Jan 10, 2022

I can’t think of a better month to introduce my ‘#leeApproved’ segment than a month dedicated to kitchens. When we started building our house it quickly became clear that the kitchen was going to be a #lee zone. Which is hardly surprising. We had two four-hour meetings at Home Depot while designing our kitchen with me declaring ‘uncle’ in hour two of the second one and #lee still going strong. Our kitchen first started as a modest galley kitchen, until #lee declared ‘islands are integral to kitchen function’ and added the extra-large 4’x7′ island to our kitchen. Few people can care more about kitchen function than #lee and all of the kitchen gadgets that make for the most functional kitchen.

Lid stand – Truthfully I would toss this item if it wasn’t so handy. It’s not much for aesthetics, but sure is useful while you are cooking.

Caraway Pots and Pans – One of two things of mine that makes the #leeAPPROVED list. #lee was at first hesitant of these Instagram famous pots, but immediately noted they had a good weight and they were well-made. Also the fact that Caraway pots and pans can be used on induction cooktops was a huge selling point!

The one complaint he has made is that while sautéing he has noticed the handles heat up more than he would prefer. For those who don’t know #lee personally one complaint is the equivalent of 4.95 stars.

Pizza Cutter – I won’t try to explain the panic that is in our house whenever this pizza cutter is accidentally misplaced. Nor will I try to explain how well it slices through any thickness of crust.

Pepper Grinder – I let my hatred of this kitchen gadget be known every day. #lee says it’s the best pepper grinder he’s ever found and will never part with it. You won’t want it on your kitchen countertops but apparently, it grinds pepper better than anything else.

Scrub pads – The only thing that #lee loves more than function is cleanliness. His cleaning stories are infamous among our friends (he once cleaned a kitchen hood so aggressively he stripped the paint off) and so finding a scrub pad that could withstand his scrutiny was no small match.

These small yellow scrubs are great because they are stiff until placed in water and they won’t scratch pans. They work great on non-stick pans!

Garlic Press – #lee deemed my garlic press less than when we moved in together and tossed it. Unfortunately, I agree. This heavyweight garlic press was better than mine and is a breeze to clean.

Brushed Gold Faucet – This faucet was an Amazon unicorn. It gave me the traditional look I was aiming for and gave #lee more practicality than even he was hoping for. And to top it all off it came in under budget!