HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope everyone has a good week.
My forest looked quite mystical this past week. Freezing fog hung in the trees and frost covered the ground. It's turning warm again now, but the wildlife are very actively hunting for food. They are eating heartily to put on weight in order to make it through the winter. The groundhog needs to double his weight to survive the long hibernation. I seem to be constantly hungry, too! LOL
Love and hugs to all.
Rusty: I knew about "pleached" as I watch the gardening programmes on TV. One of my favourite words, too!!
Dry and calm here: not really autumnal - everyone is saying its more like Spring! Doing my midweek laundry and making lists - we are visiting our family on Saturday for Matthews 10th (!!) birthday and then we go away on Sunday the 3rd Nov. Not done much in the way of packing yet! But just put on the To Do List "Sort out Shoes to take!!!!" LOL!
As promised to OG ages ago -- Some of my findings/opinions on Air Fryers:
AIR FRYER NOTES:
At first, I thought it was just a fad, so I ignored it. Then I found that more and more friends, relatives and people on TV were raving about how convenient they were. The clinchers for me were:
a) They save putting on a whole oven when there are just two of you and only you want to cook a slice of pizza each. Then waiting for the oven to heat up.
b) They save money on power - as they are such a small space to heat compared to even a small oven cavity, and they heat up very quickly, they save on your bills.
I did my research. It seemed sensible to buy a small one and try it out, as the large ones are of course much more expensive. The smaller ones take up less room on the countertop, too. I bought one of the most compact models for our son as he & his wife have never got enough counter space.They're finding it convenient to use as their 3 children rarely all eat the same meal. But... then I decided that my OH would "blow a gasket" as we used to say, if I bought a small one and then said it was not big enough!
I decided to jump in with both feet and buy the biggest on the market. This has one very large drawer which can be split into two sections with a divider, or all used at the same time. You can use just one section or all of it. Or both independently.
It arrived, without my telling my OH about it, who would have said "what now?!" I got him to help me get it out of the packaging and put it on the countertop. It has two non stick plates or grids to put the food onto, but you can also use your own dishes and etc as long as they are ovenproof. For some foods, you spray these grids with a little oil first so they don't stick. (You can buy a sprayer gadget but I just use the oils which come in a spray format, at all supermarkets) There were two instruction books and one large cookbook to get me started. I've since bought more cookbooks.
The 1st day we used it very carefully, just cooking some frozen oven ready chips, which were a huge success. Then a few days later I bought a joint of pork and we put it into the large drawer and blasted it -- a bit of a mistake as I should have allowed for it to be very fierce compared to a hot oven - it was a bit shrunken as it overcooked. However, packages of fish cooked in foil were successful as long as you keep an eye on things - you can open the drawer at any point and examine your food. We've heated M&S pies successfully and warmed pizza. I made a fruit crumble and put the dish into one section of the fryer, and it was delicious with a nice crispy topping. I've only made our own chips once, where we put some slices of potato drizzled with a little oil into the fryer, but I need to experiment more with that. They were edible but not quite how we like them. I heard a good description on TV of Air Fryers - they are not "Fryers" at all, but actually small air heated fan ovens.
Advice --
Think carefully about where you will keep it, as it takes up room in your kitchen. It also needs an electric power point, too of course. Mine came with quite a long cable.
Think hard about what you want it for - do you want to save using your oven and therefore save on bills, or is it just for convenience of warming things up? Do you need a small one as there are not many in the household or do you want to be able to cook just about anything you would normally put into an oven? (mine is 10.4 litres but I doubt if it would take our Christmas turkey which is usually quite large)
There are now a lot of models on the market - decide what size you need, then research - all of the main manufacturers seem good. Check the reviews and look for price differences in all the main shops/outlets - mine was much cheaper as I bought it on an "Offer" but I've seen it for £80 more!
Hope this is helpful. Happy Cooking!
Lindy - Thank you, your bit on air fryers was really useful. I have been dithering for ages about whether to get one. I live alone and rarely use processed food or ready meals which need heating. My oven went 'bang' a few Christmasses ago and I learned very quickly how to cook a raw duck in my slow cooker! (It was delicious.) I now have said slow cooker, a microwave and the hob and manage everything with them. The word 'fryer' put me off because I hardly ever fry - although I do enjoy a good stir fry, and I make a mean omelette! I had been edging closer to possibly getting a small one, but I think your article has finally made me decide I really don't need to spend that money, as I can do everything with what I have already. Although I have to say your mention of crumble did almost make me change my mind - I have yet to succeed with a crumble in the microwave! I really appreciate your detailed summary - thank you. Anyone would tell you I am not good at making decisions - you have definitely helped me on this occasion.
Thank you, LINDY for taking the time to write the excellent piece about air fryers. Much appreciated.
I hope that your hearing etc has improved.
Lindybird: Interesting and helpful overview of air fryers. We have an oven, a microwave and a toaster oven (my BiL had never heard of them but UK niece bought him one when I was back in the UK to see my ailing sister). The niece bought herself one. They both love them; so handy. We use the toaster/oven a lot; not so much the oven (pizza excepted) and the microwave mostly for defrosting.
Glad people have found it helpful. Of course, it's a very personal decision whether to have one and it depends on a lot of factors.
I got rid of my slow cooker 12 months ago as I had acquired some heavy cast iron casserole dishes & so it was easier to cook stews etc "slowly" on top of the stove instead.
Yesterday we experimented with cooking a large potato in the microwave but then transferring it to the air fryer to crisp it- we often bake them in the microwave as it's so convenient and fast, but they don't come out with that nice crispy skin (I always eat the skins) I found that you have to be careful not to cook the potato too much first as it might get overcooked this way- our potato was more crispy but not crispy enough so experimenting is ongoing!!
Thanks for concern about my earache - it's not been too painful, as much as uncomfortable and deafening. It was also hard to sleep on my side. I saw the Doc this evening (a "new" young woman) and she said it didn't look like an infection as my eardrums are not inflamed. She recommended inhaling steam in the old fashioned way, with a towel over your head & breathing it in. I'm going to try it now.