Stupid Stove Top Story.

Firkin I don't know where you're from so I don't know what may be available to you.
Here right next to Tulsa, a city of around 300,000, there's quite a lot of diversity and so a lot of things one can't get in smaller towns or country stores.
We have several Asian Markets around Tulsa that offer some realy exciting things. I have an excellent larger size Mortar and Pestle made from granite that I got at our favorite Asian Market for around $10.00 I think it was.
I also have a nice little Mexican mortar and pestle made for grinding dried pepper that I got in one of the local supermarkets that has a heavily Hispanic neighborhood.:)
It's made of a well poroused lava I think, not too large of holes so the ground pepper doesn't get lost and not so small as to not be able to grind the tough dried peppers.
They can be a real bitch if you don't have the proper tool!!!!
I also bought a really nice heavy good carbon steel cleaver that you can see the hardening line on along its edge for around $10.00 or so, don't remember for sure but I know it wasn't much.
Some of the Oriental, Asian Markets have quite a selection that can vary from month to month as to what's available.
I have seen some really nice Oriental, Asian cleavers with a very rounded bottom front edge and just slightly rounded the rest of the way back. The front bottom edge's radius is maybe 2"- 2 1/2" with a WAG. Wild A** Guess.:)
With the seemingly changing product line in food preperation one has to check things out monthly to see what's new.
If you go this route it won't be made in Nepal, but you can get some really nice tools and speciality items very reasonable.
The standard market stand bys such as rice cookers, bamboo vegetable steamers, dishes, woks and the like are always in stock.
Ever now and then they get the restaruant size woks in that could probably feed the whole H.I.Forum if made full.:rolleyes: :p :cool: ;) :)
 
I've got a pot and a pan. That's all I need for rice and fried flies. I've got the old charcoal grill for the squirrel heads.
 
Yvsa,

Yes, the asian stores can be great places to get some pretty good quality stuff at good prices. Just have to look carefully. Besides the two cleavers I have some nice heavy pottery bowls that cost almost nothing. College students in need of plates and bowls take note! And a nicely polished, slender,well-shaped bottle opener with riveted black plastic scales that cost less than a flimsy, stamped-metal one elsewhere.

I don't need another cleaver, but it would be nice to have one that felt as good to use as my AK! Total luxury item, I guess. The cheapie French chef's knife I re-ground has a peened-over rat-tail tang and a very light wooden handle. It's stiff, but very light. When you slice or chop vegetables, I seems like the whole knife almost disappears except the edge. It's hard not to cut things up too small! I imagine some of the Japanese ones would be like this.

I'm near San Diego, and there are a couple of amazing, huge pan-asian supermarkets here. They even have whole, fresh durrian. How you'd store that until you ate it all without offending the neighbors, I don't know. The meat counter looks like an anatomy class, the fish section a piscene museum, and there's an aquarium too. Usually 3 or 4 different kinds of live crab (live blue crab in California?!)and often live shrimp. Best fish prices too. I feel fortunate to live near such variety. Congrats on finding a good Mexican mortar and pestle. I'd love to get one, but almost all I've ever seen were touristy crap made of coarse, friable stone that would crumble off if ever used. Still looking. Maybe they can be found on the internet, but I'm adverse to paying shipping for a couple of rocks.
 
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