I claimed the soup maker back from Alan a few months back, he wasn't using it at all ... the level of dust on top was amazing. 😄
He regularly makes soup but he makes a humungous pot full at a time, and he loves it so thick and unblended that his Granny would be proud. She used to say that a good soup was one that the wooden spoon stood up in the middle of pan all by itself. His soups are just like that. I like mine in smaller quantities, blended and liquid enough that you can dunk your bread easily and even occasionally drink it out of a mug, and the soup maker is very easily controllable for all these things.
We've had this particular gadget for well over ten years now, we bought it when we had an Aga and wanted to be able to turn it off in warmer weather if necessary. So we cooked with our gadgets anytime that the Aga was off. We used the soup maker, the Remoska, the microwave, the rice cooker and the toaster, sometimes gadgets are very handy and it's always good to find the ones that work best for your needs isn't it ... as long as you have the space to store them when they are not in use. I still use all those mentioned.
Anyway, with all this chilly weather the soup maker has been in weekly use, it makes me three good meal sized portions at a time, I usually have a couple over two or three days and pop one into the freezer for future use.
Other simple meals, not done in the soup maker, have been simple noodle dishes to make good use of bits and bobs from the vegetable drawer in the fridge.
And a really simple red kidney bean, cumin and onion mixture served with brown rice, using the rice cooker.
It's good over the years to whittle away at any gadgets that you might have bought and rarely used ... my brief foray into having an air fryer springs to mind ... but when you have limited space everything that you have really does have to earn it's keep.
I would say out of all my gadgets, my Remoska* is the one I would choose if I could only have one ... what would yours be?
Sue xx
*Gosh they are expensive now though, but currently on special offer.
If I could only have one, I would say - microwave. I know you can cook things in it, though I don't. Good for heating, defrosting, and warming up my coffee many times in the morning.
ReplyDeleteMicrowave is a good shout - mine is a combi so gets a lot of use doubling as a mini-oven - even now having an air fryer (that also gets a lot of use!) I wouldn’t consider swapping back to a standard microwave! For pure practicality though I would have to say my toaster - the thought of trying to make toast under an electric grill makes me want to cry!
ReplyDeleteMy Kenwood Chef. It’s my right arm. I used my mum’s when I was a child, inherited that one and when it finally gave up the ghost after decades of use, I replaced it. Unsurprisingly the following versions have never lasted as long as that first old lady but I still use one several times a week.
ReplyDeleteAnna x
The kettle's the only item of kitchenalia we use regularly! xxx
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen a soup maker, before. I think I'd go with my microwave if I had to choose just one gadget, although I would miss my rice cooker and my blender!
ReplyDeleteToaster, microwave, stick blender and slow cooker in that order. I did have a very ancient Kenwood until last year when it died after many years of use and I did love it but have just bought a small electric hand whisk to replace it. I don't do much baking now and I like to keep work surfaces free of items so everything has to go in cupboards if possible. My son persuaded me to get an air fryer but I have only used it a handful of times in 2 years. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteMicrowave, breadmaker and blender probably.
ReplyDeleteWe got fed up of electric kettles dying as soon as the warranty ended so went back to a stove top one on the gas hob. The breadmaker does all of our bread, expensive but has paid for itself in UPF free bread for years. The cheap toaster has lasted well. Microwave used for daily porridge, jacket potatoes, sauces, and popcorn. Slow cooker should be used more, I cook an egg custard in a covered bowl stood in the rice pudding. The pressure cooker gets used regularly. I use a hand blender for blitzed soups. The coffee bean grinder gets used regularly, Aldi beans are a bit cheaper than ground coffee. We make a pot of simply filtered coffee every day.
ReplyDeleteMicrowave gets used every night in winter for heating up my wheat heat pad thing to take to bed - nothing else can do that!
ReplyDeleteBut I can't chose one thing now although if I had gas grill would use that instead of toaster.
Remoska-we have big and small ones. Norrie would choose the airfryer as it’s his favourite cooking device! Catriona
ReplyDeleteI use all my gadgets regularly throughout the year. Except the apple peeler which is "seasonal" - used a lot in the autumn [and loaned to friends] The kettle and coffee maker/grinder used daily, the bread maker, toaster and microwave every other day. Blender, handwhisk, airfryer, slocooker weekly , Big Chef once a month. But we are fortunate to get our power from solar panels
ReplyDeleteWe have a bunch of gadgets at the bottom of our pantry that were given to us by American families departing our school (and London). To be honest we don't use most of them much. I don't mind having them around as long as there's space but if we ever downsize they're all being donated!
ReplyDeleteKettle air fryer and microwave.
ReplyDeleteIn no particular order, breadmaker, microwave, air fryer, stick blender, hand mixer, slow cooker, coffee machines, yes that’s plural 🤭 I love a gadget x
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
I can't choose one thing... but in my new kitchen I'm going for a smaller built in oven and just 2 induction hobs - i never use all 4 at a time.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I now have a few that I am using often. The bread maker, air fryer, instant pot, hand mixer, slow cooker, coffee machine, blender, food processor, yogurt maker, toaster oven and electric roaster. Oh and my Food Saver for freezing. My dehydrator is used a great deal during harvest as well and the same for my spice grinder. All are used. Perhaps more now than ever as they really do make my life much simpler and save on our electric bill.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.