Kitchen "Candy" ~ Or, Look What I Just Got!

[Andy M.]

I used my new mini food processor to chop veggies for my salads. I love it. Haven't used grind yet.

I also bought that OXO knife.

I love it. I sharpen it with one of these small sharpeners, and it is nice and sharp. Cuts through tomato like a breeze.

SHARPAL 191H Pocket Kitchen Chef Knife Scissors Sharpener for Straight & Serrated Knives, 3-Stage Knife Sharpening Tool Helps Repair and Restore Blades

View attachment 70546

Thanks, mofet. I sharpen my knifes with a sharpening kit. Stones of different grits etc.

 

[taxlady]

I used my new mini food processor to chop veggies for my salads. I love it. Haven't used grind yet.

What kinds of salad do you use this for?

 

[msmofet]

What kinds of salad do you use this for?

I chopped my celery, onion, and scallions for my mac salad and potato salad. Works like a charm.

 

[taxlady]

I chopped my celery, onion, and scallions for my mac salad and potato salad. Works like a charm.

Do you chop all of the veg to the same size or do you do different sizes for different veg. I have a mini chopper, so I would like more uses for that handy tool. It's an attachment to my Cuisinart immersion blender.

 

[GinnyPNW]

I chopped my celery, onion, and scallions for my mac salad and potato salad. Works like a charm.

This is my favorite tool to make Salsa!

 

[caseydog]

I used my new mini food processor to chop veggies for my salads. I love it. Haven't used grind yet.

I have an older version of that, with only one speed. It has been great for probably around twenty years. I use it twice as often as my big Cuisenart Professional FP.

CD

 

[msmofet]

Do you chop all of the veg to the same size or do you do different sizes for different veg. I have a mini chopper, so I would like more uses for that handy tool. It's an attachment to my Cuisinart immersion blender.

I use my mini processor when making salads/salsa/dips/spreads/herbs (and mushroom stems for stuffed mushrooms). I grind dried mushrooms to sprinkle/add to recipes for extra punch of flavor. And anything that needs to be chopped small/fine. I buy 1 lb.+ bags of peeled whole garlic cloves. I use mini to chop them to a medium mince. Then I put chopped garlic in freezer bags, spread out thin, and flat. Freeze solid, then I can have chopped garlic on hand for months. Just snap a piece off and pop the rest back into the freezer. I also grind rolled oats, flax seeds, and quinoa to flour for making bread. So much easier on the arthritis.

 

[dragnlaw]

Like you garlic idea, very handy and still using fresh!

 

[caseydog]

I use my mini processor when making salads/salsa/dips/spreads/herbs (and mushroom stems for stuffed mushrooms). I grind dried mushrooms to sprinkle/add to recipes for extra punch of flavor. And anything that needs to be chopped small/fine. I buy 1 lb.+ bags of peeled whole garlic cloves. I use mini to chop them to a medium mince. Then I put chopped garlic in freezer bags, spread out thin, and flat. Freeze solid, then I can have chopped garlic on hand for months. Just snap a piece off and pop the rest back into the freezer. I also grind rolled oats, flax seeds, and quinoa to flour for making bread. So much easier on the arthritis.

It is also great for pesto.

CD

 

[taxlady]

Like you garlic idea, very handy and still using fresh!

This is how I store garlic.

Garlic Freezer Tray - Lee Valley Tools

Discover the Garlic Freezer Tray. Buy this product now on our Lee Valley online store.

www.leevalley.com

 

[Kathleen]

This is how I store garlic.

Do you add oil before freezing or just plain garlic?

 

[taxlady]

Do you add oil before freezing or just plain garlic?

Just plain, no oil. Also, I learned not to pack it in tight. It's hard to get them out when they are frozen if they were packed tight.

 

[LPBeier]

I used my new mini food processor to chop veggies for my salads. I love it. Haven't used grind yet.

I have one of these from when Dad lived with us and and needed to chop/grind all his food fine as he had a swallowing problem. It was great. I still use it and will be this week while I make a pasta salad for a family gathering. I don't want to lug my big one down to the coast.

 

[dragnlaw]

I had seen Lee Valley's garlic/herb freezer tray a couple of years ago but didn't care for the price. I like the flat baggie idea better.

taxy, if you use a paper towel and just put barely a slight film of oil in the squares, that should be enough to help release them easier?
You could also, once frozen remove from the tray and store in a baggie. More flexible for storing and also just need to grab one to use rather than struggle for the release each time.

 

[jennyema]

I’d just use a ziplocks instead of ice cube trays.

We grew garlic this year and it came out great. I have a hundred cleaned and peeled cloves in ziplocks in the freezer.

That took a few hours but so worth it.

 

[taxlady]

I had seen Lee Valley's garlic/herb freezer tray a couple of years ago but didn't care for the price. I like the flat baggie idea better.

taxy, if you use a paper towel and just put barely a slight film of oil in the squares, that should be enough to help release them easier?
You could also, once frozen remove from the tray and store in a baggie. More flexible for storing and also just need to grab one to use rather than struggle for the release each time.

It's easier just to avoid jamming the garlic in hard. I always intended to pop all the little cubes into some sort of container. I just never got around to it. It was just so easy to find that little box and pop out a few cubes and consider each one equal to one clove of garlic.

By the way. The grid that makes the cubes is a separate piece. You can pop it off the bottom of the box. Just the sides come off and then it's easy to poke the garlic out from either side, as long as the garlic wasn't jammed in.

 

[Andy M.]

I recently broke down and bought a curiosity item I'd seen used in coking videos. A ground meat masher. It's supposed to work better than a spatula or similar. It was cheap, less than $10. so I ordered one to satisfy my curiosity, and because I hate having to break up ground beef in a skillet.

 

[msmofet]

I recently broke down and bought a curiosity item I'd seen used in coking videos. A ground meat masher. It's supposed to work better than a spatula or similar. It was cheap, less than $10. so I ordered one to satisfy my curiosity, and because I hate having to break up ground beef in a skillet.

Does it look something like this? If so, I have one and it does a good job. I let the meat cook a bit so it's a bit firm (I think it makes it easier to chop) then chop it. Works good for ground meat and bulk sausage.

 

[Andy M.]

Does it look something like this? If so, I have one and it does a good job. I let the meat cook a bit so it's a bit firm (I think it makes it easier to chop) then chop it. Works good for ground meat and bulk sausage.

View attachment 70578

It does look something like that. I don't cook ground beef that way often so I really shouldn't have bought it, . . . but.

 

[GinnyPNW]

It does look something like that. I don't cook ground beef that way often so I really shouldn't have bought it, . . . but.

I've had one for a while. I use it often. It makes quick work of the job. I use it for my homemade dog food and it chops the veggies as well as the ground meat.