Day 86 - An Ode to Mousie and My Rockin' Utensil Drawer

First, an ode to the mouse who met his Maker in my apartment today.

 

"Oh Mousie so brown, with black beady eyes,

Who in my hall mousetrap did meet his demise,

I write this sweet ode to you, Dear Mouse, I write this sweet ode to you.

 

You nibbled at oatmeal, you pooped on my counter,

You rascally rodent, you canister mounter,

I fond-ish-ly bid you adieu, Dear Mouse, I fond-ish-ly bid you adieu.

 

You went where you shouldn't, you nosed at the trap-y,

Until it went SNAP! and your day got so crappy,

I'm sad that your days were so few, Dear Mouse, I'm sad that your days were so few.

 

RIP, varmint.

 

 

For the record, he was not at all this cute.

 

NOW, on to more important things, like cleaning out my utensil drawer. Gadgets galore! Actually, in the interest of full disclosure, I've never really been enough of a cook to amass thousands of gizmos, but one can always pare down. What do you really need to prep food with a minimum of throwing, cursing, and myocardial infarctions? And what IS that spiraly doodad with the 12 attachments that I got for Christmas in college and have never used? And while we're on the topic, do I really need four kinds of salt and individual grinders for all my spices? I think not, Dear Reader, I think not.

 

I need:

- a can opener... to open cans....

- a peeler for carrots, potatoes, etc.

- a garlic press (love love love love love love love)

- a small strainer (ha! take that lumpy gravy!)

- a grater for the massive quantities of cheese I ingest on a daily basis

- two Big Sharp Knives and a sharpener, don't mess with me...

- 1 serrated bread knife

- 1 paring knife

- a whisk (though I wonder - can I get rid of this and just use a fork? I only whisk things like once a year. Thoughts?)

- a masher (again - this one had better be on it's best behavior or out it goes)

- wooden spoons & scrapers

- tongs (these are surprisingly useful)

- ladle

- slotted spoon

- spatula

- mini-spatula (again - surprisingly useful)

- pastry scraper (only because of my adventures in bread baking)

- cork screw

- food thermometer (because I can never get a chicken to cook all the way thru)

- pastry brush/baster

 

That's all I'm keeping. Now - my Dear Husband has one of those Fancy Wine Bottle Gadgets that sucks all the air out & reseals it to keep an opened bottle fresh. Being as we might get through a bottle of wine once a year in our house, I'm not convinced that this should stay. Let's all email him and tell him that - he'll love it. Got rid of stuff like the pizza crust cutter (this awesome thing called a "knife" does the same thing!), the ice cream scooper (there's a device called a spoon...), and a few other bits of flotsam and jetsam that I'm not entirely sure how to use. Next time, we'll have to chat about the Coffee Capers at our house, and the Magical World of Java. Mmmmm.... java......