Make me a MacGuyver of the kitchen!

[Greebo]

Seeing as you don't think you could justify getting a pestle & mortar, get a one piece wooden rollingpin.

As well as rolling out pastry/dough, you can hit meat with it (to tenderise and flatten), or use it for crushing/bruising all sort of things (ice, biscuits for a cheesecake base, herbs, peppercorns, root ginger etc).

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Get yourself a cast iron griddle pan like this.

They are fantastic

Yeah, they're good, I use mine on the hob and in the oven, roast sweet potatoes, roast parsnips and stuff, then the veggies aren't sitting in the oil.

Be careful though, the handle gets bloody hot in the oven, and they're heavy to lift to start with, even more so when there's stuff in them.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Seeing as you don't think you could justify getting a pestle & mortar, get a one piece wooden rollingpin.

As well as rolling out pastry/dough, you can hit meat with it (to tenderise and flatten), or use it for crushing/bruising all sort of things (ice, biscuits for a cheesecake base, herbs, peppercorns, root ginger etc).

Hit stuff with tin cans, roll stuff with a wine bottle...

It's one of those things that I haven't got round to getting and I've lived without one for over five years...

Unless OP bakes a lot of quiches or biscuits...

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Wooden spoons
Fish slice/spatula for stir frying/omelettes etc
Storage jars for rice, lentils, flour, sugar and pasta - I keep them all in their original packets in the cupboards; it depends how much worktop space there is, I guess.
Slotted spoon for draining
Ladle for ladling
Colander
Sieve
Masher - get a decent metal one. it's possible to get a cheap and cheerful set of plastic kitchen utensils, but a sturdy metal one is better, I reckon
Whisk - I haven't used one of these in over five years, I don't think I possess one, use a fork to 'whisk' eggs for scrambled eggs or omelettes or whatever
A couple of big serving spoons
Kitchen scissors
Grater - get an all-in-one with different size holes, so you can use it for cheddar or parmesan, or nutmeg - I have two, I flat regular size one and a mini one for parmesan
Corkscrew/cap opener - absolutely essential
Tin opener
Measuring jug - if you're not a very practised cook, it's good to have a measuring jug to check the amount of liquid added to rice, water to stock cubes and so on.
Hand blender if you can afford it - never used one, I'd need convincing on this one
Plus I mentioned about a decent sharp knife on the other thread - more than one if you can afford it

Pantry items:
Tins of: tomatoes, chickpeas, baked beans, red kidney beans
Plain flour
Red lentils
Pasta
Noodles
Cous cous
Mustard
Long grain or basmati rice - and risotto rice - rice + veggie stock cubes + a couple of leeks or mushrooms or leftover chicken = easy peasy dinner
Sugar
Soy sauce
Salt
Black pepper
Vegetable oil
Olive oil
Dried herbs and spices, I recommend basil, chilli powder, cumin, garam masala, mustard seeds, turmeric, cardamom pods
stock cubes
jars of pesto
cans of tuna
couple of cans of soup for when the fridge/cupboard are bare and it's either raining and you don't want to venture out to the shops or it's a couple of days before payday and you're skint

 

[Lord Camomile]

Seeing as you don't think you could justify getting a pestle & mortar, get a one piece wooden rollingpin.

As well as rolling out pastry/dough, you can hit meat with it (to tenderise and flatten), or use it for crushing/bruising all sort of things (ice, biscuits for a cheesecake base, herbs, peppercorns, root ginger etc).

Cooking can require you to intentionally bruise things I have much to learn...

Hit stuff with tin cans, roll stuff with a wine bottle...

It's one of those things that I haven't got round to getting and I've lived without one for over five years...

Unless OP bakes a lot of quiches or biscuits...

The OP does not. Rolling pin does sound somewhat versatile though, and that's what I'm looking for with a kitchen this size. That said, there will probably be a fair few tin cans and bottles lying around the place

Yeah, they're good, I use mine on the hob and in the oven, roast sweet potatoes, roast parsnips and stuff, then the veggies aren't sitting in the oil.

Be careful though, the handle gets bloody hot in the oven, and they're heavy to lift to start with, even more so when there's stuff in them.

Showing my green ears here, but what exactly is the function of oil if those things are designed to keep your food out of it

 

[_pH_]

So, fill my kitchen!

indian takeaway menu
chinese takeaway menu
pizza takeaway menu
chishnfips takeaway menu

job done

 

[red rose]

Having been in a similar situation to the OP recently and having had a lot of experience with limited space I suggest that a seive negates the need for a colander really, a rolling pin is far from essential, as are scales imo but then the recipes I use tend to be passed down family jobs that either use 'cups' or are one I just know the measurements for.

However if you are looking for simplicity and dont like taking ages cooking I'd also suggest a hand blender.

AND Betterware...

http://www.betterware.co.uk/productdetails.aspx?pid=034706&cid=107&language=en-GB
http://www.betterware.co.uk/productdetails.aspx?pid=019314&cid=107&language=en-GB
http://www.betterware.co.uk/productdetails.aspx?pid=034554&cid=102&language=en-GB

My mom swears by the potato sack, the potatoes keep for months without growing stuff.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Having been in a similar situation to the OP recently and having had a lot of experience with limited space I suggest that a seive negates the need for a colander really, a rolling pin is far from essential, as are scales imo but then the recipes I use tend to be passed down family jobs that either use 'cups' or are one I just know the measurements for.

My mom swears by the potato sack, the potatoes keep for months without growing stuff.

The potato sack does look cool, but they're out of stock

I think a set of scales are a necessity at this point simply because I'm not a particularly experienced cook and won't be able to do these things by eye.

I recently discovered the joys of Scottish tablet at the Thames Festival, so had a look on the web to see if I could find a recipe, whereupon I have found it described as "the most dangerous recipe I have ever made in my kitchen"

Coooooooooooooooooooool

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

... Showing my green ears here, but what exactly is the function of oil if those things are designed to keep your food out of it

You want oil drizzled on top, so that they roast nicely, but the ridges mean that the roast sweet potato chunks or parsnips don't sit in the oil and make them too oily. You'd have to drain them more if they were sitting in a layer of oil.

 

[Lord Camomile]

So the oil helps the roasting? And you want it to be over the food, but you don't want the food sitting in the oil itself?