[Jamestown1630]

This week: Things to do with a brand-new blender - or any other Favorite Kitchen Gizmo ;-)

(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking ping-list, please send a private message.)

-JT

[Twotone]

I found these dip recipes somewhere. Probably from a new blender I bought. They sound good, but I don’t think I ever made any of them. ;-)

Blender-made Dips & Spreads

Bacon & Horseradish Dip:
½ cup cooked & crumbled bacon
1 tbps horseradish
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 slice medium onion
1 tbsp parsley

Barbecue Dip:
1 cup creamed cottage cheese
½ cup barbecue or chili sauce
2 tbsp horseradish sauce

Shrimp Spread:
1 cup cooked shrimp, cleaned
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 thin slice onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp horseradish
¼ tsp salt
Dash of Tabasco

Sour Cream Substitute:
½ cup water or milk
8 oz creamed cottage cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp salt

[Fai Mao]

This only sort of on topic.

Occasionally I need a can open. I don’t use many canned items but there are not many substitutes when you need a can opened and my old can opener had succumbed to the ravages of old age. So the other day I went to the store to get a manual can opener that could hide modestly in the drawer until I needed to extract black olives from their suit of tin armor.

A manual can opener was $17.00 for one that I felt wouldn’t break.

An electric one was $8.99.

I’ve a new device looking for a plug.

I don’t understand the pricing.

[boatbums]

One of our favorite breakfasts is cottage cheese pancakes. In a blender, you blend together 4 eggs, 1 cup cottage cheese, 3 tbls. flour and 3 tbls. vegetable oil until smooth. Griddle them just like regular pancakes and serve with butter and maple syrup or pureed fruit. Very low carbs and high in protein, too!

[CottonBall]

banana coladas!

[greeneyes]

I use a small food processer to grind up eggshells to use in the garden. Mix equal parts of bone meal, Epsom salts, and egg shell powder. Put a Tablespoon or two of the mixture in the pot with your tomatoes or other veggie.

[Yaelle]

I loooooooove, especially for hot items like soups, a hand blender. I believe it is essential. It can be so unwieldy to pour hot soups into a blender. The hand blender is fast to use and fast to clean, and the soup can stay in the pot.

I actually used my blender today to make a smoothie to help a little one with constipation, but it was tasty even if you’re not only seeking fiber. One banana, a big handful of frozen blueberries, a tablespoon of coconut oil, a tablespoon of ground flax seed, 1 tbsp raw honey, and enough of your favorite liquid to make the blender work, but not much more. We used delicious raw milk, but kefir, yogurt, any kind of “milk” will do and add a bit of protein. Add less milk than you think. You can always add more.

Serves 2.

[pugmama]

We are overrun with tomatoes so am making this tonight. Recipe is from a blog site, using an immersion or regular blender. I will see how it tastes. Per the comment section, you can also freeze this.

Homemade Ketchup

Serves: 32 ounces
Ingredients

5 lbs fresh tomatoes (the better tasting the tomato, the better tasting the ketchup)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp honey
¼ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp brown or Dijon mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp ground pepper
¼ large onion, diced
½ clove garlic

Instructions

Depending on the size, halve or quarter tomatoes so that they’re approximately 1 - 1½” pieces.
Place in a large stock pot. Using a wooden spoon or a potato masher, gently mash the tomatoes to release their juices. Cook the tomatoes on a low simmer for 30 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the tomatoes until they are mostly smooth.
Pour tomato puree into a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low overnight, or 8-12 hours. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture again until it is mostly smooth.
Using chopsticks or dull knives, prop open the lid of the slow cooker on opposite sides so that the lid does not touch the slow cooker. Cook the mixture on medium/high setting until the mixture has cooked down to the desired thickness, checking every hour or so. This takes approximately 3 hours.
Taste ketchup and add additional seasoning or sweetness as desired. (I ended up adding one more tablespoon of honey.)
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture one final time.
Ladle or scoop into glass jars for storage. Alternatively, you can re-use old ketchup bottles for your new, homemade ketchup.