Today KFL looks at the first in our series "Men in the Kitchen". A small city kitchen requires lots of planning and organization but that doesn't hold this guy back. Meet Tim, an enthusiastic resident of Manhattan for over 25 years. When I asked him why he left his native Mid-west for the Big Apple, he said, "I moved here because I was fascinated with NYC from the first time I visited, as a teenager, and knew I had to be in the middle of such an energetic, dynamic city.
Since then he has never looked back. Tim, his wife of ten years and their two kitties have learned how to live "compact" in their cozy Manhattan apartment. Every Saturday night Face Book friends eagerly await "THE MENU" when Tim posts the results of his vegetarian kitchen creations. A typical post goes like this:Tonight's menu: peppery pitted Greek olives; blanched green beans tossed in garlic, butter & smoked salt; rigatoni alla norma; an Italian pinot; dark chocolate & coconut flake squares. Come on over. I don't know if anyone has ever taken him up on the "come on over" but I have a feeling it going to happen very soon.Here's what he had to say:KFL: How often do you cook and what is your specialty?Tim: I cook, on average, 5 days a week. My specialty--difficult to answer because there's not just one. I like to think I'm pretty good at several dishes, rather than just one. So I will always go back to one of those several when I need a crowd pleaser.
K FL: What are the top 3 tools you can't live without in the kitchen?
Tim: Utility scissors. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't need them in the kitchen, and anyone who says they don't need them is crazy. Whether it's for opening difficult food packages, cutting through thick bunches of greens, cutting a pizza into slices or snipping fresh herbs, I need them. Secondly, I love my razor-sharp, forged steel chef's knife- duh! My
Henckels Pro S-Class Chef's Knife is my best friend, except for my wife!
Thirdly, I cannot live without my
Zojirushi Rice Cooker. Add the rice, add the water, add the herbs/spices, push the buttom and forget about it (as we say in NY). Perfect rice every single time--not too dry, not too soggy, just right. Plus it keeps it that way for hours after it's cooked. This thing has changed my life, I am so not joking!
KFL: If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be?
Tim:Much, much, much, much more counter space.
KFL: How did you learn to cook?
Tim: On weekends, I would sometimes get bored. I would tell my mom that and ask her what I could do for fun. She would tell me to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies or some other baked sweet. She'd tell me to read the directions, figure it out and if I had any questions she would answer them. Sometimes she'd ask me to help her with making dinner that night, so I often did.
KFL: Is cooking a pleasure or just a necessity?
Tim: Nothing but pleasure.
City cooking aficionados like Tim deal with limited storage by shopping for fresh ingredients each day instead of stocking up. Last year with the cooperation of their landlord they were able to add an 18" dishwasher by eliminating a cabinet. Even though they lost the storage it was worth it. At the same time they added some accessories to an existing pantry so they were able to make up some of that lost space with more functionality. More counter space remains elusive.
