Kitchenware Direct is trying to make me buy kitchen gadgets. It’s being quite blatant about it, actually.
I’m immune to the allure of roasting tins – I have quite a nice one, thank you – and while I adore Le Creuset it’s so far out of my budget that I am fairly safe. Also, I do have reasonably good fake Le Creuset for my general cast-iron pot needs.
I’ve been flirting with the idea of a food processor for a while – the one I have is not really heavy-duty enough for the sort of things I inflict on it – but the really good ones are so expensive that I remain un-tempted.
My current problem is with slow cookers. And possibly pressure cookers, since some of the slow cookers come with a nifty little pressure cooker option.
Let’s face it, the concept of the slow cooker is pretty appealing – you put things in the cooker in the morning, leave it happily stewing away on the benchtop during the day, and when you come home, dinner is ready. Fabulous! And just the thing for using all those interesting cuts of meat that need long cooking. Then, if you have a pressure cooker too, you have the option of instant meals! Instant meals with *legumes* even! This does have a certain appeal.
On the other hand, I’m not actually a morning person. Would I seriously be getting up early enough to set my slow cooker going on a regular basis? Maybe. Maybe not. I suspect this would depend on just how good my first few slow-cooked meals turned out to be.
Also, while the idea of using a pressure cooker for legumes is possibly the most appealing thing ever (I’m not actually a snob about legumes from tins, but for one thing, not all legumes are readily available in tins, for another, it’s fun sometimes to infuse my own choice of flavours into things, and for a third, dried legumes are *really* cheap), I can’t help wondering if the pressure cooker might, in fact explode.
I mean, all that pressure has to go somewhere. Theoretically, I imagine that they are not designed to explode, but I am not wholly convinced that explosions would not be a likely occurrance.
And if I want to be really paranoid, will my slow cooker set the house on fire while I’m at work?
(on the other hand… imagine slow cooking quinces overnight for a lovely stewed fruit breakfast. Or rice pudding cooked overnight – I’ve heard you can do this. Or… oh, believe me, I’m very tempted)
So, O my readers, do any of you meddle with slow cookers or pressure cookers or machines which are a combination of the two? Do they work well? Do they produce good meals, or does everything start to taste the same after a while? Do the pressure cookers explode every day, often, sometimes or never? How do you clean legumes off the ceiling when they do? Is there a brand you recommend, or one you hate? Do you have any truly spectacular things you use them for that I haven’t thought of?
Talk to me!
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This time last year… Recipe: Lemon coconut buttercream Review: Serving Up The Harvest, by Andrea Chesman Recipe: Arroz Con Pollo with Peas
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