stocking up a new apartment

i'm gonna be moving soon, so i'm making up a list of all the domestic-ish goodies i'm gonna need... kitchen gadgets, bathroom gadgets, small appliances, etc... i don't really own any of that stuff.

also, what food staples would you reccommend to stock a brand new pantry? again, i'm starting from nothing, and i'm clueless about cooking... guess i'm gonna have to learn fast. :)

I always keep around some pasta and sauce. Quick and easy.
(or, in my case, I just keep around good canned roma tomatoes... and make my own sauce.)

Also, good olive oil... and a good selection of spices/herbs.

With that stuff, you can pretty much make a meal out of anything. :)

Get a pepper mill and fresh pepper. I agree with the olive oil - extra virgin. But if you can't afford olive oil, buy canola. You'll need other basics like salt, sugar, flour...those leap to mind. :)

also, don't forget a colander/strainer for said pasta and veggies....

things i always stock in my kitchen{besides the pasta/tea/etc and other things others have mentioned and despite any current dietary restrictions i am under}:

~pancake mix/syrup

~oatmeal

~peanut butter

~eggs

~tuna

~butter/margarine

~different kinds of cheeses

~jello

~canned veggies

~onions/garlic/green peppers

~tabasco sauce

~microwave popcorn

~lemonade mix/kool aid/iced tea mix

~wax paper/plastic wrap/tin foil

~rice

~tomato soup

~crackers

other apartmenty things besides kitchen/food stock:

~light bulbs

~candles/matches

~flashlights/batteries{for teevee remotes as well}

~paper towels/plates{coz� you don't always feel like doing your dishes� ;) }

~scotch tape/masking tape/duct tape

~coasters

~extension cords/power strips

~a little{but sturdy!!}�stepstool for reaching things that may be too high

~small toolbox with essential tools/etc like hammer, screwdriver, scissors, screws, nails, tape measure,�glue

~aspirin/advil for your medicine cabinets. also band aids, perxide, alcohol{the isopropyl variety}, tums, neosporin, etc....typical first-aidy stuffs

if i can think of anything else, i'll letcha know� :)

I'm with Nate on always having Pasta.

I also always must have olives and artichoke hearts. And olive oil. And cheese, many kinds. Crackers. Snacky foods. Rice. Teas and coffees.

Must haves:

Can opener

Good pots and pans

Knives you like

Teapot

Cookie sheets

Set of mixing/storage bowls.

Ice cube trays

And my brain just stopped working. :)

every time i've relocated, i had to buy the same things... as these seem to disappear. 

cleaning supplies (windex, tub & tile, pledge)

ashtrays (if you don't smoke, be nice to your friends who do :-D )

garbage bags... they also make excellent laundry bags if you don't have a washer/dryer in house.

dish towels

& a bunch of other stuff already mentioned here.

ashtrays (if you don't smoke, be nice to your friends who do :-D )

sorry, but that's just absurd. if someone chooses to have a smoke free home, who are you to suggest that they have ashtrays as a consideration for those who smoke? it's not the smokers' house.

wow.. i love how fruheads are respectful of other people, but only in certain instances (yes, i'm talking to you, Lawrence).  and besides, it's not like i'm saying they're must have for everyone. i'm just saying that as a smoker, the one thing i always forget when i relocate is an ashtray.   there is this whole thing called free-will & if she chooses to have a smoke-free home for any reason, that is her right.  but if she is not bothered by smoke & has friends who smoke inside (*gasp* horror of horrors!), ashtrays are a nice thing to have.  furthermore, they're good to have even if smokers are relegated to the outdoors... saves on sweeping your walkway & butts are not biodegradable in case you haven't noticed.  

/now i remember why i don't get along with the other kids & why i never bother to post on here. 

*blink* fruheads are respectful of others? Since when? Where've you been?

And Stacey... I expect you to have a smoke-free home. ;)

where have i been?  obviously not posting on here.  i forgot that being a smoker & openly mentioning it here can be tantamount to saying any one of the following:

the Nields sound like nails on a chalkboard

cats are evil foul creatures, like all other house animals

i'd rather put my eyes out with cold pokers than go to a folk festival again

blah blah religion. blah blah sexuality (2 subjects i've learned to never even read the forum 'cause i'm not touching either with a 20' pole)

and last but not least, "hi, my name is starfox & this is my opinion..."  (j/k andy) :-)

/apologises for the threadjack & goes back to lurker's corner (tm)

1. only sometimes do the neilds sound like fingernail on a chalkboard. othertimes, their songs can actually sound pretty good.

2. Cats are bad, but I am allergic, so I'm biased against them.

3. I am looking forward to my first folk festival, so I'll have to come back to this one

4. yeah religion, yeah sex! yeah long poles! oh no, wait. hehe

5. I have lots of opinions.

[/stickingnosein]

Long *poles* or long *polls*. There is a small difference. ;)

4. yeah religion, yeah sex! yeah long poles! oh no, wait. hehe

In the same sentence even. ;)

Poles.

Polls.

\/\/hatevah. ;)

i forgot that being a smoker & openly mentioning it here

it has nothing to do with you being a smoker and openly mentioning it here - no one is criticizing you for being a smoker. but I will still stand by my original point that suggesting that a non-smoker keep ashtrays around is ludicrous.

Ah, diplomacy.

and i will say it's not your decision to make as it's not your apartment.  i made a suggestion, nothing more & you're blowing it waaaaaay out of proportion.

it has nothing to do with you being a smoker and openly mentioning it here - no one is criticizing you for being a smoker. but I will still stand by my original point that suggesting that a non-smoker keep ashtrays around is ludicrous.

probably as ludicrous as keeping matches or a lighter around the apartment as well.

If you don't smoke, you don't need those items either.

That would be sarcasm in my above comment.

Huh? You need matches to light a candle. What would a non-smoker use an ashtray for?

What would a non-smoker use an ashtray for?

use it as a nondescript blunt instrument on an intruder? ;-D

Decoration.
(I'm, of course, talking more of the antique kind, not the flat metal disc kind ;-)

Although the eaiser thing is just have an old glass you can half-fill with water if you don't smoke but wind up having smoking in your place.

You don't need "smoking" matches or lighters for that. We have one of those LOOOOONG Bic lighters to light the grill or the burners on the stove. It's not too convenient to light a cig with it.

I've also seen ashtrays in non smoking houses.

Not those horrid metal ones or plastic ones. Nice looking glass ones.

Some are used for decorations and others for candy dishes or even using them for holding small items like rings.

That would be without ashes in them.

But then maybe candy contains carbs and no one eats that anymore. [/again with the sarcasm]

You don't need "smoking" matches or lighters for that. We have one of those LOOOOONG Bic lighters to light the grill or the burners on the stove. It's not too convenient to light a cig with it.

Oh yeah? Tell that to Lisa. ;)

Okay we need a picture of that! :)

Oh yeah? Tell that to Lisa. ;)

or my sister - i've seen my sister stick her face in the gas stove to light a smoke :D

I live in a smoke-free house, and I think it is a good idea to have an ashtray around. We have several, but they're all from 20+ years ago, when some of my family did smoke.

I think everyone who said that you need them, because you don't want people throwing the cigarette butts onto your lawn/driveway/balcony made a really good point. If you are throwing someone outside to smoke in order to keep your hosue from smelling, then�you probably don't want a mess outside either, right?

Anyway, the thing we use our ashtrays for most is to burn woodticks. If we find one on a pet or from just walking around our own yard, then we burn 'em to kill them. Gross, but yeah. That's�how we�use our ashtrays most.

ashtrays are very handy for pencil shavings when i'm drawing.

& i used to carry a lighter around with me everywhere, when i burnt paper for a living (see my story hamas on my portfolio site :))

I'm a non-smoker, and I use matches/lighters all the time!

Lighting candles.... lighting the grill..... lighting the stove when the power is off.... etc etc etc.

Waitaminute! I *am*. Being a smoker is unwise and self destructive. Sure people can make personal choices, but I don't have to support them in what I consider to be bad ones.

Doesen't mean I don't still love you, Snow. :) Don't take it personally.

Also, she's right, Lawrence, I know where you are coming from on the ashtray thing--unnecessary and undesireable--but it was just her suggestion. I don't see anything wrong with her suggesting that.

Ahem... point being that your expectations of respectfulness from fruheads is misplaced. Thicker skin is required around here these days. *shrug* maybe its not such a bad thing. No one is immune from criticism.

And, dude, it's only Lawrence.

And I really don't think he was attacking you as a smoker in the first place, just (as I think he read it) the suggestion that non-smokers should be *expected* to have ashtrays in their homes for smokers which is, in my opinion, kind of not that reasonable. If that's not how you meant it you could just say that and call Lawrence a dumbass like the rest of us... why the defensiveness?

...your expectations of respectfulness from fruheads is misplaced...

Oooh. I must have missed that... Or it was before my time over here

*wondering*

You know respectful Fruheads? Where are they? They must be shot!

*looks around for the firing squad*  we are a dying breed, apparently, after all.

actually, i don't expect any more respect from fruheads than i do the average human i deal with on a day-to-day basis.  maybe i have expected too much in the way of courtesy from the "oppressed bourgeoisie yearning to be free."  meaning: i made a suggestion of things i forget every time i move & thought it may have been helpful. i certainly never put in my opinion on garlic presses, rice makers or the salvation army, so why all the stress over ashtrays?  i never insisted that Stacey must own anything that has to do with smoking if she does not feel compelled to.  i'm saying that a) many of my non-smoking friends & family do have ashtrays as a consideration for visiting smokers & b) when i didn't smoke, i did the same thing as i never was bothered by smoke & would much rather deal with that than, say,  telling my 70+ year old grandparents that i'll talk to them through a door while they're banished outside in the winter.   

why the defensiveness? because Lawrence made this big f*cking snit over a motherf*cking *suggestion* that has nothing to do with him.  it would be way different had i said that any of the things i listed were must have, but i didn't.  i don't see the point of Lawrence coming out sounding all outraged over the idea of what appears to not be such a common courtesy outside my corner of the earth. 

i do see it as a personal affront when he asked, "who are you to suggest that...?" i take that as a statement that my opinion is not welcome here & perhaps i should move on as i'm not part of the whole fruhead clique anymore.  i suppose that i never really was part of this one to begin with though.  it was a nice fun part of my early 20s & i've outgrown it.  i don't get all excited about travelling hundreds of miles to camp outside in the hot sun.  i no longer see the joy in discussing self-improvement rather than actually doing something about it.  i take no shame in being part of the huge corporate machine, it pays well & health insurance is a wonderful thing.  so, i suppose i've sold out my principles... but i'd just like to think that i've grown up & i deserve to spend my time on a group of people who listen constructively rather than immediately point fingers for something as stupid as a f*cking ashtray. 

Whoa, that's a lot of dirty laundry being aired over one thing said by *Lawrence* of all people.

Fruhead clique? Oh please! This is, like, *so* four years ago! There's no "Fruhead clique," and if there was one, Lawrence would not be in it, okay? If you're not comfortable here then that's one thing, completely up to you, whatever if you want to feel all excluded or whatever, but I really think you need to take a step back and think about what it is you're really responding to here. No one said anything about folk festivals. No one said anything about corporate yadda yadda. No one said anything about "self improvement." Watch this:

I'M VOTING FOR BUSH AND I'M PRO-WAR!

There. Hostility deflected. Thank me later.

I'm not trying to put you down, honestly. I know that things can get kind of emotional here and that there's a lot of baggage associated with the whole fruhead thing and growing up and elitist mofos etc. But seriously... just go have a smoke and calm down.

Yeah.� Ashtrays.� If you want.

gee, Gella... didn't mean to offend you like that. :-p  not to mention the fact i had spoken my piece until you made that crack about how naive i was to expect the same consideration on this board that i expect off of it.  if that's not how you meant it, that's certainly the way it came off. 

so let's just go back to the beginning... shall we?  in my original post, i listed things i always forget when i move.  included on that list were ashtrays (an essential in my case) & the off-handed comment intended to mean if Stacey doesn't smoke, but has friends/family who do, she should buy for them if she doesn't mind (as there are many who don't mind if someone smokes in their home for a short time).  Lawrence & others replied to the post.  however, Lawrence was the only one who made an issue of it by out right asking who i thought i was for making such a suggestion.  so, i clarified my position, which should have dropped the whole thing right there until you jumped right in & made the aforementioned naivete crack about expecting a little respect on this board.  by respect, i'm talking about common courtesy & not taking my word as bond, which would be outright foolish. 

so, this is where my little rant comes in.  i don't have to go out of my way to feel excluded.  i already am excluded.  i log in every day, vote in the poll, see that no one has sent me a msg in over a year & occasionally post when relevant.  tell me, why should i continue to remain part of a community which has in effect forgotten how great it could be & was?  at first, it was about the music.  it was about 4 guys from Toronto & how they made music & changed us one show at a time.  yes, i do hold Fruvous in that high of regard even though i haven't put on an album in over a year.  then, it was about the friendships & relationships that we as fans made outside of the venues (most of which were smoking, btw *g*).  now, it's about the same 30 or so people (out of a registry of 5000+) and their in-jokes. besides, how many people were at the last con?  25? 50?  if that isn't cliquish behaviour, what is?  in short, i'm lamenting the passage of a vibrant musical community into a clubhouse with secret handshakes.

i'm not going to thank you for your patronizing attempt to defuse this "situation".  i don't think i want to continue with the reindeer games anymore.  so, if someone would be so kind as to email me if/when the lads get back together, i would appreciate it.  otherwise, i'm climbing out of the treehouse for the last time. 

a. I'm not offended.

b. it astonishes me how often people here say "gee, I expected more respect from fruheads... guess I was wrong." I'm wondering by now why no one has learned from their negative experiences here.

c. I don't give a shit about your original post, I wasn't the one who jumped on you. My point was that LAWRENCE JUMPS ON EVERYONE and most of us have learned to either ignore him or take him on without airing all our dirty laundry about fruheads in general. You didn't clarify your position, you went off on a rant about how you were going to go back to lurking because you don't get along with people here.

d. Amy, I don't even know you. As far as I can recall, you never made any real attempt to get to know me. Out of those 25-ish people at the last con, we all broke up into smaller groups and went our separate ways for much of the time that we weren't attending the con itself. There were new people there who had never been to a con or a concert, who had never met any fruheads before and who had a great time. If you want to feel that its a clique, its your choice. I miss the guys too. I miss the way things were back around the time I first got into this whole mess. But... Jesus, I'm really sorry you're so unhappy, but if you're going to let Lawrence of all people get you so riled up then God help you. Let me just tell you, when I get pissed off about stuff around here (which is more often than I'd like to admit), I just disappear for a while and don't make a big stink about it.

*sigh* LBC anyone?

LAWRENCE JUMPS ON EVERYONE

excuse me? pot, meet kettle. talk about hypocrisy. you complain about people airing their dirty laundry and then you have the nerve to, in the same post, slam me and the things I say?

I don't have to put up with this shit anymore. goodbye, Gella. it's been nice knowing you.

Well, you do.

And I was actually defending you.

And I thought you could take it.

But ok.

"defending" someone does not generally involve non-constructively and inaccurately criticizing them in the same breath.

Subjective.

And i've never known you to be diplomatic, current situation included, so I see no reason to go easy on you.

Hey, don't drag LBC into this! ;)

wouldn't cliquish behavior entail active exclusion of people?

Sorry, I must protest here. There is nothing cliquish about attending Frucon. It is a bunch of people getting together because they want to. It is a totally open event which hasn't even had an entrance fee in the last 2 or 3 years. I don't see how you can call that cliquish. If you'd been there, you'd have had a good time and been welcomed.

there is nothing cliquish about attending Frucon

I wholeheartedly go along with that. I was new. *really* new. And all the fr�heads I met were very open-hearted, upfront and inclusive. They rock the casbah!

Hey, Kerry voted for the war. There's no need to vote for Bush. You can support your principals without trying to re-elect the an administration that the John Dean called more secretive and paranoid than Nixon's.

;)

Dude, there is SOOO NO fruhead clique. We all hate each other, don't we guys? ;)

Seriously though, I think you are airing feelings that come from a long time ago. I don't think there is any expectation for homogeniousness here. There are plenty of people who hate the Nields and don't like camping. You don't have to hold a particular set of opinions to belong here. You may, from time to time be called on to defend your opinions, because lots of us like to argue and debate, but that doesn't mean that you are not liked and welcomed.

Perhaps we do need some kind of fr�head purity test. Any volunteers to create one?

*runs*

I can't think of any two people who agree on everything around here. Some topics might have more people thinking one way or another, or may come up in conversation more, but I doubt there's a single issue that everyone around here would agree on.

we all like Moxy Fruvous. :)

Who?

the guy on first.

The band on stage.

hee! the only slappy cartoon that was actually good. :)

Hey, most of slappy wasn't that bad.

Chicken Boo, now that was a waste of good cartoon time.

chicken boo must DIE.

along with the hip hippos.

True.
I'd forgotten about the hip hippos.

*sigh*
When are they ever going to put Animaniacs or Pinky and the Brain on DVD?

Or Freakazoid.

Word.

OMG FREAKAZOID.

there's this fruhead named SpookyDan. and i would always sing the Freakazoid song in my head with "spookydan" instead of "freakazoid" .."runs around in underwear! spookydan! spookydan!"

On a cartoons-on-dvd note, invader zim, Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force are all out/coming out. w00t!

Nate hates Moxy Fruvous.

If by "moxy fruvous" you mean "ingrown toenails" ... then... yes.

ugh, I saw The inGROWN Tow-Gnails back when they were starting out. I really liked that one song they had on the radio. I think it was called "Just like hair" or something like that.

They were awful live though. Just kept screaming and such. Now, I've heard they have a new a cappella album out. I wonder if it's just vocal death metal, or if they've changed.



(yes, Talcott does need some sleep)

Is that like Hobbit Death Porn?

I think they opened for them.

I don't know if there still are, but for a while there were a few active users who didn't know, or didn't know much, of the band.

Is there a *Container* for ashes? ;)

I don't see the problem here.� You made a statement, someone misinterpereted, you clarified.

Looks like a normal conversation to me.

I don't think she meant that you should have them in your house, but as a smoker I know it's nice to have one outside waiting for you so you aren't tossing cigarettes on the grass, or putting them out on the cement or deck leaving black splotches all over.

> ashtrays (if you don't smoke, be nice to your friends who do :-D )

eww.

I'd second that.

But she can banish the smokers to the balcony - temporarily. That's exactly what I do. But since I'm a nice guy I let them choose on which balcony they'd like to smoke cuz I've got two ;-D

So if one banishes people outside to smoke, where do they throw their cigarettes?

On the ground? Littering the front of the apartment?

I say keep a cheap ashtray so someone in the place doesn't bitch about the mess outside the apartment. :)

sounds like a good idea :) But it depends upon how many smokers drop by.� Almost all of the smokers I knew some years ago are now ex-smokers. Squee!

And I've got lots of dispensible plastic cups that can be used as an ashtray <g> The more cumbersome the better

Stacey - This is a wonderful site for recipes and stuff.

Here's a list of stuff I had in my kitchen this past year (a few things belonged to my roommates):

-microwave

-toaster oven

-electric grill

-set of pots & steamer

-frying pans

-knife set

-scissors

-wet and dry measuring cups, measuring spoons

-dish rack

-plates, bowls, cups, mugs and utensils (of course)

-can opener

-cutting board

-cooling racks for cookies, etc.

-sieve

-vegetable peeler

-ice cream scoop

-spatula/scraper thing for cleaning out jars (I *think* you call it a spatula)

-whisks for mixing

-cooking spoons, lifters, slotted spoon, pasta spoon, soup ladel

-baking sheets

-brush for cleaning vegetables

-tongs

-colander

-set of mixing bowls

-cheese grater

-salad forks

-pot holders

-oven mitts

-pepper mill

-salt shaker

-cake/pie lifter

-ice cube trays

-utensil organizer

-juice pitchers

-lemon juicer

I think that's it, I didn't end up using everything in my kitchen but most of it was useful.

Oh yeah, I forgot the kettle and coffeemaker.� I'm not a huge coffee drinker but my roommates couldn't function without it, lol.

NEVER forget the coffee maker!

:D

I'm more a believer in a coffee grinder and a french press :)

tools
basic
a good bread knife (serrated edge)
a good cutting knife (heavy clean edge)
a small knife(non serrated)

cutlery

wooden spoon

a medium pot.
a large fry pan, preferably cast iron, but heavy stainless steel works too.

strainer/colander

can-opener

mixing bowls, preferable metal.

dish clothes/towels

non basic but handy

grater

small and large pots

bottle-opener (although depending on life style this could be needed)

cutting board

tea kettle

coffee machine

toaster/toaster oven

microwave (though i actually function okay without one)

ice cube tray

tools frivilous

popsicle molds

a double boiler

basic ingedients

flour.
baking soda
coccoa
sugar
salt
spices, i recommend at least oregano, basil, nutmeg, cinnamon, savoury, chili, paprika
baking powder
rice
couscous
pasta and sauces, or at least canned tomatoes/paste

tools frivilous

popsicle molds

i love the popsicle molds you gave me for my housewarming! i make grapefruit juice pops. & it's almost coming on weather for that again :)

yay!

i think they're a GREAT thing to have around the house yo!

i'm glad you get use of them... you owe me one when i get back ;D

The most useful "exotic" kitchen appliance I know of is a rice maker. They are wonderful and not that expensive. You put in rice and water and push the button and it comes out perfectly without your paying attention, every time.

Another nice thing that is a cheap alternative to a food processor is one of those hand choppers. You put the food down, put the chopper over it and push down a few times and voilla! All chopped up.

Let's see...

You also need plastic bags, and plastic wrap and tin foil. And those Glad semi-dispoasable food containers are good for leftovers (It is really hard to cook for one. All the recipes are too big)

You should get a good basic cookbook such as Good Housekeeping, or New Basics. Plus maybe some specialty books for cuisines you like. You can often find cookbooks on the sale tables at the bookstore.

Also consider a wok. They are great for lots of things. A nice cheap steel one is great if you season it properly first and keep it oiled.

> The most useful "exotic" kitchen appliance I know of is a rice maker.

I'll second this one. Rice is an awesome side dish for lots of things, and a rice cooker makes it brainless. Oh, and screw regular rice, go with jasmine rice. Much more flavor.

Also, I'll toss in two things that are very small and handy: a garlic press (mashes garlic without needing to peel the cloves!), and a mushroom slicer (why work harder than you need to?).

I (and Alton Brown) vote against a garlic press. They're a pain to clean. You can't clean them without toothpicks. You can never really get them sanitized clean either. Much simpler:

Put the clove of garlic on a cutting board. Take your chefs knife blade, place it over the clove flat side down, and *thwap*.

Garlic clove should pop out of the peel, and is mostly smaoshed into smaller bits. If it didn't do a good enough job, run the knife through it.

You can get 'em "clean enough" by pulling out the peel, getting the big stuff out with the sink sprayer, then running through the dishwasher. The time they save is well worth it in my book. :)

It's depends on your garlic press.� Mine has a cleaner on the back of the press... just reverse the handles and everything pops out.� I've tried the chef's knife trick with limited success.� My press was a bit more expensive ($6 vs. $2), but it's proven its worth time and time again.

But I waited until the seventh year before I added it to my kitchen...� I'd put it pretty low on the essentials list.

I dunno... maybe it's because I've only rarely used one... but... how is a rice cooker any more brainless than just cooking rice normally?

It's, like, even easier than cooking pasta.

Well there is the fact that with a rice cooker you're not going to burn the rice accidentally. (Not all of us are as adept as you.) And it turns itself off when the time is up so if you're absentminded (like I am) you won't forget to stop it and thus have it a) simply overcooked and nasty or b) burned black onto your pot.

Hrm. Fair enough, I suppose.... when you're doing the stovetop cooking thang.

But you can always just cook it in the oven... that's what I used to always do when I cooked rice... that way it comes out perfect... even if you forget it. :)

I've never even heard of doing it in the oven.. :) How does one do that?

See, Nate you need to stop automatically looking at everything from your eyes which are pretty darn well trained in how to cook. :) A lot of us struggle with even the simple tasks and gadgets help!

Heee.
Sorry.. I just figured people knew how to do that. me=bonehead

Just do one part rice to one and a half (or a bit more) water.... start it on the stove to bring it to a simmer.. then throw it in a 300 degree oven. (covered, of course.)

Very handy for the aforementioned reasons (if you forget it, it'll still be fine.... and it's a lot easier).

So it's not 2 to 1? That's what I always was taught. Or is it just less for the oven version?

I've always done less than 2 to 1.... I find 2 to 1 tends to make mushy rice if you're not careful.

1.5 to 1 is good if you have a very tight cover/seal... and if it's a large quantity.

For a less-tight seal, just up it a bit.... 1.7 to 1 or something like that. All you have to do is get it right once in a given vessel... and (as long as you remember the ratio you used) it'll be perfect every time. :)

you also won't cause the fire-alarms in your dorm to go off during a sing-along, summoning the fire department, causing you to be fined $25 for negligent behavior which was then permanently on your housing record, and getting your food co-op pissed at you for ruining their nice pot. As well as the sing-along.

Potatos, very useful ingredient. and a deep fryer is realy nice to have, don't know what they cost though.

bread! you have got to have bread! you can make grilled cheese sandwiches, pb&j, toast, bread and butter.. did anyone mention butter? how about mac and cheese.. I also suggest for the living spaces, futons and comfy curlup in chairs.. and a coffee table.. that is much needed.
unless you're going to just live in your computer space and use your desk for everything.. in which case, skip the furniture

I left out stuff like bread and perishables in general because she's trying to stock a pantry and I tend to consider that...shelf-stable stuff that won't mold. Heee. :)

I hate me and bread. I don't eat enough of it for it not to go bad and moldy but when I need it it's not there because sometimes I don't bother buying any because I had to throw half a loaf out. I really need to get my act together and freeze half a loaf when I go to the store.

If you buy normal sliced bread you can just store it in the freezer and use the toaster to thaw/toast it as needed. That's what we've always done in my house. :) (Works great for bringing lunches somewhere too, because if you make a sandwich on frozen bread in the morning it's perfect by lunchtime! And if it's PB&J the jelly doesn't soak through!)

I'll second that. Frozen bread is great, it doesn't hurt the taste (especially for toast), and it's really easy to break off a few pieces if you run out and don't have any thawed.

Freezing butter is also a Good Thing. Get it when it goes on sale (which isn't often around here), and pull it out as you need it.

Yeah I have a bunch of butter in the freezer. Because if you don't have extra, it always runs out at the most inconvenient times.

When I got my first place, I had about no money for furnishing and all that. I went down to the local salvation army thrift store, and while the quality was pretty cheap, and I washed it a while before using it, I got some pots and pans, dishes, cups and bowls. I also picked up a couple of wooden chairs. In a pinch, thrift stores are good friends. As are yard sales.

Salvation Army discriminates against gays, though. Plenty of thrift shops to pick from... go somewhere else.

They do?
*puzzled look*

Yeah, and they're very religious too. Plenty of non-discriminatory secular places to go if you don't want your money going to trying to convert Iraqis to "the right religion".

Huh.
I never knew they did religious stuff either.
Weird.

Hence the "salvation" :)

oh... hahhaa
I'd never really thought of that as a religious thing. :)

I just figured it was, like, "saving the homeless" or whatever... by donating clothing.

Just a snippet from the beginning of the "who we are and how we work" section of one of their sites:

"The Salvation Army is an integral part of the Christian Church, although distinctive in government and practice.

The Army's doctrine follows the mainstream of Christian belief and its articles of faith emphasise God's saving purposes. Its objects are 'the advancement of the Christian religion ...of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole. ' "

Heh.
I wasn't doubting it. :D

It just never occurred to me.

But, yeah, they're good because they have a bin where I can throw old clothes I no longer need.

Yeah, it hadn't occured to me either, until recently. Their website is frightening. They seem to want to focus on conversions in godless lands. Which means that I'm going to focus on converting my donations to another thrift store.

do you guys have a Savers down there?

What about the goodwill? do they do the same thing?

Goodwill (www.goodwill.org) is not a religious organization. Their gig is helping the disabled work and be productive. That is a laudable cause I we donate to them sometimes, but they don't feed and shelter the hungy and homeless as the Salvation Army do. I'm not defending their crazy-ass religion, and I think it is very good to raise thes issues about them, but we should also remember that they've done a hell of a lot of good in the 140 so years that they've been around, regardless of their religious ideology. Perhaps it is more that they are out of step with the times, then that they are just overzealous?

I'd had to attend a few Salvation Army services and they are by far the scariest religious things I've seen. Most religious stuff has good music, but even that is iffy here. I mean, the brass band stuff is usually ok, but they take old folk songs and give them sacred texts. I suppose that's what Martin Luther did too, but really, Shenandoah shouldn't be about Jesus.

As for the homophobia thing, I don't know the exact details, but I think they have the same general attitude as most Christians. The brass band I'm in has a whole bunch of Sally Ann people and there's only one who is homophobic.

Reading this forum, I'm thinking that if I were moving into my first place on my own and people told me about all this stuff I needed I would freak out and live with my parents for another 5 years. So, here's my take on it.

The apartment I lived in happily for 5 months in Spain had a kitchen equipped with: a halfway decent set of pots, a set of silverware for 6 including steak knives (which were the only knives we had or ever seemed to need), a strainer, plates, a bunch of mix-matched (which I just spelled "mitch-maxed," heehee) glasses, a spatula, a cheap frying pan (which we bought after 3 months of using pots for everything), a large salad-type bowl, a few containers for leftovers (we rinsed out plastic ice-cream things), a fridge/freezer, a microwave, a stove, and an oven. Oh, and a sponge for doing dishes. And a table. I'm pretty sure that was it. And we were fine.

The point is, especially if you're not sure how into cooking you are, don't worry about the gadgets and all that yet. Get the absolute basics, figure out what kinds of stuff you like to make, and see what you need. You can easily get by for a few months using plates as cutting boards, rolling out dough with a glass, and cutting everything (even garlic, since there was so much talk about garlic mashers) with steak knives. I know because I've done it. *Shrug.