Rachael Zarda

I’m on the downhill slope of my twenties, and although I’m far from gourmet chef, I appreciate a good meal and enjoy the process of cooking one. I’ve been living on my own for nearly 5 years now and have never had the luxury of having an overabundance of kitchen storage.

I’ve made some mistakes as far as quality goes. I haven’t collected everything I’d like to have in my dream kitchen (looking at you, gold flatware). But I have discovered that there are certain items that it’s been worth spending a little extra money on for the amount of times I’ve used them over the years.

Joanna of Cup of Jo wrote about her five items she always likes to have on hand in her kitchen food wise. Do you have a list? Mine would be eggs, nut butter, Trader Joe’s salsa verde, Udi’s bread, and avocado, without a doubt. Didn’t even have to think about it. Admittedly, I did have to take some time to compile my 5 kitchen appliances/items I’ve come to value most, but I finally have a good list.

Baking dishes | A few beautiful baking dishes that you can be used oven to table has served me well. For entertaining in your own home or transporting a dish to a pot luck at a friend’s house, these will get lots of use and look good while they’re at it.

Blender | I really wanted a Vitamix blender. I wanted it for smoothies, nut butters, juice etc, but I could not get over the hefty price tag. So I settled for a middle of the road blender, then wound up getting a food processor and then a juicer soon after. Having one good quality piece would have made way more sense financially, functionally, and spatially.

Nonstick pan | One pan meals are where it’s at! I have a slew of pots and pans, but use just one of them almost exclusively. In your twenties, chances are you’re only cooking for yourself and maybe one or two other people. Find a good quality nonstick pan that is large enough to fit an entire meal. Some of my favorite one pan meals are

Cast iron skillet | If I could suggest one kitchen item, I would tell you to get yourself some cast iron. You can literally make everything under the sun in a skillet. My boyfriend loves steak in the cast iron and I love making artichoke dip, frittatas, and baked eggs.

French press | I use mine every morning. I’ve gone through my fair share of coffee machines and nothing compares to the ease and quality of taste than the french press provides. This goes hand in hand with purchasing good, fresh coffee. I’m no coffee snob, but the coffee really does make a difference. When I was using my drip coffee machine, I was making big pots and wasting a lot of coffee. The quality never tasted quite right and I really hated cleaning all of the parts, which meant a lot of days I was going though the Starbucks drive-thru and picking one up before work instead. That adds up fast. I’ve found that investing in a bag of local beans and using my french press for smaller brews has saved me a lot of time and money.

I’ve linked to some of my favorite products. I’d love to hear what your kitchen essentials are, let me know in the comments below!

Image via The Prop Dispensary