Best Kitchen Tool

I love to cook.  I have been cooking since I was a kid.  My sisters and I would get up early on Saturday mornings and each of us would cook a breakfast and then we would sample each other's creations and judge the best.  In my memory I was always the best!  I guess we were the original Top Chefs.

 Since starting Jenny Craig I have not been cooking that much.  At first it was because I was not strong enough to be in the kitchen preparing my favorite meals but not being able to eat them.  I was very proud of my boys during that time.  They were very patient with me and actually would cook for themselves, asking me how to prepare some of their favorite dishes like Penne Vodka or Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.  My oldest son is becoming quite a cook!  My youngest still likes to be cooked for but he can make several dishes for himself.

One thing I have not been able to stop making though is my doggie's food.  I have been cooking her food for a few years.  She became quite ill a few years ago on Thanksgiving morning and we had to take her to the Pet ER.  After that she would not eat her regular food.  She would push her bowl around the kitchen but would not eat it unless I added something to it.  I went through so many things but have finally found something she will eat every day without complaint.  It is a comination of brown rice, sweet potatoes and ground chicken breast.  Sometimes I put in fresh parsley and sometimes I don't.  I make up a big batch of it once a month and freeze it in small containers. I mix one cup of this mix with her dry dog food.

Today was dog food cooking day.  As I was chopping up the sweet potates I thought how much easier this was with my Favorite Kitchen Tool:  my knife sharpener.  Now you might say "What?  A knife sharpener?"  But just hang with me here.  When your knife is sharp EVERYTHING is easier.  A dull knife is a dangerous knife.  If you are using a knife that is not sharp it can slip off the food you are cutting and easily cut your fingers instead.  I use a steel and a table top sharpener like this one:

When my knives are sharp they quickly bite into the foods I am cutting and I can slice or chop without much force, making the whole process much safer.  The hard sweet potatoes I cut up this morning would have been a workout to cut without a sharp knife, but with it my knife just went right through.  Be sure to read about safe knife skills, and remember to keep your fingers curled under!