I wanted to take a few minutes in this newsletter to share two kitchen items that I find myself reaching for over and over.  This week I was working on a couple of new recipes, and I was faced with peeling a butternut squash.  For years, and yes I do mean YEARS, I avoided all recipes which called for peeled butternut squash.  If you have ever tried peeling a hard winter squash with a regular kitchen knife, you will understand.  Then, I discovered a y-shaped vegetable peeler while staying at my sister's house.  WOW!  Suddenly, I was a whiz in the kitchen and able to peel just about anything in record time.  It took me a while to find my own, and now I own several of them.  Regular peelers that we are all familiar with are great for carrots, or any other vegetable that is long and straight, like cucumbers and zucchini - though I don't know why you would really want to peel these.  However, I never found the old fashioned peelers worked better than a knife on potatoes or anything else.  Y-shaped peelers are wonderful for any odd shaped or round fruits and vegetables.  They even make peeling a butternut squash an easy task. I find I reach for my y-shaped peelers more than any other. Click here to find to find one for under $10 - a great investment for your kitchen. 

 

 

 

 

Another tool I really like is a little electric whisk.  Seems like such a little thing, but it really makes my life easier.  I have had a variety of different ones over the years, and I have found most of them to be about the same.  We make a quite a few gravies and sauces in our house to serve over potatoes, Soy Curls, tofu and vegetables.  A little electric whisk saves me quite a bit of time and seems to eliminate the lumps that are often associated with gravies.  For under $10, you can pick one up and add it as an easy-to-store, often-used kitchen gadget.  Once you have one, you will probably find quite a few uses for it.  Sometimes, I've even found them in my local dollar store, so keep an eye out when going through any kitchen gadget section, or click here to find one you can order.