THE PITFALLS OF SHOPPING

 Window shopping is a form of masochism that I have never understood or practiced.  Unless you literally have money to burn, why would you purposefully go out and walk the malls and department stores for clothes that you haven’t got the money for, have no use for, no room in the closet for…or for that matter, nowhere to wear.  And having just spent the money, you can’t even afford to go out and show it off!   

 If you didn’t need it in the first place, why would you buy a blouse that you had no pants to match, then go shopping for the pants and find another pair that has no blouse to match? Now you have two more items in the closet that you HAVE to go shopping for, and the vicious circle begins all over.

 Friends have told me that they want to know what is new and that is how they find out.  I say if you didn’t know there was a new style out there you wouldn’t miss it. When you need a new outfit for a special occasion is time enough to go look for a replacement and buy what is now in fashion.  Let’s face it, even if you have the will power to not buy that amazing jean jacket, you now feel like crap knowing it is out there in someone else’s closet instead of yours.  Ignorance, in this case, my friends, is bliss.

 The only time you should ever enter a kitchen gadget store is if you meet all of the following criteria:

• Entertaining is your very favorite pastime.
• Your family doesn’t find true happiness wallowing in junk food.
• You have more money than you know what to do with.
• You have a very large kitchen, with too much counter and cabinet space that you are trying to fill.

 Fact: wine racks are great, if you drink and store delicate wines with corked bottles that require aging and cool dark storage.  For the two bottles of white zin that you buy when the girls are stopping by with a rental movie, throw them in the fridge (laying the bottle down if it is corked, and standing it up if screw-top capped).And how many kinds of cork screws do you need to have?  Do you live in a wine cellar or a house?

 Unless you are kosher, do you really need three or four sets of dishes, plus a snack set, plus a set to use outside on the patio? Fine china, carefully stored, and brought out for those formal holiday dinners is great.  Every day dishes that are microwave and dishwasher safe are a necessity.  Paper plates are great for outdoors.  Teas sets and snack sets are for the kind of people who don’t need to be reading this article!

Small appliances for the kitchen can get out of hand, too. Everybody needs a can opener, either manual or electric at some time in their lives.  Microwaves have become a necessity in the kitchen. If you drink coffee, you have to have a coffeemaker.  Coffee grinders are fine, if you really buy only whole bean coffee.  However, you can grind you coffee for free at the supermarket when you buy it, too. On the other hand, coffee grinders also can be used to grind seeds, nuts, and some spices, which comes in handy at times. Think!  Are you going to use this item, or do you just want it?

How many of you need both a toaster and a toaster oven?  White and wheat sliced bread users can easily do with one or the other.  If you are into bagels and other odd shaped breads you need the toaster oven, which can handle both.  And speaking of ovens, don’t you think a portable electric roaster, a toaster oven and a Foreman grill are going a bit too far? 

If you are into health foods and juicing, it is a good idea to have a powerful, high end juicer.  They cost a bit more, but are both healthier and cheaper than buying the juice, and I have been told by one who knows, that replacing cheap juicers ends up costing much more than buying the right one in the first place.

 The same would go for blenders and food processers.  If you only use your blender on rare occasions to mix up a batch of margaritas and crush some ice, go to Walmart and pick up something cheap. I cook a lot, and have been using the same food processer for twenty years…a cheap one at that.  Only now, have I begun to think I might need a new one.                      

What I am trying to say is just this.  A fork scrambles an egg very easily.  You don’t need a special tool for that.  If you bake all your own breads you probably need a bread machine or a heavy duty mixer.  But for cake mixes, whipped cream, mashed potatoes and meringue, an inexpensive hand mixer is all you will ever need!

If you own a stove, a microwave and a pot, why would you ever need a special iced tea maker? Is it really difficult to throw a few tea bags into a pot of hot water, let it steep a while and then add ice cubes to it? And let us not forget those cute little electric egg poachers, the vibrating suction cup that scrambles your eggs in the shell,  and those darling little pans that grill your cheese sandwich on both sides at once!

Kitchen gadget stores should be taboo to anyone who is struggling to make ends meet, doesn’t live for the joys of cooking in and cleaning a kitchen, and who doesn’t have a kitchen the size of a studio apartment.