Building a Starter Kitchen

After finishing grad school, I moved from NYC to a new apartment in San Francisco and had to set up my kitchen from scratch. I think this is an experience that most twenty-somethings go through when living on their own for the first time.

So, what items are needed to get a kitchen up and running? This varies depending on what types of food you like to cook, the size of the kitchen, and the budget for kitchen supplies. Because I had limited kitchen space in my cozy new apartment, I tried to be minimalistic when it came to purchasing new kitchen equipment. I looked for kitchen supplies that I knew would be used often to prepare a variety of different dishes. Here are the essential items that have been really useful  in my little starter kitchen.

 

Knives

I purchased a knife block set from Amazon.com that came with 5 different stainless steel knives. Storing knives in a block helps to keep the knives sharp and organized. I use the 6 inch chef knife and the 3.5 inch paring knife most often.

Cutting Board

I had two different plastic cutting boards…a green one for vegetables and a white one for meat.

Pots and Pans

I shared an apartment with roomies, so I did not have much cupboard space for storing my kitchen supplies. I found that a pot and pan wall hanger was a stylish solution to creating more kitchen storage space. When shopping for pots and pans, I kept in mind which dishes I planned to cook most often and I purchased pots and pans  that could be used for multiple purposes. 

            -10 inch non-stick frying pan (frying eggs, making crepes, searing steak, etc.)

            -8 quart stainless steel stock pot (cooking spaghetti, making soup, etc.)

            -12 inch wok (stir frying, steaming fish/vegetables, etc.)

            -5 quart hard-anodized aluminum with nonstick interior dutch oven (used for braising  

             meat, cooking stew, frying chicken/eggrolls/samosas, etc.)

            -1.5  quart sauce pan (boiling eggs, cooking sauce, heating small portions of food, etc.)
            -Large non-stick cookie sheet (baking cookies, baking asparagus, baking potatoes, etc.)

Kitchen Utensils
 A 5 piece wood or bamboo (so it won’t scratch the pan and won’t melt) kitchen utensil set, including a stirring spoon, soup ladle, and a spatula for flipping food

Colander for draining pasta and washing vegetables

Measuring cups and measuring spoons

Garlic press (My favorite is the $5 press from Ikea, which works as well as more expensive brands) I used to always chop garlic by hand, but I'm so glad that I discovered how convenient this tool is. It saves me so much time!

Vegetable peeler

Can opener (I like using the 'safe edge' can openers which do not leave a sharp edge on the lid of the can. This is supposed to be safer, more hygienic, and allows the lid to be placed back on the can for storage)                                                                                                        

Bamboo or stainless steel steamer...I recently purchased a bamboo steamer, and I love it so much. I have used it so many times already.    

The above kitchen supplies were all I really needed to set up a versatile kitchen where many delicious meals could be created  :)