My favourite kitchen utensils

My favourite kitchen utensils make cooking safer and more pleasant.

Our green home is far more than just looking after the planet for the grandchildren, vitally important though that is obviously. It is also about preserving ourselves in this mad world.

That is the essence of a Cyan Zone; caring for the planet and ourselves.

Firstly there is our sanity. In order not to go totally crazy in South Africa, you really do need to start thinking about solar. Clearly the problems at Eskom are not going to stop any time soon; and the same must be said concerning the quality and availability of water^[3].

Here is a thought; instead of many white-elephant trinkets this Christmas, how about a single big one for the whole family? Is it time to start saving for a solar farm? You will not regret it.

And then there is our well-being. Your organic fruit and vegetables from the garden or your local REKO farmers' market are without equal whether you are talking about freshness, taste or the absence of toxic poisons; but in order to enjoy kitchen preparation of your produce you really do need certain implements. Here are a few of my favourite things that I use every week. I have excluded knives as they go without saying.

Whilst the quality of knives has improved in leaps and bounds and the price to go with it, a steel is an implement that I use every single day. Two or three swipes across a blade makes such a difference whether you are chopping greens, carrots or even carving up a bird before making butter chicken-curry.

A sharp knife is a must so my steel gets used several times every single day. My favourite kitchen utensils are like friends.

A decent potato peeler is truly hard to come by. I have used so many over the years and hated them, until I came across the inexpensive German device called a Famos-dunschiller that is a gem. It is ten years old, as sharp as ever and cost about three euros in Holland; around fifty rand.

Now I see it is 11 euros on bol.com and still worth every cent. It does not threaten your hand and is just the most useful gadget for peeling apples too. Alas I have never seen one in SA for some reason but they are freely available in Europe. Ask the family to bring you a surprise for Christmas.

• How is apple cider made?
  

This butternut peeler is also going to be hard to come by. Made in Japan, picked up by accident at an auction, it is a tool that is used weekly in our green kitchen. The sweetest winter squash, as they are called in America are allowed to ripen on the vine by which stage the skin is a nutty-brown colour and really quite difficult to remove.

Many recipes you will notice recommend that you roast first, and then scoop the pulp so that you do not have to peel. But using the oven is expensive these days, it takes much longer than the pressure cooker and the vegetables have a higher glycemic-index; read, they are more  fattening.

This butternut peeler is used every single week in winter; the beta carotenes from the pumpkin family are a must for those wanting to enjoy sparkling good well-being. That is especially true for diabetics^[1]. Never take them in supplements by the way; they increase the likelihood of malignant tumours. Let your food be your medicine as Hippocrates famously stated.

Whether to compost or mulch your vegetables is an interesting posit to consider; with butternut it's a no-brainer.

For years we followed recipes that called for lemon juice, not realising that the pulp and the skin are where many of the most important nutrients are to be found; for example, double the vitamin C and the limonin which has a profound effect on the inhibition of neoplastic-cell proliferation in the human colon. It is one of the terpenes used widely in traditional medicine and aromatherapy to prevent bowel cancer.

The little grater from a Hilton kitchen-shop is used several times a week; the zest goes into our hummus and many different dishes giving them a bit of zip too. It is the best way to prepare fresh ginger and turmeric for Eggs Hilton.

I am convinced that a steady small supply of those foods that inhibit inflammation and neoplasms, enjoyed before the day of reckoning is what makes for greater wellness. It does take time but rather a few hours spent in the garden and kitchen than sitting in the doctor’s rooms, worrying about what the latest blood tests will show. It does not just happen to "other people."

Emulsifiers and stabilizers

On the subject of the Big C there is very disturbing research appearing regularly now in the medical literature about emulsifiers and stabilizers causing malignant cell change. They are to be found in more than a third of typical grocery store foods. I have decided there is only one escape; I must get out my favourite kitchen utensils regularly.

It's late summer in South Africa, the season of mellow fruitfulness so I decided today to make green mealie risotto for the first time in several years. Two of my favourite kitchen utensils were used; it took about three quarters of an hour to rustle up dinner. Whole grains are high on our agenda; brown rice and pips gleaned from corn on the cob.

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My favourite kitchen utensils

My favourite kitchen utensils are the weapons that I use every week to speed up food preparation.

Equally of interest are my favourite kitchen appliances.

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56 Groenekloof Rd,

Hilton, KZN

South Africa

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Create a Cyan Zone at your home; one which complements blue areas for longevity with green for protecting Mother Earth.