…but can you blame me? After months–no, years–of waiting and wishing, today I parted with $5.99 to add this beauty to my kitchen collection:
I have been wanting and needing a meat tenderizer for about a decade. No kidding. Every time I had to flatten a chicken breast by pummeling it with my rolling pin, I’d sigh and think, “If only I had a meat tenderizer.” I’d then take my frustration out on the hapless breast.
Why, you may ask, did I not simply purchase one a long time ago?
a) I kept forgetting, until I was mid-pummel.
b) I would remember just as I was leaving WalMart, and wild horses couldn’t get me to retrace my steps back to the kitchen aisle. (WalMart’s bad enough the first time.)
c) Somewhere down deep, I think I clung to the notion that meat tenderizers were reserved for the deluxe kitchen. I don’t know why. But don’t they seem fancy?
And so, the coveted Meat Tenderizer became both an object of desire and a symbol of deprivation. If we think that we can’t have something long enough, that idea settles into our psyche, and we get very comfortable not having it. We become afraid to obtain it and, subconsciously, keep it out of reach. Kind of a too-good-to-be-true mentality, you might say. So it was with me and this dreamy gadget; meat tenderizers were always for other moms. Until today.
And so, more than the Tenderizer, this post is really about Making Dreams Come True. What have you been dreaming about for years that would take just a little audacity, a little sass, a little moxy, dare we call it, to make a reality? Next on my list is a waffle iron. Don’t ask me why we’ve never had one. We just haven’t. But I smell Spring in the air, and with it, a time for change. For $29.99, the mother of all breakfast appliances could be mine. It’s gonna happen, my three faithfuls. I can feel it. And when it does, you’re all invited over for waffle/flattened chicken breast sandwiches. If the stars align, there might even be a flour sifter and candy thermometer in my cupboards by then. But we’ll see. One dream at a time.
I think I need to go and get me a meat tenderizer baby! I have never had one and I’m thinking I might need one. What I would like is a garlic press and a little olive/egg cutter and…oh boy, don’t get me started.
no waffle iron in the edler house either. although for valentine’s day i finally got a skillet with a lid. i had been wanting one of those for a couple of years. i’ve really been wanting a new set of measuring spoons. mine are plastic and they’re melted and warped from the dishwasher and probably not so accurate any more. but…i never remember until i get home from wal-mart or i’m making cookies.
glad to know i’m not the only one. 🙂
Don’t you feel like a real chef? I love those little gadgets that put a happy sigh in my day. Pampered Chef has a little egg whipper, a spreader for peanut butter and a couple of other low budget gadgets that I’ve added to the kitchen. I LOVE them.
So when you say that it belongs in a fancy kitchen, that makes me want one. I want a wine rack in my kitchen so bad even though I don’t drink just because it seems fancy. Here’s to hoping you make some delicious waffles in your new waffle maker! (Imagine me with a freshly opened bottle of sparkling cider from my wine rack)
Uh, I bought a waffle iron for myself in college. How does one survive without one!? Hmmm…I even have two now! I am so very very lucky. And I have a bundt pan I bought at a yard sale about 15 years ago so I’m double spoiled! i do dream of someday owning a kitchenaid or bosch and making amazing breads and rolls. (This coming from the girl who messes up Rhode’s rolls!)
I don’t have a meat tenderizer. Or a bundt pan. Or a flour sifter. But you really don’t need a flour sifter. Flour comes pretty well sifted nowadays. True story. Just loosen it up a bit with a knife before measuring.
My dream gadget is a rubber spatula that won’t melt.
I’m feeling pretty privileged right now that I have both a meat tenderizer (never used it before) AND a waffle iron. My kitchen gadgets that I have yet to purchase are a flour sifter, a kitchen aid or Bosch, and a garlic press thingy. Oh and spatulas that don’t completely suck. I *finally* bought a bundt pan after wanting to make these cake recipes that all required a bundt pan and now that I have it I haven’t used it once. It even came with a cook covered serving tray to display my beautiful bundt cakes. But I have yet to make one. I’ll let you know the second I do and maybe I can bring it over to the waffle/beaten chicken sandwich party.
haha! i know what you mean–still using a rolling pin too. i DID just buy two new oven mits–i’ve needed some for about 7 years. glad i’m not the only one 🙂