Kitchen Equipment - The Essentials

Juciers:
I have two, the Champion and Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer. The Champion is a centrifugal juicer that extracts a great amount of juice, leaving very dry pulp, and its durable. I' bought mine in 1985. The Power Juicer has a different blade, which extracts less juice, but its wide-mounth design is very convienient.

Blender:
Blenders are perfect for mixing any and everything! It is a must have tool for blending smoothies, but is also great for blending gravies, sauces, and salad dressings. I use blenders daily, and have not had much success at not having to replace one after about 7 years. I've been using the Cuisinart SmartPower blender for about three years now -- it think it may surpass the 7-year mark.

Cast-Iron Skillet
I was born in Alabama and lived there the first 8 years of my life. My kitchen without a cast-iron skillet would be sacrilegious .

Coffee Grinder
I don't drink coffee, but I use the grinder to grind nuts and flaxseeds.

Cutlery:
Because I have to chop and dice a lot of the raw foods that are common to vegan and vegetarian eating, a vegetable cleaver, sharpener and cutting board are essential. I've found that carbon steel or high-quality stainless-steel are best. Carbon steel knives are more durable and are easier to sharpen.

Food Processor:
I like to chop and dice by hand, but I have a small food processor because it saves time when chopping a large amount of fruit or vegetables.

Stainless-Steel Steamer:
There are 2 common varieties of vegetable steamer: a portable steaming tray that folds up and a corn pot, which is a pot within a pot; the inner pot has holds that allows the steam through.