Rice cookers, slow cookers, toaster ovens and other appliances
Posted by VeganRun on Jan 14, 2010 · Member since Nov 2009 · 2111 posts
Hi everyone! I was wondering if you guys liked to use small appliances in the kitchen, such as rice cookers, slow cookers (Crock pots), bread machines, toaster ovens, etc. I asked for and received these appliances (minus bread machine) at Christmas, and I'm loving them. I love the rice cooker and how I don't have to baby sit the rice. Does anyone else use this to make other grains, such as quinoa? How does that work out? I've used the slow cooker for making beans, chili, and some soups. Any other good ideas for it? And I bake almost exclusively in my toaster oven, which is quite huge (it will hold a 12" pizza or a pie plate).
How do you guys make your small appliances work for you??
i love my rice cooker to death! i was wondering the same thing too about cooking other grains in it... i have a crock pot too but haven't used it much... i found some great looking crock pot recipes here http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/vegan,crockpot good luck with ur appliances i know i am in love with kitchen gadgets!
Really, the only kitchen gadget I couldn't live without is my food processor - and my stove, but that's not really a gadget.
i love my magic bullet, ice cream maker, apple slicer, and rice cooker the most out of all the crap i have at my house... of course i would just die without a stove and oven that would really suck
I really want the Slap Chop and the Graty....I have the urge to order it almost everyday.
Is a tofu press for pressing the water out of the tofu, or making your own? Sorry if that's a stupid question.
i have good luck cooking many grains in my rice cooker - i have a cuisinart one that cooks using sensors. i'm not sure if a regular one (generally the less expensive ones) designed for white rice will do it. you can always try it out! with some grains, i find that letting them sit in the machine (unplug it) for 15 minutes or so helps soften them once the machine says they are done. they need to steam a little bit.
things i use a lot: rice cooker, vita mix, tofu press. i use my crock pot once in a while but my small one tends to be too small and my bigger one is usually too big for the recipes i want to make. ha !
agreed i always like to let the rice sit or keep it on the warm setting to let the rice dry out
The only gadgets I really couldn't manage without are my little chopper-box thing (probablly like the US magic bullet) and immersion blender. And the microwave for zapping potatoes for breakfast and reheating leftovers.
I have a crockpot that I seldom use. I'd like to get a rice cooker but so far I can't justify the expense or figure out a place to keep it. (Small apartment, little storage space). I make a lot of rice but I don't find it hard to make at all. I don't "baby sit" my rice, I put it on while I'm making the main dish. But then I cook 98% from scratch.
For a while I had a food processor but it was a pain to use because you zip something for a few seconds and then spend 20 minutes taking the darn thing apart and cleaning it. And again, no storage space. And then the lid broke and I discovered the company (Moulinex) had gone out of business here. Waste of money.
I do have a regular blender and a hand mixer but again, I seldom use them. They were really not vital purchases but they were sooo cheap (thank you LIDL) and somehow it was just an enormous satisfaction to own a mixer at last. But the regular blender is a godsend for grinding garbanzos to make falafel. Much easier to set up and use (and clean) than the food processor.
I find the mandoline useful, IF you can get a good one, which isn't easy here. I had bought a cheapie years ago and used it literally to pieces...then bought 2 that were more expensive and turned out to be crappy (and dangerous) because the blades weren't sharp enough.
I use my rice cooker all the time, and I have had luck cooking various things in it. In addition to rice I've cooked millet, I'm assuming (though I haven't tried) quinoa would be good as well. I only eat brown rice, and that took a little experimentation but now I know how to get the rice the way I like it.
I've also cooked "one pot" meals in there, usually a form of rice based stew.
I love my electric water kettle (bodum).
I have a food processor, but honestly I'd rather just use the grater and rinse it.
Thinking about getting a spiralizer and making a solar dehydrator.
i agree with what some peeps said about food processors... i hardly use mine because it seems like more of a hassle getting it down and cleaning all the parts when i'm done :( i use it on occasion though
For Christmas this past year, I got an immersion blender that I can't wait to use and a meat grinder I'm using to make my own cat food.
I use my food processor quite a bit, especially this time of year. I've found it invaluable in terms of saving time when it comes to slicing apples for pies, grating or slicing medallions of potatoes, zucchini and other squashes and veggies or pureeing denser things like tofu or cooked squash. I can whip up dough the perfect pie crust in 5 minutes or less. It comes apart in 2 minutes flat with four to five pieces to clean.
I have 3 different sizes of food processors. The big one (11 qt Cuisinart I LOOOVE!!!!), I use for the brunt work of mixing and slicing the above things. The middle one (2qt) came as an accessory to my blender, and is good for a quick small batch of hummus. Then a small 2 cupper I use for small jobs like making guacamole, or chopping up a handful of nuts, etc. I use the big one primarily because I can't cook small, and it is actually the easiest to use and clean.
Winter makes you want soups and stews, so crockpots are good for those. I have three different crockpots too. My big one (16qt) is currently out of commission, waiting to get a new stoneware for it (I abuse them terribly - go on stock/broth making marathons). I have a medium one (10qt) that I've been using instead. Both sizes are great and invaluable when I'm making veg*n dishes for potlucks in the winter. The small one (1qt), I haven't used in a long time.... it was invaluable though when I lived in the dorms.
Since I've learned to cook rice, my rice cooker is on loan to a friend who is a starving bachelor. When I was uber broke and feeding 2 adults on $10/week or less, I discovered lentils, frozen veggies and rice in veggie broth cook awesomely in the cooker!
The toaster oven was my saving grace when I took commissions for pies this past Thanksgiving. My big oven decided to be temperamental, and heated unevenly, causing me to ruin a pie. It is also nice when making garlic bread and other nummies while a casserole is in the big one. I once catered a small event using just my toaster oven and a hot plate when I was living in the dorms.
Unlike a lot of people I know, I get quite a bit of use from my bread machine as well.
I'm finally using my dehydrator for what I got it for....making instant veggie stocks/bullion. (I'm a nerd....what of it?)
The microwave is nice when there are leftovers or a frozen dinner to heat up.
Though I don't drink coffee, I have a drip coffee maker for guests and a espresso percolator I use both for when I want coffee in recipes (chocolate cake, etc) or when I want to make a decoction from a denser/woodier spice or herb.
My 2 cup french press is for loose teas only.
My frydaddy is great for doughnuts and other good but evil treats.....
My juicer, electric griddle and waffle iron are nice to have around but rarely get used anymore.
Can I come over for waffles?
Well, I do have a spare bedroom.
Hanashi, I guarantee you will love the immersion blender. Particularly if it's a good one with a powerful motor. What brand is it?
And I totally forgot my electric teakettle. Maybe because we use it so much we sort of thik of it as a person!
Yabbit, it is a Kitchenaid.
wow, everyone has some really cool stuff!!
I use my rice cooker, (although wanting to use it tomorrow, haven't for a couple of months)
My crockpot a whole lot for beans and chili. I have a food processer that i would like to use, but the recently missing lid has posed a problem... I just got a waffle maker... haven't even checked it out yet (i love handme downs though!!) An emersion blender, it comes in handy last thing i made was a curried pumpkin soup (thank god the daughter is young enough that she didn't mind the sacrifice of a pumpkin)
I really want a toaster oven, b/c i have been told that i am using too much energy using my stove all the time, and i don't have a microwave, i don't believe in them they don't exist.
Does a coffee maker count???? and for some strange reason i never thought of loose tea for those!!! i am getting such great ideas! :D
Yabbit, it is a Kitchenaid.
Should be excellent, then! Some come with attachments like a chopper box, or a whisk, or other things.
I use my food processor quite a bit, though I need a bigger one. I use my blender daily for smoothies. I have a small rice cooker (Black & Decker) but it always messes my rice up and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I follow the instructions and add just enough rice and water and use the measuring cup that came with it. I've tried doing only one serving of rice, less water, etc, but no matter what I have to constantly lift the lid to let steam out so the water won't boil over. And the bottom layer of rice is always filmy and gross. Any suggestions for this?
I use my food processor quite a bit, though I need a bigger one. I use my blender daily for smoothies. I have a small rice cooker (Black & Decker) but it always messes my rice up and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I follow the instructions and add just enough rice and water and use the measuring cup that came with it. I've tried doing only one serving of rice, less water, etc, but no matter what I have to constantly lift the lid to let steam out so the water won't boil over. And the bottom layer of rice is always filmy and gross. Any suggestions for this?
Follow the instructions for the amount of water and rice to use that is on the bag of rice, if u think it is going to overflow maybe try halving the measurements, when the rice is cooking DO NOT LIFT THE LID water and gooey stuff foams out of mine too especially with brown rice, when the switch clicks that it is done push it down again after a couple minutes if it doesn't look cooked all the way, when it clicks again lift the lid and let the moisture out, close the lid and let it sit on warm for a bit... this is what i do but maybe ur rice cooker just stinks
Thanks Amy, I'll try that ;)b
For Christmas my grandparents got us this 3 tier food steamer and rice cooker. I have yet to use it. But once I figure it out I'll give it a go. Here's what it looks like, it seems pretty nifty.
http://images-p.qvc.com/is/image/k/52/k24252.001?$usmedium$
I also have a magic bullet and a toaster oven. I think thats all I really use.
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