Maxam Vegetable Chopper

     Although I’m a huge advocate for scratch cooking and preparing all of your food yourself, even I will admit that the prep work can be daunting.  Preparing fresh foods means lots of chopping, slicing, shredding, and grating.  I think that was probably the biggest shock to me when I decided to stop purchasing pre-packaged foods.  It’s easy to say that we should buy bags of potatoes from the produce section (or, better yet, grow them ourselves), but once you get them home, you have to turn them into French fries, potato chips, hashbrowns, and potato pancakes.  

     I don’t have Food Network level knife skills, so I find the prospect of chopping pounds and pounds of vegetables to be downright frightening.  So, I look for shortcuts.  Hey!  Just because we don’t want to buy things that are pre-cut, pre-processed and pre-packaged doesn’t mean that we can’t look for a way to make our work a little easier, right?

     My newest kitchen appliance is The Maxam Vegetable Chopper – KTVC7.  This handy little piece of equipment can almost entirely replace my electric food processor, while it offers more cutting options and eliminates the need for electricity.  And I haven’t even mentioned the beautiful slices, shreds and French fries that I literally crank out of this machine.

     The assembly is a breeze.  It sits on the counter with three solid suction cup feet that prevent it from moving anywhere.  There are 5 cutting cones included that shred both standard and fine sized shred, plain and waffle slices, as well as French fry cut.  The cones lock in place by simply lining them up with the clutch plate and turning the handle.  When you are ready to change the cutting cone, simply hold it steady while you turn the handle in the opposite direction. 

     Clean up is equally simple.  You don’t want to put anything in the dishwasher, but there’s no reason for it.  Just rinse away the vegetable bits and then either wash with warm, soapy water or give them a brief soak in disinfectant water.  Hand dry and store away in the cabinet.  I wish my food processor was half this easy to clean.  There are too many pieces and parts to fuss over.   I definitely prefer the simplicity of my Maxam Vegetable Chopper.

     I think my favorite feature might be the fact that it doesn’t use electricity.  Since moving to North Carolina I have come to realize that I can be without electricity not only because of summer hurricanes, but also because of winter storms as well.  Let’s face facts.  Not only are there natural threats in the world, but we also must consider the possibility of terrorism.  The truth is that there are countless reasons why we could lose power and it’s smart to be prepared to function without electricity.  This handy little appliance just added one more convenience to my home that I wouldn’t lose in the event of a power outage.

The Bright Outdoors Solar Lantern

     We are only a couple of weeks away from hurricane season.  You know… that time of year when you realize that the kids used all of your ‘D’ batteries in the old boombox they found when they were bored during winter break. 

     Before you know it, the internet and local news stations will be bombarding you with hurricane preparedness information.  They will have long lists telling you how much water you should have on hand and reminding you to buy plywood and batteries for the flashlight – before the National Hurricane Center starts issuing warnings for your area. 

     I’ve been preparing for hurricanes since I was tall enough to hold the nails for my grandpa while he was boarding up the house.  I survived Andrew, Charley and Wilma along with countless other storms that didn’t make the history books.  And this year I am doing something different. 

     Forget about the flashlights and candles.  Instead of all that stuff, I decided to test out the bright outdoors solar lantern from www.thebrightoutdoors.com.  I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect because I haven’t had a lot of experience with solar power.  It turns out that this is a brilliant item.  It can be charged during the day by setting it out in the sun.  Then, when evening rolls around, you just open it up and turn it on.  It will provide up to 10 hours of light from a full charge.

     There is a regular light setting and a bright setting, as well as an SOS signal that it will flash.  In a pinch, you can also use it to charge your electronic device.  It’s as bright as any flashlight I have and can be used like a flashlight while it’s flat, or as a lantern when you open it up.  It works sitting on a table, or there is a small handle so you can hang it if you prefer.

     This item would be ideal for camping or any other outdoor activity after sunset.  I’ve used it when I take my dog for his bedtime walk and it’s a great option for that.  The possibilities are unlimited.  Anywhere you need light; this lantern is there.  It’s small enough to keep in a purse or the center console of your vehicle.

     Personally, I intend to purchase two more of them so that each family member has one in the event of a power outage or any other need.   After all, you don’t have to wait for the power to go out.  Who knows why you might like to have a small, portable lantern on hand.  And if it’s a rainy day, feel free to plug it in using a USB cord.  It really is an exceptionally versatile product.

CookFX Silicone Baking Mats

     One thing that has been important in changing my lifestyle, but I haven’t talked about yet is disposables.  We live in a world where it feels like everything is meant to be disposable anymore.  I find this especially true when it comes to the kitchen.  Paper plates, paper towels, and paper napkins.  Plastic forks, spoons, and knives.  Aluminum foil, wax paper, plastic wrap, and parchment.  All of these things add up to lots of garbage and a really big grocery bill spent continually replacing all of it.

     A hundred years ago people reused everything.  It was unthinkable to just throw dishes, cups, utensils and napkins in the trash can.  Living in an environmentally conscious world (and an extremely budget conscious home) has made me consider my choices with regards to disposable products.
 

     Recently I was offered the opportunity to review a set of CookFX Silicone Baking Mats.  I was excited to try out the product – and embarrassed to discover how much excess I was able to stop purchasing because of this product.  The first obvious change was that I don’t need to use parchment paper to line baking sheets any longer.  I think that is probably the change that most people anticipate.  Your cookies don’t stick to the baking sheet, so you either don’t have to wash it, or you can stop buying parchment paper that serves the same purpose.  Cookies lift right off the baking mat without the help of a spatula.  After a quick rinse under the faucet and wipe down with a kitchen towel they are ready to be rolled up and returned to the drawer.

     What I didn’t expect was the impact they would have on baking bread.  Usually I liberally dust my baking sheet with cornmeal to prevent sticking.  And I go through lots and lots of cornmeal because I bake all of my family’s bread from scratch.  It adds up.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to place my bread dough onto the silicone baking mat and let it rise there.  After baking, the loaf lifts right off the mat and is as lovely as any that I’ve made on a cornmeal covered baking sheet.

     Finally, I want to share the greatest feature of all about owning these baking mats.  If you find yourself in a pinch with no baking sheet available, you can place the silicone baking mat on another surface to use as if it were a baking sheet.  I baked cookies on a mini muffin pan using this method and they turned out beautifully.  No one would ever know that my baking sheets were busy performing other kitchen duties while I baked cookies.

     If you are interested, these CookFX Silicone Baking Mats can be found here.  I promise they will pay for themselves when you skip the purchase of just a few packages of parchment paper.  And you don’t have to add anything extra to the landfill.