Dumb Consumer Item of the Month - Kitchen Gadgets

How many kitchen gadgets does one home need? Apparently a lot. A whole lot. It’s a gadget-o-rama out there. 

It’s endless, really, this obsession with creating kitchen gadgets that promise to make cooking easier, but only end up cluttering countertops for a while before being put in the cupboard, or worse, out at the curb, in disappointment and frustration.

For example, if you can boil water with an animal skin and hot rocks from the fire, what do you need a high-tech immersion heater for?

Immersion circulators—also known as sous vide machines—used to be reserved for professional chefs in fancy kitchens. But what was once only for fine dining is now commonplace in home kitchens.

I don’t know how commonplace this gadget is - I had never seen one before until a reader brought these to my attention. 

Why? Because she had just found one and liberated it from the trash. A new one is worth $260.00 Canadian dollars, or €160 Euros. Our trash liberator friend sold it for €50 Euros, so a good day of collecting, and the purchaser got a bargain, too, if they actually use the thing.

Sous vide is an unusual process that begins with vacuum sealing food in a plastic bag, so you would also need a vacuum sealer. Oh boy, another gadget! 

The plastic-sealed food is then long cooked in a hot water bath heated by the immersion unit. Cooks say this method retains juices, tastes, and aromas that otherwise would be lost using other methods.

Cooking food in plastic does not sound that great, although the process can also be done using a glass jar.

How many cooks do this often enough to want to own a high tech immersion cooker? Not many, I would imagine. 

 

The only kitchen gadget most people need is a Mombot Kitchen Cooker that does everything except cut your food into bite sized pieces, and wipe your mouth with a napkin after you are done.

I think Elon Musk is working on one. They would sell like hotcakes, and be able to make and serve them, too.

Some kitchen gadgets can be game changers, and I would put a food processor in that category. Others seem entirely superfluous, but each to their own.

Where do you stand on kitchen gadgets? What are you favourites, and which would you never own? 

You aren’t going to find a high tech immersion heater for sous vide cooking in my kitchen drawer. 

Or in my trash.

Thank you to Le-Chat for the idea for today’s post.

Faster Food

Our freezer is always full of faster foods we make ourselves.

In our humble home our preference is for slow food made by our own hands. However, it's nice to have a quick meal every now and then to avoid burnout from constantly cooking.
To break the cycle of prep/cook/clean/repeat, we rely on our freezer for convenient, healthier, and speedier alternatives. 
This approach provides numerous advantages:

• Control over ingredients and cooking methods
• No need for online orders or phone calls
• No tipping required
• Minimal packaging waste
• No driving necessary
• And, most importantly, delicious and nutritious meals

So, what's in our "faster food" freezer?
Beans prepared from dry: pinto, kidney, black, garbanzo, and soy. We also store bean boiling water in 500ml jars (except for chickpea) to make gravy and sauces for potatoes and pasta.
Prepared foods we regularly cook then freeze in bulk and portion out include: chilli, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, soups, cornbread, pizza, samosas, and lentil stew.
Our vegetable garden supplies us with frozen green beans, peas, kale, pesto, and cubed winter squash.
A well-planned approach is crucial when making your own food and utilizing your freezer efficiently.
Just like freezing your credit card in a container of water slows down impulse purchases, forgetting to thaw meals in advance can hinder quick dining. 
And anything that hinders quick dining makes us vulnerable to the fast food industry.

By embracing the slow way to "faster food" approach, we've taken control of our meals, our health, and our schedules. With a little planning and prep, you can too. 

Consider giving your freezer a starring role in your kitchen, and discover the freedom that comes with having delicious, homemade meals at your fingertips.