On the Counter
The gold-standard water filter: The Royal Berkey (with additional fluoride filters)
The best, most economical and eco-friendly water filter out there. You’ll get the royal treatment! This water filter removes dirt, pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals, viruses, pharmaceuticals, chlorine, and even fluoride and arsenic with the added PF-2 filters. The best part is that unlike Reverse Osmosis, Berkey filters leave in all the beneficial minerals that make your water taste great.
I call this bad boy my Apocalypse Filter because I know I could fill it with any kind of water, and it would come out clear. Just check out the home water test I did with different filters:
VitaMix 5200 Series Blender
This puppy was on my wish list ever since I lived at home. My grandmother and my mom both have one, and theirs have lasted decades. Literally decades. As of this year (2017), I’ve owned my 7 years, and it still works good as new. This quality blender can pulverize anything, including turning sugar into powdered sugar. It can make soup and butters, salsas, ice-cream. If you blend veggies, broth, and spices on high for 7 minutes, it will come out piping hot, but is still considered a raw food.
French Press
I love using my French press to make 4 minute coffee. Bring the water up to a simmer, pour the water over the coffee grounds, and depress the plunger after 4 minutes. Ta-da. Coffee. :)
Hamilton Beach Coffee Grinder
This little coffee grinder has served me well the last two years. It’s simple to use with just one button and doesn’t take up much space. It also works well for grinding spices.
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides 20 oz.
My opinion is that we can all use a little help for our hair, nails, skin and joints at any age. I’m of the mind that if you can add collagen or gelatin to anything, you should. I’ve tried many brands, and this is my favorite. It is tasteless and dissolves instantly in hot water. I can be enjoyed in cold beverages, too, and is also great in soup.
Fixate Gel Pads
I swear you’ll fall in love with this inexpensive little invention. It’s a gel pad that was created in Europe, and it has some sort of micro-nano-something technology. But basically it’s super sticky without actually leaving residue! I use it in my kitchen and my car to secure my phone for reading recipes or using GPS. It will be the best $2 you ever spent.
Pots & Pans
Le Creuset 11-3/4″ Enameled Skillet
This is my daily driver. Solid. Reliable. Non-stick. Easy to clean. Indestructible. It lives on my stove-top permanently and will last a life time. Like a fine wine (and my mom), cast iron only gets better with age.
Le Creuset 9″ Enameled Skillet
My trusty second vehicle. Just as solid a performer as my larger skillet, but perfect for frittatas and small portion dishes. I use it a lot for breakfast and side dishes.
Le Creuset 2-1/4 Quart Saucier
Once you cook in a saucier, you’ll never go back. What makes a saucier a saucier are the rounded sides. Unlike a pot which has right angles, a saucier is rounded, which makes for easy whisking, stirring, and spooning. (And who doesn’t like spooning?)
Le Creuset 8-Quart Covered Stockpot
In my kitchen, this is the perfect size for making soups and boiling noodles. While I use my cast iron more often, I enjoy this stainless steel stockpot for simmering lots of liquid. It’s a solid performer and beautiful to look at on the stove.
Le Creuset 7-1/4 Quart French Oven
Oh, French oven, how I love thee! My French oven is indispensable. Just like all cast iron, I can transfer this vessel seamlessly from stove-top to oven. It comes with a beautiful heavy lid, which seals in heat and moisture and flavor. This vessel is perfect for cooking soups, curries, biryani, paella, roasting meat, stir-fries, meat pies, and more. I would not be able to cook the majority of my recipes without this amazing and versatile pan.
Stainless Steel 20-Quart Stock Pot
What would I do without my trusty stock pot? By far my largest vessel, this reliable even-heating companion comes out of the cabinet every 2-3 weeks for another round of stock. Since I always make continuous broth, this stock pot will sit on my stove top simmering happily for 4-5 days straight, full to the brim with chicken stock or beef broth.
The Classic Granite Water-Bath Canner
Who hasn’t seen one of these in their mom’s or grandmother’s storage? This was the first canner I ever got in order to preserve a huge boon of harvested tomatoes that I got when I was 20 years old. I am from the American South, so I’ve never had a need to can like those Northerners, but I found myself out of freezer space and WITH a canner. What’s a girl to do but put up 2 years worth of tomatoes? Read the story here
All American 21-1/2-Quart Pressure Cooker Canner
This mama holds a whopping 19 pint jars or 7 quart jars. My freezer space is precious, so I use the canner to stock up on shelf-stable bone broth and produce. You can also use it to pressure cook a roast in less than half the time! I love this brand because it’s high quality and made to last. Want to see it in action? Get my Pressure Canning Guide and watch my video here.
In the Cabinets
I have many cookbooks and essential oils in my cabinets.
Kombucha Brewing Supplies
- Buy a kombucha Mushroom culture (SCOBY)
- Buy this kombucha crock
- Buy other kombucha crocks
- Buy fermentation caps
- Buy organic kombucha tea
Use a heating mat to keep your kombucha at the perfect ambient temperature for brewing!
I like to use organic cane sugar for my sugar-base.
Organic Spices
I source the majority of my spices from Pure Indian Foods. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having high quality spices in order to have great tasting food. I’ll never forget the realization I had when I switched from old, bland McCormick spices to fresh, flavorful, quality-sourced spices from Pure Indian Foods. My food suddenly tasted 100 times better. It was almost like I became a better cook overnight. Pure Indian Foods sources their spices from organic small family farms in India, and the owner goes to India every year to visit the farms and get to know the people growing the spices. Many of these spice farms have been there for hundreds of years. The FLAVOR and AROMA of Pure Indian Spices are incredible. Obviously, I highly recommend them!
