE

http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Can-Do-KCH-01085-Stainless-Bottle-14-Ounce/dp/B007ZSJ3X0

While I like your simple recipe, I would not call pam cheaper than normal cooking oil. All it is is vegetable oil and it's like $5 for a can that is what? 5-6 ounces? You can buy a lot of vegetable oil for that price. Even olive oil is more economical than pam. And if you really want your oil as a spray you can get a $10 oil sprayer that will work just as well as pam.

This is a great alternative to pam and the rest since you can keep using it forever with any oil you choose. Just takes a little bit to pump up to get pressure, the more times you pump it the finer the mist of oil it sprays.

I'd get an olive oil mister.

You fill it with liquid, pump it up, and spray away. Should work great for water.

http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV

That's a well known one, but I know that you can get cheaper ones at cooking stores.

Can you get one of those misto thingies?

http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV

You can fill with the oil of your choice.

Aerosolized cooking sprays (like pam) use some sort of pressurized gas to carry the oil. This carrier spray can dissolve non stick coatings. That's why it's a bad idea to use pam. You can get a misto or use a regular spray bottle to spray down your grill with oil. I like coconut oil for my high heat cooking, but it has to be around 80 degrees fahrenheit to be liquid.

EDIT: You can use whatever oil you think is healthy, as long as its refined. No extra virgin oils.

http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415523794&sr=8-1&keywords=misto

$10 with free shipping (if you have prime, but who wouldn't have prime). You can even get it in the color of eggplant!

I use a misto to spray oil when I sear. It works very well and is a lot cheaper http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Brushed-Aluminum-Olive-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV

For roasting, I don't use anything, but for pan stuff I use an oil sprayer. One quick spray, I count it as a 1/4 teaspoon oil and it's enough to coat the pan.

You can buy a pump sprayer and refill any time. Love mine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004SPZV/

Misto Olive Oil Sprayer. You can spray other stuff with it too I guess.

Try Misto as a compromise. It's a sprayer that you fill with whatever oil you like. Then it sprays on like pam. You end up using way less oil, but it's still good, pure olive oil instead of aerosol crap.

I think this one probably will give a fine mist without nitrogen.

I spent $8 on an oil mister spray thingy that you can hand pump. Olive oil in that, give the tray of veggies a very quick spray-over. I tested it out on a scale and it's like a gram of oil, so I don't bother counting that fat it since it's spread out over 2-3 servings of vegetables on a big tray.


With that method, I get a pretty good roasty char on things like cauliflower and broccoli.

edit: Here's an example of a mister that's similar to mine

Like other people have said, don't oil the water, just liberal amounts of salt--sometimes I add a bay leaf, but honestly I can't tell the difference with or without it. You don't really want to put oil on the pasta even after you've rinsed it because in general you want the pasta sauce to stick to the noodles and mix with the noodle starch.

I generally only add oil to my noodles if they are going to be sitting without sauce for a while (after I've served the first round). Or (obviously) if I'm just using olive oil as the sauce.

Get yourself one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Gourmet-Sprayer-Brushed-Aluminum/dp/B00004SPZV/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1347285552&sr=1-1&keywords=misto+oil+sprayer

You put your oil in the bottle and give the top a few pumps and then it sprays out. Noodles really don't need a lot of oil to keep from sticking to each other and this helps you just finely coat it. Also great for oiling up baking pans and evenly spreading salad dressings (can't have any sort of debris in it though).

Honestly, my best advice is to get a probe thermometer like this and stick the probe in the meat when you put it in the oven. I've done this a few times so I know about how long it takes in my oven for my steaks, but your mileage may (and probably will) vary.

This is what I did for four years. You can also use the scale to weigh your pot..

I might also recommend a timer & thermometer combo. Convenient when you use it every day, and the thermo for if you feel like dialing in your temperature.
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5

Oh I also had a cheap electric grinder for those days when you wake up just before class starts but you're not willing to go without a fresh cup. Not gonna stand there for 2 minutes grinding when 15 seconds will produce okay results.

That recipe sounds absolutely terrible, man, no wonder they tasted like shit. Get yourself a meat thermometer and do this thing:

Rub some olive oil and sprinkle some Old Bay on it, bake at 425F until it's 159F in the thickest part, let it rest at least two minutes. Perfect every time. Chicken breasts are all different thicknesses, never do a whole breast recipe based on time if you want it to be cooked right. Cook it until it's done in the middle, and no longer.

If it has skin on it, even better, but make sure you cover it (cut some vent holes in the foil for steam) because the fat renders out and goes eeeeeverywhere and will splatter down onto the heating element and smoke up your place. But crispy chicken skin rocks, and it makes the chicken a little bit juicier.

What's it called? Do you have a link?

Edit: Nevermind, I found it... http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5

This one is $11 used on amazon. Taylor Digital Cooking Probe Thermometer and Timer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_sYMZAbDDV8MME

I have an older version. Love love love it. When I'm roasting, I can stick the meat and set the temp alarm and let it go until it reaches temp.

> Will any kind of cooking thermometer do?

Have used a variety of thermometers. In the drawer is an OXO and an inexpensive Thermoworks pocket.

I'd recommend a ThermoWorks DOT probe-style oven thermometer. This way you can insert the probe into the chicken and bake/roast it to the temperature you want without opening the oven door to check. You don't have to go with the DOT. I started out with something similar to Taylor Digital. (I no longer have it because I burnt the probe over a grill hot spot.)

You can put the boneless chicken in a baggie or fold over plastic wrap. For a recipe/instructions, have a look at 101 Cooking for Two's Pan Seared then Oven Roasted, Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast.

= = = = Edit to add
You might like to read through this post on Baked Chicken Breasts at ThermoWorks

Get a digital meat thermometer with an alert that you can leave in while the roast is cooking (like this one), and it becomes basically impossible to fuck up a roast. The method in this video looks delicious, but you can also just slap some salt and pepper on a roast and as long as you take it out of the oven at the right time and rest it, it will be some good eatin'.

I've had this one for years.

Everything I hear is that those things aren't the best for brewing...

I got this Taylor Digital Cooking thermometer with probe for $20 at Target a year ago and it works amazingly. Here it is on Amazon for $2 less with free shipping.

The probe is linked to the unit via a 4' long cable capable of withstanding oven broil temperatures, very durable. You can set timer alerts and temp alerts to let you know when your mash/wort has reached a certain temp.

The unit is magnetic so you can stick it to your brew pot or oven (you can use it for baking and stuff too) and it's brought my grilling to an entirely new level. I've gotten really good at grilling steaks and pork chops thanks to this thing.

Your budget is pretty low but for 45$ here's what you can get that will set you up correctly

Fry/candy thermometer (Alton's favorite): 10.00

Instant read (the same one use by chefs everywhere): 19.00

Alarm Thermometer ( the good old Taylor): 16.00

And if you want to invest more change the alarm thermometer to something more serious like the chef alarm. But it's 60$ just for that.

Chili - the first time I made this, I just used ground turkey, which is why that's in the recipe... I've also made it with pork and bison/beef and it's good. Whichever you prefer. Sometimes I use pureed tomatoes instead of diced. You can use both, if you like. If the chili is too liquidy, put a few tablespoons of cornstarch into a glass with a little water, mix until it's blended, and then add to the chili, and cook - this will help thicken in up a bit.

8 strips (half a package) of bacon

1 red onion

1 small bulb of garlic

3 to 4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 lbs extra lean ground turkey

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 can baked beans

1 can mixed beans

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

salt and pepper, to taste

.

Chop bacon into small bits and cook in a large pot. Add chopped onion, saute until clear, and add minced garlic. Add ground meat, and cook until it's done (sometimes I add some of the spices now). Add tomato paste, tomatoes, and both cans of beans to the pot, as well as the spices and maple syrup. Simmer for at least half an hour, but an hour is ideal. I tend to cook this a day ahead, and then reheat and simmer for another 20 minutes or so - I find it's better the next day.

Jamie Oliver's Guinness Pie is amazingly delicious.

Also, a digital thermometer - like this - is your best friend when cooking meat.

If you're a fan of breakfast food, check this out. It's so good.


Edit: Cornbread goes wonderfully with chili. I leave out the green chile peppers, and replace with chopped green onions. Sometimes I put about a tsp of chili powder in, and sometimes a little cayenne to give it some kick.

Thermometer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004XSC5/

Like others have said a probe thermometer is the only option.

I'd recommend one of these, cheap and effective:
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-9842-Commercial-Waterproof-Thermometer/dp/B00009WE45

It should survive a sink washing, but I dunno about the dishwasher. It shouldn't be too hard to keep it out of there though...

Edit: Like some of the reviews on Amazon say, don't leave this particular thermometer in the oven unless you want to destroy it.

For normal home use (not a probe), I've been really happy with the $8.25 Taylor waterproof digital thermometer.

https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Precision-Products-Commercial-Thermometer/dp/B00009WE45

I've had mine for years and no problems. I don't know if it's BIFL, but for an item like this, I've certainly gotten my 8 bucks of value from it.

Not the case at all. They were all reading virtually the exact same spot on an interior wall.

I’ve also done the same with pool thermometers and even some of the same thermometers used on the thermostat wall.

Wish I hadn’t trashed the pic, it makes the point far better than with text......

Easily recreated in a kitchen store... found a display of a thermometer like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009WE45/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_bcsSBbMASDZ6F and turned them all on... the results varied by around 2 degrees— all for the same spot at the bottom of a cuplike holder.

To get more confidence in your cooking of meat: Get an instant-read thermometer-- analog or digital, your choice. Ignore those who say 'don't pierce the meet you'll let all the juice out' (because that's been debunked by Alton Brown Food Lab) and take internal temps of meat you cook. Internal temps is a better gauge of food safety than time or visual indicators.

Soon you'll get more confidence that you're doing the right thing and have the tool to prove it.

My bad!

I would recommend you start with chicken. Chicken thighs are cheap and yummy :) Somebody else posted this recipe, and I can confirm that it is ridiculously easy and fabulously tasty: [The BEST way to cook chicken thighs] (http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1otscu/the_best_way_to_cook_chicken_thighs/) :)

It sounds like a cheap instant read cooking thermometer might a good investment when you decide you want to cook steak. I have [this one] (http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-9842-Commercial-Waterproof-Thermometer/dp/B00009WE45/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1420405020&sr=1-6&keywords=food+thermometer) and I've found combining it with [safe cooking temps for various meats] (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodsafety.gov%2Fkeep%2Fcharts%2Fmintemp.html&ei=LqupVMDUC8PpaMuJgugB&usg=AFQjCNEm--9fyqOj3ZCOBziO2TSw7yMZoQ&sig2=X5WjzRjRbiSI3Lx6NxY2xQ&bvm=bv.82001339,d.d2s) really helps me to not overcook my meats :)

Morthy's Demands:

Tea for an old posh Englishman. I would no doubt ring a bell to have a serving wench bring it to me though. Yummy Goodness WL

Think these would show under a shirt? I would still never be seen in public with them! NSFW WL

Phallic-ish Kitchen wants and needs WL

Akeleie Demands:

Most geeky item. As a grown woman, I still want this! Books: Glorious Books WL

Help me achieve a personal goal of learning all the Egyptian dieties I've always been fascinated by ancient Egypt and want to really delve into their deities. Books: Glorious Books WL

Binoculars would be handy on a deserted island. Keep a watch out for passing ships! Wish I may, Wish I had WL

Thanks for the fun contest!

http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-9842-Commercial-Waterproof-Thermometer/dp/B00009WE45/ref=pd_sim_k_3

Always preform a water boil test on any new thermometer should read 212F/100C.

So people have given all of the advice I would have already, basically recipes plus learning how to cook meats/veggies. Here is a tip to get you closer to freedom in the kitchen and the ability to throw things together. Simply put, learn how to cook each type of meat to it's proper done-ness. Learn how to bake it, learn how to bake it in liquids with random veggies, leRn how to sear it. Buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009WE45/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1409236879&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
They're 12 dollars. You eventually will need it much less, and may even not use it at all. As a beginner though, it will allow you to buy any meat with full confidence that you won't underdo it. It'll open up options that seem scary at first, like roasts and tenderloins and thick steaks. Most red meats are delicious if you simply get them to 130-135 (rare), just add some spices and figure out if you like it a little more done. Crappy pork should be cooked higher, and chicken should always be 150. Remember that things gain 2-5 degrees after you take them out and let them sit. Don't be intimidated by recipes, just isolate how the meat becomes done as the core and simply do whatever you want around that basis ( for example, my veal roast is quite complicated, with multiple steps, at its core though it's just bake veal in stock until 130 then throw in veggies and cook to 140)

Jimmypage got it right my friend...grab a taylor ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009WE45/ref=redir_mdp_mobile) cheap and reliable.

It's a cakeday present!

I have this one, but I believe there are various others:

http://www.amazon.com/Amco-318402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY

A french press because drip coffee is weaker and the filters are so wasteful, or a rub-away bar - imagine not having gross garlic/onion smell on your hands after cooking!
Thanks for the contest, happy tax day!! :D

rub your hands on some stainless steel. This works for onions, garlic and other 'strong' smelling things. Might be worth a shot.


http://www.amazon.com/Amco-318402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409951578&sr=8-1&keywords=stainless+steel+odor+bar

Pro tip: rub your smelly fingers on stainless steel to remove the smell.

They make stainless steel bars like these to do it:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_pjHvCbFZ60YYY

...but my kitchen sink works just as well.

I use Certain Dri and it has drastically improved my situation. As you said, it prevents you from sweating; my problem was that I would sweat a lot and it would get all swampy under there and I believe it was that wetness that made it smell because it definitely smelled bad. Once I started using Certain Dri the sweat problem went away almost immediately. I still use a normal deodorant during the day though (you only apply Certain Dri at night) and between the two of them there is no more odor or sweat. Hooray!

Another two tips that may help: drink lots of water! Also, there is evidence that some metals can help remove odors from the skin. I bought (this)[https://www.amazon.com/Amco-8402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492008535&sr=8-1&keywords=metal+bar+soap] and use it in the shower under my arms on occasion. It is made for chefs to wash their hands with to remove onion/garlic smells but it works well for the pits too! Best of luck conquering the odor! You can do it! :)

Well, would you look at that! I guess you really do learn something new every day. Thank you fellow Redditor:-)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdo_sBsYzbQN4APYS

This little guy is the best $8 I ever spent. Same idea, more efficient shape. When I worked in a deli, it was my best friend.

Thanks for the contest, and congratulations on your new place!

I think this stainless steel bar is a pretty cool item. (I cook with onions a lot!)

Home Sweet Home

This.

I used these before I got a coravin. These plus a can wine of preserve usually helped my bottles get through a week.

https://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-Vacuum-Bottle-Stoppers/dp/B000GA3KCE

If you're popping tops, you might consider getting something like this http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-0981450-Vacuum-Stoppers/dp/B000GA3KCE/ref=pd_sim_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SE0FPQVYGJW7FKC49Y6

I like to store mine this way under vacuum to avoid oxidation. But it probably wouldn't be a problem if you're going to drink it within the year.

Pick up some of those wine vacuum seals (like these), and they will help you keep your port longer. You can get a few months out of a bottle with these.

edit: and yes, the LAT 38 SS is an absolutely fantastic smoke!

No, unless it's a super-shitty bottle or already structurally compromised.

There's a finite amount of air in the bottle, so there's a finite amount of air you can suck out of it. The bottle is generally strong enough to maintain its structure even with all of the air removed. If you could suck all the air out (side note: You can't, and you'd need a powerful pump to even get close), the bottle would be unlikely to implode.

This product, and similar ones, help preserve wine in an opened glass bottle by removing (nearly) all of the air from the bottle.

http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-981460-Vacuum-Stoppers/dp/B000GA3KCE

It's meant for wine but I've used it on beers before. It sucks out as much air as possible.

vacu vin will get you a few extra days, except for wines like pinot that lose their fruit very quickly. just pump until you hear a click. this is what I use.

My local shop uses this gas (non reactive and heavier than air) on the tasting bottles that they don't finish, and would like to save for another tasting. never used this myself but it seems to work

Would a repurposed wine bottle with an air pump out stopper thing buy any significant time to a less frequently used oil (like avocado)?

I've got access to empty wine bottles and those pumper deals.

E: these - www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-981460-Vacuum-Stoppers/dp/B000GA3KCE

Nope, those are vacuum stoppers.

I use a brown beer bottle with one of those vacuum wine corks. My cork is lame and doesn't hold a vacuum very long, but it completely seals the odor. The brown glass protects against sun damage. It also protects a little against casual observation. If you had a good cork that holds a vacuum like they're supposed to, it would also protect against oxidation, since that's the whole point of their existence.

I have this one, but it looks like Oxo now makes a higher capacity one. If you have bed bath and beyond, you can get them with a 20% off coupon. I love Amazon too, but I typically shop at BBB for those kinds of items :)

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA

From each list?

• Miscellaneous list: High Waisted Pencil Skirt - I've recently discovered how much I love pencil skirts, and it want more. This looks perfect!
  
  
• Books List: Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce - This is the newest book in her series, which I've been reading since I was 12. I still love the series, and am looking forward to continuing it!
  
  
• Cooking List: A Digital Kitchen Scale with Pull Out Display - I've gotten into bread making and more serious baking, which starts to require weighting all your ingredients. I've had my eye on this one in particular because it's stainless steel, and the pull out display is great when your bowl is really big.
  
  
• Tea List: This Tea Mug with Tea Strainer - I'm starting my first big girl job in May, and I'll definitely feel more comfortable there if I can drink my own loose leaf tea. And I love how sleek and easy this mug is, and it just looks so great too! I already have my eye on it being my work mug.
  
  
• Craft List: Ginger Essential Oil - This one was difficult, because this is a multi-part thing. I want to make my own solid perfume, which means I have to get a carrier oil (Almost Oil), beeswax, and whatever I want to smell like. So far I'm thinking I want to smell like ginger, lemon and cloves. Or ginger, lemon, and basil. I plan to make a few different ones and see what I like best.
  
  
  This was fun! I never really thought about what my highest priority ones were.

Here is a thermometer similar to the one I use for siphon brewing for $17. It won't work for home roasting. If you think you might get into that, you will need one that has a higher max temp (500 F+). I haven't bought one yet because I am considering a roast profiling setup which would port to my pc. This is a good grinder at $45. This is the kitchen scale I like for $50 but you might be able to get one for less. The scale only measures down to grams which works fine for this siphon at 40 oz. ($36) but for a smaller siphon you might need a scale that measures down to .1 grams. To summarize, you could get a decent set up for ~$120 or for a roast compatible thermometer ~$145. You will also want a wooden spoon for stirring the coffee in the siphon.

Have you tried FatSecret? They tend to have pretty accurate listings. You could use it as a backup.


These are two really good scales.

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display $50 this one was rated highly by Cook's Illustrated Measures in 1/8-ounce (imperial) and 1-gram (metric) increments up to 11 lbs.

EatSmart Precision Pro - Multifunction Digital Kitchen Scale w/ Extra Large LCD and 11 Lb. Capacity $25 - this one is half the price but it a great scale. It measures grams, kg, oz, and pounds. It weights up to 11 lbs and is recise to .05 ounce / 1 gram increments.

Probably this one, I have it too, it's always been accurate.

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA

For most basic needs, the OXO Good Grips Food Scale works great. It does ounces/pounds and grams, the display pulls out, and it's got a 10 pound limit. My one qualm is that it does ounce fractions only to eighths, so it's no good for the rare recipe that'll call for .2 ounces or something. But I've had mine for years and it's still accurate.

Edit: Yes, it's true that a mechanical scale will last longer, but they're pretty annoying to have to use IMO.

My digital kitchen scale maxes out at 11 pounds do you need more than that?
OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display, 11-Pound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_MAV.BbGB1WVYJ

My most used and loved tool is without a doubt my OXO kitchen scale.

Honorable mention goes to my Vollrath 5314 sheet pans.

It's a good scale, and the pull out display is nice, but it's not $24 any more

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display-11-Pound/dp/B000WJMTNA

:(

OXO 11lb scale. I've owned two Taylors and a Star Frit and both brands suck - they drained battery within a few weeks. This OXO lasts a good year before needing to change the batteries, and when my first one stopped working (spilled ACV on it), they replaced it for free.

ETA this is why I can't justify buying a cheap ass scale.

I love my OXO. The display pulls out for when you put a large plate or bowl on it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WJMTNA

Go to a kitchen supply store such as Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or just go to amazon and get http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-1130800-Grips-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA/ -- the best on the market that I know of.

I, of course, use it for food. (no, really!)

I started with Peter Reinhart books, namely Artisan Breads Every Day. They have great primers on mixing and kneading technique, and I'm still getting better at it. Try the Ciabatta for a really fluffy loaf. And I highly recommend Saf yeast, a digital scale, a dough whisk, and patience!

If you get a good quality digital scale for the kitchen those work really well. This my preferred brand.

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA

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I feel for you, and your food offerings to the piggly ones. I know these have made the rounds in the comment sections for stories of woe such as yours.

Added bonus, a particular shitlord used to actually set traps with cupcakes and what not. Also depending on how your office is set up, a mini fridge under your dest with lock.

get a fridge locker ASAP.

It seems silly, but you may want to get something like this http://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-157281-Original-Fridge/dp/B001UFNCHM or buy a mini fridge for your room?

If you're really concerned, you could go completely overboard, and get yourself a Fridge Locker, or just wait until someone does still your HWC and then get one of them.

And, yes, it's a real product...

Or a fridge locker. Which I didn't know existed until about a month ago.

They should make a bigger version of this to protect from mooching roommates. Although this is a thing.

You'd think with all the talk about people stealing from company refrigerators, someone would make a lunchbox that has a lock on it, or at least a latch that you can put your own lock on.

I looked, and the only thing even remotely like that was this which seems to be a piece of crap.

time to buy a lunchbox with a padlock.

EDIT: OMG they actually exist!

Fridge locker

I would suggest a Fridge Locker.

Get a Food Locker.

You can also get it from Amazon.

Jameson with these. Alcoholism.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GZX2DE/?tag=047-20

Two sites with whiskey stones

http://www.amazon.com/Teraforma-1220-Whisky-Stones/dp/B002GZX2DE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311318028&sr=8-1

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/ba37/

If he likes cooking, you could possibly gt him some sort of themed gift around bbq to bring him back to Tex.

Spice Rubs for meat that come from Tex... (https://www.etsy.com/listing/167344642/gustos-rubs-of-the-states-barbecue-rub) -- they sell these everywhere, like in williams sonoma as well.

A 6-pack of his favorite beer (or liquor)

If he likes whiskey... http://www.amazon.com/Teraforma-1220-Whisky-Stones/dp/B002GZX2DE

if you're concerned about chilling it without extra dilution, look into some whisky stones, which are essentially insulating rocks that can keep cold for awhile. drop them into a glass with your whisky and get 0 dilution and chilled drink!

Use these, turst me I'ma alcoholic

http://www.amazon.com/Teroforma-1220-Whisky-Stones/dp/B002GZX2DE

Do you happen to have a brand for those? This would be the perfect gift for a friend of mine.

I see these at Amazon but not sure if they're the same thing.


I found them

This

when i went to buffalo trace distillery, they had these for sale

http://www.amazon.com/Teroforma-1220-Whisky-Stones/dp/B002GZX2DE

Another alternative is to use whisky rocks instead of ice if you don't want to deal with dilution.

Do you own any whiskey stones yet?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002GZX2DE

http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2 and ebay has them too.

I just threw all his particulars into a spreadsheet - I think his income is about $125,000/yr...NET!!!

He probably sales about 360 peelers/day, while working maybe 6 hours and taking a full month vacation every year.

My estimates:

-217% markups on the peelers (same peeler for 1.99 on amazon, assumes he has a deal for a bulk rate so shipping is close to negligible, called it $3/80 peelers)

-$100/day on veggies

-4wks off/year

-6hours worked/day

-he does that - what you see in the video - 4 times/hr while working

-That video is typical: assume he does that schpeel (4mins) with that sales volume (15 peelers) with adjusted average price of $4.33/peeler (taking into account he has a scaling price, $20/5)

-Yes I scraped 28% out for taxes

I've been doing a lot of economic modelling at work lately and I'm always interested in how other jobs work as far as a payout. Anyone weird like me and wants a look at the spreadsheet pm me.

bingo http://www.amazon.de/Cookware-company-11002-Rex-Kartoffelsch%C3%A4ler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

This looks like the same one, and it's only $1.99.

Try this one http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

And

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UT69MY
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XMEHZ2/

one of the best peelers around is also inexpensive - http://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

https://www.amazon.com/Zena-Swiss-11002-Vegetable-Peeler/dp/B002XMEHZ2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Potato-Peeler-Swiss-Guaranteed-quality/dp/B002XMEHZ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453913132&sr=8-1&keywords=star+peeler

These peelers are usable by both left- and right-handed people.

I use right-handed scissors. I hold them in my left hand, but I hold the thing I'm cutting over on my right-hand side, so I can see where I'm cutting. It's a bit awkward at first, but becomes second nature.

I would buy this peeler from him or his daughter if I could. Even if they had a website and it was more expensive.
However because I cannot, here is the amazon link to what appears to be the same Swiss Rex vegetable peeler.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XMEHZ2?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

I love the Zena Rex peeler, I have carpel tunnel and these allow me to peel fruit and veggies without hand fatigue. No problem with rust and they last and last.

To clarify, something like this is perfect for it.
http://amzn.com/B002XMEHZ2

I like the Tovolo 2" cube trays for my Old Fashioneds. Less surface area and higher volume chills as well with far less dilution. It's also easier to stir with these.

If you have $9, you can start making those large cubes:

http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-King-Cube-Ice-Tray/dp/B00395FHRO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398060645&sr=8-2&keywords=large+ice+cube+tray

Perfect for cocktails.

I feel like the point of ice is really the water, not necessarily the cold. Whiskey takes time to get cold, and the immediate melting of the ice helps open up the whiskey more. Something you can't get from stones.

The best investment in my opinion are king cubes. Larger surface area so it takes much longer for your drink to become diluted too fast.

Get a large-cube silicone ice cube tray like this one. They're fantastic for Old Fashioneds, and anything on-the-rocks.

Just keep in mind that because they take longer to melt, they take longer to chill your drink. But it should keep it at a fairly consistent temperature.

Also, these take much longer to freeze, so you need to plan ahead (takes at least 4 hours in my freezer, I think).

I want this, because ice cubes are awesome.

And I want to eat some ice cubes for Halloween

Thank you!

I have done the same with a home-depot bucket. Literally one of the easiest things to make. You don't need to make it air-tight like the instructions say since it is fog and it will go anywhere anyways.

Works great I have it spew out from underneath my bar which is the main focus point of the party. Makes the fog so much better.

Also I like to use giant ice-cubes so they don't melt as quick (I just make up a bunch prior to the party) : http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-King-Cube-Ice-Tray/dp/B00395FHRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414129063&sr=8-1&keywords=giant+ice+cube+trays

I would suggest a large ice cube tray or two. My husband and I use ours all the time. $15 is a bit constraining even for a 375, and glencairns or rocks glasses might run more than that as well.

I was looking at these

What people should be using instead:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00395FHRO

The one I have is pretty much like this.
http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Professional-Digital-Kitchen-Tempered/dp/B003MSZBSI/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1407466768&sr=1-6&keywords=food+scale

I weigh everything's that isn't individually packaged. And some things that are.

I mean everything. Every fruit. Every piece of meat. I even weigh the amount of peanut butter I put on bread.

http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Professional-Digital-Kitchen-Tempered/dp/B003MSZBSI/ref=zg_bs_678508011_6

I highly recommend this scale, it has a large surface that fits most plates and gets the job done. The sleek design also makes for good decor. Can't go wrong for $25.

Ha, I'm definitely not upset! I'm mostly just concerned, I'm just sensing you feel frustrated maybe a little bit like we're all fucking with you with this bruh, just create a calorie deficit mantra we keep repeating.

You're right that cooking at home can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be. You might start out just trying to recreate your favorite restaurant dishes at home. Just making something at home can often be lower calorie, restaurants add a lot of sneaky stuff in there. Their stuff has to be shelf stable for X number of months, so it needs a preservative (like salt), so then they add sugar to counteract the extra salt so it tastes right, etc.

I agree that permanent change would be grim if you assume you'll be hungry and hating everything you eat. If that was the case I wouldn't be doing it and neither would anyone else! You should enjoy everything you eat (I do) and shouldn't feel hungry (I don't).

Is there anything else you're resistant to? Many people balk at the idea of counting calories in the beginning, so it would not surprise me in the least if you were anxious about that. It can take a little bit to get the hang of it, but once you're in the groove, you realize the magic of this approach - you can eat ANYTHING you want! No special diets, IF, keto, paleo, vegan, etc. Forget it all. You can lose weight eating only foods you enjoy, provided they fit in your calorie goals for the day. I ate homemade double chocolate chip muffins all week! One per day, as my afternoon snack, and I still lost a 1/2 pound ... because I didn't go over my calorie goal. Most of us use an app to track our calories (MyFitnessPal is a popular option) and I strongly recommend purchasing a food scale, it makes tracking a bajillion times easier.

This is a video of someone tracking her calories, it's a great real-world example of using the food scale. It's what my day usually looks like minus the commentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOAfP857Q3o

This is my food scale, there are so many options, just pick your favorite one:

https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Professional-Digital-Kitchen-Tempered/dp/B003MSZBSI/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1K3ZDJUOW6HYG&keywords=ozeri+food+scale&qid=1557364020&s=gateway&sprefix=ozeri+food+scale%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-5

The idea of using a bread machine rustles my jimmies; I use the no-knead method (google it, it's everywhere) for sandwich bread that we eat every day, and then sometimes on weekends I'll make a rustic loaf to go with meals that I make in the more traditional method.

Looking for a bread 'recipe' is somewhat of a fallacy. Most people who take bread even a little seriously use the baker's percentage (once again, google that shit) and weighing ingredients instead of measuring by volume.

The baker's percentage gives you a template of proportions that yield certain results. By manipulating those proportions of flour/grains/water/yeast/salt you get different breads. A french loaf is still a french loaf if you make it with whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, as long as you understand how the change in protein and such will affect the bread, and adjust your other ingredients and methods accordingly.

The only accurate way to adjust those ratios is by using a reasonably accurate scale instead of measuring cups. A good scale (not even a mediocre one) can be had from Amazon for about $20. This is the one that I use, and it's paid for itself several times over since I started making bread about two years ago.

These two concepts, which go hand-in-hand, elevated my bread making from dicking around in the kitchen to a near science.

After about six months of making bread every week, you should check out The Bread Builders. When I originally bought it I didn't understand enough about bread to get much out of it, but now I find it to be a huge resource for adjusting my methods and techniques. There's a lot of esoteric stuff in there about microbiology and gluten strings, which is cool, but essentially useless unless you have some kind of context. There's also the whole second half of the book, which is almost entirely about building and using wood fired brick ovens to bake bread; something that I hope to have the funds to build one day.

You can check out /r/breaddit if you want, but I find it to be a bit of a circlejerk on seeing how much cheese/nutella/olives/onions people can cram in a recipe before it starts to look like a casserole instead of bread. Also, they have a hard on for sourdoughs. Sourdoughs are cool, but at this point I think they could use their own subreddit.

Good luck, I guess.
Good luck

Does she have a good food scale? Maybe with a good Meal Prep Bag? Those together are the "getting serious about food/nutrition" starter kit.

a scale for weighing food makes life sooooo much simpler and you can get them really cheap. I have used this one for several years and it's simple to use and does ounces/grams/mL/fluid ounces and is ~$15:

https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Professional-Digital-Kitchen-Tempered/dp/B003MSZBSI

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MSZBSI/

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

Kitchen: Ozeri Touch Professional Digital Kitchen Scale (12 lbs Edition), Tempered Glass in Elegant Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MSZBSI/

Body weight: pretty sure it's this one: EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom Scale w/ Extra Large Lighted Display, 400 lb. Capacity and "Step-On" Technology [2014 VERSION] - 10,000+ Reviews EatSmart Guaranteed Accurate https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KXZ808/

With what kind of precision, then? I'm a stickler for smaller numbers and would probably want down to tenths of grams, which limits capacity somewhat... but for 1-gram accuracy, I'd search for electronic kitchen scales and start reading reviews. f'rex

I'm using this just because I can fit a medium-sized dinner plate on it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MSZBSI/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Again, I cannot stress enough that I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist! :) I can only speak from personal experience and, well, basic math.

In my personal experience, I think looking to "get in shape" by just doing one thing, is stabbing in the dark. I spent years making excuses for myself -- e.g. "I'm just naturally bigger." and "I am not a vain person, so I don't want to spend my efforts on things that focus on superficial beauty."

It's pretty simple though and I'm down 35 lbs since October. Count your calories and pay attention to every, single thing you put in your mouth -- you are what you eat (both literally and figuratively).

You'll see many people recommend My Fitness Pal and they are right in doing so. So many people say, "But, I'm on My Fitness Pal and I still haven't lost any weight!" You won't lose weight just by signing-up and logging-in to their website. :)

Count your calories, weigh your food. Here's the food scale I purchased:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MSZBSI

I didn't take the approach of, "I have to only eat lettuce!" Nope, just start counting calories, regardless of what you eat. If you want to eat cheese pizza slices, fine, just count the calories.

This is when you'll quickly start to see just how much something like pizza consumes @ your daily caloric intake.

So before you try to run (no pun intended), try to walk first -- count your calories. If you put salad dressing on your salad -- even ranch -- just read the label, put a little dish on your food scale, and pour the actual serving size. i.e. don't just blindly pour.

As you do this, you'll start to actually see how much stuff you can/should eat -- i.e. you'll get better at portioning your food without having to be so methodical about it.

Again, I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist, just speaking from personal experience, after decades of blind eating. One footlong sub from Subway with chips and a drink...is an ENTIRE DAY'S calories. So, go ahead and eat that, but know you can't eat anything else that day.

The more you do this, the more you'll start to naturally lean toward foods and portions that work right with your daily caloric intake. I am a pizza, bread, pasta, cheese, and milk type of person, so I couldn't even fathom being satiated, let alone satisfied, by eating a salad with cheese and croutons and dressing and freshly-grilled chicken...but it was all mental, as most-everything is.

If I can do it, anyone can do it, I truly believe that.

Best of luck to you and if you ever have any questions or just need to bounce something off of a stranger, I'll do my best to help!

Edit: Also, not that you're trying to "lose weight," but I found by utilizing My Fitness Pal, I could not only see my caloric intake, but the amount of protein I was taking in each day, as well as sodium. So it's a fundamental difference @ what you eat and by simply scrutinizing it, it helps clear the path.

I just got this one and it's quite good. A lot better than the Oxo. More accurate, more display options, easier to clean, better looking, and cheaper to boot.

There is a noticeable and for me annoying lag in when the scale registers weight. Makes it easy to go past your target measurement.

I prefer the faster Jennings CJ-4000 scale for that reason alone.

Jennings CJ-4000 Compact Digital Weigh Scale 4000g x 0.5g PCS JScale Black AC Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004C3CAB8/

I have this one and I love it. It was $30 on Amazon, so, a little pricey, but got good reviews and works well. I like that it can tare, and measure in grams and ounces, and you can switch between grams and ounces with something on the scale.

https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Precision-Products-Digital-Minute/dp/B0007NIIOU/ref=zg_bs_289812_2

https://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ4000-4000g-Digital-Scale/dp/B004C3CAB8

33 bucks

I have this one. It stays plugged in.

https://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ4000-4000g-Digital-Scale/dp/B004C3CAB8

It's $27 on Amazon.

I like my Jennings CJ-4000, but it seems to be pretty expensive at the moment on Amazon. I got it for ~$26: https://smile.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ-4000-Compact-Digital-Adapter/dp/B004C3CAB8/.

It only does .5g increments, but it updates quickly.

... or $26, or even $17 if you're real tight on cash, but who's counting right?

I've had this scale for a few years and haven't had any issues with it. It's nice and sturdy. FWIW, it's the same scale used at a few local thirdwave coffee shops here.

1. Use a calculator such as this one to determine your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).
   
2. Pick a calorie intake 10-20% below your TDEE to lose weight
   
3. Get at least 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight
   
4. Aim for at at least 20-25% in fat
   
5. Keep things the same for 1-2 weeks and make adjustments until you're losing between 1-2lbs per week
   
   Use tools such as www.myfitnesspal.com for tracking, use a food scale to measure foods as measuring cups can be inaccurate, and make sure to track everything at least initially. You'd be surprised how quickly things like sauces and whatnot can add up calorie wise.
   

Both AP and chemex are great methods for great coffee. I have both plus a french press. I use the AP daily because it's the quickest and hard to screw up. I suggest the inverted AP method (google around for videos). The only downside is that you can only brew one cup at a time, and it's not a huge cup at that. Which is part of the reason i bought a chemex, so i could make larger batches for groups of people. I usually reserve the weekends for chemex since it's more involved. It took me several tries before i learned what techniques work well. In terms of which is better, the chemex makes the smoothest cup. I also find the ritual of brewing with the chemex soothing and challenging at the same time.

Equipment-wise you'll need a good scale for both. I use a Jennings CJ 4000 (http://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ4000-4000g-Digital-Scale/dp/B004C3CAB8) and am happy with it. Only downside is the 0.5g resolution but I've never noticed it to be a noticeable problem in terms of brew taste/strength. If you go the chemex route you'll also need a gooseneck kettle to ensure precision when pouring. I use the bonavita electric with variable temp (http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Variable-Temperature-Electric-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40) and I love it, especially for the convenience and price.

So, my recommendation would be to try/get both as they are each suited best for different situations. I'm a fan of having options and am always evaluating other gadgets to add to the collection as i consider it to be a hobby of sorts.

You will enjoy it. I started with an electric blade grinder and upgraded to the Encore and it made a massive difference. I used to get tons of sediment out of my french press, now I get practically zero.

EDIT: I'm not sure what you're using to measure your beans but this scale has been great:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004C3CAB8/

Link for the lazy

Here's the one I use, complete with an AC power cord - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004C3CAB8/

> Would like to find a digital scale that plugs in and measures in grams ounces fluid ounces at least

A "fluid ounce" is a measurement of volume, not weight; a scale isn't going to measure fluid ounces. https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-ounces-and-fluid-ounces-224303

Honestly I think just about any kitchen scale will work. Anything above $30 and you're just paying for something that looks cool. As someone put it in another thread, if it doesn't touch the coffee or the water, it doesn't pay to go high end. I use a Chemex three times a day and I use this scale.

My pleasure.

You may not want to hear this (I know my dad didn't), but you really want to be weighing everything (personally, I like the Jennings scale). Its all about the water to coffee ratio (16:1 is my preferred go to).

So if you brew with 720 grams of water then you'd want 45 grams of coffee. I am sorry, I don't know what that is in ounces.

I literally just brewed a Chemex with 25 grams of coffee and 400 grams of water and it filled up my 12oz mug to the brim.

I've had the Oxo for years without issue. I use the backlight sometimes but have never had a need to detach the display. I'm probably going to replace it with this one, since its higher resolution. I started really getting obsessed with espresso and would like to measure my coffee to parts of a gram.

Everyone else has most of the bases covered so here's amazon links if you can't find things at second hand stores/dollar stores/clearance centers.

Storage Containers
Ace Hardware
[Target] (http://www.target.com/p/kerr-1-quart-32-oz-wide-mouth-mason-jar-set-of-12/-/A-14527331)
Rather than getting tupperware get a flat of quart size mason jars. Doesn't spill in transport, works in the freezer, microwave proof without the lid, and doesn't absorb smells or warp with frequent use.
*Alternative is to save glass jars from groceries and wash them for use


Coffee Maker
Get a single cone coffee brewer if you drink coffee. You can buy it on amazon or find it in the coffee section at walmart/target/any grocery really.


Can Opener
Don't buy a can opener at the dollar store or CVS in a bind. Just order this one. I've had it for years with frequent use.

If you have an ikea nearby, they also have a great kitchen section especially for inexpensive flatware sets.

I always keep an EZ-DUZ-IT around for small cans or as a back up. Hasn't failed me yet.

Wrath because I SWEAR I am going to chuck a can directly at my fiance if I don't get a functional can opener here soon! (He bought the last one, and he's the one strong enough to use it).

You need this. http://www.amazon.com/EZ-DUZ-IT-Deluxe-Opener-Black-Grips/dp/B0071OUJDQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416739882&sr=1-1&keywords=can+opener

Actually, Swing Away was the old name that got bought by a company making cheap can openers. They bought the design and the name but use cheap metal. For the modern equivalent get an EZ-DUZ-IT, which is made in the USA of the same high quality parts (and I think in the same factory) as the old ones.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071OUJDQ/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_zibnub1QWNHTD

EZ-DUZ-IT. Careful about counterfeits though.

EZ-DUZ-IT works every time.

I bought this one last year. It's easy to use, and built like a tank.

EZ DUZ IT - well made and will last you forever. Here's an amazon link.

link.

Oh no! But yes, 49mm is what you want to look for. And I'm actually not positive. If you don't have one already, I would get a scale to dose out coffee and weigh shots. I use my hario scale: https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU which is not optimal but gets the job done. I typically dose at around 14-15 grams and tamp that so however full the portafilter is at 14~ grams tamped is how full i fill. Sorry I couldn't be more specific!

I own a virtuoso and I love it. Grind quality for anything that isn't espresso is going to be about as good as anything that isn't $2700. The Lido is of course a great grinder, but I really think the no-effort aspect of the Virtuoso is underrated. I just made three cups of the same coffee in different ways - a side by side test is so much better than comparing days apart. I don't think I would have done that if I had to manually grind it out each time.

Pourover, V60 or Kalita are your best bet. Kalita is more forgiving but I think the V60 is more flexible once you get used it it. You should also look at getting an Aeropress - it is what got me used to stronger coffee and ultimately espresso.

Other gear, if you're doing pourover you need a gooseneck kettle. This one is great if you can swing it, otherwise any gooseneck will do. A scale like this one will be your best friend too.

EDIT: Disclaimer: I would not plan on using either of those grinders on espresso. The Lido is certainly more capable for that specific task, but ultimately you will want a grinder for espresso use only for two reasons:

1). Grind quality is SUPER important for espresso, and the Lido might get you to mid-range in that capacity. Plus adjustabilty is an issue here, so while the Virtuoso can grind to espresso fineness, it can not take small enough steps to get a truly great cup.

2). Switching from brew to espresso is a pain, and it will decrease the quality of your espresso. You need to "dial in" espresso, which is finding a very specific grind setting and recipe for a specific bean. Switching back and forth will completely disrupt that process on top of just being a pain.

Now, both grinders will be fantastic for brew and I would highly recommend both of them for that purpose. The above just something to be aware of.

I really dig the Hario scale. It’s simple as hell and cheapish.

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU/

I use this scale and absolutely love it!
Hario Coffee Drip Scale/Timer
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GPJMOU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XKKDAb0NVWTQS

Happy brewing!!

I am happy with cheap eBay scales and a bit of silicone . The Hario seems good as it has. A timer https://www.amazon.ca/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duc12-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B009GPJMOU . There was. Some water proof scale that looks super slick but it's $200. Totally not worth it.

The answer to your question is really dependent on budget. A quick perusal through the sub will show you that the Aeropress is a popular option because it is one of the least expensive ways to get a solid cup of coffee.

If you have some cash to part with, it might be worth looking at setting yourself up with a pourover setup - I'd probably suggest the v60. You would need the v60, the hario buono, and you'd probably want a scale to weigh coffee (there are a LOT of options, many cheaper than what I've linked). You would also need to get a reasonably good grinder - check out the sidebar for a list of grinders. Yes, it's a lot of capital to get started, but the coffee is fantastic and the equipment is very durable. This equipment, properly cared for, could potentially outlast you in many cases.

There's also the standard drip coffee maker, but from my experience if you go that route you ought to just invest in the cheapest one. The quality coffee from most drip machines is pretty similar. A better question is what grinder to get - that will improve your brew quality across all methods. Again, sidebar has great advice, but a really popular grinder here is the[ Baratza Encore] (http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B00LW8122Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459250167&sr=8-1&keywords=baratza+encore+coffee+grinder) which you can sometimes find on their refurb page for discounted prices.

No matter what you choose - good luck and happy caffienation

I highly recommend the Hario Drip Scale. It's made for coffee, super easy to use, accurate, dependable, and good aesthetic design. Been using it for 2 years.

Edit: And while we're on the subject, you don't only want to measure your coffee beans. You want to measure your water temperature and get a consistent grind as well. This Bonavita electric kettle has always been good to me, as well as the Baratza Burr Grinder.

Man... I just had a nice reply typed out and cleared it somehow. Anyway, the short version was: I have an AWS BL1, I don't like it. Cheaply built. But it weighs accurately, so if that's all you care about? That's fine. It's very accurate, just crappy build and the popout screen seems silly to me.

I'd also throw in the Hario scale to your list. .1g, built in timer, nice build.

The more expensive scales are focused on pour-over methods, which is why they've got the timer. If literally all you care about is 'what does this coffee weight?' then the cheapest should be fine.

Plan on copping the [Hario scale](Hario Coffee Drip Scale/Timer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GPJMOU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_URGIzbP7SYCKC) since I'm scaleless at the moment. I also wanna save up for the Stagg EKG because I love it's look. Apart from that I might look into dipping my toes into the world of roasting!

Here's the thing..

Gooseneck kettle will last you forever and it is an absolute staple if you're going to invest in this hobby/truly enjoy this ritual.

I like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Hario-VKB-120HSVV60-Buono-Pouring-Kettle/dp/B000IGOXLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501770513&sr=8-1&keywords=hario+gooseneck+kettle

I also would recommend a scale that can weigh out by the .1 gram (or even more fine). Also a timer is important.

I like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Drip-Scale-Timer/dp/B009GPJMOU/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1501770540&sr=1-1&keywords=hario+food+scale

Kalita wave is very forgiving, great to learn on, and makes a wonderful cup of coffee. I use Kalita Wave each morning and Chemex on weekends.

Kalita Wave: https://www.amazon.com/Kalita-05033-Wave-185-Drippers/dp/B000X1AM0Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1501770620&sr=1-1&keywords=kalita+wave

Kalita Wave Filters: https://www.amazon.com/Kalita-22199-Filters-White-Japan/dp/B00BJBOITS/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1501770637&sr=1-1&keywords=kalita+wave+filters

Good luck buddy!

The Wave is good. Other easy methods for beginners would be the Aeropress or the French Press.

More importantly I would find a local roaster from which to get fresh beans. Quality beans will be a huge difference in flavor for you regardless of brewing method (though drip maker is still not recommended over other methods mentioned). I know you said you are frugal, as am I, but I found myself drinking LESS coffee when I was spending more on quality not because it was more expensive but because the flavor was so much more intense and fulfilling. I savored it more and instead of drinking 1200mL of store bought drip I was enjoying 700mL of Chemex (similar pour over method) tremendously more.

If you are anything like me you will take your time to build your equipment and slowly buy more. I enjoyed doing it this way because I could move as my tastes evolved. As you mentioned, investing in a good burr grinder should probably be the most important thing. I think my Baratza Encore is worth its weight in gold. After that I slowly added more brewing methods and this Hario scale. The weighing of your water and coffee is so much simpler when it comes to make a consistently great cup of coffee.

I know this is a long reply and a list of stuff but it is three years worth of accumulation, mostly thanks to Amazon gift cards at Christmas time! Most importantly, just enjoy yourself and your coffee! If you like a method others don't or don't like weighing things then don't. Your taste is yours, enjoy it.

So, par cook the veggies. I do this with my meats and veggies. I cook the portion I intend to eat that night longer than the portion I intend to eat later. It makes it much better in flavor and texture than cooking it completely and reheating it.

The other thing you can do is explore new veggies/new ways to prepare them. You can try riced cauliflower or riced broccoli. My personal favorite is mashed cauliflower. I add some goat cheese to it as well. Yum. I also own a spirlaizer that I use to make zucchini noodles. Try making zucchini fries. I use almond flour instead of bread crumbs (if you have a trader joes nearby it's much cheaper in store). You can also do it with eggplant.

Boom

I use this so far only with zucchini. I love it. I wonder what other veggies these would work well with?

https://www.amazon.com/Spiralizer-Vegetable-Strongest-Heaviest-Gluten-Free/dp/B00GRIR87M

It does the job. It does leave a few inches of zucchini pieces, but I have just been saving them and making zucchini and egg scrambles the next day. I have this one as well, but lost the part that makes the noodle size pieces. I actually prefer the hand held one, because there is more control. It's pretty sharp too, so you should be able to get your money's worth. Especially because summer time is approaching, and zucchini will be cheaper because it will be in season :)

> spiralizer

This spiralizer ?

I bought this one it was cheaper than the Paderno at the time. Very happy with it.

I have this one. It's awesome. I usually have squash like acorn and spaghetti squash with butter and brown sugar, but summer squash is more along the lines of zucchini so it isn't good for being sweet.

A vegetable spiralizer to make zoodles!
http://www.amazon.com/Spiralizer-Tri-Blade-Vegetable-Strongest--Replacement/dp/B00GRIR87M/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1414131384&sr=1-2&keywords=spiralizer

Bacon grease container!
http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-Stoneware-Grease-Keeper-Black/dp/B0017U5DZY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1414131409&sr=1-1&keywords=bacon+grease

I made them, it's crazy easy. I invested in a good spiralizer last year and I LOVE it. So worth the cost and it's leagues better than the cheaper ones.

So I started about 5 weeks ago and it can definitely be a struggle. This isn't a diet, but here is something that has helped me. One thing I have found is that Zucchini noodles are my lifesaver! I work a lot and we have mandatory overtime... the last thing I want to do is cook.

However, at the beginning of the week I precook chicken and spiralize a bunch of zucchini. I purchased the one in the link. When you are ready to cook it just throw it in a pan for 5 minutes with some olive oil and soon you have pasta! Throw in the chicken and a little of whatever sauce you have lying around and it is very filling and delicious. People may tell you not to do certain sauces. I just don't overdo it. I still want to have something edible and tasty!

Anyway, I am 5 weeks in and down 12 lbs with no exercise (yet). I still use MyFitnessPal to keep myself honest and have had to get into cooking -- something I never really did before. Thankfully this is working for me and I understand it may not for everyone. Hopefully this one trick will help you on those days that you just can't figure out what to eat. Which is all the time for me.

Keep it up and good luck to you!

/u/mxschumacher has a good idea but I think your first step aside from learning recipes is to acquire some basic cooking knowledge.

There are thousands upon thousands of cooking videos on youtube. Ones I would recommend (both for entertainment AND knowledge value) are Binging with Babish and Chef John.

You have things to learn when it comes to cuts. Do you know the difference between a chop, mince, dice, julienne, etc? Look them up, read about them if you don't.

Do you know all the methods of cooking? roasting, broiling, braising, boiling, frying, deep frying, baking, searing, etc? again, read up on those as well.

What do you know about equipment? I can give you a bit of a run down on this if you want to go super basic, Get a good non-stick skillet (T-Fal is usually a good bet.) A cast iron pan (up to you on size, but 8-10in is good.) Get a 3 qt sauce pot as well. I would normally recommend a stock pot but I'm not sure what facilities you have access to (including even that of a stove top. some more info on that would help me, help you.)

Knives. All you need is a chef's knife, and maybe a serrated knife for bread. You can do everything with a chef's knife. Other types of knives make certain tasks easier, but it can all be done with a chef's knife.

Utensils? Try and stick to wood or silicone with the types of pans I listed as metal utensils can ruin surfaces on non-stick and cast iron.

Get one casserole dish, and one baking sheet. If you for some reason need to have muffins, get a muffin tin, but otherwise don't.

Additional items? thermometer (one that has a long metal poker), strainer or colander (there are usable hand held strainers if you lack space for a colander.) Some type of seal-able container(s) for leftovers, try not to go for novelty items. Yeah that little metal doodad that can core a pineapple and create perfect slices is nice, but useless for anything but. Blenders are an okay item but I imagine you don't have the real estate in your kitchen. Spiralizers are a big item lately, so on and so forth.

There's also other slightly more advanced topics to cover, such as the importance of flavor depth, flavor balancing, things like the Malliard reaction, so on and so forth. You have a good amount of research ahead of you if you have a real interest in this. If you ever have questions though, please, do ask. I looooove to talk shop about food.

Most of all though good luck and have fun!

They tend to be really, really expensive. I have a box when I really want it, but imo its better to do two things

• use cauliflower as a rice substitute, there are a lot of caulirice recipes out there and its really simple. Don't worry, I used to HATE HATE HATE cauliflower, but nowadays I don't mind caulirice at all 1-2 times a week. There are some good cauliflower mac n cheese recipes too.
  
  
• get a vegetable slicer and make "pasta" out of veggies like zucchini. again, not exactly the same but a lot cheaper and less smelly, plus you get some veggies into you. I use this one http://amzn.com/B00GRIR87M

anyone own this? is it worth it? what do you make with it? recipes?

http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-1000203-Spiral-Vegetable-Cutter/dp/B00IIVRB3W

I definitely take recovery from weight lifting. I've never gotten into it enough to get past the "OMG I'm so sore I can't walk for two days!" part of it. But I miss running enough to feel like I need recovery from it...

Yesterday - good. Solid 13 hour work day, but still made zucchini spaghetti for dinner (Get a Veggetti seriously guys).

Today - Have to leave work at lunchtime-ish so that I can go to a witness meeting in the afternoon. Hopefully will pick up my car from the shop on the way home, maybe stop at the store? I am hoping to be home earlier than usual and maybe go to the gym before dinner, and then probably work at home later.

For something different and fun, try zucchini and a spiralizer. I use this simple one; it's like sharpening a pencil:
https://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W/ref=sr_1_12?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1512000697&sr=1-12&keywords=spiralizer

It goes great with stir fry.

In a kitchen gadget I like compact (takes up less space) and minimal moving parts (less to go wrong, easier to clean). For that reason I love this simple one!

It may not work on as many vegetables as the more expensive ones, but if the main goal is zucchini/squash noodles, it's the way to go

Veggetti and zucchini. Saute 4-6 min in fat of choice. Can't even tell I'm not eating pasta!

Zucchini noodles made with a spiralizer like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W

If you google zoodles recipes, you will find a couple methods. This is the one i use: http://againstallgrain.com/2012/07/30/zucchini-noodles/

I don't mind the al dente texture so i dont cook them further like the recipe suggests. I just sauce them and serve.

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W

It works extremely well for squash and zucchini. It was $6 at TJ Maxx but they have them at Amazon, Target, pretty much anywhere!

Ill put raw shredded cabbage into hot broth. The heat of the broth wilts the "noodles" ah bit. Zoodles work very well too. This helps with zoodles a lot! you can also get it a store that have as seen areas like Walmart. There are also noodles out there called
Nasoya Pasta Zero Plus usually in the fridge section of grocery store by the tofu. I have never used them but i like the may match the mouth feel of the noodles in Pho.

EDIT: Not sure if this will be seen but thought i'd add it any way. I recently made chicken noodle soup using cabbage instead of noodles and I was shocked at how much the cabbage mimicked noodles and tasted like campbells.

A couple basic ideas:

You can find recipes for mashed cauliflower that tastes like mashed potatoes. You can also rice it and use it as rice.

When I make hamburgers, I mix shredded zucchini in the ground beef (at a 1:1 ratio) when making patties and then season. It cooks up juicy and you can't taste the zucchini (kid and man approved).

You can also spiralize veggies like squash, zucchini, and carrot and saute to make a "pasta." You can use the name brand Vegetti or a basic julienne slicer.

My favorites are my slow cooker and my spiral veggie slicer.

Have you tried zoodles yet? I've actually switched from spaghetti squash to zoodles because they have more bite. I just spiralize a few zucchinis with my vegetti. There are other veggie spiralizers out there as well. If spaghetti squash isn't working out for you, this could be a good option.

I try not to eat pasta/bread/rice/potatoes, and have thought about this option http://amzn.com/B00IIVRB3W

A reusable nut milk bag. I got a couple different sizes, they're great.

A nut milk bag works well...

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W

I followed this recipe to a T, except the temps. I've found decarbing is more effective and efficient @ 240F for 45 minutes, and kept the oil at 200F. This resulted in a very effective product.

For straining, I've found nut milk bags (like this) work much better and cleaner than cheese cloth.

haha yeah it does sound kinda dirty but I guess they are used for making almond milk or something like that. I use them to make cold brew coffee. Its pretty much just a large nylon tea bag.

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Here is one on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W

I'm a fan of nut bags & heat resistant gloves. Much easier to get the oils out, IMHO.

• https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521748029&sr=8-3&keywords=nut+bag
  
  

Get a nut-sack and use that. I start with a gallon of milk, then dump the yogurt (after fermenting) into this nut-sack (for straining nut milk) and leave it hanging for an hour over a bowl (less or more depending on how you want it). Dump it out, done.

I used a few things, settled on this as easiest https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W/