kitchen toys in my kitchen

I love to go kitchen shopping.
 I could browse through restaurant supply stores for hours and hours. Of course---this is only without the kids. Ohh, don't misunderstand, the kids enjoy it too--but only when they can touch and play with everything. You know, things like wired whisks that are taller than they are. "Hey mom, look a magic wand!" Ahhh, I would love to actually use one of those whisks--they are cool! But, no--I don't have one of those in my kitchen. Below is a list of the fun tools I use very often that I don't find in every kitchen:

• Dough Scraper. Can't have just one, I have two. :) These are so fabulous for so many things.
• Wooden tools--work beautifully for anything from stir fry to candy. I think the only thing I don't use the wood for is a perfect over-medium egg. Just doesn't do the trick for that... I actually have a silicone spatula that I would use for that. But, it's not one of my favorite tools, since that is the ONLY thing I use it for... eh, could go in the 'give away' pile soon.
• Rolling pins. Can't have just one, I have two of these also. Why? Well... when you have a lot of people coming over--help is a wonderful thing! For pie crusts, I like the kind of rolling pins with handles. For bread doughs or pasta--just a simple straight roller works well. And when your kids want to 'help', they can do their own and you can move on.
• Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer--and my a beautiful 6QT bowl. I only have one of these. But, that's ok, my brother, who lives in the basement has a 4QT KA and it is sitting on the counter, right by mine so they both get used regularly. Ohhh the fun we have with these. Especially on Thanksgiving! You can imagine how many times the bowls get washed and re-used.
• Measuring cup/spoon sets. Can't have just one, I have at least 3, maybe even 4. Trust me, when you get cooking a large varitey meal--you are constantly using all different sizes in the same preparation. Two sets might be in the dishwasher, while I'm using the rest. Ok, so that might be a bit excessive, but do what works!
• Towels for Pastries & Everything. About ten years ago I went to a restaurant supply store and found these thin-like towels on clearance. They are much like a muslin light material, but softer. I bought 2 large packs and use them for a variety of things. Including covering the rising bread doughs & cleaning floors. (not the same ones of course.:))
• Bread Fabric. I don't even know what to call this thing, but it is wonderful! A few months ago, a sister gave me a folded up napkin-like thing and explained that I could use it to put in the bread basket and then fold the corners up to cover the bread. WOW, that has been a super fun thing to have in my kitchen. It's less linty than a normal towel, and it's attractive and reminds me of the olden days. I plan to make a bunch more of these. They would make super fun gifts. Oh..oops. I was planning to make that a surprise.
• 5 Gallon Twisting Bucket Lids. I have found that if I have smaller containers for flours, sugar, rice & oats, I am what seems like constantly having to refill the smaller containers from the big 5 Gallon containers. Eh--thank goodness for these new twisting bucket lids. They are cool! I now don't keep smaller containers in my pantry, but just go straight to the big buckets. They are even color coded! :) You know, red lid is for white flour--since being 'in the red' is bad and being 'in the black' is better so that is for whole wheat flour. Eh--do what works, huh. Thankfully they all fit in my pantry, otherwise I'd have to re-think the whole thing.
• Aprons. Many, many aprons. Actually, I don't know why I love aprons so much. I do notice that I'm very comfortable in an apron and sometimes forget to take it off before going to a party and when I'm hosting, it stays on all throughout. Ok, so that might be a little weird, but I just love that I can wipe my hands on the thing I'm wearing and know that it will not get ruined. Seriously, I have 8 aprons in my pantry right now. Really! I just counted them. Plenty is good. You won't be naked when you come help me cook for the party! :)