Non-stick cookware is a good investment, but follow the manufacturer’s directions and turn the heat up only as far as recommended. Wooden spoons and plastic tools must only be used when cooking in non-stick cookware because the coating can be worn away by over stirring with abrasive kitchen tools. It should never be necessary to use anything but a good detergent and hot water on your non-stick cookware, and never use steel wool. By rights, you should not burn food onto the pan, but if this happens, wash the pan in hot soapy water while the food is still fresh and moist, and it will come away easily.

CAUTION: If you have a pet bird, it may be wise to avoid non-stick coatings. If you use them, be sure not to overheat them. The coating can release fumes that can kill a bird.

You may want to buy a slow cooker, an electric wok (for Chinese cooking), a four or six-person toaster, electric kettle, microwave (I have a convection microwave and now I use it constantly, and wonder how I ever did without it). You will need a good blender, food processor, electric mixer, and an electric knife. If you want to find some very good homewares then check out this site, homecouture.com.au where you can find a huge assortment of kitchen items at very reasonable prices. Another good site for homewares and cooking utensils is OzFreeOnline.com where you can register, login and begin searching the thousands of advertised goodies in their classified pages.

Don’t forget the juicer, ice-cream maker, egg poacher, deep fryer and of course the bread maker. You can make a fresh hot loaf of bread rapidly. Most machines allow you to place the ingredients in the machine hours before the bread is needed, so that you have bread exactly the time you want it.

You will need some wooden spoon, a collection of spatulas in different sizes and shapes. Get a selection of sizes and handle lengths. These are always handy and they will not damage your non-stick coatings. Unlike some metal tools, they do not get too hot to handle. Just remember that your lightweight spatula that will flip an egg may not be strong enough for a hamburger. Sometimes a narrow spatula is all that will fit in a pan, and sometimes a wide one is needed to get under whatever needs to be turned or lifted.