Food Processing Mania

I went down to my storage locker yesterday and discovered some treasure. This is great, 'cause - yay, treasure! This is also bad because it debunks the principle of getting rid of clutter. I.e. - the principle "get rid of it, you'll never miss it". Here's a run-down:

(a) old Doc Martins - I thought that I'd worn these into the ground and got rid of them. In fact, I bought my Blundstones to replace them. Of course, after working on my feet at S'bux, I found that Blundstones are no good for me. My feet are too flat and there are no laces with which I can tighten the support around my arch and ankles. So I've re-instated the Docs as my work shoe and my knees are quite happy.

(b) "Guess" brand wood-soled sandals - almost brand new. I had to exchange them late in the season and by then, summer was over. Now, years later, they're back in style.

(c) Parts of a Braun Multiquick Food Processor that I forgot I had. This is an awesome little machine that my parents must've bought when they arrived in Canada. The manual is from 1980 and was printed in West Germany. I'll have to scan in the photo of the happy late-'70s mom chopping leeks with her toddlers.

I'm thrilled. I'm in love with my food processor. It's small and heavy and works like a dream. It has three attachments - chopper, slicer/grater, and blender/puree-er. (Puree-er?)

When I moved out, my dad suggested I take it, despite the few broken/missing pieces. I thought only the food chopper worked and I don't really need to make breadcrumbs or pulverise things very often. I thought the blender didn't work at all, so I didn't even explore it. It sat in a cupboard, taking up space.

But down in storage I found a bag! With the slicer/grater part! And the blades! And everything! And it all works, and I had no idea, and here I've been grating everything by hand.

I sound like a food processing zealot. Because I am one. I'm like a creepy-happy person from an infomercial! Because having the choppy/slicey/gratey thing has already led to my eating of almost every vegetable in my fridge. I grated the carrots and made a carrot/sesame salad. I sliced the cucumbers and the celery and ate a cup of each. I have a huge bowl of salad just waiting for me for tomorrow. This is so much better than the usual of arriving home hungry and eating cereal for dinner.

My god, the opportunities. I don't know how I can sit here and blog when there's so much slicing and dicing and gratingand blending and pulverizing to be done! And the book, oh the book. It has "115 recipes from 34 countries (plus lots of handy time-saving tips)".

Do you want to chop raw fish for soufflees?
Do you want to make Dutch onion soup and French potato pancakes?
Do you want Scotch Eggs (Dutch style)?

It's all in the book. It is so sweet and earnest and straightforward. It doesn't use jargon. It offers imperial measurements for Canadians!

I love cooking, but I find that it is lonely to cook a good meal for just me, so I stick to pasta or tuna sandwiches, or the aforementioned cereal-for-dinner. But now, I'm re-inspired. (Insert slightly crazed googly eyes here.)

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The thought of adding sesame oil to a carrot salad wouldn't have ocurred to me were it not for the folks at:
Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. The sesame carrot salad will probably be online next month, it's in the current issue. Lot's of good recipes on the site.

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My little food processing miracle has led me to wonder whether I can ever find a cord to match the old chrome vacuum coffee maker my aunt gave me.

I love old appliances, but it's best if they still work rather than take up space.

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When I retire, I think I'd like to do something like these two are doing. It's Lar & Ted's Excellent Adventure. I discovered them randomly on the "recently updated" blogger roll.

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Well, it's midnight and I'm hungry again. Maybe I'll run to the 24-hour grocery and get some potatoes. Heh heh...