When I had to get new cookware for induction, I went by how comfortable it felt in my hand. This will be different for everyone (has to do with weight and handle style). I ended up with Farberware Classic, which is the same thing I had before but the new version works on induction. I only bought the individual pots that I needed, not a boxed set; I don't think their nonstick skillets are induction-compatible. All my skillets are cast iron anyway. I also have an enameled cast iron Dutch oven (Fontignac, from BB&B) and love it. I'd say go round to a few stores that carry cookware and take a magnet with you, and try things out until you find one that feels right in your hand. I was willing to buy something more expensive if I needed to, but Farberware really was more comfortable for me than brands with long handles (plus I knew the handles would stay cool).

I have an induction cooktop. Yes, I have a new-ish farberware millennium non stick interior-stainless exterior and I love it. Just havent used it a lot and so it is pretty babied. I expect it to last a long time and it was $18 or 24 at potsandpans.com, the farberware store. I also love my circulon infinite non stick cookware. I have several pieces. Also currently on sale at potsandpans.com. Not all circulon is induction capable but infinite and symmetry are. Every morning I use a nonstick 8 inch Le Crueset, stainless exterior for eggs and love it, but it was $65 at the lc outlet store. Pricey for me, but it is wonderful, also. Check out farberwarecookware.com or potsandpans.com. These are related websites and both circulon infinite and farberware millennium are on sale, induction capable, 500 degree ovenproof, dishwasher safe, metal utensil safe, and are 20-25 bucks for 8 and 10 inch sizes. What more could you want?

Third vote for the home designer software. We had an architect give us a bid and it was outrageous--apparently architects usually bid in terms of a percentage of the total budget, but our $25k-$30k budget was too small for his usual approach (!) so he quoted us a flat fee of (COUGH COUGH COUGH) $10 to $15k. Um! No!! We ended up buying a new iMac and the Home Designer software, and we could've bought another four or five iMacs for what this architect wanted. And he wasn't a big firm, just a well-respected, established local architect who specializes in remodeling old homes in a way that looks appropriate to their original style. He personally would not bid for just drawing up plans and letting us take it from there--he liked to be more involved, help choose contractors etc.--but my understanding is that the architects who would just give us plans would still want at least $3000 or more for that, which, again, is a lot more than our iMac + Home Design software. I ended up doing a ton of different plans with the software, posting them and getting feedback here, and now we have a plan we like a lot. No architect OR kitchen designer required. That being said, you will need to hire an electrician to get your wiring designed and implemented properly--even if you are very handy and capable of doing it yourself, that would probably void your homeowner's insurance, so if there were ever an electrical fire you would be totally screwed. (I say "probably"--check with your insurance company to be sure.) It also can mess with resale value. The only way I can think of to get the electrical system designed properly without hiring an electrician to do the design, assuming you can do this without voiding your insurance, is to get the version of the Chief Architect Home Design software that lets you (1) design the electrical system in detail AND (2) check your design against national codes. As you can see from this matrix (in the link), that means you have to get the "Pro" version. By the way, be sure you read what the Chief Architect website says about the computer requirements to run the software. Very few laptops have fast enough processors to do the 3D rendering, and ours certainly didn't, so since our only desktop was literally like ten years old we ended up having to get a new computer to use this software. But still, I'd rather spend $2200 on a fantastic 27" iMac and this software, and be able to create infinite kitchen plans and tweak them as much as I need to, and have this great computer for years, than spend $3000-$5000-$10,000-whatever to get an architect to give me one or two kitchen plans. And if you use PCs rather than Macs, your computer expense will probably be smaller than ours was anyway. Here is a link that might be useful: Chief Architect Home Designer product comparison

I forgot that I also have a small potato masher in there, and some small tongs. The tongs are from a set that came with two, so I had it extra. I my kitchen with electricity, I have to say I love my immersion blender because I no longer have to have a blender taking up valuable counter space. For a minimalist kitchen, I guess one might want a toaster oven, but they are tricky to use and I am a distracted cook. I'd rather use that counter space for a snazzy toaster, but I love toasted things . . . In my actual kitchen, I have a braising pan with a clear glass lid, which I can also use to roast things in, but I often use my roasting pans, my aluminum one doubles as a cake or lasagna pan but I have a larger one if I want to do a turkey . . . which vegetarian me rarely wants to do . . . I also splurged for some nice thick aluminum baking sheets, not the thin ones like you can get in all the marts. Cake and pie pans can be used to heat stuff up in and if you're going to be baking, of course loaf and muffin tins. And then of course I would splurge on the dutch oven, that is great for a minimalist kitchen. At my last tiny apt., I just stored it on the stove and used it often. Can even stir fry in it . . . and I have to say, a cast aluminum dutch oven is not a bad idea either. I inherited one from my mom, and it's a whole lot easier to move that around than the heavy cast iron one. Stamped aluminum of course is terrible, we're talking thick cast aluminum. And in my actual kitchen, I have a grater and a meat thermometer. I would not usually do such elaborate meals on the road or camping. A good chef's knife can be used instead of a grater in most instances, but I do like it for shredding cheese and carrots. I do love my microplane for fresh citrus peel but I lived most of my life without such luxury. Same with a peeler, I use it all the time but I can also use a paring knife. But the peeler is in almost constant rotation. Since I make pizza, a pizza cutter is something I use quite a bit, and because I am a pie lover, I use my pie cutter and server, although one could use a knife and a spatula. So the rest depends on what you like to eat I guess. I love my pasta server because I eat so much pasta but one can also use a big slotted serving spoon. I forgot that I have a small one of those in my camping kit too. You don't have to use measuring spoons either, you can use a tsp and tblsp/soup spoon and eyeball the rest, but my measuring spoons get a lot of rotation. And for clean up, I love my set of bottle brushes of various sizes. And as someone who went through many a stovetop tea kettle, I love my electric kettle that shuts off automatically and heats fast. We use that every day too.