Moon Unit will be moving out into an apartment in about 6 weeks (she’s been in a therapeutic residential community for over a year).
She’ll be 500 miles away from the family, and responsible for her own meals for the first time in her life.
We’re helping her get set up with the apartment - basic furnishings, cookware etc, - and she knows how to cook, but has never had to do the meal planning or anything. She won’t have a very large food budget, either. Her recreational cooking has tended towards desserts, and she’s got a couple of good how-to cookbooks for those, but she needs to do real food as well - something a step above Purina Musician Chow [sup]tm[/sup] (as a friend of ours called ramen from, well, his days as a musician).
Also ideas for what we need to get her for a basic kitchen setup. She has a nice set of knives already. I’ll hit a thrift store for some pots and pans and a basic set of cooking utensils. What slightly less-obvious things would you really, really miss if you had to do without them?
People’s tastes are so different, it’s hard to give you recipe advice. But a lot of single young adults like to make a big pot of something once a week. Chili, stew, pulled pork for sandwiches…Try to think of one-pot meals that she likes and that keep reasonably well in the fridge.
I am a big fan of those silicone flippers with the angled edge. Great for getting under stuff like eggs and pancakes, but I also love a flipper with a nice totally straight edge that will get fond off the bottom of a pan.
Cutting boards are key to wanting to cook, imo and the trick is to find one that is as large as possible to maximize your worksurface but is light enough that you can carry it around easily and most importantly grip it securely with one hand while you scrape whatever you cut into the pot. Too large or too small and they never get used.
Microplanes are real handy for zesting citrus, chocolate and spices like nutmeg.
Mini prep bowls, mini prep bowls, mini prep bowls. Nothing makes you feel more like a four star chef than having all your ingredients and spices prepped and bowled ready for you to add to dinner. Keeps you organized and the space clean which makes cooking fast and pleasant.
Bench scrapers are great for easily moving things like chopped onion, scallions, herbs etc from the cutting board to prep bowls or the dish itself. Also great for manipulating and dividing doughs.
White kitchen towels. I have a laundry bag on a hook attached to the side of the counter and a stack (like 20+) of white towels in the sideboard cupboard. Wipe down counters and spills with the towel, throw it in the laundry bag and grab another towel from the cupboard. Throw the whole bag in the washing machine when it’s full and bleach 'em white again.
When I am contemplating buying something more expensive or that takes up counter space, I write it on a list I keep in the kitchen and every time I wish I had it for a project, I mark it on the list. If an item gets 5 or more tallies in less than a year, I feel confident that I can buy it and put it to use regularly.
I have a set of pots that have straining lids that come with them. Well, one on the saucepan and one on the big pot. Yesterday I was at my mom’s using her regular saucepan without a straining lid and I was legit pissed off about it - I could either strain my noodles using the lid, while dropping a bunch of noodles in the sink. Or I could use a strainer which I’d have to first hunt for and then wash. DO NOT WANT.
Make sure she has multiple cutting boards so she gets in the habit of not cutting meat and not-meat on the same board. I have a set like this and they’re super useful.
I have an electric stovetop so I have a set of stove burner covers to go over the burners. I don’t cook much, so it keeps them clean while I’m busy not using them. I burn them from time to time (sometimes you turn on the wrong burner…) so I bought two packs so I can replace them easily. It’s also good for protecting the burners when you want to use the stove for extra work space. If she gets these, remind her to remove the one that goes over the oven exhaust (the back left?) when she uses the oven. I don’t know how this works in a gas stove but probably similar.
I get the burner covers at Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is great for kitchen implements! Extra sets of measuring cups and spoons are always good, if she has room, for when you need the same measurement of wet and dry stuff. There’s really no need for anything fancy when you’re first starting out. Get stuff you can wreck and not feel bad about.
This just goes to show that different people use their kitchens in different ways. I have never used a stove burner cover. I’m struggling to image what the purpose is. Do you go so long without using your stove that it becomes visibly dusty?
I’ve never used them either, and I use the stove so frequently that I suspect it would be a pain to take them off all the time, but I have multiple cutting boards with burner imprints burned onto them because I put a cutting board on a burner I thought was cool and it was not. Could be useful!
Back when I had an electric stove, I had them because I am a sloppy cook and they helped keep the other burners clean. I can throw a burner cover in the dishwasher - cleaning the stove itself or a burner I’ve spilled sauce on is a pain in the butt. They also give you a nice flat surface to, for instance, set a spoon rest on if you are simmering something for a long time and need to stir occasionally.
My daughter moved out as soon as she finished college. Last Christmas, the only thing she asked me for were Chrissy Teigen’s cookbooks ***Cravings ***and Hungry for More.
As a 22 year old, this is what I couldn’t live without (assume the existence of the usual tools: flatware, measuring cups, bowls, etc.)
Tools
A medium/large stainless steel cooking pot, for boiling water for pasta.
With this I made “one pot meals” all the time: boil spaghetti, add sliced sausages, put the lid on and pour off the water when done (skip the strainer/collander) then add spaghetti sauce straight from the jar, into the hot pasta, then warm up a little more on the stove if need be. NB I still have this same pot nearly 30 years later. It’s in 100% condition and we use it every day!
A set of nesting stainless steel bowls for mixing baking ingredients. The largest one serves as a popcorn bowl.
Cast iron pan. These are indestructible, cheap and if properly “seasoned” and maintained, can actually be non-stick. Use to brown meat / make omelettes / saute veggies. Can be used for “one pot” meals, see above.
Microwave: For popcorn, reheating leftovers
Toaster oven: For toasty sandwiches, pizza, even for baking brownies. Some of these come with a baking pan for brownies, frozen fish, frozen chicken patties, etc. Much better than a toaster, because you can do so much more with it. Laying the bread horizontally means you don’t just toast bread, but melt butter on it / toast cheese, bake small items, roast fish… And it’s cheaper to operate then a full oven.
Recipes
Pasta…see the “one pot” recipe above.
Brownies: Typically there’s a recipe on the back of a bakers’ chocolate box.
Biscuits: Everyone should have their favorite biscuit recipe.
Fried Rice: Use the pan for meat, eggs and veggies (onions first, add diced carrots and peas later). Add rice that you made in the pot, then oil and sauce, and stir fry it all together.
As far as cookbooks are concerned, I’d probably go with the Alton Brown “I’m Just Here For the Food” pair (cookingand baking) as good starting points.
I’d say that good measuring cups and spoons are a must-have. Oxo makes good ones in my opinion.
Also, some kind of instant-read thermometer is a good thing to have- I have a Thermapen, but they’re spendy. Lavatools Javelin is a highly rated alternative for a LOT less cash.
At that age I did a lot of frozen pasta (especially tortellini with cheese/meat) and frozen veggies. I boiled the water and then cooked them all together. Sometimes I would put pasta sauce on the after cooking, sometimes just grated cheese. Cheap, easy, and moderately healthy (if you don’t skimp on the veggies.)
With everything already on the internet, I’ve never been a huge fan of cookbooks, but they never hurt either.
If she’s never done a lot of cooking, get her a Crock Pot or Instant Pot. If you’re going to be with her for the first day or so, you could even show her how to make something easy. Fill up the crock pot in the morning, turn it on, go run some errands and come back to dinner.
At the very least, you could give her a few easy things to make with it. Beef Stew, Pulled Pork/Shredded beef etc and some rice/noodles/potatoes is all pretty easy.
I use the internet, but yeah, same thing. Normally I’ll print out a couple of recipies I like and sorta combine them or take one and make a bunch of changes as I go. In either case, it’s annoying when I go to make it again and don’t remember what changes I made. If I’m thinking about it, I’ll jot them down.
The Betty Crocker Cookbook is one of the first I ever received back in my distant youth and I still return to it periodically for a quick overview of the good old tried and true recipes. I still use their chocolate éclair recipe.
ETA: Re equipment, to the other fine suggestions already made I would add a couple sturdy cookie sheets which can double as hotel pans, and a pyrex 9" x 13" casserole. I use these things a lot.
