I love kitchen gadgets, a trait I get from my dad. When I was growing up, I remember him coming home several times with something he picked up at the hardware store (the only "kitchen shop" of the day, especially in our little town) and presenting it to Mom. Trouble was, Mom wasn't a lover of gadgets. I especially remember the potato ricer he brought home one day. John and I loved it, but mom thought it made a mess and was difficult to clean. Both were probably true, but it was fun to use! Needless to say, it languished in a drawer.
But I digress . . . somewhat. A few years ago my dad ended up in the hospital some distance from their home near Thanksgiving and Dan and I stayed up with Mom and eventually brought them both home. As a thank you, they bought us a spiffy new FoodSaver, a contraption that seals food in a vacuum bag. We had one, but it was much smaller and didn't hold the rolls used to create the bags.
We've used this new one a lot, especially when it's hunting season; it's perfect for steaks and stew meat. I used it again tonight. Waffles and bacon is one of my favorite comfort meals. Finding good bacon can be difficult, but lately our Winco has stocked bulk packages of bacon--good bacon! We bought a new package the other day, and after I cooked some tonight (and made waffles!), it was time to package up the rest. There were fifty thick, meaty slices in the package, so that made dividing it up easy--five per bag (two for me, three for Dan).
In short order, I had this nice pile on the counter, ready for the freezer:
I'm a gadget girl! ♥
Mike also loves gadgets. One of the kids told us about "Seal-a-Meal" and we bought one, or a facsimile thereof. I didn't like it, so Mike mostly sealed at my direction. Then one day I made the mistake of sealing fresh, juicy chicken breasts without pre-wrapping them, and as it sucked out the air it also sucked in some juice, unbeknownst to me. Eventually I located the stench, but cleaning the affected machine part was difficult. We didn't use it much after that and finally it wasn't working well and we tossed it.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, we've gotten along very well without it.
Kathy, who has no particular talent for gadgets
Well, my mom would understand. If you couldn't do it with a fork or a wooden spoon, she didn't do it. I, on the other hand, love things that make the work easier/faster/more fun--for me as least. I'm amazed at how helpful some gadgets are. (And when I, as an adult, discovered the seam ripper for 'unsewing', well, all I could say was, "Where has this been all my life?! I learned to snip threads and pick them out with a pin. Agonizingly slow...)
DeleteOh yes -- I know the seam ripper well. And -- I agree that we have to be open to new things in order to progress individually and collectively.
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