Pono Plate
Live, love and eat pono.
Tips
Hooks for Hanging Storage
Use adhesive wall hooks to hang items overhead. For smaller hangable items, like this felt unicorn bag, for extra mason jar lids, use S hooks to hang from the adhesive hook and voila! I use this system to hang scrub brushes, colanders, measuring cups, teaspoons, juicer pitcher, large spoons and other cooking utensils with a hook, and a small chopping board.
Wall Rails
Use wall rails with large S hooks for large items, like chopping boards and water bottles, as well as small, bulky items like measuring cups and measuring spoons to keep them off the counter and provide easy access. This tiny kitchen in my home away from home has no cupboards and no drawers, except for two small drawers in a kitchen cart. Therefore, wall mounted storage is the only solution. Open, airy spaces like this also make it easy to hang items right after towel drying to let them completely air dry.
Work Lunches
What's easy to make, stores well, easy to transport and easy to reheat for work lunches? Here's a list of favorite recipes included on this site.
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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili + avocado slices + Flax Crackers
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Homemade Refried Beans + Cilantro Lime Slaw + corn tortillas or tortilla chips
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Spring Rolls + Peanut Sauce
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Vegan Chicken Salad in Romaine Lettuce Leaves + Flax Crackers
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Vegan Tuna Salad in Butter Lettuce Leaves + Flax Crackers
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Flax Crackers + Vegan Cheese + Slaw
Tiny Kitchen - Wall Baskets
When you don't have counter space, wall space or floor space, use these wall mounted baskets from Ikea. They're designed for closets, but they can be installed in narrow spaces where nothing else will fit.
These are installed on a narrow wall in between two bright windows. The molding around the windows could have been a problem, but fortunately the wall mount track for the baskets is enough (1/2 inch) to clear the window moldings. I use the baskets for dry foods, napkins, food storage containers and produce. I keep avocados, lemons, limes, ginger, onions, potatoes and garlic in small burlap bags that fit well within the baskets and make things easy to view and grab.
Make-Ahead Staples
If you make a few items that last a week or so, you'll have ingredients on hand to quickly assemble fresh, vibrant meals that are healthy and delicious.
Chopped Veggies to add to salads, use as a side dish, add some color, add some crunch. Process beets, carrots, cabbage in the food processor and store in individual containers in the fridge.
Toppings to sprinkle on top of salads, pasta and main courses, or serve with chopped veggies as a side dish. For example, Vegan Parmesan, Walnut Taco Meat, Pesto.
Sides to add to a salad or a main course, or use as a main course if you garnish with some avocado. Sides include Parsnip Rice, Vegan Crackers, Coleslaw, Vegan Parmesan, Vegan Chili.
Patties and Falafels to make a main course by just adding a simple salad. Try Chickpea Falafels, Breadfruit Falafels, Breadfruit Burgers.
Dressings and Sauces will turn simple, boring foods into delicious, exciting meals. Good examples are Vegan Sour Cream, Carrot Ginger Dressing, Tahini Sauce, Papaya Salsa.
All-Week Salads
To make it easy to have truly tasty vegan salads all week long, do some prep work on the weekend (or really early in the morning, like I often do). Use the food processor to quickly chop veggies in bulk. Use a mandolin to thinly slice some veggies. Make some high flavor toppings or sides. When you're ready for a salad, pile up some greens, top with the chopped veggies, a little olive oil and a high flavor topper or side. Add some fresh chopped cucumber, tomato or avocado.
Chopped Veggies:
Beets
Carrots
Cabbage
Toppings:
Vegan Parmesan
Walnut Taco Meat
Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Sides:
Parsnip Rice
Crackers
Vegan Chicken Salad
Coleslaw
Chickpea Falafels
Multi-Purpose Nut Milk Bags
Once you have a nut milk bag and a nice container, you'll be able to make nut milk, on demand, whenever you need it. In the past, I used to buy a box of soy milk or almond milk to use in a recipe and ended up discarding the leftover. Now I just make nut milk when ever I need it. I make 3-4 cups at a time. 1 cup nuts to 3-4 cups water, depending on how creamy I want it. I soak the nuts if I have time, otherwise, just throw them in the Vitamix with the water and a dash of vanilla or a date if I want to sweeten it - great for hemp seed milk which can be bitter. Sometimes I add lavender petals or a dash of rose water - great for desserts.
If you don't have a fancy juicer you can do "fake" juicing using a Vitamix blender and a nut milk bag. I blend up the veggies with some water and strain using the nut milk bag. Use the pulp to add to flax seed crackers.
Spice Grinder Use & Cleaning
A spice/coffee grinder is perfect for making flax powder, which is best made fresh because it goes rancid quickly. I keep jars of flax seeds in the fridge and grind as needed. I also use the spice grinder to make homemade tooth powder with baking soda, bentonite clay, salt and myrrh powder.
You can clean the grinder lid under running water, but to clean the grinder bowl, turn it upside down over the sink and tap against the side of the sink to remove loose bits. Then take a dry bottle cleaner or scrub brush and swoosh around the bowl and the base of the blades. Tap to remove everything you just loosened. Repeat until clean.
Reusable Produce Bags
Organic cotton/muslin reusable produce bags can be used to store herbs and veggies. Use them once and then turn inside out for a second use, then wash and use again. Medium size bags are best for herbs, large bags are best for veggies like broccoli, cauliflower or kale. Tie a knot at the end of the cords to keep them from coming out in the wash.
Market Bags
These can be used for the farmer's market, the grocery store and regular shopping. A large burlap bag is perfect for the famers market so you can easily fit everything in one bag, even fresh flowers. The medium size bag is best for regular trips to the grocery store. Keep a bag that folds into itself in your purse or car for anytime you need an extra bag or in case you forget your regular bags.
Whimsy
Add some whimsy to the kitchen. Fun measuring spoons, or measuring cups. A heart shaped dish, a fish shaped dish, edible flowers in ice cubes, write messages on your popsicle sticks.
Food Storage
Many items can be stored without refrigeration. You can store tomatoes and grapes in small burlap bags. These are easy to grab and go for a portable, healthy snack. Carrots and celery can be stored in a beautiful jar with a small amount of water. Parsley and fresh herbs can be stored in a simple glass cup with water. This makes a nice display. Potatoes, onions, garlic and ginger can be stored in a wicker basket with a lid. Lemons, limes and peppers can be displayed in a clear vase or a rustic copper plate.
Mason Jars
Use mason jars for everything:
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Storing nuts, seeds, grains, rice, legumes
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In the fridge for sauces, salsas, pudding
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As a to go cup for your smoothie or coffee or tea
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For drying herbs
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For tincturing your homemade vanilla extract
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For soaking beans
Teapots
Morning tea is a morning ritual. Even though I am a minimalist, this is one area where I collect. I have three teapots for serving and one for boiling water. I use a stainless steel Le Crueset teapot for boiling water every day. My everyday go-to teapot for steeping and serving is a black cast iron teapot from Cost Plus World Market. It has the perfect size tea basket and it's easy to clean. For special occasions I use an artisan kyushu teapot from a ceramic artist. For herbal teas I use a dark blue enamel cast iron teapot from Staub. It has a giant tea basket. It can also be used to boil water on a very small burner. It's great for reheating soups too.
Chopping Boards
I love sturdy, beautiful, high quality boards. The most versatile is a large dark walnut board with a cord for hanging to keep it off the counter and out of the way, yet conveniently within reach. Other favorites are small bamboo boards for quick jobs and a bamboo butcher block. I make my own wood conditioning oil for the boards, butcher blocks and wood spoons.
Towels
I use towels constantly and they must be absorbent. I have four super absorbent towels from Target and I use all four when I make a big meal. I hang them on S hooks, on drawer handles, on the fridge handle and adhesive hooks on the fridge or any other flat, vertical surface. I also have lots of flour sack towels. I use them instead of paper towels for cleaning up spills, pressing tofu and drying just-washed kale and herbs (see tip below).
Washing & Drying Greens
Dunk and swish in a large bowl of water, drain in a large colander. Lay a towel flat, dump the greens on the towel, separate them, put another towel on top (optional) and roll up. Rolling them up keeps the greens compact (important if you have a small kitchen, and you must wash lots of different greens at once). It also helps them dry faster. After a few minutes, remove greens and place in organic cotton drawstring bags (see tip above). For herbs you want to store in glass on the counter, you can still use the dunk and swish wash method, just hold onto the stems to keep the herbs together. Cut an inch off the bottom of the stems to keep the herbs fresher. For this method, you should change the water every other day and herbs like parsley will stay fresh for a week.
Filtered Water
I used to get spring water bottled in glass jars and delivered to home (very expensive). Then I bought 5 gallon jars and refilled them at the local water store with alkaline water. Finally I bought a Berkey Water System. I prefer it because the jar is stainless steel, not plastic, the filters last for years and I don't have to lug 5 gallon jars around. The water tastes great and is completely pure. I do a food coloring test every three months to be sure the system is working properly.
Sponges
For those of us without a dishwasher (or if you have one but use it only as a dish drying rack) sponges are incredibly important. Buy in bulk, so you always have a fresh one available. Use the old sponges for house cleaning (cut a slit in the sponge so that no one confuses it with a dish sponge).
Tawashi are great, reusable sponges that last a long time and don't require soap (except for very greasy dishes). They come in fun shapes such as flowers, pineapples and kittens. They are an eco friendly alternative to throw-away sponges.
A big benefit of the tawashi is that flax seeds and chia seeds don't permanently stick to them like they do with regular sponges. They are also great for cleaning up sticky messes from breadfruit or taro because the gooey stuff washes right off the tawashi.
Flowers
Fresh flowers make any room brighter and happier. Fragrant flowers are especially welcome in the kitchen. If you don't have room for a large vase of flowers, you can place fresh flowers from the garden in a small cup. If you don't have fresh flowers, pluck a few green leaves from any plant in your garden and place them on a plate or in a small saki cup with a bit of water.
No Microwave
I don't use a microwave. When I have frozen food, I use the oven. It takes longer, but the results are much better. I re-heat leftovers in the oven or in a pan on the stovetop. I don't miss the microwave at all, except for re-heating tea when I've poured the last cup from the teapot and it's grown cold. Not having a microwave frees up space for some objects of beauty.
Beauty
Bring beautiful, functional and inspiring things into the kitchen: artwork, plants, statues and fresh flowers. Sturdy, but lovely wooden spoons and handmade teapots and ceramic teacups. Small wood bowls for spices and hand woven baskets for fruits. Pink ceramic bowls and flatware. Super functional and supremely fun sponges, like eco Japanese tawashi sponges crocheted in cute shapes.