J&H from Beyond The Stoop's Profile

i agree, for smoothies and soups, immersion blender is best of the two. though, i would almost recommend getting a regular blender. that's the BEST for making smoothies. an immersion blender takes a lot of muscles to break down the frozen fruit (if you use frozen). we also used to use the food processor for smoothies because the immersion blender was too difficult, and liquid would seep out of the bottom of the bowl, because the inner "hole" where the blade goes is not the full depth of the bowl (kitchenaid).

so, BLENDER is my recommendation, not immersion blender OR food processor. there are few things that you can't do with a blender that a food processor and immersion blender will do....

i'm another for the kitchenaid attachment :) if someone is reading thekitchn.com, there's a good chance they have a kitchenaid mixer (and loves the attachments too!) it's a bit smaller (i think?), and normally attachments to this mixer are ridiculously expensive, but this one is nice because it's similar in price to a stand-alone ice cream maker.

although we don't have a TON of space in our freezer, we keep the bowl in the freezer at all times (put things inside of it to conserve space), and just take it out when we want to make ice cream! it's so handy that it's DANGEROUS sometimes ;)

aren't most ice creams gluten-free anyways? and they are vegetarian given that there's no meat products used... so, if you take out the dairy and replace with something NON-dairy, it's bound to be vegan and gluten-free... don't let the titles scare you away!

you might actually have more trouble finding a dairy-free ice cream that's NOT gluten-free or vegan!

if you're looking for a quick fix, try using this recipe that uses ONLY bananas, cocoa powder, and peanut butter... it's packed full of 100% deliciousness (and shhh!! it's naturally vegan and gluten-free too)

http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2012/03/no-ice-cream-maker-no-problem.html

cheers.

thanks for the mini shout out!

@Madame Suggia: I like your thinking. Anything can and does get sterilized. Those same people complaining about a dog in the sink probably don't have kids (well, neither to I, for that matter, but I'm not grossed out by a baby urinating during a diaper change or pooing in the bathtub either). Sterilize and move on!

...on another thought, I never place food directly ON my sink. Usually it's in a bowl. And the things I DO place ON the sink are dirty dishes waiting to get washed (read: sterilized) anyways so who cares??

please correct me if i am wrong, but isn't this just like taking a step back in time to the way grocery stores USED to be? seems like a great idea, but i hope that these places continue to have the farmers in mind, instead of their own wallets!

@melverenice: i like to do the same thing! put rhubarb jam over homemade vanilla ice cream last rhubarb season, and it was just so good.

http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2011/07/i-scream-you-scream.html

the jam was actually leftovers from making homemade rhubarb poptarts!!
http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2011/06/sunday-funday.html

and after i decided that i had enough UNhealthy ways of using up all the rhubarb jam, i decided to eat it with greek yogurt and grape nuts for a sort of breakfast "cheesecake":
http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2011/07/cheesecake-for-breakfast.html

can't wait for my first bunch of rhubarb this year!! farmer's market starts this week, so excited!

I think a microwave is a MUST, especially for leftovers that were originally pan-fried. Or for microwave potato chips (SO much faster than baking them):

http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2012/02/im-believer-microwave-potato-chips.html

and until recently, we were without a countertop blender. trying to make smoothies with an immersion blender just wasn't cutting it (would end up with chunks of frozen strawberries, even after blending for a LONG time). we have the kitchenaid 5-speed blender, and LOVE it (though when the funds permit, we WILL have a vitamix one day):

http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2012/01/first-sauce-in-new-blender-spicy-lime.html

second request: i'd also like to see a post on the importance of using kitchen thermometers, and possibly reviews of different ones. we like to use a digital meat thermometer that has a cord to a readout that sits outside of the oven, though ours broke and we are looking for a new one. and is a candy thermometer completely different? or could we use 1 thermometer for everything?

last request: as most thekitchn.com readers live in small spaces, i'd like to see a top 10 list for most useful kitchen tools. maybe some are multi-use, maybe some are collapsable/nesting, maybe even some are just single-use-but-totally-necessary.

looking forward to this week of requests!

i stopped drinking coffee during the week, and now i sleep SO much better and don't need that extra boost in the morning. i often times wake up even before my alarm! ...i used to drink about 3-4 cups a day, and NEVER drank coffee after noon, and it was still affecting my sleep, i just didn't know it! so glad i made the switch. i still drink herbal (naturally decaf) teas in the morning because i like the feeling of a hot mug and drinking a hot liquid, though (sort of like smokers and those fake cigarettes, haha)

i started it from the whole living 28-day challenge detox plan... see here:
http://www.beyondthestoop.com/2012/01/fresh-start.html