Food We need to talk about cooking and food prep tools and utensils.

My gf lives in an apartment with a crappy stove that's temperature is as accurate as a pot smoker trying to estimate the passage of time. It was running 50-100 degrees too hot. So I bought her a cheap in oven thermometer. It takes longer for her to start cooking because she has to fiddle with the temperature setting, but she finally has some accuracy when cooking.

 

I also used a thermometer (like always) to check the doneness of the ribs I smoked recently. Fantastic.

 

I live by my thermometers.

Like @snowy, I have them in my fridges and oven. I also have a couple of probe thermometers and a quick read digital. The probes are handy because I can set temperature alarms.

 

This might or might not help--Does the oven door close/seal properly? If not, the flucuations in temperature might 'confuse' the thermostat.

 

Yesterday on our thrift store/resale shop run we scored a couple of useful kitchen items.

We don't do a lot of cooking that requires testing the temperature of the oil or whatever. We do use our meat thermometers, but it they don't go high enough to test hot oil for frying. Since we rarely need one, we bought a cheap (made in China) high-temp thermometer at the grocery store. At one of our favorites thrift stores that supports a substance abuse program, we came across a nice thermometer that still has the clip to hold it to the pan and the clip-on indicator to help mark where you want the temperature. It's Made in the USA, and claims to be waterproof/dishwasher safe. It cost about $1.50 and should last forever.

At a Goodwill store we found a Peugeot 9" pepper mill (made in France) which lets you select the coarseness of the grind. It is like new, the grinding mechanism is all metal (no plastic), works great, and cost us $2.99. If my internet research is accurate, they sell new for around $46.00.

Peugeot Paris 9" U-Select Chocolate Pepper Mill on sale

 

I bought a mandoline. It should be here on Tuesday.
I just can't risk any more damage to my appendages with sharp knives
Just kidding... I've been meaning to get one, but have been putting it off.
I needed something to "add on" my Downy dryer sheets I can't find in stores any more on Amazon.
So I got this one: Amazon.com: Norpro Mandoline Slicer Grater with Guard: Kitchen & Dining
I want to master one like this (notice it says "with guard") before I invest in a more expensive one.

 

"When you get fed up with it, ..."

How about if we get fed up with it?


The 'nice' thermometer didn't come with instructions. It has a square shape and the dial goes up to 400F. The only markings I see, other than the waterproof writing, are:
CANDY
DEEP FRY
THERMOMETER
SPRINGFIELD
MADE IN U.S.A.

I've done some research, but so far I haven't found the exact Springfield model that we have. We did test the two candy deep fry thermometers in boiling water, both read right around 175F.

Aha! I found this one on eBay...

Springfield Vtg Candy Deep Fry Thermometer | eBay

 

I use my Cuisinart SmartStick for everything, too. I don't have a food processor or a blender here, so I use it to puree fruit for Popsicles, definitely a few pulses to smooth out the chunky tomatoes in my homemade red sauce, mixing batters, just about anything that needs to be mixed

 

My wife got a rubber spatula caught in the beaters of her* large standing mixer, bending them so that they were catching. She was & still is seriously POd at herself.

I bent them back into place the best I could. They should be OK, but it's time for a new set of beaters. To give her peace of mind if for no other reason.

* I know to stay the hell away from most of "her" kitchen "power tools." She's sort of OK with me using the blender, but that's about it.

 

I do most of the everyday (weeknight) cooking, but I'm more of a "a sharp knife & a cutting board" kind of cook. We do have a few manual chopping & slicing gadgets, but they stay in the cabinet.

It's funny. When I do use a powered kitchen tool, my wife watches me closely, even though I do most of the cooking. When we do a repair together that involves cutting wood, and she uses a power tool, I watch her carefully, even though she's the one who has woodworking experience.

 

We bought an ice cream scoop that actually works and should last forever. It's COPCO scoop that is heavy duty, and should last several decades. It had no mechanism to break, and the ice cream actually falls off the scoop without the need to scrape it out.

Yes, this post is lame, but things have been really slow here at the TFP over the past couple of days.

 

We've been wanting & needing a microwave steamer to go with our 25+ year old Rubbermaid set. Well, I think I nailed one today, a Tupperware Oval Microwave Cooker. I say "I" because my wife completely overlooked it.

Even being at the store was a fluke, sort of. My wife made a "last minute" "please fit me in" doctor's appointment this morning and insisted that I go with her. I wasn't happy because she should've called yesterday.

Anyway, on the way home we stopped a charity resale store that's only open three days a week & keeps very limited hours.

Tupperware | Oval Microwave Cooker

Online I haven't been able to find the instructions & recipes booklet that came with the system (a few receipes, yes, actual instructions, no). Apparantly the Tupperware site doesn't offer it as a download; I'm guessing thay want you to go through a TW rep, which we don't have.

 

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/Taste_Of_Tupperware_recipebookV1.pdf

 

I have a similar technique that I use.

How does the specific microwave steamer differ @chrisnoyb ?