At the risk of geeking out in my kitchen, I have to say there's a new power couple in there. Now I love my KitchenAid stand mixer, and my ancient old bread machine is still dearly loved. My Cuisinart food processor rocks, but two recent additions are currently starring in a number of productions.
I wrote last year about getting my InstantPot electic pressure cooker. I'm still amazed by it. Mostly, I love that it's fix and forget, enabling me to go about other cooking without keeping an eye out on it. My second favorite thing about it is being able to make yogurt. I still can't believe I can do it!
My sweetie has been working, working and working, and been out of town many nights, leaving me alone with my computer. My long time friend, Kathy, gives herself rewards when her husband is out of town. As a joke a month or more ago, I told Dan I was going to buy a Vitamix blender and start drinking smoothies. He just rolled his eyes and said, "Go for it!" Well, somehow, the more I said it, the more it took root in my mind. (Hmm, there's a lesson there!) I checked around town but found only the usual suspects, no Vitamixes.
I read reviews, blog posts, recipes, etc, in an attempt to tamp down my interest, but it only served to make me more interested. The downside seemed to be price. They are not cheap. But then I discovered that Amazon had refurbished ones which came with a full warranty and required quite a bit less money. The reviews were excellent. Finally, one day I clicked "buy now with one click" and two days later a huge box arrived on my front porch. (You knew that was coming, didn't you?)
So here they are, the new power couple in my kitchen:
I just used both to make the most amazing roasted red pepper hummus (recipe from Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass). I cooked the chick peas (garbanzos) from dry to ready-to-go in just an hour, start to finish, and then made the hummus in the Vitamix. Yes, I even roasted my own red pepper (a first) on our grill. I made the tahini a couple of weeks ago in the Vitamix. Tahini is muy expensive and I could never bring myself to buy a container of it, but my favorite grocery store has a huge bulk section and sesame seeds are very reasonable. I'll have this blender paid for in no time!
Oh yeah--and I'm drinking smoothies too! ♥
Good for you! I am resisting the urge to catch your enthusiasm for the Vitamix. (Is that a "vitameatavegamin?) I still have to learn the finer points of the InstantPot. It's interesting how we fall into certain habits that stand in the way of learning new things, though we don't look at it that way. For instance, we eat a lot of game birds which need to stew a long time in order to tenderize. I have wanted to try a pheasant in the InstantPot, but instead I do the same old thing -- the Crock Pot.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Vitameatavegamin!! My favorite Lucy of all time.
DeleteI agree that it's hard to switch methods which is probably why I start with all new stuff. My shopping list is certainly changing