sneak previews and a question
Coming soon, a story:
* in which somebody picks such a ridiculous amount of peaches that we implement mandatory daily quotas while trying to avoid fruit butt. (Peach bbq sauce recipe coming soon!)
* in which Rose goes to the County Fair with Karen and wins a goldfish (due more to the kind heart of a Carnie than any actual landing of balls in goldfish bowls), to whom Rose is both fiercely protective and terribly negligent.
Rose, carnival goldfish are weird but you can have all the chickens you want.
* in which Dan fashions 3 gallon-jar sized niches in the root cellar for pickle storage, except I’m picturing him commandeering at least one for deer hooves, flicker feathers and snake skins.
* in which Dan and I celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary this Saturday.
Our last hot date: shoveling horse shit. Hoping for something different this time.
* in which our homestead is featured in this years’ Tour de Farms on Saturday.
*And a question: If you could only have 2 out of 3 kitchen appliances: immersion blender, regular blender and food processor, which is the superfluous one? And why?
Have a peachy weekend,
Rachel
ps: Rebecca’s e-mail address fixed on this post for 50% off on: A Soulful Cleanse.
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Those peaches – wow!
Re kitchen appliances: First off, is it only two? or only two available at once? I don’t have an immersion blender – have thought about it, but haven’t done anything, partly because my regular blender works fine – and there are times when I don’t use it much & put it away for awhile. A reg blender is probably harder to clean than an immersion style, but if you do it right away, it’s ok. I use it more in the summer for smoothie-type things & for crushing up a batch of tomatoes – or making a smooth vichysoisse. Can a regular blender handle bigger batches than an immersion? That would be another plus in favor of the reg. There are few things a blender can do that a food processor won’t – and so the FP is my numero uno.
Those peaches – wow!
Re kitchen appliances: First off, is it only two? or only two available at once? I don’t have an immersion blender – have thought about it, but haven’t done anything, partly because my regular blender works fine – and there are times when I don’t use it much & put it away for awhile. A reg blender is probably harder to clean than an immersion style, but if you do it right away, it’s ok. I use it more in the summer for smoothie-type things & for crushing up a batch of tomatoes – or making a smooth vichysoisse. Can a regular blender handle bigger batches than an immersion? That would be another plus in favor of the reg. There are few things a blender can do that a food processor won’t – and so the FP is my numero uno.
I have all three of the said appliances, and if I had to give up one, I’d give up the immersion blender. The food processor gets a ton of use in the summer for pesto and tomato puree and the occasional tart crust, and the blender gets pulled into use almost daily for smoothies. The immersion blender, on the other hand, I’ve used probably twice in years of owning it.
Could you use the immersion blender for smoothies? (which may be all we use our blender for…as long as there’s a working food processor in the house).
I have all three of the said appliances, and if I had to give up one, I’d give up the immersion blender. The food processor gets a ton of use in the summer for pesto and tomato puree and the occasional tart crust, and the blender gets pulled into use almost daily for smoothies. The immersion blender, on the other hand, I’ve used probably twice in years of owning it.
Could you use the immersion blender for smoothies? (which may be all we use our blender for…as long as there’s a working food processor in the house).
I have a small immersion blender and haven’t used it yet. I don’t have a food processor and wish for one almost daily.
Your photos and commentary are hilarious today.
I am trying to psyche myself up for peaches next week. I’ve only gotten a few jars of strawberry jam canned so far this year, and am feeling a bit antsy. It’s been too hot here this week, but school starts soon, so I need to get on it before I don’t have any more time for canning! Good luck getting through all those boxes you have!
I have a small immersion blender and haven’t used it yet. I don’t have a food processor and wish for one almost daily.
Your photos and commentary are hilarious today.
I am trying to psyche myself up for peaches next week. I’ve only gotten a few jars of strawberry jam canned so far this year, and am feeling a bit antsy. It’s been too hot here this week, but school starts soon, so I need to get on it before I don’t have any more time for canning! Good luck getting through all those boxes you have!
I’d part with the regular blender even though I really use all 3. I have to have the processor for pestos and sauces… I move alot of garden greens (kale, basil, broccoli) into food through the processor :) I use the immersion blender for soups and I feel like if I had no regular blender I’d figure out a way to make smoothies with the immersion blender.
these are a bunch of from the hip fast thoughts. hope they are helpful.
i love your writing. thank you!
I’d part with the regular blender even though I really use all 3. I have to have the processor for pestos and sauces… I move alot of garden greens (kale, basil, broccoli) into food through the processor :) I use the immersion blender for soups and I feel like if I had no regular blender I’d figure out a way to make smoothies with the immersion blender.
these are a bunch of from the hip fast thoughts. hope they are helpful.
i love your writing. thank you!
There you go again, making us New Englanders jealous with your peachy largesse…I love the immersion blender, because I make a lot of pureed soups, and it makes them easier and faster (and safer) and reduces the dish-use of the blender. Plus it came with a mini-foodprocessor attachment so the two together really only count as one appliance. I use my blender much less ever since I got it (though we do store dried crusts of bread in it until there are enough to whir into bread crumbs… and I made blackberry ice cream with it last week). I don’t own a regular food processor, so I don’t know what I’m missing. Do you need to get rid of one in order to make room for the workspace you were talking about yesterday?
No writing business workspace isn’t in the kitchen (thank god). We just don’t have the space for 3 kitchen appliances that seem to have some overlap. xo
There you go again, making us New Englanders jealous with your peachy largesse…I love the immersion blender, because I make a lot of pureed soups, and it makes them easier and faster (and safer) and reduces the dish-use of the blender. Plus it came with a mini-foodprocessor attachment so the two together really only count as one appliance. I use my blender much less ever since I got it (though we do store dried crusts of bread in it until there are enough to whir into bread crumbs… and I made blackberry ice cream with it last week). I don’t own a regular food processor, so I don’t know what I’m missing. Do you need to get rid of one in order to make room for the workspace you were talking about yesterday?
No writing business workspace isn’t in the kitchen (thank god). We just don’t have the space for 3 kitchen appliances that seem to have some overlap. xo
Oh, thank you for letting me talk about this. I have four kitchen knives, two cutting boards, an immersion blender, a couple of small hand graters and a toaster oven (the latter from Freecycle). I have one of those hand pumped nut choppers but it’s a sentimental gift from a family member. I have a small mortar and pestle, courtesy of the Free Box in Telluride, and aspire to a larger one but I’m not sure why. I eat very, very, very little that comes from plastic bags, plastic bags inside cardboard boxes, or corporate cans. I recently emerged from a life that involved every very well powered kitchen appliance short of a tabletop chicken roaster and a deep fat fryer (I still kind of wish I’d experienced living with a deep fat fryer). I’m kind of lazy, so I’ve lost some weight without really exercising more, in the process of minimizing my kitchen paraphernalia and plastic consumption. It’s just hard to listen to your four year old’s long, complex and fairly interesting proposal for when and how she should start to experience Netflix service again when there’s a kitchen machine whizzing. Yo, and I COOK. Last night I made a complicated salad, a huge casserole and a cake, while dehydrating some veggies in the backyard and finishing up some beans for later use. And my daughter came to me and asked for another bite of salad, after she’d finished all of hers. I almost cried. And this is all quite related to your question, if you think about it. Carry on, inspiring one.
Yay, Ms. Newly Cookified! But wait…can you forego a regular blender for an immersion? Because I’m in almost as in love with an immersion blender as Rose is with the barrette Lucinda gave her this morning.
Oh, thank you for letting me talk about this. I have four kitchen knives, two cutting boards, an immersion blender, a couple of small hand graters and a toaster oven (the latter from Freecycle). I have one of those hand pumped nut choppers but it’s a sentimental gift from a family member. I have a small mortar and pestle, courtesy of the Free Box in Telluride, and aspire to a larger one but I’m not sure why. I eat very, very, very little that comes from plastic bags, plastic bags inside cardboard boxes, or corporate cans. I recently emerged from a life that involved every very well powered kitchen appliance short of a tabletop chicken roaster and a deep fat fryer (I still kind of wish I’d experienced living with a deep fat fryer). I’m kind of lazy, so I’ve lost some weight without really exercising more, in the process of minimizing my kitchen paraphernalia and plastic consumption. It’s just hard to listen to your four year old’s long, complex and fairly interesting proposal for when and how she should start to experience Netflix service again when there’s a kitchen machine whizzing. Yo, and I COOK. Last night I made a complicated salad, a huge casserole and a cake, while dehydrating some veggies in the backyard and finishing up some beans for later use. And my daughter came to me and asked for another bite of salad, after she’d finished all of hers. I almost cried. And this is all quite related to your question, if you think about it. Carry on, inspiring one.
Yay, Ms. Newly Cookified! But wait…can you forego a regular blender for an immersion? Because I’m in almost as in love with an immersion blender as Rose is with the barrette Lucinda gave her this morning.
I worship my Vitamix. It was a major capital outlay but I do everything with it (homemade nut butters, fresh ground Blue Horizons flour, ground flaxseed, etc.). The speed control makes it possible to do a coarse chop like a food processor but the high setting will liquefy anything. It made doing large batches of salsa for canning 10 times faster. And they last forever (comes with a 10 year warranty). Unfortunately buying used is pointless because they cost almost as much as new.
So what’s your peach source, if you’re allowed to divulge?
Ah ha! And oh my! And ooh la la! My blender (smoothies) is about to die and my food processor (pesto, energy nuggets, pureed soup/sauces) is also time limited, and I borrowed an immersion blender and kind of fell in love. But I can’t have all 3 appliances and you’re telling me the vitamix is the ONE answer to everything?
i second the vote for the vita mix. i’ve had one for years and don’t have a food processor and only recently got an immersion blender, which is nice but definitely not necessary at all. you will never be sorry if you buy a vita mix. even after all these years my heart skips a beat each time i use it. okay, i’m exaggerating, but only a little.
I worship my Vitamix. It was a major capital outlay but I do everything with it (homemade nut butters, fresh ground Blue Horizons flour, ground flaxseed, etc.). The speed control makes it possible to do a coarse chop like a food processor but the high setting will liquefy anything. It made doing large batches of salsa for canning 10 times faster. And they last forever (comes with a 10 year warranty). Unfortunately buying used is pointless because they cost almost as much as new.
So what’s your peach source, if you’re allowed to divulge?
Ah ha! And oh my! And ooh la la! My blender (smoothies) is about to die and my food processor (pesto, energy nuggets, pureed soup/sauces) is also time limited, and I borrowed an immersion blender and kind of fell in love. But I can’t have all 3 appliances and you’re telling me the vitamix is the ONE answer to everything?
i second the vote for the vita mix. i’ve had one for years and don’t have a food processor and only recently got an immersion blender, which is nice but definitely not necessary at all. you will never be sorry if you buy a vita mix. even after all these years my heart skips a beat each time i use it. okay, i’m exaggerating, but only a little.
I have two out of three: immersion blender and food processor. I use the food processor for regular-blender-type stuff, but full disclosure, not for, like daiquiri’s. Immersion blender for when my sauces aren’t working out and for morning smoothies.
Love and miss you! Your garden is finally going to have a tribute in Alameda, starting this weekend!
I have two out of three: immersion blender and food processor. I use the food processor for regular-blender-type stuff, but full disclosure, not for, like daiquiri’s. Immersion blender for when my sauces aren’t working out and for morning smoothies.
Love and miss you! Your garden is finally going to have a tribute in Alameda, starting this weekend!
blender and food processor = essential. immersion blender = totally awesome, but not crucial.
blender and food processor = essential. immersion blender = totally awesome, but not crucial.
I would call the regular blender the superfluous one. Although I’m still skittish around my immersion blender since I landed myself in the emergency room while using it, I still use it more than any other appliance. There’s virtually nothing a regular blender can do that an immersion can’t. It’s super handy!
Whaaaat? E.R.? Do tell, Melissa. Smoothies, no problem?
I would call the regular blender the superfluous one. Although I’m still skittish around my immersion blender since I landed myself in the emergency room while using it, I still use it more than any other appliance. There’s virtually nothing a regular blender can do that an immersion can’t. It’s super handy!
Whaaaat? E.R.? Do tell, Melissa. Smoothies, no problem?
I can’t wait for the recipe. And I’m catching up on blogs since I’ve hardly read them in months, and I am SO excited to plow through a chunk of your posts. How I’ve missed them!
And I’d give up the regular blender. I love using the immersion blender–it’s convenient, it’s easy to clean, it can be put right into a pot on the stove, etc. The food processor, in my mind, can double as a regular blender.
I can’t wait for the recipe. And I’m catching up on blogs since I’ve hardly read them in months, and I am SO excited to plow through a chunk of your posts. How I’ve missed them!
And I’d give up the regular blender. I love using the immersion blender–it’s convenient, it’s easy to clean, it can be put right into a pot on the stove, etc. The food processor, in my mind, can double as a regular blender.
I can live without a food processor (because I have been ever since I blew mine up about ten years ago). Love and use my blender and immersion blender equally. The peaches! I was recently given 20lbs of seconds. Looking forward to your recipe.
I can live without a food processor (because I have been ever since I blew mine up about ten years ago). Love and use my blender and immersion blender equally. The peaches! I was recently given 20lbs of seconds. Looking forward to your recipe.
about the appliances: Stick one in toy/appliance purgatory, and see if you miss it? I’d get the vitamix if I could. I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about them. Hey, I wasn’t wrong about the Mac when you were deciding on a new computer was I??
about the peaches: Last Sunday, here in North Cacalacky farmers were selling APPLES at the market. I didn’t buy them out of some sense of duty to the peaches. I can’t wait to hear what you do with the peaches.
about the goldfish: May I humbly suggest, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, for Rose? A goldfish bought from a traveling goldfish seller figures early on in the story.
http://www.amazon.com/Where-Mountain-Meets-Moon-Grace/dp/0316114278
And the first picture, with Col, reminds me of photos from those trendy children’s sewing pattern books where the clothes all hang off the shoulder and have multiple layers of unhemmed fabric… and they roam around in untidy gardens. His angelic, floaty, white-blond hair helps… lovely.
oh, jeez, I didn’t realize the link would bring the book up quite so BIG. sorry!
Just reserved Where Mtn meets moon from our local library!
about the appliances: Stick one in toy/appliance purgatory, and see if you miss it? I’d get the vitamix if I could. I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about them. Hey, I wasn’t wrong about the Mac when you were deciding on a new computer was I??
about the peaches: Last Sunday, here in North Cacalacky farmers were selling APPLES at the market. I didn’t buy them out of some sense of duty to the peaches. I can’t wait to hear what you do with the peaches.
about the goldfish: May I humbly suggest, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, for Rose? A goldfish bought from a traveling goldfish seller figures early on in the story.
http://www.amazon.com/Where-Mountain-Meets-Moon-Grace/dp/0316114278
And the first picture, with Col, reminds me of photos from those trendy children’s sewing pattern books where the clothes all hang off the shoulder and have multiple layers of unhemmed fabric… and they roam around in untidy gardens. His angelic, floaty, white-blond hair helps… lovely.
oh, jeez, I didn’t realize the link would bring the book up quite so BIG. sorry!
Just reserved Where Mtn meets moon from our local library!
never had a blender that would do what i demanded of it! lived with an immersion blender *only* for over 10 years and i’m still trying to figure out what exactly it is i need my new food processor to do…
and YES WOW PEACHES! we’ve had them for a while in ohio and they found their way into everything, burritos being my favorite…
never had a blender that would do what i demanded of it! lived with an immersion blender *only* for over 10 years and i’m still trying to figure out what exactly it is i need my new food processor to do…
and YES WOW PEACHES! we’ve had them for a while in ohio and they found their way into everything, burritos being my favorite…
I have all three. I only use the blender for making butter. You can make smoothies right in a mason jar with the immersion blender then drink the smoothie out of a jar (and put a lid on it if you need to). I’d have to say food processor and immersion blender for sure although the vitamix does sound tempting.
I have all three. I only use the blender for making butter. You can make smoothies right in a mason jar with the immersion blender then drink the smoothie out of a jar (and put a lid on it if you need to). I’d have to say food processor and immersion blender for sure although the vitamix does sound tempting.
I’d go regular blender & food processor if I had to choose. We have all three that are hand-me-downs from my aunt’s wedding 20 years ago. We probably wouldn’t buy all three again either and don’t really have the space. We don’t really use the immersion blender we have despite its convenience.
I’d go regular blender & food processor if I had to choose. We have all three that are hand-me-downs from my aunt’s wedding 20 years ago. We probably wouldn’t buy all three again either and don’t really have the space. We don’t really use the immersion blender we have despite its convenience.
I only have a regular blender, but I’m considering getting an immersion blender, as when you dump hot liquid in your regular blender, it can come flying out at you. (As I learned once when making tomato soup and I had to call the parents of all the girls my daughter had over that day and warn them that their daughters *may* have learned some new words that day. There was tomato soup all over two rooms of my house. And on the ceiling.)
I don’t have the space for a food processor and when I’ve borrowed them upon occasion, they haven’t sold me on making room for one.
I only have a regular blender, but I’m considering getting an immersion blender, as when you dump hot liquid in your regular blender, it can come flying out at you. (As I learned once when making tomato soup and I had to call the parents of all the girls my daughter had over that day and warn them that their daughters *may* have learned some new words that day. There was tomato soup all over two rooms of my house. And on the ceiling.)
I don’t have the space for a food processor and when I’ve borrowed them upon occasion, they haven’t sold me on making room for one.
Only 2? Then the immersion blender is the superflous one because the regular blender can do everything the immersion blender does…and better on some things. But!!! When you need to puree something like soup in a pan when you only want some of it pureed, that’s where the immersion blender shines. I have all three and I love the immersion. I love that I can use it in quart jars when I’m making banana-chia pudding or smoothies, except the ones with kale because it leaves little bits that aren’t pleasant to suck up with a straw. I use it very carefully when making applesauce or peach butter. It’s easier to clean than the regular blender and so darned simple to use. I have all three as of this past spring and I love them all.
Only 2? Then the immersion blender is the superflous one because the regular blender can do everything the immersion blender does…and better on some things. But!!! When you need to puree something like soup in a pan when you only want some of it pureed, that’s where the immersion blender shines. I have all three and I love the immersion. I love that I can use it in quart jars when I’m making banana-chia pudding or smoothies, except the ones with kale because it leaves little bits that aren’t pleasant to suck up with a straw. I use it very carefully when making applesauce or peach butter. It’s easier to clean than the regular blender and so darned simple to use. I have all three as of this past spring and I love them all.
That was me up there, but the cat walked on the keyboard and posted before I was ready.
That was me up there, but the cat walked on the keyboard and posted before I was ready.
We use the immersion blender in sauce and soup season a LOT and we use the blender in summer smoothie season a LOT. We use the food processor for things like pesto and hummus….. maybe could use the blender for these? But if you can have all three, the immersion thing takes up very little space in the long run….
We use the immersion blender in sauce and soup season a LOT and we use the blender in summer smoothie season a LOT. We use the food processor for things like pesto and hummus….. maybe could use the blender for these? But if you can have all three, the immersion thing takes up very little space in the long run….