It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum
Topics => Food & Cooking => Topic started by: RickZ on December 16, 2012, 05:11:26 AM
-
Now we're talking utensils here, and not ones that changed Mankind, but utensils that changed your life in some meaningful way (ease counts). No appliances like coffee makers, food processors, (immersion) blenders, mixers (although the hand-cranked beaters counts), pots or pans or {GASP} dishwashers. I'm talking utensils. For example, if a spork saved your life one time, explain how and why, if applicable. And if there's a good picture on the innertubes of some oddball item, grab it.
So here goes my top 3 2 list of kitchen utensils that changed my life.
The first and most important utensil that changed my life is my microplane zester.
(http://www.everten.com.au/images/P/Microplane-Premium-ZesterLB-01.jpg)
Previous to this tool's invention, one had either the box grater or a smaller hand held grater that zested -- horribly. The zest got caught in the metal, and the zesters were hell to clean. It used to be that any recipe that called for zest was skipped as it was simply too much work. Not so anymore. I use lemon/orange/lime zest in anything that has lemons, oranges or limes in them. It's a great way to used the whole fruit in the tradition of older cooks and their 'waste not want not' mentality in the kitchen; being poor didn't hurt in the 'necessity is the mother of invention' cooking, either. Now typically zest is used in deserts and the like. But my world changed with the ease with which I could add zest to regular cooking, that is, adding tons of flavor with zero fat. I use zest in my stir-frys all the time, really, just about all my cooking. Lemon zest dusted over carrot soup. Lime zest over rice and beans. You name it. A supporting reason for this utensil being number one on my list is the ease of cleaning after using it. When I first received the zester, I was worried about a cleanup difficulty on par with those bulky box graters. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. These microplane zesters get all the zest off the fruit and into whatever you're cooking with no fuss or mess. And cleanup is a breeze.
Number two on my list would be my cherry pitter.
(http://www.homebrewunderground.com/images/cherry-pitter.jpg)
I don't use it as a cherry pitter, though. I use it as an olive pitter. I love olives, green, black, red, it doesn't matter. I like to buy them whole as they keep better, then pit them as I need them (black olives in a can? {SHUDDER}). I used to try to cut off the meat from green olives to put into dishes, like the butter/white wine/caper/green olive/lemon juice-zest sauce for fish, but I'd waste a ton of meat. With this pitter, it's out with the pit with a little muscle power. Green olives pitted and easy to slice, or add whole to martinis. Works on the black ones, as well. You squeeze and the pits gets pushed through the bottom leaving the whole intact olive perfect for serving as a garnish to dishes or chopping up into something (like my cream cheese and olive spread). The main reason for this utensil being on my list is that I love olives, and this allows me to use them more often and without waste. It was a weird gift when I received it, being that I hate cherries, but no more. I obviously do not use it for cherries, so I can't comment to it's original purpose. But I can say that if you like fresh olives, a good, easy to handle pitter is important, and this baby certainly fits the bill (of fare).
A most honorable mention would go to my manual coffee bean grinder. It was from my Mom's Mom's house, a small little thing and lightweight. It's old, just don't know how old. Anyway, I've had this grinder in my kitchen as decoration for decades; I never used it. Then one morning my electric coffee bean grinder smoked and gave up the ghost. That manual coffee grinder saved me for the next few days until an order I placed on the internet could be delivered. A most very honorable, and appreciated, mention.
So have at it. I'm curious to see which utensils others deem valuable, and why. I'm sure what someone cooks has a lot to do with their particular 'changed my life' utensil.
-
Wooden stir paddles, something like this, but the handles are about eight inches long.
(http://img.glimpse.com/img2/7TVtY20AFcnBDcIwDAVQ1AGYgBUSm-TbRhzZJEohTaXSiPTAIB24IL3bG_bL45zTp5-mbWt3orFeGb5Pa2v1XXxeF6pLKs_-GzIjkz-NegtjFJiaiioSRKMxMgyCF0xYzQXhb2Bx7NjPrRw*/G2Zqlv8A)
Best utensil I ever used to keep things from sticking to the bottom of any pan or pot. Once I started using them, I realized they are head and shoulders better than the usual spoons for doing so.
-
A hand-cranked centrifugal-force lettuce spinner/dryer similar to this one has been quite a revelation for me.
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2270/2347849536_5378f419db_m.jpg)
Over the past couple years, for my health, I have had to learn to eat more salad and like it. I eat about 3 full heads of Romaine per week on my own. But the rest of the family eats it only upon occasion, so typically, what I don't eat would go to waste.
Before, I would wash and rinse the produce, shake it as dry as possible, cut it up, place it in a large bowl in the fridge, and almost inevitably have to throw a portion of the wilted and decaying leaves in the garbage before they were all consumed.
It dawned on me that the waste was always soaking wet, wilted, and in the beginning stages of slime due to decay. I wondered if dryer lettuce would last longer, so I picked up one of these spinner/dryers.
I can now easily finish 3 heads of lettuce before they even begin to show signs of any decay whatsoever. It stays crisp and fresh tasting for well over a week, on those few occasions when I have eaten it more slowly.
-
A hand-cranked centrifugal-force lettuce spinner/dryer similar to this one has been quite a revelation for me.
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2270/2347849536_5378f419db_m.jpg)
Over the past couple years, for my health, I have had to learn to eat more salad and like it. I eat about 3 full heads of Romaine per week on my own. But the rest of the family eats it only upon occasion, so typically, what I don't eat would go to waste.
Before, I would wash and rinse the produce, shake it as dry as possible, cut it up, place it in a large bowl in the fridge, and almost inevitably have to throw a portion of the wilted and decaying leaves in the garbage before they were all consumed.
It dawned on me that the waste was always soaking wet, wilted, and in the beginning stages of slime due to decay. I wondered if dryer lettuce would last longer, so I picked up one of these spinner/dryers.
I can now easily finish 3 heads of lettuce before they even begin to show signs of any decay whatsoever. It stays crisp and fresh tasting for well over a week, on those few occasions when I have eaten it more slowly.
You're right! I have one and it's great. I deal with the lettuce first, then cut up the rest of the salad fixings and put it all together in the strainer in the spinner and store it that way. The lettuce can continue to drain any leftover water and it all lasts much longer than in a regular bowl.
-
I have one of those salad spinners. I just wish I ate more salad. Lettuce, for me, seems to go bad real fast, faster than I can eat it to be honest (same for celery). If I was more than 1 person, I'd probably use the spinner more. But everybody I know who has a salad spinner loves it and swears by it, especially for the price. The drier the salad, the less dressing you need to add as a little bit sticks easily (that whole oil and water thingy). I also find making dressings easy, and a homemade one will last a bit in the fridge, like bleu cheese. But for vinegar/oil dressings, it's easier to make them up as you go using whatever you got lying around; healthier, too.
If I baked more, I'd throw in the pan that's a utensil, a springform pan. You simply cannot make a good cheesecake without one, or my own creation, Grand Marnier-Chocolate Cheesecake (chocolate 'ice-box' cookie crust with a Grand Marnier/orange juice-zest/cream cheese/sour cream filling). And now springform pans come in non-stick, a cheesecake maker's dream.
-
I must be a Barbarian, I don't even think I've ever seen any of this stuff before! ::unknowncomic::
-
I must be a Barbarian, I don't even think I've ever seen any of this stuff before! ::unknowncomic::
I am a new-age barbarian whose favorite tools are knives and a microwave (not necessarily in that order ;-)
-
A zester is one of those things that I look at the store and think I should get one but never do. I use the smallest side on my box grater and I guess that doen't bother me. I also will grate all my lemons and limes at once when I buy them by the bag and save the zest in the freezer so I don't have to do it every time I need some zest!
Salad spinners is one of those things that I didn't buy for years because it seemed kind of silly to me. Until I got an almost new one at our church's rummage sale one year for a couple of dollars. Loved it. Then it broke. Then I got another from the kids as a gift. Broke that. The mechanism in the lid keeps breaking. Guess I'm spinning too much! That was a couple of years ago and still using the base of the last one to wash and drain the lettuce. I think I put too much lettuce in it any way because it did't get as dry as I'd like when it worked and I ended up hand drying it with a kitchen towel.
This how our family learned to eat more salad. We eat it first and we eat big ones. I got the idea from my daughter when she lived alone and was working and going to grad school. She'd come home starving but instead of eating dinner right away she'd have a big salad. Tastes pretty good when you're hungry. Then she'd go work out (because she was feeling good about having a salad and not sleepy/tired after a heavy dinner). We don't do the work out part here at home. But when everyone starts rolling into home and wanting to eat before dinner is ready I put out the salad stuff and they eat a nice big salad.
I'm not sure there's a gadget I can say has changed my life. I should own a garlic press since I use a lot of garlic but I never liked how the pieces stuck in the openings so I got rid ot it years ago before I cooked all the time. My immersion blender is one of those things I never really thought I needed until I had one. The first one I received as a gift and was a cheapy one at that. IT eventually broke so I bought a sturdier one. It's saved many a pan of gravy. I often use it several times a day because I'm always making soup (since that's my first line of defense against hungry children). Okay, I guess the immersion blender is my life-changing gadget.
(As for small kitchen appliances I'd say the food processor and slow cooker are my life savers in the kitchen.)
-
...Lettuce, for me, seems to go bad real fast, faster than I can eat it to be honest (same for celery)...
Have you ever seen a celery keeper? If you like celery, but it goes rubbery too fast, you can get a tupperware thingy that is basically a container, lid, and strainer/insert with a handle. You fill the container with enough water to cover the celery, put the (cut) celery into the insert, and put the insert into the container, submerging it in the water. The lid just keeps the water from splashing in the fridge. Otherwise you could just put celery in a bowl of water.
Celery gets rubbery because it dries out and the cells of the stalk become elastic. The celery's absorption properties will suck the water into the "veins", keeping it in its "natural" state - crisp and water-laden - literally for weeks. If you rinse it and change the water out about every week, the celery will taste fresh for a month after you cut it up.
Works equally well for cut carrots.
...The drier the salad, the less dressing you need to add as a little bit sticks easily...
Another healthy salad eating tip I learned - believe it or not - from McDonald's.
Taking a cue from the old Mc'Donald's "Salad Shakers", I eat my salads from a tupperware. I put the salad in the tupperware, put a dollop of dressing (without worrying about distribution) put the lid on, and shake the hell out of it for about 10-15 seconds.
The shaking distributes the dressing onto the salad pretty equally - no glops or uncovered leaves. Every bite has the same amount of dressing. I use at least half as much salad dressing as a result, and it tastes like I'm eating more.
-
I must be a Barbarian, I don't even think I've ever seen any of this stuff before! ::unknowncomic::
I am a new-age barbarian whose favorite tools are knives and a microwave (not necessarily in that order ;-)
My brother! ;D
-
I must be a Barbarian, I don't even think I've ever seen any of this stuff before! ::unknowncomic::
I am a new-age barbarian whose favorite tools are knives and a microwave (not necessarily in that order ;-)
My brother! ;D
Good grief!! ::saywhat::
-
New-age barbarian?! I'd have to add "can opener" to that list.
-
LV,
The Oxo Garlic Press that I have.
(http://www.bestappliancesreview.com/images/oxo-steel-garlic-press2.jpg)
I always hated garlic presses for the reason you mentioned and they always seem to break as they were too lightweight. Well this Oxo baby is hefty, presses out the garlic with little pressure and, I repeat and, has the added bonus of being reversible to clean. That is, and you might barely see them, there are pegs on one side that match with the holes of the press. By reversing the press, you pop out the garlic pulp. Best damn garlic press I ever had. $13.95 (http://www.bing.com/shopping/oxo-steel-garlic-press-stainless/p/152F7BC671C225F75012?q=oxo+garlic+press&lpf=0&lpq=oxo%2bgarlic%2bpress&FORM=EGCA&lppc=16) at Amazon Marketplace.
As for the microplane zester, the thing I like is that you can zest right into things easily, including hard cheeses like Pecorino Romano. Maybe I've had bad box graters in the past, but I always hated cleaning them. It didn't matter, cheese, zest, ginger, they were all a major pain to clean.
New-age barbarian?! I'd have to add "can opener" to that list.
Absolutely, especially a good solid hand crank one. I always hated the electric models moreso after the horror stories about the germs and bacteria which grow on them as they never get cleaned. I like washing my hand crank opener after each use.
I must be a Barbarian, I don't even think I've ever seen any of this stuff before! ::unknowncomic::
To be honest, you must love to cook (and, by extension, eat) to use such things. For example, if you don't use up a knob of garlic within a week, you don't need a garlic press. And we haven't even discussed a decent heavyweight pizza cutter, a necessity for me as I like to make my own pies. But for too many people, Domino's comes already sliced. If I made apple pies, or other apple-y things, I'd get an apple corer, but I have no need for one. I live in an apartment, so I do not need good long grill tongs. But if I had a grill, . . .
-
Okay, I guess the immersion blender is my life-changing gadget.
(As for small kitchen appliances I'd say the food processor and slow cooker are my life savers in the kitchen.)
Sorry, but no electricity allowed, handpower only. I know for my Mom, a heavy stand mixer changed her life. But that's an appliance. Same for microwaves, as evidenced above.
-
LV,
The Oxo Garlic Press that I have.
(http://www.bestappliancesreview.com/images/oxo-steel-garlic-press2.jpg)
My daughter was out Christmas shopping and called me and asked what I wanted. I never have a good answer because I don't really want much. But I had this on my mind and said to get me a garlic press and this one in particular.
I will admit it is better to have this. I use a lot of fresh garlic sauted in oil and mincing the garlic with this flavors the oil better than when I just tossed in sliced up cloves of garlic. Plus my daughter doesn't have to see the little slices which she hates to bite into. (I, on the otherhand, roast garlic whole and spread it on bread. yum)
So this is a win. Now I'm wondering if I need a zester or a salad spinner.....hmmmm......
-
"I will admit it is better to have this." LOL! Don't go out on a limb there, LV. But good for you. Good choice of 'gift'. As I told Pan, the essence of a good Christmas gift is something useful as well as something you'd not buy for yourself. A free trial, so to speak; no harm, no foul if it goes wrong. Glad you like it. I hope my review did it justice. And isn't the weight of the thing really nice? Not too heavy, but definitely a 'Mr. Chef in the kitchen with a garlic press' weight.
All I can say, LV, is that zesting will change your approach to food. That whole 'lots of flavor with no fat' goal is achieved through the zest. I used to only use zest in my Grand Marnier Chocolate Cheescake, as I only had that box grater and a small handheld one mostly because, as I mentioned, they were a pain to clean. But that microplane zester cleans up in a snap, and the metal grate part is small enough that it will not 'bite' you, unlike the more coarse graters can (and have!). So I can use it literally all the time. Lemon zest is my go-to zest for no sauce Italian pasta salads, and as a dusting 'topping' for things like broccoli or my braised brussels sprouts. The orange zest is now always a part of my Chinese stir-fry sauces, which I create from the bottles I like (hoi-sin, sriracha, garlic-chili, teriyaki, rice wine vinegar, etc.). Very little oil in a stir-fry, but that zest always packs a punch. I even use the orange zest in my fried rices. I started seeing this zester used by a lot of cooks on the Food Channel a few years back. I scoffed at it -- until I was given one. So like that garlic press which you now know to be a gem, especially as you use garlic so much and your kids have 'issues' with it in larger pieces, this zester is on the same level of utility. Did you find the clean-up as easy as I discribed? Same thing when cleaning the zester. Really quick and neat. The only thing I do to help it along in the drying (I don't have a dishwasher, but even if I did, there are cetain things you simply wash by hand like good knives, that garlic press and this zester, to name three) is I give it 10-15 wrist snaps to get the water out, then leasve it out to fully dry. I also have kept the plastic sheaths as they protect the blades and the hands when reaching for them.
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419k8xzNsiL._SY300_.jpg)
Real coffee in the comfort of my own home.
-
I'll need this contraption, because when the SHTF I don't wanna run out of hooch!
http://www.whiskeystill.net/ (http://www.whiskeystill.net/)
-
All I can say, LV, is that zesting will change your approach to food.
Ok, I'm convinced. A zester is on my list.
Yes, I like that this garlic press has some weight to it and it is easy to clean and no, i don't put it in the dishwasher*.
*Dishwashers were invented, I think by kids, for kids who have to help mom, as I find it faster and easier to wash and dry and put away and be done with it. But kids always want to drag out the whole process by using the dishwasher.
-
Re; zest, zesters, and zesting...
I've only used a zester once, at a gourmet cooking class, and I don't even remember what it was for. If I remember correctly, it was lemon rind (if not, it was orange or lime, but I'm pretty sure it was lemon). What kinds of recipes would one put zest in? Is it something that lends itself to experimentation, or is it best to put it in specific recipes that call for it?
-
I'll need this contraption, because when the SHTF I don't wanna run out of hooch!
http://www.whiskeystill.net/ (http://www.whiskeystill.net/)
Now this looks interesting.
I'm not much of a drinker anymore but this would be good to have in a SHTF situation
-
I'll need this contraption, because when the SHTF I don't wanna run out of hooch!
http://www.whiskeystill.net/ (http://www.whiskeystill.net/)
Now this looks interesting.
I'm not much of a drinker anymore but this would be good to have in a SHTF situation
Yeah, even if you don't partake yourself the barter value is obvious. And I think word got out too, all but the small unit are out of stock.
-
What kinds of recipes would one put zest in? Is it something that lends itself to experimentation, or is it best to put it in specific recipes that call for it?
Okay, here's my thoughts.
First off, anything that calls for any juice, I use fresh citrus but zest first. If the juice is for marinade, then I'll add the zest to the sauce (at the end, off heat).
Like I also mentioned, zesting is great in baking. Lemon zest and fresh reduced juice make the most amazing lemon cookies. With a sugar icing. Yum-yum!
Since you like salads, IDP, add zest to homemade dressings. For example, a mixed green salad topped with a couple of breaded and quickly fried goat cheese slices, chopped walnuts, and a dijon mustard-orange zest dressing, adding a few of the orange wedges to make it look perty.
I sprinkle zest on some meat dishes right on the plate, especially the slow roasted variety. Zest perks up meat. You could make a chimichurri sauce, or whatever flavors you like. Myself, my go-to flavor combo is fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest and hoi-sin sauce, with other flavors varying by mood. But that orange/hoi-sin combo is great. Adding the zest to stir-frys at the end is also a great flavor enhancer. Frying up some small chicken pieces for orange chicken, not a bad choice, either.
But seriously, you can use zest in places you never thought they'd go. I put lemon zest in my twice baked potato: Lemon flavor but no liquid. I also love the Greek roasted lemon potatoes, except I punch it up at the end with the pre-zested lemon.
You want to kick up a bloody mary? Not only lemon and lime wedges, but a dusting of lemon and lime zest.
Using your basic red cocktail sauce for seafood, substitute (for lemon) lime and lime zest, along with adding some fresh chopped cilantro. Your shrimp will thank me later.
-
OK, now you went and made my saliva glands spontaneously ejaculate. I need a cig, and I don't even smoke.
::exitstageleft::
-
Yes, I like that this garlic press has some weight to it and it is easy to clean and no, i don't put it in the dishwasher*.
I'm glad you like the weight, too. For me, that's important. Same for the cleanup. I'll hazard a guess and say that you'll be using that garlic press quite often. And the more you use it, the more you will appreciate it. At least that's been my experience.
-
Let me add that there can be whole naked citrus fruit in my fridge. I used the zest but didn't need the juice at that moment. Nude lemon slices get squeezed into tea. If I don't use the orange any time soon, I'll squeeze it and have a couple of swallows. If I have limes, I'll use the naked wedges in my cranberry juice in the morning for a virgin sea breeze. I also like virgin bloody marys using lemon and lime, but substituting lower sodium V-8.
In other words, I'll use zest for one thing, and I'll find a use for the juice in something else. Waste not, want not.
Orange and vanilla flavored french toast dusted with sifted powdered sugar and served with warm ginger flavored maple syrup. Now we're talking beyond foreplay.
-
Does my wife count?? (Okay, NOBODY RAT ME OUT! THIS MEANS YOU PANDORA!)
-
Aw hell, fella, you do a fine job ratting yourself out without any help from me; seen it with my own two eyes.
-
I think RickZ is the zest king.
I think I've used my new garlic press just about everyday that I've cooked. I'll let you know when it gets to "changed-my-life" staus". ;D
I do use zest of lemon and lime often. I use my old box grater. I guess I need to get a zester and prove RickZ correct again. Anyway, I also have naked cirtus in my fridge. If I happen to need the juice but not the zest, I zest anyway and throw it in the freezer. There have been times I needed fresh juice and didn't have it so I used a pinch of zest from the freezer.
I just realized that my change-your-life gadget is my glass citrus juicer. ::danceban:: I love, love using fresh citrus juice.
(http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x331/LadyVirginiaUSA/glassjuicer_zps5dcdeb91.png)
One day I got out the old one my mom had given me and I was sold on using fresh juice. I can't stand the bottled stuff any more. I've broken a couple and I scout out another at our church rummage sale for a dollar or less.
-
I've broken a couple and I scout out another at our church rummage sale for a dollar or less.
I need a juicer. I should of thought of this sooner. Because I do know.
Growing up, my Mom had this cookware called Guardian (http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=guardian+cookware&qpvt=guardian+cookware&FORM=IGRE), heavy aluminum, with handles that allowed for a universal handle attachment (space saver, I guess), with glass lids and even an odd shape, triangular. She had the 14" deep saute/light fry pan, 2 triangular pots, a small and smaller saucepan, along with a pancake griddle. Well I was at a church flea market over 20 years ago. I saw the Guardian pizza pan for the amazingly low price of $10. I scarfed that thing right up. When I told my Mom, she wondered/questioned/hinted if it was for her. I said no, I make pies, and it's a keeper. She said she always wanted it but never found it. Yet here I did find it at a Methodist Church rummage sale. I still use that pie pan, 15-1/2 to 16" across. Makes the best pies because it is so neavy. Plus, my oven has the heat source on the bottom, it being the top of the low slide out broiler tray. When I cook a pie, I'll leave it on the bottom for a good couple of minutes to really crust up the dough. It's more like lasagna pie as I layer so many things on it that it has to cool a little, or rest, before you cut into it and serve it. I've been known to wait 10-15 minutes at home, the damn thing's so hot. Anyway, great pan for $10. So I'll have to be on the lookout for those glass juicers, because I really do need one and that would be a great way to buy something attractive but cheap. Thanks for the reminder.
Tha pizza pan I bought. Quite hefty.
(http://worthopedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/thumbnails2/1/0707/10/1_8ee64dea1490feff8e3ee6e1d8490274.jpg)
One of those triangular pots and glass lid.
(http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mMLrAetoMdwBpOSDFmPJGaQ.jpg)
-
I looked at the Guardian link. I'm seen that before. Maybe mom had some or maybe it showed up at our church rummage sale. A lot of interesting stuff shows up there every year. (Something like 65-70% of our church is over 65 and half of those are over 80.) I got a cast iron skillet for $2 one year even though I needed another like a hole in the head. I couldn't resist. I did buy a old manual meat grinder once too for like $4 even though as of yet I haven't grinded any meat. Seemed like a cool thing at the time. Every few years I buy one of those nut choppers with that screws onto a glass jar. I guess I chop a lot of nuts because I eventually break the spring. I pick one up for 50 cents. That's also a gadget I can't do without.
-
Lady V, I'll let you know how those old hand meat grinders work out in a week or so.
Looking to make my first deer bologna
Parents had a really good one that had ground up many a pig and cow. Mom passed and we were getting reafy to move into the house.
Had the auctioneer here.
Giving him the tour, I pointed at the meat grinder and the old cast iron waffle iron and told him they stay.
They went
-
Lady V, I'll let you know how those old hand meat grinders work out in a week or so.
Looking to make my first deer bologna
Parents had a really good one that had ground up many a pig and cow. Mom passed and we were getting reafy to move into the house.
Had the auctioneer here.
Giving him the tour, I pointed at the meat grinder and the old cast iron waffle iron and told him they stay.
They went
Sometimes when I wander through an antique mall I point out the things I recall seeing at my grandma's house (and even a few things my mom had) and my kids just laugh. I do wish we had some of those things still.
-
I think RickZ is the zest king.
I had to think about this because I do sound like a zealot. I think I've figured out why: I hate boring vegetables.
Most people spend a lot of time on the main course, but vegetables are all too often an afterthought, even in nice restaurants. So for me, zest adds, well, zest to vegetables. I simply cannot stand plain steamed vegetables. There has to be a sauce, like a lemon or a cheese sauce for broccoli, but again, no longer boring. My Mom lost all her herb/spice perspective when it came to vegetables. They were there, . . . on the plate, . . . waiting for the adults to turn their heads so the dog got some. I guess that's why I like a perky vegetable, braised or stir fried or roasted -- with lots of flavor. I bought a coffee grinder to use for spices and now toast my own coriander/cumin/fennel and other seeds, as well as dry roasting dried chilis before grinding. Toasted ground coriander and ground cumin seed makes my carrots real happy; they're even happier with a low sodium beef broth instead of water. A lot of flavor. We, as a Nation, only seem to do side vegetable all out on the holidays, specifically Thanksgiving, but they all seem to have a sweet edge to them. I like savory. Toasting seeds and using zest makes vegetables stand out, gives them oomph for the ol' taste buds. And I have to say I was using zest before my heart problems/diet considerations. Now the zest is a real bonus. Like I said, flavor but no fat. It's not like I'm giving up anything. My taste buds' cravings are satisfied by the sharp and savory flavors of zest and/or fresh ground toasted seeds.
So yeah, I guess I am the zest king: I hate boring vegetables.
/Let me know when The Crusade Against Boring Vegetables begins. I'll be there with my accoutrement: Coffee grinder and zester. Once more unto the stove, dear friends, once more. . . .
-
::hysterical::
-
Well, I for one, enjoy your crusade on behalf of vegetable.
And I would not have a garlic press if not for you.
::thumbsup::
-
Good knives.
And my Rada sharpener.
You'd think as a country boy that I would be able to sharpen knives well.
We butchered our own animals and dressed out any game.
I can't sharpen worth a darn. When I do get it right it's just by luck and trial and error.
This little Rada sharpener is amazing.
With my handicap, I've tried a number of sharpeners but this one really works
-
(http://theblocksharpener.com/Photos%202011/items1A.jpg)
We use this sharpener and it works very well.
-
Where do you get something like that, Pan?"
I have almost every kind known to man but haven't seen those
Whetstones, diamond sharpeners...
-
Is any of this Barbarian compliant? I bet I could destroy some of these doohickies without even trying...
::bus::
(http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss291/libertasinfinitio/LOL/tard.gif)
-
Where do you get something like that, Pan?"
I have almost every kind known to man but haven't seen those
Whetstones, diamond sharpeners...
Gunsmith found it at a gun-show. Figures, right?
http://theblocksharpener.com/ (http://theblocksharpener.com/)
Libertas, you're a piece of work. LOL.
-
Yeah, but I'm pretty low maintenance after all...
(http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss291/libertasinfinitio/Warnings/cat_fireplace.jpg)
-
After I asked I found the from the same site.
Ordered a pair; 1 coarse and 1 fine
-
The Rada, the Block, the Rada, the Block, the Block, the Rada what a dilemma. We need a comparative analysis.
-
As soon as mine arrive, I'll be glad to give a review.
-
::thumbsup::
-
Chef's Choice 1520 Angle-Select Knife Sharpener (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U-cPrrGpqU#)
-
I love my candy thermometer. I use it to make Peanut Butter Fudge. Before I got it, I just waited and kept having to drop a little into ice water to see what the consistency was, or I could tell by the color of the boiling milk and sugar, but that's kind of risky. Now it just has to get to 230 degrees and it's perfect every time. My mother is in a nursing home, and her favorite gift to give the people there is fudge, so I've been making it every couple weeks lately. I am also going to use it for deep frying stuff. I've been avoiding that because I am afraid of hot oil. I finally broke down last night and went to the store for one, and I didn't like any of them, and I already have too many single use appliances, so I got a soup type pot, but smaller. I figured with the thermometer I could accomplish the same thing and it wouldn't get all gross and gooey.
I also love my pastry cloth with the pie pan sizes printed right on it so I can tell when I have the right size. I stole my mother's 10" pie pan because I can't find really big ones anywhere. I make all the pies at Thanksgiving (average one per person), and I use the big one for apple since it's everyone's favorite.
Oh, and those plastic liners you can buy for Crock Pots really work well.
-
Lisa, now there's a gadget I haven't thought about in a while. My Mom had a candy thermometer (big bulky glass tube) and couldn't make many of her desserts without it. Like a meat thermometer, there's no guesswork as to temperature.
-
Lisa, now there's a gadget I haven't thought about in a while. My Mom had a candy thermometer (big bulky glass tube) and couldn't make many of her desserts without it. Like a meat thermometer, there's no guesswork as to temperature.
I use it to make home made ricotta.