Tuesday 23 June 2015

Traditional Girl .... or Gadget Girl


Am I a traditional girl or gadget girl .... I was considering this earlier today.

I was sat at the worktop drinking coffee this morning, I've done nothing but drink coffee for the last couple of days.  I have a stinking cold with the most horrendous sore throat and regular cups of coffee and four hourly paracetamols are the only thing keeping me able to talk to the dogs, they don't like it when I croak at them!!  Anyway I was sat there drinking my coffee looking round at the kitchen, the Aga sat there throwing off it's vast amount of heat, usually at this time of year it's too much but when you're feeling under the weather it's somehow very comforting, the jars lined up neatly on the shelves to the left of it.


My wooden spoons in their jug ... "why do you have so many" my younger son asked last time he was here, seemingly he has just one wooden spoon to his name,  well I use different ones for different things I said.  I have favourites that I just do certain things with and some that I will only use for meat dishes.  Anyway to my eye they are every bit as pretty as a jug full of flowers and most certainly much more useful, so I'll stick with my jug full for the foreseeable future.

But alongside the traditional things I have gadgets dotted around the kitchen.  I have the usual electric kettle and toaster, although the Aga can, and sometimes does, fulfill these roles when asked to do so.  I have my food mixer on the worktop with it's component parts of food processor bowl and liquidiser jug hidden in the cupboard alongside the soup maker, Remoska and stick blender.  The soup maker and the Remoska (see HERE for more information about this) get pulled into use when the Aga is switched off for any length of time and have both proved really useful and worth every penny.


But the gadget that is in the most daily use, other than the kettle, is the Nutribullet.  Bought this year and worth it's weight in gold, or maybe more than it's weight in gold, it's not that heavy!!


It whizzes me up a tasty and nutritious drink every morning or any other time of the day that I feel the need for a burst of vitamins and goodness, and that's a lot while I'm full of this bl**dy cold.  It is also pulled into use as a mini food processor when I want to just chop up one onion, make enough cauliflower 'rice' just for me, turn normal sugar into caster sugar for a single recipe etc.

So am I a gadget girl or a traditional girl, well I have to admit to having a foot firmly in both camps .... and being very grateful that I am able to do so.  I'm off to make my tea now and play with my latest new 'toy'  ... a Spiralizer, bought with the intention of making the best possible use out of our soon to be glut of courgettes ..... I'll let you know how I get along with it.  So it's courgetti for tea .... spellcheck even knows how to spell that it seems I didn't   ;-)

What is your favourite gadget at the moment ... the Nutribullet is mine.

Sue xx

42 comments:

  1. ha i love gadgets! I adore all of them! Especially the old style, my absolute favourite which i use all the time is my JML Multi Chef (it has lots of different attachments) It mixes, churns, slices, dices and does everything! It also makes the smoothest buttercream! haha :)
    My other favourite is my mini chopper, which disintegrates onions in the blink of an eye! It is also useful for blitzing dried herbs :)

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    1. My Mum has a mini chopper and obliterates onions before you can say, 'yes I'll have some chopped onion'. She's had it for years, I guess the less working parts something has the less chance there is of it breaking. :-)

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  2. I suppose that the question is, what is a gadget? Or when does a gadget become a basic (or even retro)? Great granny would have thought that an electric iron or an electric kettle was a gadget. My mum thought she was a super modern whizz when she first had a hand cranked rotary whisk but she eventually had a Kenwood chef and used it regularly,

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  3. What a lovely kitchen, I love jars, I was thinking back along about the nutribullet, I wonder in my blender would do the same thing?

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    1. My daughter recently got a Nutribullet and loves it!

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    2. Nutribullets are just like a souped up blender but with the power and chopping capability of a food processor, and they can run with much less liquid than a blender needs. Very powerful and fast ... and so easy to wash up too, which I love :-)

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  4. Im a huge fan of Courgetti and Cauliflower rice and absolutely love my spiralizer. I have certain gadgets in my kitchen I love and some are a waste of space, the one that gets most use every day is our Senseo coffee maker, great coffee no mess and no fuss, strong and black, just perfect!

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  5. I love my mandolin slicer especially this time of year for salads. I have very few gadgets but the ones I do have are used regularly.

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  6. I have a gadget cupboard, the less said about that the better!

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  7. I think frugally challenged hits the nail on the head - when something is used a lot I think it loses its gadget status and just becomes a regular piece of kitchen kit. I think something stays a gadget when I doesn't see the light of day more than once or twice a year - perhaps?

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  8. I love the bread machine, DB makes a couple of loaves a week for him to eat. It gets used every week.

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  9. toaster (mini) oven, as it's cheaper than putting on my main oven on the stove.

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  10. Blitzing up sugar for caster sugar, why didn't I think of that!?

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    1. Takes a couple of seconds, any longer and you have icing sugar, it saves a fortune just buying one sort of sugar and being ready to blitz!!

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  11. Definitely my bread maker. So easy, just bung everything in and three hours later the gorgeous aroma of a freshly baked loaf. Had some today. Magic.
    Get well soon x

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  12. From Margie in Toronto - definitely my stick blender - I've got a top notch blender and a food processor but since I got the stick blender it is my GO TO item of choice. A few of the girls at the office have bought the spiralizers and one of them loaned me hers to try out one weekend. It certainly makes everything look lovely but I have a very small kitchen and just couldn't justify buying one. I'll be interested to know what you think of yours.

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  13. Reckon I'm more of a traditional girl (which is a probably a good thing, given the extremely elderly Aga) but I do use a stick blender a lot, especially for soups and smoothies, and when my 20 year old version ground to a halt I asked for a new one for Christmas. My husband had a Magimix before we met and I use that occasionally for pastry and burgers but it's a pain to wash up compared to the stick blender. Have been eyeing up mini ovens so I could switch the Aga off in summer but haven't taken the plunge yet.

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    1. Oh and thanks so much for the reminder about whizzing up normal sugar into caster sugar - have a vague memory of doing that years ago, maybe counts as one of the forgotten tips you mentioned yesterday!

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  14. Mmmmmm, I also have feet in different camps. My favourite kitchen appliance at the moment is my new Dehydrator.....yummiest apple chips ever! I am looking forward to our cherries coming into season so I can have a go at drying them. P.S I love wooden spoons as well (a draw full) but a word of caution.....don't buy the bamboo ones. I got some for a bargain price but they retain the smells from the cooking and after using them for jam they smell of fermented fruit....Yuck! Must get mine in a jug like yours!
    Cath@Home

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    1. Useful tip re bamboo spoons - thank you

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    2. Thanks for the heads up on bamboo spoons, I was tempted to get one to try... not any more. The wooden ones will outlive me more than likely anyway.

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    3. If anyone uses Anchor, you can save up your reward points for wooden spoons.

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  15. Both camps - but the electric kettle is probably the one gadget I use most. I saved all my Boots reward points and got a juicer - then 4 years later sold it on eBay. It took ages to clean and I decided it wasn't worth the effort. My Kenwood Chef is now 20 years old, and still in regular use, and much loved, as is my Panasonic breadmaker [a gift in 1998] Does a knife steel count as a gadget? My husband is brilliant at sharpening our knives on the steel, and a sharp knife [and a kettle] are my essentials in the kitchen.

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    1. No I wouldn't class a steel as a gadget, it's more of a very important knife accessory ;-)

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  16. Both camps - my Aga is always on so I don't own a kettle or toaster (my Aga is my favourite inanimate object!) I love my ancient Kenwood Chef and bread maker but have just sold my Magimix - I bought it in my Jamie/Nigella phase but hardly used it as it was such a pain to wash up! I love your blog, it is always the first I check out - and I also love your blog roll - it saves me having to bookmark them all myself! hope you're feeling better soon.

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    1. Yes I used to use the Aga for kettle boiling and toasting, then when we were in the last rented place (without an Aga) we bought both and used them, they were replaced when we moved here as we had to have facilities in both addresses before the Aga was installed.

      When the toaster broke we went back to using the Aga (which makes much better toast), but then they sent me a free replacement, so we started using it again. When it breaks we will revert to Aga toast once more. Using the electric kettle is just lazy I know, but I do have a kettle full of water on the side of the Aga at all times which I use for washing pots etc.

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  17. Not really a gadget fan - far too small kitchen for storage. I'm more traditional I think! My favourite "gadget" is my wiggly chip cutter - just a manual hand held tool. Yep, we still have "proper chips" cooked in a chip pan with a wire net, in beef dripping! It also comes in handy when I pickle "crinkle cut" beetroot, etc. I am tempted though by a mandolin slicer and a spiralizer after seeing a demo in Lakeland. Good job I have a small kitchen as I would no doubt buy every gadget going!!

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    1. I used to have one of those, I guess my first husband got custody of it when we split. I left him all the cooking and kitcheny things as I didn't have a cooker in my new place!!

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  18. I will have to check out Nutribullet after seeing it here...I definitely use my blender and slow cooker more than other things and I have very little cabinet space as the kitchen is more like a closet. I hope you feel better soon.

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  19. Not really a gadget but we use an old whistling kettle and the sound is so welcome and reassuring. Hope you feel better soon!

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  20. I was thinking along simular lines the other day. I was thinking about how self sufficient id like to be then laughed as the wasjimg machine beeped, dishwasher was rumning and electric cooker was on! I want to have my cake and eat it!

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  21. I did away with a lot of kitchen appliances when we moved, the kettle and toaster went, the slow cookers are still in a box all replaced with the Rayburn, the bread maker went years ago, I love my food processor and kenwood and the stick blender I use a lot my mandolin is brilliant I got one of those spiralizers a few months back in readiness for the courgettes, the other two things I love is my slicer and sausage machine so I suppose I sit either side of the fence :-)

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  22. My kitchen is tiny so there isn't a lot of room for gadgets. But I wouldn't be without my stick blender or bread making machine. Hope you throw off your cold soon x

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  23. Amongst friends and family, I'm known as 'the gadget queen', I just love my kitchen gadgets! Walking into my kitchen is a lot like walking into a branch of Lakeland Ltd!
    I have mum's old Kenwood Chef, which she got in 1970! DH fitted a new motor and dial, and I bought a stainless steel bowl to replace the old 70's plastic one. As a treat DH also had it powder coated for me, so it's now shocking pink! DS and DDiL have a Kitchenaid Artisan, which is lovely, but I much prefer my oldie!
    I love my Remoska, but it's a bit big now that there are just the two of us at home, it must have saved me a fortune in fuel costs over the years though!
    I know knives aren't gadgets, but they're my weakness! I hate to think how much I've spent on my knife collection, it was always a case of save up and buy one, then start saving for the next! I even came back from a trip to New York with two enormous Chinese cleavers in a suitcase, one for me, one for DS. I was slightly worried about getting them through customs, but there was no problem. That was seven years ago though, things may have changed now!
    We tend to self cater in this country for holidays, and without fail, my knives go with us in a travel roll, the pressure cooker and the Remoska go too! I don't mind at all cooking while on holiday, but I'd go demented if I had to use blunt knives!
    It's a good thing we have a big car, if not, we'd have to use a trailer!

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  24. Sorry you not feeling too goo - do you have some Cassis if you do put a good glug in a mug and then top up with a little boiling water and let it cool a little bit then drink whilst still warm it should help soothe your throat and give you a good burst of vitamin c. Homemade is best but the bought will do if none homemade. Alternatively home made French Onion Soup it has both garlic and onions in which are both natural antisceptics more powerful when used together and very soothing for a sore throat.

    Favourite gadgets a forerunner of the Nutribullet, my Kenwood Chef which is about 36 years old have had it from new, my bread machine and my most recent acquisition my Excalibur Dehydrator. I have a foot in both camps with working full time some gadgets have been bought to save me time. I think there are plusses and minuses with everything and as long as it helps you as an individual it is very much down to personal choice.

    One gadget it you can call it that, which I have had my eye on for years is an Aga - my Nan had a Rayburn and they are very much a way of life - that's on the wish list for if I ever have a lottery win!

    Hope you perk up soon.

    Pattypan

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  25. I love your shelves and jars, they remind me of my old kitchen in the house I sold last year, maybe in my next house, been catching up on your blogs, as I've been so busy with my new nursery. It is great to see the veggies coming on, we are so behind up here, it's been much colder than normal and that hasn't helped either, can't wait until ours are ready, there is nothing better :)

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  26. We call it zucchini here in the US and I love it. I own a spirilizer and make "zoodles" all the time. I lightly saute them in olive oil and use whatever sauce I want or sometimes just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Try doing spirals of cucumbers and sweet potatos..the possibilities are endless😊

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  27. We call it zucchini here in the US and I love it. I own a spirilizer and make "zoodles" all the time. I lightly saute them in olive oil and use whatever sauce I want or sometimes just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Try doing spirals of cucumbers and sweet potatos..the possibilities are endless😊

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  28. We call it zucchini here in the US and I love it. I own a spirilizer and make "zoodles" all the time. I lightly saute them in olive oil and use whatever sauce I want or sometimes just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Try doing spirals of cucumbers and sweet potatos..the possibilities are endless😊

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  29. My kettle is definitely the most-used gadget! But my blender has to be my favourite, I too enjoy my morning smoothie :)

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