Iron Skillets, Kitchen Tools And Frugality

     In the spirit of frugality, green and low income cooking and eating at home is a big factor. Barring takeout cooking is your option at home. You will obviously need a home. You will need one with a kitchen. You will need pots and pans. A few kitchen tools. A couple of knives are all you need. A paring knife and one chef's knife. A turner, a ladle, tongs, a measuring cup, a strainer, a grader, a wooden spoon, a slotted spoon, a whisk (not whiskey although I have done some wonderful creations with this kitchen tool), fork, cutting board (wood or plastic) and thermometer.
     When we start out we all get one of those packages that come with all the pots and pans you need. Most of the time they are junk. The same way with knives. How about the non stick skillet. Works well for a little  while and then they start flaking off. I did pick up a 10 inch Calphalon skillet at a yard sale for $2. Probably at least $40 retail. It is non stick and is good for like eggs and stuff like that. It is even made in Toledo, Ohio. I think that is in the United States. With non stick though a plastic utensil is a must. Good stainless steel pots and pans work too. My mother uses today the same copper bottom and stainless pots and pans she got in the late 1950's. Of course she takes very good care of things.
     To be versatile and on a budget start out with an iron skillet. Get the 12 inch one. Get a lid too if one is available. It adds a lot of flexibility. Get a cast iron Dutch Oven too. Hopefully the same size as the skillet. Then you have a lid for both. I say a 12 inch because you can cook small portions in a large pan but you cannot cook large things in a small pan. I had a yearning for a small iron skillet for a Christmas present a few years ago and have not used it much. It is an 8 inch one without a lid. As far as sauce pans go. You can go with a little less quality in stainless for now if you are on a budget. For years I have used a Tramontina 6 and 8 inch sauce pans with good luck. It also came with a 10 inch stainless skillet. As a treat to myself several years ago I got a large stock pot set with a steamer, pasta cooler and lid for about $40 of heavy construction of the same brand as mentioned before. these were purchased from Walmart. They have worked well. the iron skillets I have also came from Walmart and are of the Lodge brand. Made in the USA and built to last. If you get one of these you will know why the iron skillet was the weapon of choice for housewives for years  First of all if you can swing of of these with authority I probably wouldn't want to mess with you anyway. The iron skillet will take high heat and be used in the oven as to make cornbread.
     Knives are another must. But not as many as you think you would need. Again we all start out with the knife block thing with 25 of all the knives you would ever need. If you only wanted them for decoration. As they are generally worthless. I cannot tell you how many knives I have bought over the years. Only a few have been keepers. A couple of the grocery store brand ones that looked promising are still in the drawer as I am unable to get them sharp enough to be useful. Although they look and feel like a Henkel. A wooden handle pure carbon steel knife from years ago is my go to as it sharpens well and will hold an edge. An old Chicago Cutlery knife from years ago was and still is a good knife. Only to be disappointed by one purchased years ago on ebay. About on par with the grocery store ones that just will not sharpen. Got on a Rada kick a few years ago and got a paring, 6 and 8 inch chefs knives from there. They are American made and sharp. The chefs knives however feel kind of flimsy and give a fingernail on the chalkboard feeling on the cutting board. I am however giving another whirl since they are there. Henkel, Wusthoff and Victorinox ( the Swiss Army knife people) are good brands. They are however expensive. A quick peek on the internet found starter sets of Henkel and Wusthoffs over $100 for a two piece paring and chef knives. While the Victorinox starting at $49.95 ($50). We use these at work and are good knives.
     The rest of the above mentioned tools can be purchased at a dollar store and will work. So all you have to do now is start cooking. Easy stuff at first. And then get more adventurous.Cooking at home will teach you something. Save you money and give you a frugal thing to do.