Do I have a Martha Stewart kitchen? No. My stove broiler doesn't work. My spoons and forks are in a painted tomato suce can. the cooking utensils are in a garage sale crock. My daughter boils our water for tea in another ten cent pot. My cast iron skillets, crockpots and my stockpot were "safety awards" my husband let me choose from his catalog.

I don't have many appliances but I do like the breadmaker I got for Christmas and the ricemaker I got off the bargain returns rack at Wal-Mart. The dishwasher my brothers gave me is just a place to stack dishes to dry until I can afford to have it repaired.

My cabinets don't have doors yet. (We bought a fixer-upper house to save on the down payment.) And I got my favorite long handled spoons and spatula by selling aluminum cans.

But here I am. Writing a newsletter about cooking and housekeeping. Ain't God good?

In this space, I an help you decide on some equipment for your kitchen. We'll talk about the essentials and how to get them. Providentially sometimes! Remember, less stuff means less cleaning so we won't bother telling you about useless gadgets.

But their are some things that are worth the investments. I'll help you decide what those items are and clever ways to obtain them. I especially like items that can do double duty. Remember, I have a lot of mouths to feed so I won't steer you wrong.

If you have suggestions for this column, please write and send my your review. We can help each other.

-Julia Lee Sharplin Ashley (written on January 13, 1994