My New Year’s Resolution has been to clean out my cluttered kitchen junk drawers. You know you have one. Well, I have three. So in my attempt to clean house (or just the kitchen), I realized I could not bear to toss some of my beloved kitchen gadgets. And there were a few that made me scratch my head and ask, “What is this thing?”

My most loved gadgets in the kitchen are always the ones that can do more than one job. So here is a list of my hall of fame double (and sometimes triple duty) gadget tools.

One. Egg Slicer: I know many of you are shaking your head. But please hear me out! Not only do I reach for it when I make the best Egg Salad, but I also reach for it when I make the coveted Banana Pudding to slice all six bananas perfectly. It’s much better than slicing all those bananas with a knife! I also use it when I make this delicious Avocado Shrimp Salad to slice my avocados into equal slices. I make sure to push the banana or the avocado through with my hand instead of pushing them down onto the bed of the egg slicer. Just make sure whatever you’re slicing is super soft.

Two. Garlic Press: Some prefer other garlic gadgets, but I prefer the old fashioned garlic press. Where’s the double in this apparatus? I found when I was making this Key Lime Pie, that I could actually use the garlic press to press the juice from those tiny key limes! I was jumping up and down at the joy of this discovery. Seriously, up and down.

Three. Cast Iron Pan, Enamel Cast Iron Dutch Oven, anything Cast Iron: Other than being able to brown and slow cook things, a cast iron pan (or dutch oven) can defrost that frozen chicken that you need to cook in 10 minutes (without any heat!). Try it if you don’t believe me. I line the pan with plastic wrap so it’ll be easy clean up and I toss the frozen meat on it (again, no heat). It will defrost much faster than just leaving it out on the counter.  If you like half frozen and half cooked meat, then you can always use the defrost button on your microwave… but we don’t recommend it.

Four. Microplane: Need I say more? This one little tool got rid of my nutmeg grinder and my citrus zester. I love this thing! I not only grate cheese and nutmeg, but I also use it to mince my ginger. One tip about ginger: peel the ginger and keep it in the freezer. It’ll zest even faster on the microplane when it’s frozen.

Five. Immersion Blender: Because of this gadget, I have no need of an ungainly, counterspace-hogging blender. Instead I use this to puree baby food, make protein smoothies for my husband (who is currently obsessed with Power 90X, a totally different post), and make a single serving of pesto. With an immersion blender, you don’t need those informercial bullet-shaped appliances with a hundred parts. And when you are done with it, it’s easy to clean and it fits in a kitchen drawer, neatly tucked away. I promise, they don’t pay me to sell these things…

Six. Salad Spinner: We always need more than one colander, especially when we are throwing a dinner party. One time I reached for the inner part of my salad spinner to use as my second colander, and I keep going back to it. I also use the outside part as a plain salad bowl. Why not? It’s a bowl, it’s big, and it’s not too bad to look at.

These are some kitchen tools with which I can’t part. What are some of yours?

(It took me a week or so to pare down my kitchen gadgets, and I’m happy to report that I’m now down to only two kitchen junk drawers.)

Photos by Melissa Devereaux and Paul Jin

It’s a habit that may be inherited from my time working in public libraries; I hold a special place in my heart for order. But long before I had even heard about the Dewey Decimal System, a much more instinctive way of cataloging was becoming my first standard: ROY G BIV. I organize my closet, my bookshelf, and even my office supplies by color. And this is also how I organize my refrigerator.

My friends tease me about this habit every time they come over. But there is a method to my madness: by categorizing according to content, I can balance my diet, whip up a great meal on a whim, and be sure that nothing ever goes to waste.

It’s an oft repeated maxim that the fully balanced plate should have representatives from as many color families as possible. That’s because different colored foods tend to hold different nutrients. Red, for example (rhubarb, beets, tomatoes, red chard–did you know that was a type of beet?) offers essential vitamins that promote blood function and healthier hearts. Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash give us vitamin C and, unsurprisingly, beta carotene.

Dark or leafy greens such as kale and broccoli are chock full of vitamins A and C, which have been linked to vision and strong, healthy bones. And by grouping all my protein together (tofu, eggs, cheese, and occasionally fresh fish), it becomes easier to be sure that I’m getting enough fuel to my muscles to keep them sharp and active throughout the day.

My cooking habits vary widely, depending on how late a day has ended. Sometimes (ah, weekends!), I can spend an hour or two preparing a complex dish I’ve looked forward to preparing. Most of the time, though, I come home and have to prepare something quickly with what I have on hand. Organization by color allows me to spot the brussels sprouts nearing the end of their usefulness, or the tofu I bought two weeks ago and forgot about. That momentary spark gleaned from my cursory, hungry glance into the fridge will often decide what I’m going to make effortlessly, and from there an easy, tasty meal is usually less than half an hour away.

When I’m cooking this way, I love meals that combine many tastes and textures without an overwhelming amount of effort. Single skillet meals are the perfect answer: you know everything that went into them is balanced, so there are no sides or extras to worry about. When they’re done your only task is to sit back and enjoy. Halibut with Spicy Squash and Tomatoes is perfect for that. I will usually throw in two handfuls of a dark leafy vegetable along with the other veggies. That way you have protein and the colors red, orange, and green–not to mention a few items from last week’s grocery list that have been put to good use. You can check out the full recipe, along with some other colorful one-pot wonders, at my Plummelo profile. Enjoy!

Photos by Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong