For Christmas, my parents gifted me with a new food mill.
This is a truly awesome kitchen gadget!
Applesauce: Cook up a bunch of apples (just slice them, don’t bother peeling or coring) with a wee bit of water and a shot of cinnamon, then when they are soft, put them into the bowl of the food mill, crank the handle, and voila – you have smooth, seedless, peel-free apple sauce in the dish underneath.
Cream of vegetable soup: Cook up your vegetables until they are nice and soft – or take the leftovers from last night’s dinner. Fry up some onions in a generous helping of butter, add a bit of garlic or spices if you like, and when the onions are nice and golden, thicken the butter with flour and stir it to cook a little. Pour in some milk, heat it through, then dump the cooked veggies and their cooking liquid, into the mix. Ladle into the food mill and puree into the serving dish. Serve with grated cheese to sprinkle into the bowl … just beware of dangling cheesy bits!
Lentil soup: Heat your oil, then add onions and stir while they turn golden. Add curry and spices (the spices need to be absorbed by the oil, the flavour is much richer than if they are just added to the liquid), some chopped or mashed leftover potatoes, and maybe some diced or leftover carrots (or whatever other veggies are kicking around – peas would be good), then add your rinsed lentils and 4 times their volume in broth (or plain water with a generous shot of dried, blendered greens for flavouring). Cook until the lentils fall apart, potatoes are cooked through (if they weren’t already), then ladle into the food mill and puree into the serving dish.
I’ve used the food mill three times in the last few days. It’s great! I can’t wait for tomato paste season. :) Thanks, Mom and Dad!
I have an antique one of those. My mother-in-law had no more use for it and passed it down to me. I use it for applesauce but will try other things you have suggested. Thanks
ReplyDeleteSharon
Oh, it is truly awesome! Tonight was cream of broccoli soup, with a couple of carrots tossed in for colour. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently in love with my Magic Bullet because it easily does the same thing without the mess.
ReplyDeleteI've never used my mill for anything other than applesauce. I never thought of it.
I had creamed brocolli and carrot soup tonight in fact. Blended in the Bullet.
That's so funny Ev - I *had* been blendering my soups in the Magic Bullet (yep, I love mine too!) but I found that the hot soup tends to overflow or the air cools and then I can hardly get the lid/base part unscrewed ... and for me, the food mill was *less* work and mess than the bullet! You must have better ladle/blender technique than I do. :)
ReplyDeleteHowever, nothing beats the Bullet for grinding up dehydrated greens and zucchini bits!
Mine doesn't overflow because I'm the main soup eater in the house. I tend to make a lot of single portions while the kids are at school and I have the house to myself. It's one of the things I love best about them all being in school finally - selfish lunches.
ReplyDeleteI haven't noticed the difficulty unscrewing the base yet. It's either because I have massive bicepts (not) or because I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my Bullet. Yup, I think that's it.
Yes, you will LOOOOVE how it does tomato sauce!
ReplyDeleteI would love to replace my immersion blender with one of these - but my main use is smoothies and a food mill just won't do it...
ReplyDelete