We're just now getting into the groove of summer cooking. At our house, that means we're cooking everything we can on the grill, and whenever possible, we're not cooking much at all, making salads and eating as many raw vegetables as we can.
Over Memorial Day it occurred to us that there are three kitchen tools we reach for really often in the summer. We've recommended them to dozens of friends, so we figured it was time we shared them with you, too.
None of these are fancy gadgets -- just all really useful items to have on hand this summer. Here's our top 3, but we want to hear about your must-have tools for summer, too.
The Tool That Helps You Eat Healthier
We've all seen the recipes online that recommend swapping julienned vegetables like zucchini for pasta, making dishes lighter and less carb-heavy. We always loved that idea, but never had a tool that allowed us to easily julienne (our big, heavy duty mandoline can do it, but is a chore to haul out and use). Last summer we ordered a simple julienne peeler, and we've used it dozens of times since. It's lightweight, cleans easily and quickly turns vegetables into thin strips. Amazon sells the one we own and recommend for $14.
The Handy Scissors That Are Fun to Use
We first learned about Fiskars -- the celebrated scissors brand, much loved by crafters -- when Clay read Brains on Fire, an excellent book about word-of-mouth marketing. Years later, we learned that Fiskars released a kitchen line, and the company sent us a few of their scissors. The scissors are excellent, but it's these kitchen shears that we fell in love with. They're compact, incredibly sharp, and we find ourselves reaching for them all the time to cut herbs, or to run through salads to make everything bite sized. Fiskars kitchen shears are available for $17 on Amazon.
The Pretty Mandoline
Our Japanese mandoline has been in our kitchen for a few years now, and it definitely gets the most use in summer. We reach for it all the time when we're making salads, or when we want to serve beets or turnips raw (we're getting a lot of turnips these days in our CSA, so it's especially handy). Plus, it's pretty and available on Amazon for $20.
So here's our question for you:
What kitchen tools do you find yourself constantly reaching for in the summer?
