We Bought Something

"Wouldn’t it be fitting if your nutritious morning smoothie came with a side of exercise? Well it could, if you had this ingenious food processor designed by Christoph Thetford. Called the Kitchen Machine, the electricity-less appliance uses the physical force generated by pedaling a flywheel, and nothing else! And a range of different attachments make it super versatile — whether you need to grind coffee, mix, stir or chop."

We rarely shop for anything other than food. So when we buy something other than edibles it is a bit of an event. We had such an event recently.

A couple of years ago our 70s era blender, handed down to us from Linda's mom 30 years ago, blended its last smoothy. 

We researched replacement parts, but supply chain disruptions rendered parts impossible to obtain. Plus, how long can that motor actually last?

We lived without smoothies and hummus for a while (the things we mostly made with it), then decided to find a replacement. It took us two years to make our decision, so this was no impulse purchase.

Rather than buy a blender, though, we went for a food processor. We could have bought a large mortar and pestle instead, but wanted something more versatile for two reasons.

1. We want to be able to process even more of our own food to reduce our dependence on outside sources, and

2. We want to be able to do this for as long as possible.

I do all the physical work in our kitchen, and Linda, being unable to do physical work, is the kitchen manager. It works out beautifully, but I wonder how long I will be able to continue my efforts as I age.

The food processor will enable us to continue making our own everything, because that is the goal. We would like to delay having to switch to processed foods for as long as possible. 

So far the new machine has been an awesome addition to our kitchen. We have already replaced store bought items with foods we can now make ourselves. 

Some of those foods we have made with our new appliance are:

- tahini (sesame seed paste, an important ingredient in hummus)

- hummus

- tomato soup

- salsa for canning

- coleslaw (can be made by hand, but the processor makes it fast, easy and with very consistent mouth-pleasing results)

- peanut butter (will also be trying other nut and seed butters)

- pizza (dough and toppings all done with the various attachments)

I really enjoy using my own hands to interact with my food. Doughs especially as I find the process of kneading to be meditative and calming. 

Handling a nice, sharp knife to slice and dice is the same.

Some say that love is transferred from cook to food that way, which enhances the taste and enjoyment of dining. 

The user's manual that came with the food processor did not mention love at all.

However, our new purchase is expanding the list of things we make for ourselves, and will ensure that we will be able to continue making them far into the future... even when I am older and fogeyer.

Otherwise, we might have tried to find out where we could get the pedal powered processor shown above.