The 30-Minute Vegan - Mark Reinfeld [8]
Other special foods to stock up on include granola, pasta sauce, tomato paste, curry paste (check out Thai Kitchen’s product), coconut milk (beware of cream of coconut, which may contain dairy products), and cans of your favorite beans. Of course, there are old favorite condiments such as ketchup and mustard. 30-Minute Vegan chefs will also find it helpful to have a salad dressing on hand—either homemade or a store-bought variety.
Kitchen Gear
Many gadgets and utensils make cooking fun—and easy. It’s exciting and sparks creativity to have a wide selection of tools to work with. As with the vegan pantry, build your kitchen gear over time as your means allow.
Here are some essentials to begin with:
Knives: A good knife is the single most important tool in the kitchen. Having a reliable sharp blade to work with makes the difference between an enjoyable experience and a highly unpleasant one. It is less likely for an injury to occur when using a sharp blade. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines when it comes to sharpening and storing knives.
Start with an 8-inch chef knife. Other knives to include are a paring knife, for garnishes and peeling, and a serrated knife, which is handy for slicing bread and tomatoes. For stainless-steel knives, we like Henckels, Wusthof, and Victorinox. You may wish to consider investing in ceramic knives. They’re sharper than most steel knives, and they can last for years without sharpening. Ceramic knife blades are lightweight, easy to clean, leave no metallic taste or smell, and are stain- and rust-proof. Check out the Kyocera and Shenzhen brands.
Blender: We recommend investing in a good blender. You will thank yourself every time you whip up a smoothie or creamy pudding. They are also ideal for dressings, creamy soups, sauces, frostings, and spreads. Hamilton Beach makes a decent household brand. Vita-Mix and Blendtec’s Total Blender are top-of-the-line choices.
Toaster oven: This is a must-have for the 30-Minute Vegan kitchen. It takes less time to heat up, uses less energy, and cooks food faster than a regular oven. Many quick and easy dishes can be prepared on the baking tray.
Food processor: This is the tool to use for pâtés and spreads, and for grating large quantities of carrots, beets, cabbage, and other veggies. Cuisinart is a popular brand. There are even mini food processors, which come in handy for mincing garlic, chopping small amounts of nuts, or making small portions of spreads so you don’t need to get the big one dirty.
Juicer: Some recommended brands include Green Star, which sells possibly the best juicer in terms of minimal loss of nutrition. It extracts the juice of virtually anything, even wheatgrass, without needing to change parts. It can also process nuts, seeds, and grains. The Champion Juicer is another classic and it can be used to make nut butters and all-fruit ice creams. The Breville brand is another popular and highly rated juicer.
Here is a checklist of other gear, from aprons to zesters, to consider as you accessorize your kitchen:
Apron (bring your fashion sense to the kitchen)
Baking sheets and casserole dishes—avoid aluminum; we like stoneware
Bamboo sushi mat, for nori rolls
Basting brush
Cast-iron or stainless-steel pots and pans of various sizes (no aluminum or Teflon). You can start with a 3-quart pot, a 5-quart pot, and a medium-size sauté pan and build from there. Also, most stores offer a starter pack with several pots and pans, which is a great way to begin.
Cheesecloth or fine-mesh bags, for straining nut milks and other liquids
Citrus juicer—we use a handheld one that fits onto a small