Vital equipment

It's been a while since I talked about equipment, so I thought I would take a moment to talk about one of the greatest additions to my kitchen. It's a cookbook stand. I've had it a few months now, but find it hard to imagine how I coped without it. It is always out in the kitchen, and always with a cookbook in it, partly because there is exactly enough space on the shelves for all but one of my books at a time, and partly because I am always working on something; bread, baking, etc. It's nothing fancy, just a moulded piece of perspex that you slot your book behind. It serves not only to hold the books upright for easy reading while you're frantically throwing ingredients together (vital for someone like me who rarely reads all the way through before starting a project if I bake on a whim and who's eyesight isn't exactly the best, even with the glasses) but it also protects your books (well most of them, it's not actually tall enough to cover the whole page) from splashes. Having managed to squirt tomato puree across the kitchen only a few nights ago, and having a penchant for being a slightly messy baker this is key to keeping my cookbooks readable.

Basically if you bake or cook from books or notes regularly this is the perfect piece of equipment. Well, until this becomes readily available at least!