The Right Tool for the Job

For a long time, I made do with some hand-me-down kitchen supplies: the too-small frying pan that was losing its non-stickiness, the assorted wooden spoons—some burnt, some bent—and one small knife. Over the years, I’ve slowly rounded out my kitchen with better knives and pans but I don’t tend to buy a lot of kitchen paraphernalia. For one thing, I don’t have a lot of space to store equipment, and I have an unreasonable tendency to drool over the one-task-expensive-gadgets, not the ones I actually need.  It's like wanting to buy gowns, when what you really need are jeans.
In an effort to invest a bit in the things I need, I spent $48 dollars on a set of six lightweight metal bowls.

I’ve wanted a set of bowls like this for a long time. The glass ones I have are heavy, I don’t like stacking them together, I’m afraid of dropping them (yes, I can be a bit over enthusiastic in the kitchen!), and they’re not big enough. To be big enough, they’d weight twice as much. So I finally got what I wanted, and now I’m wondering why I waited so long.

I read once that we overestimate the happiness we get from the big things in life (a cruise! a fancy car!) and we underestimate the unhappiness of not fixing the small things (the door that bangs every time you use it, the broken window handle) and I find this holds true in the kitchen as well.  Having a set of lousy knives means you wish you had better ones every time you chop something.  Same with the bowls - every time I used one, I experienced the minor annoyance that it wasn't comfortable.  I don't believe in spoiling, but I now believe in having the right tool for the job. 

My kids have a kitchen drawer with their own equipment – the grater shaped like a mouse, the brightly colored measuring spoons and cups, the small rolling pin. The step stool means they can reach the counters.

Having tools their size, that they can enjoy using makes working together in the kitchen more fun for us all. My bowls aren’t nearly as colorful, but I’m looking forward to using them. And they’ll be easier for the kids to manage too.

Now, if only they didn’t come with all those stickers!