I am short.  Never made it to 5’4" — thus my dreams of becoming a long-legged, ballet dancer at Julliard turned into an application for culinary school.  Nevertheless, there is still lots of dancing and constant choreography my kitchen. I can create a sauce with poise and handle a knife with equal aplomb but there is nothing graceful about the kitchen tool I use almost as often as my knife  — my kitchen stool. 

My uncool kitchen tool is so uncool, it might just be cool again. With its discolored white plastic body and red, white, and blue, chunky sans serif logo, my Robot Coupe food processor is clearly showing her age. But when it comes to performance, reliability, endurance and, let's face it, quirky charm, she rates A+ across the board — even with a broken-off handle and a scratched work bowl. More

Q: I recently received a gift card to Bed Bath & Beyond. I'd like to buy a good-quality knife set and block with it, but I'm having trouble determining what brand and style would be the highest quality at a good value. I'm hoping to find one for $100 or less, but definitely no more than $150. Help!

Sent by Annie

I am lucky to have many shiny, heavy, ergonomically-designed, and brand-stamped pots and pans in my kitchen, mostly amassed from my wedding registry a few years back. This battered old pasta pot that my mom gave me after college sticks out like a sore thumb. I worry that the other pans mock it after I go to sleep, and yet, I can't let it go.

You can hang your tea towels on bull clips, over-the-cabinet bars, or tucked into the refrigerator door handle. But here's another super simple idea if you have a little bit of free wall space: apply a strip of double-sided tape to the back of wooden clothespins, stick 'em on the wall, and clip your towels in. More

I can't believe I'm going to admit this on the Internet and destroy my green cred, but here goes ... I use paper towels. Not a lot of them, and not every day, but enough to make me feel a bit uncool. More

Rossella's handmade ceramics — which she sells through RossLab, her Etsy store — are just the sort of sweet, simple pieces that make perfect gifts for your mom or sister, or your best friend who's putting you up for a week. It's all in the details: a red scalloped edge on a berry bowl, cream nesting bowls with brilliant teal and purple interiors, a black cream and sugar set with a rim of small white hearts. So pretty! More

When my husband and I bought our first home, I couldn't wait to stock the kitchen with things I loved, vowing to gradually get rid of low quality tools and gadgets carelessly obtained in college that we continued to use. One of my first purchases was a beautiful, heavy set of brushed stainless steel measuring spoons. More

Q: I enjoy baking desserts that often call for nut flours or ground seeds. I've been using an old metal meat grinder to grind my own flours, which resulted in a nice fluffy flour, but it has not aged well. I have tried using blenders and grinders but generally end up with more of a butter than a flour. Help!

Sent by Nicole

Last week we asked you, our readers, to share the one kitchen item you'd recommend splurging on. The response was overwhelming, but right on in our view. If you've ever wondered what's worth the money in the kitchen, read on for some valuable insight: More