Essentials

Hey Guys!

This is just a list of tools and other things I use when I cook, just in case you want to give some of the food here a go.

Get a speed peeler - it makes handling vegetables ridiculously easy and it's great for some kitchen tricks and "fireworks". Any decent brand will do.

A good quality 8 to 10 inch chef's knife is essential. You'll do 90% of your cutting and chopping with it.
You'll find good quality knives from Tefal.
I also find good tools at shops such as the Kitchen Shop: http://www.pentrugatit.ro/
Two Piece Zwiling Knife Set - Chef's and Paring
18cm Zwiling Knife
20cm Zwiling Knife
20cm Zwiling Twin Chef's Knife

A good granite pestle and mortar will get you out of a lot of trouble. It's great for bashing up herbs and making stuff like chilli pastes, and it will give you better results than just mashing ingredients up in a food processor.

Olive oil is an essential - get good quality oil for cooking and for dressing and other work. It comes in extra-virgin and olio di sansa varieties. Extra-virgin is great for dressings and fresh food, while less-refined di sansa is good for cooking. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to taste good.

Sea salt is probably the best kind of salt you can use in the kitchen because of its different mineral composition (it includes goodies you don't get in mineral salt) and natural iodine content. If you can't find sea salt at your store, try kosher salt.