I'm Being Forced to Buy New Tools for My Kitchen!

Work has rather been on the back burner, recently.  We have our house on the market and if anything is designed to destroy a routine, this is it!  We are selling because we intend to move to the UK on a permanent basis.  Of course, this decision has generated several problems, not the least of which is 'what do we take with us?'  Should we sell everything and replace it there, or should we pack everything up and take it with us? (See more on mosstravel)

Our wonderful big Electrolux fridge will never fit into the sort of kitchen we will be able to afford in the UK, so that must stay!  Washing machine and dryer also.  We actually have a brand new Magimix  food processor still boxed - never opened - that we will certainly take.  Also a Rice Cooker in the same state.  I guess M  and I will have a few 'full and frank' discussions about smaller stuff.  My wooden spurtles and my stick blender are a definite 'yes', while all his top-quality knives and frying pans will qualify too.  As to my stand mixer, blenders, pots and pans and small items like rolling pins, cook-ware and bakeware etc., they have all given great service over the years and really could do with being replaced.  Oh, the memories, though - can I bear to part with them?  My Polaris copper-bottomed,stainless steel saucepans were a wedding present 30-odd years ago. I used all my bake tins when I cooked in our cafe and what about all my Pyrex bowls and measuring jugs?   They are still fit for service, if a bit battered and could definitely  tell a story or two!   I guess the decisions will have to be made as we make progress with the packing!


Oh - almost forgot, all the cook books and magazines will go, of course, along with all the scrappy bits of paper with notes and odd recipes on.  Each is a special memory in the hand-writing of friends and family often long gone and not to be wilfully discarded, even if the recipe is rubbish!  

At this moment, we think we will sell as much as possible and just take personal stuff and few special, small pieces of furniture, but this could well change.  There is not much money in second hand furniture at the moment!  On the other hand, how exciting would it be to start afresh and Shop! Shop! Shop! in those beautiful English stores. 

And think of the revues, I will be able to read and write!

More on Stick / Immersion Blenders

Our George Foreman. Whisk, Wand, Food Processor
and Blade, Plastic Container for Pulverising and
The Bit that holds the Motor!

In our kitchen, we presently use a George Foreman Immersion. or Stick Blender that we got through  a points programme.  It seems OK,  although because of our travelling ways, we have not used it a great deal.  We did return to discover that there had been a re-call on it because of a faulty blade connection, but fortunately,  ours was not one of the 'baddies'.

We use it mainly for chopping nuts,  making pesto and curry pastes, chopping onions etc for salsa,  for whipping cream and pureeing soups, fruits and vegetables.   All but the cream and the soups  are  processed in the super mini-processor supplied, which we find a fantastic device for when we have only  small quantities of ingredients to handle.  I am sure that, as time goes by, we will find plenty of other uses, too. At present, I am thinking of hummus and a pate, that at present I make in my food processor and blender respectfully, purely out of habit.

In the meantime, thinking about the Bamix (see last post) sparked my interest in Immersion Blenders in general so I started to do a bit of research on the subject. First - a little bit of history.  The Bamix is the original.  It was invented in Switzerland and patented in 1950. The name comes from two French words, "battre et mixer" i.e. beat and mix.  These blenders first appeared in American kitchens in the 1980s.  Obviously,  I can attest that English cooks were able to enjoy the experience somewhat earlier - the 

early 60s, in fact

Now there are heaps of immersion (stick) blenders on the market.  They come in all price ranges and all promise slightly different things.  The most expensive domestic model I found (at current prices) was the top-of-the-range Bamix at $400 and the cheapest, the Betty Crocker at $12.72......  Each brand has its loyal followers and its vehement detractors regardless of price. Often the cheapest have the most glowing reviews while the most expensive can only grovel under the burden of some consumer's rage.

Q 1.  How do they differ from other tools developed for mixing and blending? 

A.  They do their job in the container in which the food has been, or will be, prepared.

The obvious advantage here is that this mostly cuts out the need to transfer food from one container to another. This often messy and protracted operation  always entails further washing of dishes and extra 'stuff' strewn across the kitchen. Murder in a small area and the opportunity for chaos in a large one. 

For example, when I make pate, I cook everything in a glass dish, then, when it is somewhat cooled,  I ladle it into the blender, in batches, for processing.  As each batch is processed, it gets poured into a single clean bowl.  When all the batches are amalgamated, the mix gets thoroughly stirred so that any textural differences in each batch disappear.

For washing up - Bowl from cooking, ladle, spatula, blender jug and base, blades, gasket, large spoon, bowl from mixing.  Benches are usually decorated with drips of pate and/or melted butter from careless use of utensils, sundry accidents and life's little surprises!

I figure, if I use an IB (note - I am learning the jargon) the following should be the case,

For washing up - Bowl from cooking, spatula, wand from stick-blender and clean benches.  - Result!

More later.................

Lemon and Yoghurt Cake

This is one of two lemon cakes that were really popular in our household when the children were growing up. The other was a recipe (one of many) given me by my wonderful mother-in-law, Anita when she used to come out from Leeds in the UK and stay with us in NZ. She is, I am sorry to say, no longer with us, but I am sure she would have liked this one, too.

This is good served with creamy yoghurt or as here, clotted cream.

It is so long since I have baked a cake - around 3 years, I think and unfortunately I miscalculated and slightly over baked this one.  You will see that the oven was too hot so the cake rose too quickly and split.  It is also a little sun-tanned around the sides. Never mind, it tastes good and the syrup that soaks it prevents it from being dry.  I will know next time and I promise to do better!  It is such an easy recipe though that it is well worth a try.


                                                         Lemon and Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients


Cake
1 cup caster sugar
finely grated rind of two lemons
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup rice bran or grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups plain unsweetened yoghurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups self raising flour

Syrup
1/2 cup lemon juice, extra
1/2 cup caster sugar, extra
Greek yoghurt to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 22cm ring tin.
2. In a large bowl mix the sugar, rind, eggs, oil and salt together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
3. Add the yoghurt and lemon juice and mix, then sieve the flour into the bowl and fold in.
4. Spoon into the tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
5. Stir the lemon juice and caster sugar together.
6. After the cake has cooled for 5 minutes, pour this glaze over the cake. Serve with Greek yoghurt
Notes

• I  use a micro-planer for grating where-ever possible.  It is less messy, you do not grate pith and you do not risk having slices of flesh added to your recipe! 
• When grating rind, add it straight away to your sugar if the recipe allows.  Any oils that seep out will soak into the sugar and you will not lose the precious flavour.
• Always use a metal spoon for folding and you will lose less air from your mixture.

                                                

A Stick Blender History

Stick Blenders - Part 1

Stick blenders, or immersion blenders if you like, are among the best and most useful kitchen tools, if you have the right one!

The modern Bamix

I first came across one in the early seventies at the Ideal Home Show at Olympia in London.  The blender in question was a Bamix, from Switzerland and it was being demonstrated on one of the lesser stands by a very ebullient gentleman and his female side-kick.  "At this time, Bamix," he said, "may be purchased only here.  It is not available in the shops!"

You know the sort of stand and demonstrator I mean.  They often do knives.  They demonstrate knives with serrated blades, on blocks of wood, sawing back and forth with tremendous vigor. Then, with the same blade, they slice a tomato, moving from the brute force of a Sumo wrestler  to the delicate actions of a cup-cake fairy. They swear you will 'never need another knife' and 'not only one, but two.......just for the show. ....will not be available again in the near future'.........Yeah!

Shamefacedly, I admit I once bought a pair of these knives in my murky past, and they were actually not too bad at all.  I had them for about 25 years and they were always great for slicing tomatoes.  In the end I gave them away out of boredom.

And now - back to the chase! 

My parents from NZ were with me and my father was just developing an interest in cooking.  My mother, rest her soul, was happy to be able to produce a half-way decent Victoria sponge and pork with crackling to die for, all the while stoutly maintaining that she had never been able to bake a decent sponge since she had to change from a coal range to an electric stove!   Hmmmm.....

Anyway - the blender. Dad was mightily impressed.  He watched the "chef" roughly chop enough  vegetables to half fill a bucket, add a few pints of boiling water, and then introduce the mighty Bamix to the mix. Whammy! Instant Soup. I can't actually remember what else the guy did but really, it didn't matter. The bucket of soup had made the sale and Mum and Dad took a Bamix back to NZ.

I don't know how much they actually used it.  I know that they made pate with it, but not the bucket soup.  Avocado, probably.  It was an extremely robust item - all metal and from memory,  a lot heavier than the stick blenders of today.  It stayed with them for the next 20 years when it was passed on and it did them proud. 

Thanks Bamix.