Friday, March 23, 2007

My Kitchen Timesaver List

I read Cookware for the Weary Cook, and they missed most of the items on my Kitchen Timesaver List.

  • microwave
  • microwave rice cooker
  • food processor
  • crockpot
  • bread machine

A mixer can be really useful too, but I'm not sure it's on my timesaver list. (Then you open the list to refrigerator, stove, oven, and so on.)

I think the microwave is an obvious timesaver. My microwave rice cooker (also called a microwave pressure cooker or a vegetable steamer) is wonderful! You can get it in this size, or a conveniently smaller 6-cup size (I have both). It makes perfect rice easily, and I get excellent results micro-steaming frozen veggies for two to four minutes.

When I do a lot of cooking, it often starts with a lot of chopping. That's when the food processor, especially in two-second bursts so that I don't end up with too fine of a grind, really saves time.

The crockpot isn't fast, but since most dishes can cook for eight to ten hours while I go to work, it means dinner is ready in record time once I get home again! So it is a timesaver overall.

I used to make bread by hand, and I didn't want a bread machine because I was sure it couldn't be authentic enough. Good bread is the result of knowing the right texture while kneading, so I didn't think the process could be automated. I'm glad I decided to try one anyway! I think I get better results based on my hand-made bread experience, but I don't have to watch the clock over three hours for kneading, rising, punching, shaping, rising, and baking. I know to check the texture after 10 minutes of bread machine kneading, and I know how to adjust the water (teaspoon at a time) and the flour (tablespoon at a time). Bread is very fussy, and you have to plan your whole day around making it by hand. Or you can get a bread machine, check that the initial mixing has the right texture from the correct ratio of wet and dry, and walk away until it beeps. Yeah!

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