Wednesday 29 Nov 2023 post begun 0947hrs GMT

 

Winter IS coming - we're under a snow and ice alert for the rest of the week and extra blankets are on the bed. 

 

I've just bought the Rolls Royce of manual rotary cheese graters. It is a 5-in-1 kitchen marvel and dishwasher safe (my Comfee worktop dishwasher has to be awarded Buy of the Year, I love-love-love that machine!). 

I bought an 'el-cheapo' several months ago and fell in love with the concept although el-cheapo (under a tenner) quickly demonstrated drawbacks:

• Crank quite tricky to fix to the inserted cutter/grater barrel
• Suction base knob increasingly difficult to turn with my arthritic hands
• Suction to worktop unreliable (VERY) to achieve and maintain during session
• Hopper and chute fiddly to fit onto base and worse, the hopper attaches to the chute via screws that immediately rusted after one trip through said dishwasher

Still, WOW was that thing a revelation - SO much safer (no more grated fingers) and considerably faster to grate a large block of cheese! The lime green body didn't bother me but in the end (and that end came quickly) the other issues did.

When I searched Amazon and eBay I saw pricier models, I went with el cheapo because I'd been fooled before (GRATY, that's £8 I'll never get back! Also three different mandolin combo sets that promised...but like GRATY did not deliver even a little bit). Once I realised how great a rotary grater could be, I went back to look at those pricier models.

Ooooh, what?! The working parts are all dishwasher safe? The suction enabler is a lever rather than a knob? The hopper and chute are one slide-on piece? The cutting/grating blades are in a neat little holding tray and assemble to a frame (so, easier to fully clean)? WAIT - WHAT, the crank fixes to the unit via an easy-fit screw-down cap??!! It comes with blade plates that grate big and small shreds, and cuts lovely ruffly potato slices to deep fry for American style 'chips and dip' and loads more specialty cuts as well? It comes with a five year guarantee??!!

 

Not least, the base is a truly beautiful deep forest pine green? And the price is still at 'Black Friday' pricing - half off AND free delivery?!

SOLD!

My husband has suggested it might also shred leftover beef joint cubed - the only way I can get him to eat corn tortilla burritos is if I add shredded leftover beef joint to the beans. But it is so labour intensive to shred the leftovers that I don't make that dish very often (scroll down for the 'recipe', if you like enchiladas you might like my 'taco-lada burrito' recipe for slow cookers) and DH saw the potential with this new kitchen tool sooner than I did.

 

I also bought a doughnut batter dispenser that drops perfect doughnuts straight into the deep fryer AND a doughnut cutter ring for cake doughnuts. My husband loves doughnuts (and biscuits aka cookies) but has to have gluten-free owing to his having Coeliac Disease. He's been known to indulge in store-bought glutenated doughnuts (to his grief) so when he saw the doughnut dispenser AND the ring cutter come through the door, his reaction was 'So when are you making doughnuts - soon, please?'. 

Meanwhile, autumn decor will be changed out tomorrow, the house is nearly finished being extra-cleaned and readied for decking the halls 1 December. Outdoor lights switch on will be at dusk Sunday 3 December. It all feels a little forced given the dire world situation but we agree the effort must be made - we need the cheering sights and sounds to counteract the gloom. 

SLOW COOKER TACO-LADAS

Ingredients (amounts depend on slow cooker capacity):

Shredded leftover beef joint

Tinned (canned) refried beans (I use Old El Paso)

Taco seasoning to taste (pre-mix packets OR make your own)

Corn tortillas for frying

Sunflower oil in skillet, heated (I use my Cuisinart multi-cooker - room for two tortillas side by side to fry) 

Waaay more grated cheddar cheese than you think you're going to need

 Slow cooker, kitchen paper towels

To Make:

• Open the beans tins, spoon into large bowl and season the beans to taste
  
• Fry the tortillas, pat excess oil off with paper towels
• Put a 'finger' of shredded beef into a fried tortilla and roll, repeat with all tortillas, set aside
  
• Spoon 2-3 inches of beans into bottom of slow cooker 
• Sprinkle a fair layer of cheese over the beans
• Put a layer of beef filled tortillas on top of the cheese
• Spoon a layer of beans on top of the tortilla rolls
• Sprinkle another layer of cheese over the beans
• Repeat the above until all the ingredients are used, cheese layer should be top
• Cover slow cooker and set heat level depending on how much is in the cooker and how long you can wait to eat (low - up to 8hrs, high - 3-6hrs) 

Serve with Spanish rice and/or salad - we usually have just a salad when it's just the two of us and add the rice side if we're having dinner guests.