Kosher-Keeping, Inexpensively PHOTOS BY DANIEL LIPPITT W Right Sango Stoneware's "Le Cafe" line: 20- piece set for $49,97 at Wells Freight & Cargo. You can buy sets of ceramic dishes, from Muirfield China to Sango Stoneware, starting around $50. Goodman and his wife, Gerry, have stocked their store with items from ware- house cleanouts and catalog end periods — which means that you can buy full sets or in_divid- ual items, your choice. Stainless flatware by Strata, service for eight, costs $49.97, or a 114-piece set by Gran Royale costs $99.98. Of course, if that's too many pieces of sil- verware for you, Goodman guar- antees that you can buy as many as you want, individual- ly priced. Nowadays, many apart- ments come with microwave ovens, and we've all begun to rely on that easy zapability when it comes to warming up leftovers. J.G. Durant's Arcui- sine is a line of non-stick glass bakeware that is microwave- able and oven safe. "Just starting out [with] one cookie sheet will do ya," says Kitchen Glamor's Pietros- ki. "If y-ou're into making cook- ies, get two, so you have one made up and ready to go in the oven and one for when that comes out," She also advises investing in "a good hand-held mixer, with power." Mtchen Glamor has one by Kitchen Aid for $79.95, nine speeds, or try Meijer for a much cheaper version. The same goes for "a good set of knives — a chefs knife, a paring knife, a serrated knife for bread or toma- toes, and, if you're going to do roasts, a nice slicing knife, plus the steel, a rod you use to straighten your knife edge and that'll keep your knives in good condition." Leaving those plastic plates behind. And don't forget to buy a cut- ting board. Whether wood, plas- tic or acrylic, Pietroski suggests cleaning with "antibacterial soap and scrub it in two direc- tions," in case any bacteria lingers. Kitchen Glamor does sell one "that has an antibacte- rial agent built into the board, that will slow down bacterial growth." If you cook a lot, a food processor is a big help. Kitchen Aid offers one with two sizes of bowls — 11-cup and a mini- bowl that sits inside of it, $189.99 at Kitchen Glamor. Or, you can buy one by Hamilton Beach for around $20 or $30 at Meijer. And, don't forget a cof- fee maker, which you can find for $20 at Meijer, Kmart or Tar- get. Pietroski says it's important to have "a good cookbook The Kitchen Companion by Polly Clingerman is good, not so many recipes as cooking tips," she says. Also, try Bed Bath & Beyond and Lechter's Housewares for quali- ty kitchen items at a low price, and Mar- shall's for discontinued or last season's items, like ceramic serving pieces, stemware and pitchers. The most.important thing about stocking a kitchen is to start ear- ly and comparison shop. Keep receipts and return items that you find cheaper else- where. And don't feel that you have to own top-of-the-line dishes and cookware in your 20s — you have years to upgrade the kitchen Target has an array of plastic utensils in different colors, for color-coding kitchens according to meat, dairy and pareve, and Meijer is a great place to find red, blue and clear Pyrex bake- ware in any size or shape. Amazing Savings carries name brand (like Mikasa) boxed sets of dishes for as little as $40 for four place settings, Singal says. "You don't even have to buy the Mikasa — we carry Stoneware, $39.99 for service for four," he adds. The store stocks close-out items, not second hand or defective. "I have a service for four in sil- verware as low as $8.99, and I think, right now, my most ex- pensive set is $24.99 ... a Cam- bridge, good name brand stainless steel," Singal says. His stores also carry crystal serving pieces, costing between $7.99 and $15.99. "Probably the easiest way [to start keeping kosher, affordably] is to get the basics and not wor- ry about the extra stuff," Singal says. "A couple sets of pots — oc- casionally we carry pot sets for $69.99. We carry frying pans, dutch ovens; stainless steel or nylon serving utensils, all 89 cents a piece. It can be very in- expensive." And, try Kosher Notions at (310) 836-0287. They sell meat/dairy/pareve stickers to differentiate between shelves; red, blue and green serving utensils, towels, trivets, rubber gloves and spoon rests; and col- or-coded bristle sponges that can be used on Shabbat and holi- days. ❑ — Lynne Meredith Cohn PHOTO BY DAN IEL LIPPITT Above: Plastic spatulas, slotted spoons, kitchen tongs and a wire whisk range from $1.97 to $5,97 at Wells Freight & Cargo. hen I first entertained the idea of keeping kosher, I worried that I didn't have the money to spend on double everything that a kitchen needs. But my rab- bi scoffed at this concern. "Go to Amazing Savings," he advised. With two stores in metro De- troit (one in Farmington Hills at Orchard Lake Road and 14 Mile, and one in Southfield at Green- field and Lincoln), Amazing Sav- ings has a presence in New York, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and Florida, says Sandy Singal, gen- eral manager here in Detroit. Most are owned and operated by Orthodox Jews. The rabbi was right: You can build a kosher kitchen, complete with two sets of dishes, silver- ware, pots, pans and bakeware, for under $300. Just shop wise- ly. A set of glass dishes is a good start and easy to kasher, in case they are mistakenly made treif. Wells Freight & Cargo carries a line of unbreakable glassware by J.G. Durant, the biggest glass company in the world. They sell Arcoroc Radius dinnerware at about $85 for service for eight, the Vercors pattern at about $95 for eight settings, and Cristelle at around $80 for eight. Bed Bath & Beyond also sells glass dish- es inclividrmlly, you can buy eight place settings of the line with a grape design on the dishes for around $30. With a mezuzah on the door of Wells Freight & Cargo, Goodman acknowleges that he and his wife, Gerry, stock some "Jewish" items, such as fish plates (glass plates in the shape of fish that can be used for serving fish sep- arately during a meat meal). ti C) C) C/D cC J.G. Durant's "Vercors" glass dinnerware are heat and break resistant. A 16-piece set sells for $31.97 at Wells Freight & Cargo.