my kitchen

I have found that I am fairly inconsistent when it comes to recipe documentation (sorry). To help you con cipher my rambling tangents and instructions, I’ve provided a basic list of some of my kitchen staples, how I handle ingredients, and a few of my favorite products.

Let’s start with the accessories. 

Kitchen-Aid. the queen of mixers and my partner in crime. You’ve been helping me procrasti-bake since sophomore year of college and I couldn’t ask for anything more. Someday, my sister may move back from Europe and take you back, let’s hope that day isn’t anytime soon. The Kitchen-Aid is my go to for cakes, cookies, bars and dough. Most of my recipes utilize a stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer. If creaming butter isn’t involved, you can probably get away with not using an electric mixer.

Vitamix. Aside from the occasional recipe that requires a food processor, the Vitamix is my go to. It can handle everything from smoothies, to sauces, to pancake batter and everything in between. I also use the dry attachment for gluten-free flours, like almond or oat.

Sil pads. Silicone baking pads to be exact. These are the only thing I ever use for cookies. You can also line a sheet with parchment paper if you haven’t got one, but they are fairly inexpensive and make a world of difference during clean up.

Food Scale. I use my food scale mostly for personal use, and less for recipe development. However, they are also fairly inexpensive and can be important for some recipes – like pizza dough.

Ingredients.

Flour. Never sifted, rarely leveled. If the amount is super important, I will use a food scale to make sure I get the ratios just right. I’m a big fan of King Arthur All Purpose Flour.

Milk. I’m a big fan of Califia Farms. I always keep their unsweetened almond milk in my fridge and I use it in everything unless noted otherwise. An example would be in my homemade cashew milk (duh) or something that calls for coconut milk.

Butter. I mean, er, butter substitute. While some of my recipes call for Earth Balance, I have recently found Miyoko’s and think it is the best tasting vegan butter substitute I have tried so far.  Recipes will call for “butter” at room temperature unless otherwise noted.

Sugar. Depending on your dietary needs, you can use organic cane sugar here if you are following a vegan diet. Trader Joe’s has a great selection of affordable organic sugars. Depending on your region, there’s also Fresh Thyme, Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc.

Vanilla. I have started making my own, but always use real vanilla extract. Stay away from that fake junk, even if it saves you a couple of bucks.

Arrowroot Starch. AKA how to make cookies without eggs 101. I had previously been using cornstarch as a thickening agent but switched to arrowroot starch. Both are acceptable from a functional standpoint.

Egg Substitutes. While I typically bake without them, I do eat them. Eggs – that is. The recipes on this blog use a variety of ingredients for egg substitutes. They include (but are not limited to) arrowroot starch, corn starch, tofu, flax seeds, chia seeds, apple cider vinegar, bananas and my personal favorite – aquafaba.