KItchen gadgets - slow cooker

[Stravaig]

I probably own every kitchen gadget or kitchen bits in the known universe (excluding these serving dishes like mini chip baskets and the Hairy Bikers' deep filled pie machine). Some I like, some I'm not so keen on.

I found the InstantPot thing to be a jack of all trades and master of none. I very rarely use it. (It's still in Kyiv and I can't say I've missed it.) On the other hand, I find a slow cooker invaluable. So much so that I even bought one and a slow cooker cook book for husband's colleague who let us stay in her flat during one of our evacs. She's not all that bothered about cooking but the slow cooker will make her life a lot easier.

You can buy cheaper cuts too and the slow cooking makes them tasty and tender. I really can't recommend slow cookers enough. You'd probably save on fuel bills too. (Now off to buy shares in slow cooker companies. LOL)

[Stravaig]

I should have said, if you're buying one, the elongated oval shape is more versatile than the round one, especially for different joints of meat. Also, you want low/high/warm settings on it and it's useful if there's a light to show you that it's on. Many years ago I had one that didn't have the light. I had to give it a quick tap with my fingers to figure out if it was on. And the resulting burn from touching such a hot thing could be quite painful.

[Primrose]

I wondered about getting one a couple of years ago but we're very short of kitchen space so borrowed a rarely used one from a friend for a week to see if I could fall in love with it.
I didn't do much research on this method of cooking because I naively assumed that you used the same amount of liquid as cooking an ordinary casserole in an oven. Of course I ended up with a horrible watery mixture which put me off on the assumption that the same amount of liquid evaporation would take place.

I suppose if you have an automatic model and get cheap overnight electricity it would probably be worth getting properly acquainted with one.

On the other hand my husband, who has to do all the cooking these days, would not be without our automatic Panasonic breadmaker which produces marvellous bread and cakes and bulky though it is, it certainly earns its space on the kitchen counter.

[Westi]

It is entirely kitchen space that always makes me think twice about investing in too much. I have the Remoska which is a bit big but I have the smaller model as only the 2 of us, which pays for itself as uses so little power & can be both for stews, puddings, cakes or roasts. The microwave is on the counter top & I am exploring old cook books for things to do in that but note a lot of recipes are popping up in mags which I flick through when in the newsagents & it's energy usage is really low as well. The only other huge thing I have is the fruit juicer which only comes out when the fruit trees have abundant fruit as I find it easier to juice & freeze, (along with bakes), as uses a lot of space to store safely. And to get the most out of windfall as well.

It might be different if I had the space, but I doubt it as some are really heavy to lift & fiddly to clean.

[Primrose]

I've seen the odd mention recently of recipes for "cakes in a mug or beaker" which seem to be intent on cooking very small quantities in a big beaker in a microwave, i.e. producing just enough of something sweet and naughty without piling on the calories.

The idea rather appeals. Does anybody have a favourite recipe in this department?

[snooky]

Slow cooker is brilliant for batch cooking of which I do a lot.Provides me with a meal for that day and the extra divided up and frozen for another day.I even made rice pudding in it and it wasn't half bad.

[retropants]

I mainly use a pressure cooker on my gas hob for casseroles, soups and anything 'one pot' About 5 mins to get to temp, 8 mins cooking (I am veggie, so no meat to cook through) and then you just let it depressurise all by itself. Everything is cooked well, and tastes like it's been casseroled for hours. I use my standard remoska for things like sausages, (crustless) quiches, jacket spuds and anything that would normally go in the oven and fits in the remoska pan. I am looking to buy a grand sized one too, just missed one on ebay last weekend, it was new in box.

[Stravaig]

Kitchen space is rarely a problem for me because if the real kitchen is too small I just turn the living room into a kitchen. OK it might not have a sink but it's no problem to wash stuff before and after. In our own place I turned the dining room into the kitchen and the silly little kitchen which was there before is now a utility room for pot wash and laundry.

As I said to Mr S, what do we use a living room for anyway and it was mostly just watching the telly. So, in this rented flat, we put a settee and telly into one of the bedrooms. Simple. On the rare occasion we might have guests, they're welcome in the kitchen. No one ever minds and in fact they do seem to enjoy being in a busy kitchen more than a pristine living room.

[Westi]

Hi Primrose,

I have used the following recipe for mug cakes from BBC Good Food.

4 tab SR Flour, 4 tab Castor Sugar, 2 tab cocoa powder, 1 med egg, 3 tab milk, 3 tab veg oil, few drops vanilla essence, coconut chips or raisins & nuts.

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa in large mug
Beat egg & mix in but don't worry if still dry bits
Add milk, egg, oil, vanilla & extras if using & stir.

Microwave on high for 1 - 1/2 mins or until stopped rising & firm.

I don't have huge mugs so just divided between two normal size mugs. Once you have mastered it to your microwave then it is quick & simple & you can be creative with coffee instead of cocoa & the like.

[Primrose]

Thanks Westi. That looks well worth experimenting with on a miserable wet day !