Not the noisy big ones, the other kind. . . So you can imagine my excitement today when I made a great find today: a small food processor (chopper) for $5.00 at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. This may be the most exciting purchase I have made all month! I told you, I love choppers!
Here’s the deal: choppers make life easier. And as far as I can tell, there is no such thing as having too many choppers in my kitchen! The picture here shows my three favorites (just try and ignore the 60’s vintage orange counter top).
What you see on the right is my full size Cuisinart food processor – top of the line and a gift from my parents my years ago. I have had to replace a couple of small parts but it is truly a workhorse and has served me well. I use if for soups, making nut butter and just about anytime I make a large casserole.In the middle is the Sunbeam Little Oskar much like the one I bought today. It is wonderful for small chopping jobs like making mirepoix or mixing things like salad dressing. Easy to wash and use for the little jobs where you don’t want to haul out the big processor and deal with washing it plus it is small so it can live on the counter. There is a chopping blade portion which attaches to the motor (at the back) and a whole other apparatus for grating and slicing (at the front). I use the chopping portion every day – sometimes two or three times a day.
On the left (behind the extra Little Oskar parts) is a no name coffee grinder. Got this for 50 cents at Goodwill. It is used to chop fresh herbs. Works like a charm!
In fact when the herb growth starts to outpace our ability to consume, I pick the leaves, wash and carefully dry them. They all get thrown into the extra coffee grinder. Once they are minced I spoon the chopped mixture into my Cubette Mini Ice Cube Tray and stick it in the freezer. The frozen cubes get moved to a heavy duty baggie and left in the freezer until I need them – no need to thaw first. Fresh herbs all year around!
I am a fan of anything that can make life easier. Which always raises the comment about how expensive it is to set up a kitchen! Admittedly, kitchen gear can be pricey, but it doesn’t have to be! You will be amazed and what you can find (for cheap) in just about any thrift store.
Let’s see, over the years I have gotten a rice cooker, bread maker, several coffee pots, a rice steamer, a toaster oven, a juicer and a blender. The best part is that the most expensive item was the bread maker for $15.00. The trick is to get out there and look.
Happy hunting!