OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
Great thread!
> In article >,
> "D.Currie" > wrote:
>
>
>>I was just thinking about some of the things that I use regularly that I
>>thought at first were stupid, useless, or gimmicky, but now I'd have a hard
>>time living without.
>>
>>Prime example is my microwave. When I first heard about them, I thought they
>>were insane. Why bother? Okay, I don't actually "cook": much in the mw, but
>>I use it all the time for reheating things, and sometimes for thawing. Some
>>veggies get cooked in there, just because I run out of burner space. And
>>I'll admit to cooking winter squash in there. I'd miss it if it disappeared.
>
>
> Mom was never happy about the concept of microwaves either, until we got
> one. Now we feel so lost without one that if one croaks, I will use the
> credit card to make sure we have a new one within 24 hours. ;-)
>
> I don't use it a lot for cooking, just re-heating but it sure beats the
> hell out of trying to warm up leftovers using the stove. It's also great
> for heating water and melting cheese, and making lemon butter.
Ours is used for re-heating and defrosting. I wouldn't personally
replace it but when I complained over a problem with ours, DH went out
and bought a new one. It has a lot of bells and whistles on it so I
might experiment a little with cooking.
>
> And for quick thawing.
>
>
>>Gloves are another thing. Rubber gloves, latex gloves; whatever. I don't
>>think food is "icky" and I never saw the sense in using rubber gloves for
>>washing dishes or handling food, but lately I've been battling a little rash
>>on my hands, and I've taken to wearing gloves when I'm working in the
>>kitchen. Seems to be helping while I narrow down the exact cause. Using
>>gloves while handling dough is kind of weird, so I just bought some fabric
>>"dough gloves" which I never would have bought otherwise. They work. I don't
>>know if I'll continue using them forever, but for now, they're a keeper.
>
>
> I _hate_ mixing ground meat with my hands but it's really the only way.
> Latex gloves that I purchase by the box are a godsend for that chore,
> and indespensible when working with hot peppers. ;-)
>
I use those too! They are really nice when processing tomatoes and
peaches too for preventing your nails getting stained.
> I also use them to protect my hands when using harsh cleaners such as
> muriatic acid. I double glove for that and wear a gas mask. Those masks
> used to be cheap prior to 9-11. :-( I bought a brand new Israeli gas
> mask for $25.00 off of ebay and $5.00 for extra filters prior to that
> date. After that, you were lucky to be able to get one for a bid of
> $150.00.
>
> I use it to clean the bathtub with acid and it works well. My bathroom
> has lousy ventilation, and this is Texas with ultra-hard water. The
> water comes from underground limestone caves.
>
>
>>Electric meat slicer. Yeah, who needs a meat slicer if you have a sharp
>>knife? This isn't something I use every day, but when I have a beef roast
>>and I want thin slices for sandwiches or Italian beef this thing is great.
>>Or for nice even slices of anything. Bread, cheese....Yes, I still slice
>>things by hand a lot of the time, especially when it's small quantities, but
>>this is a nice thing to have on hand when I need it.
>
>
> After a very, very serious cut to my fingers, I now use a cheese board
> for slicing cheese. It's just a wire and gives you ultimate "thin"
> control. I use a knife for everything else. Electric slicers are still
> not something I use.
I use a mandolin.
>
> My very sharp cleaver can slice meat paper thin with care.
I have nice knives but not a cleaver. It's on my kitchen wish list
>
>
>>On the other hand, I've gone though so many cheese grating devices in my
>>time...this must be my major impulse-buy weakness. I was cleaning out
>>kitchen gadgets a while back, and I got rid of quite a few grating devices
>>that just didn't do the job. I had rotary graters and box graters, and all
>>sorts of stupid gadgets. For big jobs, my kitchenaid has a grater device
>>which does a good job, but I went through a lot of hand graters before I
>>figured out what I liked for the small jobs.
>
>
> <lol> I have a nice tower grater that works for various things, I mostly
> use it for fresh ginger. I have a rotary grater for carrots etc. If I
> need grated cheese, I buy it PRE-GRATED! It's the same price as block
> cheese so why not? It freezes well and I mostly use it for cooking so
> texture is not an issue.
I don't buy pre-grated. I have 4 types of graters - food processor,
hand-held rotary, hand-held straight, and box grater. I use the food
processor for large amounts of grated cheese. The rotary grater is
mainly for fresh parmesan. The hand held is for when I only need a very
small amount of grated cheese. The box grater was the worst grater
getting used to. I managed to take off the top of my thumb knuckle so
for a long time that grater hung on the shelf. I think I have finally
mastered it though so use it more often now being very careful to keep
my fingers out of the way.
>
>
>>So...what things to you have that you found out were really wonderful and/or
>>terrible?
>
>
> I used to hate garlic presses until I found the right one. :-)
> Now I swear by it.
I love my garlic press. It is ss and does a nice job while fitting my
hand well. My first one was plastic and not worth a hoot!
>
>
>>Donna