Looking around my DINK kitchen, I realized we have several gizmos that symbolize the freedom of a kids-free lifestyle. These are the types of items a household with toddlers would not have the time for because none of these items are about convenience or safety. They're about extracting every ounce of joy that exists in a moment

Espresso Maker

Take for instance our beloved La Pavoni espresso maker. Getting the kids off to school and desperately needing a morning cup of coffee? Sure if you have 10 minutes to heat up the machine, slowly pull the lever for the espresso, and then foam your ‘crema’. A time saver it is not, but for us it is worth the effort because this time-tested contraption makes a delicious Italian cappuccino. 

As coffee is near and dear to our hearts, we seem to have found a way to own a Bialettti Mukka Express. Also Italian made, there are no levers involved like the La Pavoni. But making your morning Joe is a bit more complicated than filling up the Mr. Coffee and pushing a button. Water levels need to be set, individual coffee tamped into its bowels, and the Mukka even requires installing a special frothing tool just right and filling milk up to a critical line. Tasks not meant to be taken on while getting everyone dressed and ready for school. And there's the waiting, yes the waiting for Mukka's all-important ‘pop’ and ‘whooosh’. Eagerly anticipated sounds that indicate Mukka is ready to share his espresso delights for those with the time to linger in the kitchen.

Homemade Ice Cream

While I will admit to owning an electric ice cream maker, one of my friends with kids actually has the time and patience to make homemade ice cream with an old-fashioned hand crank freezer. Time consuming and arm tiring, yes. But do these oldies but goodies make the best tasting peach ice cream ever? A resounding yes. Kids may not have the patience to wait for the ingredients to freeze, but we DINKs have the maturity and patience to savor the anticipation of the creamy delights churning beneath the ice and rock salt (yeah, right...).

Pasta Queen

The lost art of pasta making, crushed in spirit by so many cans of Spaghetti O's and plates of mac 'n cheese in some culinary circles, lives on in our DINK kitchen courtesy of the ‘Pasta Queen’. Now granted, after mixing the dough and pulling it through the machine, the pasta needs a place to hang and dry – which would be tricky if we had finger paintings and band camp schedules everywhere. But in our kitchen, we can create some unfettered space for linguine, fettuccine and even lasagna noodles.