Toys, tools, gadgets, techonology you need/don't need for this lifestyle

Sorry for the hiatus, I was on a little mini-vacation helping my best friend move back home from Kentucky.

 In what feels like a life time ago, when my children were still babies and I was still married, I was a stay-at-home Mom. I became quite domesticated for a time and part of this meant that I had to have every funky gadget and toy for the kitchen imaginable. So I did.

We had a waffle maker, a blender, a food dehydrator, a vacuum sealer, cappuccino makers, ice tea pot brewer,  a juicer, a mixer, a panini maker, a pan to make omelettes, a pan to make pancakes, a tortilla warmer, an electric frying pan, a deep fryer, a rotisserie oven, an electric grill,  crock pots and electric knives, food processors and stuff to cook things in the microwave like spaghetti. In short, we had a bunch of crap that mostly went unused after two or three times of trying them.

Unused, because it was either a pain in the ass to clean, or it didn't work as well as it did in the commercials, or because it was more cumbersome and time-consuming (the very things these gadgets were supposed to prevent, consuming time) than desired.

So I realized that less means more-especially in the kitchen. Sometimes the simple ways are also the easier ways. I also am not big on clutter and I tend to move a lot, so being bogged down with a bunch of gadgets and machinery didn't quite fit my gypsy lifestyle. As any trip to the Good Will will prove-many trendy gadgets crowd the shelves like the Forgotten Toys of the North Pole. (Bread maker, anyone?)

But I have found that a few items are absolutely indispensable to me and this life style of eating, and I'd like to share with you what they are. What triggered all of this for me was moving my best friend back. He openly shared that during a deep bout of depression accompanied by insomnia, he'd be sucked into late night t.v. informercials for magical and amazing kitchen products and subsequently, would whip out his credit card and buy them.

Since he was now going to be living with some friends until he finds his own place, most of these gadgets were headed to his storage until I asked him if I could try a few to see if I wanted them or not, or if they make my life any easier. He said sure. And so this post is born.

First up-a veggie dicer/slicer. Like a mandolin I guess. I watched a few commercial on the YouTube for this thing and it seemed to be pretty cool. In theory it is. But like everything else you see on TV or a menu picture-then there's real life. And in real life, it was difficult. I managed to get the onion chopped as you can see-but I had to experiment with onion pieces and that meant I still had to chop. Unlike the commercial where you put an actual half of an onion on the grill/grate/chopper metal thingy-yeah that didn't do a damn thing when you pushed down on it. So it really does require slicing and dicing. I would say that this thing is then worth it when you want these uniform perfect diced pieces, perhaps for a Pico De Gallo when you are entertaining. As for me doing this each time I want a diced onion-I don't know. I am going to take the onion I did dice in this picture and just freeze it. This way, when I am really super lazy or tired, I can just pull this out of the freezer. So it's my back-up for those times. This would also work for freezing onions ahead for soups.

There is a measuring cup attached which I found totally worthless, especially as most recipes will say 'one small onion' or 'one medium onion' and not so much cups of onion but whatever.

I still need to try some different veggies on it such as green peppers and carrots-I think maybe with some of the softer veggies it might be easier to use, and it also comes with a slicer which I will try with a cucumber. For me though, its just as fast and actually easier with a really good knife to just chop myself by hand. If you have excellent knives, cutting veggies is not that big of a deal. I'm thinking that using celery with this would be a pain in the ass, but again if you want decent aesthetics for your chopped stuff (dare I say chopped eggs for egg salad non-vegans) then this is the best thing- otherwise, I would not buy this. It's easy enough to clean on the top dishwasher rack and all but still. Takes up room in the kitchen when you really don't need this-unless you entertain a lot, really hate chopping stuff and/or take much better pictures of your food for your blog than I do and have them look more 'professional. '

Food Steamers.

I have used the metal steamer pan insert to steam my veggies for years. It's easy enough to use-just put a bit of water in the bottom of a sauce pan, add the steamer, add the veggies then put a lid on the pan and steam til done. Not only healthier but keeps the veggies 'al dente' (and makes broccoli a gorgeous color green.) Steaming retains nutrients and enzymes- unlike boiling veggies which leaches vitamins and minerals and tastes-and doesn't make them a mushy pile of yuck that is what has made most of us hate veggies as a kid.

Steaming also doesn't require the addition of oils or constant supervision the way stir-frying does. Personally I believe that steaming truly brings out the flavor of veggies more than any other cooking method (including roasting.) I ate dinner over a friends who had a steamer machine like this white one pictured, and she steamed potatoes in them. They were absolutely the best potatoes I'd ever had. I love baked potatoes in the oven with the skins all crispy and crunchy but the steamed potatoes had an incredible almost buttery taste in and of themselves. I was sold on the machine just based on that!

Yes, there are food steamers for the microwave. Out of all the kitchen appliances that there are, the microwave is easily the one I could live without. I truly only use it to re-heat coffee and some left overs. Otherwise, I don't like them. I know that the jury is out as to whether or not they are healthy for cooking or harmful, but I am erring more on harmful. I have nothing but intuition to really back that up-and the entire country of Russia, where microwaves were banned.

I don't think they were being paranoid. Granted they banned them in 1976 and the ban has since been lifted.

 They've had their share of fall-out what with Chernobyl and all so maybe yeah, they were leery of irradiating food-but they are not dumb people. So if they have banned the use of them then there is probably some sort of science backing that  up. Some political reason to lift ban.  (Since Europe has also banned many foods and food additives that the U.S. hasn't, I tend to think we are a little slow on the uptake when it comes to what we consume and what our safety standards are. )

For a list of the reasons why microwaves suck go to Microwaves are Sketchy

In any event, there is a shit ton of reasons why microwaves are considered evil for food consumption as well as arguments that they are fine and in fact preserve nutrients so you be the judge. Look up the information for yourself.

 I prefer to NOT cook in the microwave and at the very least, if you are going to use the microwave to cook foods, do not use plastic.

I do think that the microwave ushered in the terrible food relationships that we have today and it was the beginnings of processed chemical frankenfood hell, as people searched for easier, faster ways to cook and 'nuking' your meals became the preferred method. (It also made starting corporate restaurant chains easier as many meals could be 'prepped' at a major distribution facility then delivered by truck to the stores who then could simply nuke them when ready to serve and began the decline of food quality in fast-food joints)

 You get what you pay for and sometimes the easier softer way is the most dangerous. Between the food additives, processing, 'creations' and plastics the nukable foods come in-that coupled with any of the adverse effects on foods microwaves may have-I'd rather use a different method of steaming.

If you still eat fish then the steamer machine is a great way to steam an entire meal-you can put the fish on one tier, then veggies and potatoes on the other tray and have an oil-less but extremely tasty dinner (steamed fish is also delicious.)

The only thing it does not steam is rice. I have also used a rice cooker and I find that it's just another appliance not worth having as it's just as simple to put one cup of rice and 2 cups of water in a pot and watch the clock.

Immersion blender.

A must-have. I love split pea soup, black bean soup, cream of mushroom soups. I also found that transferring said soups to a traditional blender created a mess, was a burn hazard, and more than one time the blender top 'exploded' with hot soup leaving a mess and again a potential injury. Not anymore. This thing rocks. You simply stick it in the pot, turn it on, and it blends the soups into their creamy smooth goodness. It also comes with a whisk attachment which is great for beating eggs or mixing up batters if you are so inclined. Basically anything you'd whisk-gravies, sauces, puddings-this thing does even better.

Speaking of blenders-The Nutribullet is another 'have to have'. This picture is an older model but I still adore it.

You can also make soups and sauces and salsas and such with this and with ease, but its marvelous for smoothies and juicing. It leaves no pulp like a traditional juicer does-you get every nutrient pulverized into a juice. It also comes with an attachment for making your own flour-a great idea for those who don't want gluten and can make your own alternative flours and breads. I encourage people to go to YouTube and look up "nutribullet.' Not only will you see thousands of recipes but there's hundreds of testimonies on how using this blender to juice even one juice a day has helped people to lose weight, control their blood sugar and motivate them to make other healthy changes.

The classic crock pot slow cooker can still be used even when you no longer eat meats and/or are vegan. In fact, there's an even better pot for us-its a pot that is not only a slow cooker, but a pressure cooker as well. I am mentioning it though I don't own one yet. I have read the testimony and seen the recipes and blogs about this device and its a Godsend to veggieheads everywhere. It cooks beans-from the bag dried-in about 20 minutes and you can make entire meals-veggies with rice in about 10 minutes. It also cans foods, so those with a garden can really make out well owning this. I am putting a link for it, though I don't endorse (nor oppose) JC Penny's, it's just the first thing that popped up on search. It can probably be found on Amazon or Ebay for less or a different make/model.
Cool Ass Pot

My roommate has a drip automatic coffee maker but even that is something I don't really care about and don't own-I much prefer a french press.

Just put the coffee on the bottom, pour hot water in, let sit for 4-5 minutes, then plunge. What you get is a fantastically rich cup of coffee. Now some will argue that this is not that healthy because it does not eliminate the oils from the coffee like paper filters do. As a result its been said to raise cholesterol. It may or may not be the case but I think one cup of coffee in the morning this way is okay. Some will also argue that it keeps the antioxidant quality of the coffee more intact than a regular coffee maker so there's that. Just like some people say the 'k cup' coffee makers are really bad now because they harbor molds and stuff. Seems everything is a risk so go with your taste buds and moderation.

Last but not least-I do not own one and am having a hard time finding one outside of Asian stores where they are quite expensive, but a hot water machine. It's just what it says. Instant boiling hot water at your disposal. So if you are a tea drinker or an oatmeal lover-this is for you. Even for using in the french press. I won't advocate instant soups but it's great for them, too.....I really loved this thing when I worked in an office that had one. On a cold wintry day to have instant hot cocoa was great-even faster than microwaving a cup. If I remember correctly, the hot water heater that was in the office also had a button to de-chlorinate the water. (Our manager was Cantonese and got the machine in China.)

(incidentally, I believe that the science project of the girl and the plants and feeding them water vs microwaved water has been debunked but I dunno-seems other experiments have shown that microwaving water changes it also. So this too may be a 'safer' water. )