Kitchenware is a girl’s best friend


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I was never one of those girls who dreamed of her wedding as a kid or dreamed of being a princess. My versions of these typical dreams were, “Someday, I am going to be a college athlete,” or “Someday, I am going to own three Great Danes and I am going to name them obscure names, like Gertrude, Pineapple and Wonky.” Recently, that dream became, “Someday, I will own my own restaurant-grade tortilla press.” Yes, I get very excited over kitchenware.

Kitchenware is an investment and also a gateway to explore and create new dishes, and it is absolutely worth it. Whenever I go to a mall, I find myself going into the same stores – Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table and the bookstore’s cooking section – and very few people can get me out.

My sister can usually bring me back from whatever planet I go to because my interests clearly are not the same as most girls my age. She always tries to motivate me to go into H&M or Urban Outfitters to find something “cute,” but whenever I think cute, I think of the mini stainless steel muffin tins, the mini tea set that they make for kids or the novelty cooking necklaces that they sell for food geeks like myself.

My favorite place to online shop is Food52. The online cook Q&A website meets blog that seems to read my mind and make me feel like I joined some sort of food cult. As if taking a page of out Amazon’s book, Food52 emails you recommendations of what they think you would like to buy to complement a recent purchase. Since joining the site, I am never at a loss for what to cook or splurge on next.

Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table are also some of the best brick-and-mortar places. At one point, I thought of working at a store in my hometown, until I realized that my paycheck would probably go towards filling my kitchen with new gadgets.

This bug inside me is like something out of the movie, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” but my addiction isn’t bad. If anything, it benefits others because I cook and bake up a storm.

Alegra Hueso is a sophomore majoring in creative writing.  Her column “In Love With the Edible” runs on Wednesdays in print and Fridays online.