Gadgets galore

As I get older, I find myself asking for more practical gifts when my birthday & Christmas comes around.  I used to ask for perfume, picture frames, & the fashion-fad-of-the-moment, but my taste has sure changed in a matter of years.  I'm now a 30-year-old single woman who loves to cook & entertain.  It suddenly became very important to me that I have platters & dishes to accompany the food that I work so hard to prepare. Kitchen gadgets never cease to amaze me, either.  I used to watch my mother & mamaw (her mother) peel vegetables with a knife.  The first time I tried that in my teens, it took me 15 minutes to peel a squash, & I cut half of it off in the process.  I opted for a veggie peeler, & it has yet to let me down. Immersion blenders fascinate me.  I love the fact that you can now blend a soup right in the pot.  The salad spinner has saved us from soggy lettuce. The Keurig gives us a single cup of coffee.  The microplane zests & grates, allowing us to jazz up anything from dressings to marinades to entrees.  Perhaps the most treasured gadget in my kitchen is an old-fashioned sieve.  My mom gave it to me recently so that I could use it to drain quinoa.  Sure, I have a colander, but the wonder food would just slip right through the cracks.  I smile every time I use that sieve, as I see my mother in it.  She would put her freshly shelled pecans in it to remove any pieces of grit or shell that may be stuck in it.  Now, it's in my kitchen.  I use it for my quinoa & any other fine grains that I don't want to end up in the garbage disposal.  This sieve probably cost $2.00 in it's heyday.  Back then, that was a significant amount of money.  To me, though, it's priceless, as it was touched my the hands of my mother, grandmother, & great grandmother. What do you value most in your kitchen?  There are so many fun, quirky, time-saving kitchen gadgets out there & interesting stores devoted to them.  I still believe the best ones are those that are time-tested & part of the family, even if they *do* have to be hand washed.