In the past, the processor would slow down and stop when making challah or pasta dough. I would finish the dough by hand, and after the motor cooled off it would work fine. A few months ago, my daughter used the Magimix to make pasta dough. The machine, clearly working hard to get through the sticky dough, started to slow down. But when my daughter turned off the machine, she was unable to remove the “S” blade from the stem of the processor. This kept the bowl stuck in place too. From what we could see of the top of the stem, it looked crumbly on the top and possibly melted. I took it to the store, paid for them to cut off the blade and replace the stem, and ordered a new blade.

I have used several Cuisinart and Magimix food processors over the last 3 decades without any melted parts.

The next time my daughter made pasta dough, she turned off the machine as soon as it started to slow down. We were able to pry off the blade and salvage it. But as you can see from the picture, the top stem had already started to disintegrate.   Admittedly, this stem is not the original and seems to be of a cheaper material. But the original stem had disintegrated even further.

Now I have to decide whether to replace the stem once more and be extra cautious about using the processor for dough, or try to get a higher quality machine. If it exists.

Have you ever had such a problem with your food processor?

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I generally prepare beans in bulk, especially types that take a long time to cook.  The other day, after soaking a kilogram of dried kidney beans, I noticed many suspicious-looking holes. Holes are a sign that insects have invaded and may have taken up residence in your food. I’m pretty sure I would have noticed the holes before soaking, had I looked carefully, but soaking enabled me to take them apart and look inside. I am sharing the pictures with you, of course. If the idea makes you queasy, I suggest you stop reading now.

With light-colored beans, like navy beans, you can actually see the insect residing under the skin if the beans have been soaked.

After soaking I picked up small handfuls, lay the beans out on my palm, looked for blemishes, and flipped them over on to the other hand to view the second side. I didn’t open them up right away, to save time. I found 20 or so infested beans in the package. In the end I only needed to open a few samples to see that most  were not worth salvaging. In  a few cases, the infestation only went a couple of millimeters deep.

Below you can see a bean with one hole, and how it looked inside:

Here is another bean, with two insect holes:

Despite this being the worst case of infestation I’ve seen in a long time, most of the beans were fine and tasty. They did take a long time to cook, though.

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Kidney, butter and cannelloni beans need to be cooked thoroughly to remove a toxin that can cause illness.

I have heard claims that hard water will prevent beans from getting soft, but the hard water from my tap works fine for me. Soaking beans can reduce the cooking time, but it shouldn’t make more than 10 or 15 minutes difference to the final product.

Adding baking soda to the cooking water will help soften the beans. But the soda destroys some of the thiamine, the vitamin (B1) that helps make the beans more digestible. Cooking beans with acidic food like tomatoes doesn’t slow down cooking time, but will help keep the skins intact. Salt has no effect on cooking times.(source)

You can continue cooking the hard beans to see if they will get soft, but it is probably not worth your time and energy. If you have to go to a lot of trouble to get your beans to cook, try to find a better quality shopping source.

You may also enjoy:

Don’t Bite the Bugs! Avoid Insect Infestation in Food

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12 Tips for Getting More Vitamins from Your Food

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Thanks Ms. Krieger!

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“Jerusalem” is probably a corruption of girasole, which means “facing the sun.” Sunchoke, the official name for the tuber, probably led to the artichoke misnomer. What we call a Jerusalem artichoke is actually the root of the sunchoke. Sunchoke and sunflower belong to the same family.

I saw a friend discussing how to peel Jerusalem artichokes, and got inspired to try some. Because they are small and knobby, ua peeler would remove too much flesh. Other suggestions including scraping, using a spoon, or leaving the peel on. If you do leave the peel, scrub carefully to get rid of sand.

Peel can be easily removed from roasted vegetables, but it was too hot to turn on the oven. So I tried a few methods for peeling. I found the spoon time-consuming and messy, and the same for a serrated knife. . Scraping with a straight-edged knife was fastest, but still messy. You could try with a lemon zester. The vegetable is so knobby and small that I lost patience after one or two. I used my vegetable brush to clean the rest.

My friend’s Facebook group members suggested roasting, pureeing, roasting, or cooking with spices until soft. But my 9-year-old said, “You should cook it with olive oil and garlic.” She just started weekly visits to an agricultural farm with her class. “That’s what they always say to do with the vegetables I bring home,” she explained.

Now I always consider frying foods to be cheating. Just about anything is good fresh out of the frying pan. But I decided to take my daughter’s advice. I heated up some olive oil along with some coarsely chopped garlic. After a few minutes I added the sliced Jerusalem artichoke.

After a few minutes, I added a half cup of water, covered the pan and lowered the heat. Because the pieces weren’t cut uniformly, some was still firm while others were soft. The soft ones tasted best. The thin peel did not detract from the delicious flavor, and my daughter agreed. But the gassiness is no joke. I will definitely eat a smaller quantity next time.

If you’ve cooked with Jerusalem artichoke, let me know your experience.

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Let’s say your cake calls for three different types of spices. Every time you make the cake, you need to take out and put away 3 measuring spoons and containers. You have more chances of spilling, too. You can make your life simpler by preparing your own mix.

My mom’s homemade baking mix is an elaborate example of this type of thinking, as is washing your produce in the dishwasher. But there are countless ways to incorporate mixes or prepared ingredients into your cooking.

Here are a few further examples:

1. Spice mix. A recipe calls for a large number of powdered spices, measured out separately. Multiply the amounts of each ingredient by 5 or 10, and store in a jar. Make a note on the jar or in your cookbook of how much spice mix you need for that dish.
2. Sautéed onions and celery. Spend an hour peeling, cleaning and chopping the onion and celery, then saute it. Store it in containers that hold the right amount for a single recipe.
3. Peeled onions for cooking. Peel and slice onions and store in a plastic zippered bag, then place in a second bag. Keep in the freezer and take out as much as you need at once.
4. Cooked beans. Soak as directed here, if needed. After cooking, lay the beans flat within a zippered bag and freeze each bag separately on a flat surface like a cookie tray. After they are frozen you can stack them. If stored in one layer, you can break off a small amount without defrosting the whole bag.
5. Chicken or vegetable broth. Invest in a large pot, keep a container in the freezer for bones or vegetable scraps. Cook and strain. Then store in shallow containers, to use when cooking soups, sauces, or grains.
6. Herbs. Chop fresh herbs, cover in olive oil and carefully pour into an ice cube tray (silicone ones work well).
7. Tomato sauce.
8. Hot peppers. I got this idea from a reader. Hot peppers require special handling, using gloves. So I prepare a large quantity all at once.  cut them in half, remove seeds and roast. Then I freeze them in a plastic bag in the freezer, ready for any recipe.

I usually make these items when I am about to use them in another dish. Then I keep a portion or two in the refrigerator, for use in the next few days,  and freeze the rest.

Check out my post on Freezing for a Crowd for general storage tips.

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If you don’t have a Kindle, Amazon has a free program that will allow you to read the book on your computer.

Cook Smart explains how your kitchen appliances work, so you can use them wisely. The book has tips for using each appliance and a chapter on saving water.  I also include 8 one-pot recipes.

Long-time blog readers will recognize much of the material. I’ve edited and organized the best posts on the topic, and included new material.

One of my readers has already written a review:

When I read this book, I was surprised by all the simple things that I can do to save water and electricity, and generally be more environmentally friendly in the kitchen, without effort or expense. For example, how much dish soap do I really need when doing the dishes? and why am I always turning the oven on and off, when I should just plan to cook everything once it’s hot?
This book is fun to read and full of practical tips for saving money and energy.

Thanks to my pre-readers Naomi, Aviva, Yonit and Yosefa for their helpful feedback. Robin Epstein designed the cover.

So what are you waiting for? Download Cook Smart! Learn the Secrets of Your Kitchen Appliances.

If you’ve red the book, let me know how you liked it.

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1. Make-Ahead Casseroles. Make casseroles and freeze them. Take one out in the morning, put it in the fridge, and when you get home, pop it into the oven and throw together a salad to go with it. (Sharla)
2. Simple recipes with prepared ingredients: Find a couple of serious simple recipes, my favorite was chili using canned beans—super easy and healthy. (Deena)
3. Meal plan. Any joy you lose from giving up the spontaneity of choosing what to have each night you will more than make up for in always knowing what’s for dinner, that you have the right ingredients, never having to run to the store last minute during the week to get a meal on the table, etc. Start with one day a week that’s a planned meal and increase with another night per week until all dinners are planned.
   We cook three times a week: Sunday’s dinner is leftovers on Tuesday, Monday’s dinner is leftovers on Wednesday and Thursday is breakfast for dinner.
   Benefits: We never eat the same meal twice in a row, we have a four-week rotation so it’s never the same thing week to week, and my grocery list (and bill) is nearly identical every month, and I do one major shopping run a month and supplement weekly with fresh things (dairy, fruits, veggies, etc.) Saves us a ton of time, money and frustration. (Kelli)
4. Slow Cooker: I put in dry rice, a frozen chicken, drizzle a little olive oil & some onion soup mix & add 1/3 cup of water. It cooks the whole day & when I get home from work, dinner is ready. I use it for soups & stews, too. Sharla also points out that you can prepare the meal in the evening, put the crock in the refrigerator, and place it in the slow cooker in the morning. (Ayala)
5. Quick-Cooking foods: Food that you can cook quickly–like boneless chicken or thigh pieces. Also, grains that cook up quickly, like bulgur. And for those with kids who are adventurous eaters (perhaps slightly older), I take Madhur Jaffrey’s advice: you can cook some things quickly if you have lots of spices for flavor. Some of her quick recipes have lots of ingredients because (primarily) of the spice list but they are quick! (Miriam)
6. Meal in a tray:  One tray in the oven, including frozen veggies, tomato sauce, a protein and quick cooking grain. See One Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies to learn the technique. (Yosefa)

A big thank-you to readers for these creative ideas. What other tips for busy families can you share?

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image: GoodNCrazy

They contain no added sugar. I added some variations at the end.

image: ollesvensson

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