Thursday 8 March 2018

Gadgets

Some of the 'things' cluttering up our shelves




This is just a souvenir bottle, empty, that someone gave us but it really works.  We use it for raki, open the little tap down the bottom and fill up the glasses.  On the front is an island scene and the name, Poros, in Greek
Poros  -  Πορος




Our pasta maker.  Yes, we do use it a couple of times a year.  It is great fun making fresh pasta and now the grandchildren are getting older they can operate it by themselves, almost.

The pasta is simply made from flour and fresh eggs.  It is a project for a cold wet Sunday.  Homemade pasta seems more filling than your shop bought spaghetti, has a wonderful taste all of its own.  We normally eat it, in small portions, plain with grated cheese or maybe with the sauce from a stewed rooster or rabbit.  




The Captain's bell, bought for the Navy man in the house.  Thanκ goodness the grandkids seem to have forgotten it.  The noise it makes is  loud and clashing.  Now and again it is used to summon the family to the table. 
 My grandmother had an elephant bell. She lived down the end of  our long feijoa lined drive and on a Sunday she, or one of the younger grandchildren, would take great delight in ringing it to summon us all to the table.  A table of roast meat and potatoes, homemade bread, her own fruit wine and a steamed pudding with wine sauce.




My mother had one of these big heavy cold-meat mincers.  It was screwed on to the side of the bench and used to mince leftover meat.   This mincer was given to us and  sounded a perfect  idea for our feast-leftovers but has remained in the box for over a year now.   No-one wants to eat lumps of leftover pork or even goat because the cold meat grows tough and unappetising the next day.   Putting it through the mincer for a shepherds pie or even the base of a bolognaise sauce would save it from becoming cat food.  I shall put it on the kitchen bench and maybe we will remember to use it after one of our feasts.  The thought of having to clean the damn thing does put me off a bit.  Maybe nowadays you can just throw it in the dishwasher




Enamel mugs.  The traditional person in the house has gone back to his roots and prefers to drink his water from one of these.

10 comments:

  1. Interesting gadget display. My mother always minced her own beef from fresh beef. It was an interesting operation, with a pusher thing to push the meat through. I don't know what happened to it, we probably chucked it away. The one and only gadget I have is a large juicer which I bought a few years ago when I was lowering cholesterol and living on vegetables, well more vegetables than usual. I never got rid of it when I moved here because I found it useful and it worked and the only gadget I felt I was ever likely to use again. All other gadgets I had collected over 30 years in my previous house went either in the dustbin or to the charity shop when I moved here.

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  2. Most gadgets sit on shelves gathering dust. We had juicer which we used quite a lot. I left it on top of the stove and turned the plate on by accident. End of juicer.

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  3. we have enamel cups in the car and for the garden. I like the meat grinder.

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    1. I am surprised about the cups. But then I dislike enamel no matter how prettily it is painted. Luckily a friend gave us three because one has already lost its enamel

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  4. My Pasta maker has NEVER been used.

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    1. Get rid of it, Now.
      Clutter clutter. That is how our home/house is turning into a storehouse. If you haven't used it in two years then turf it.
      Great advice. Wish I could follow it. We are not allowed to turf anything because...............it might come in handy, one day

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  5. I don't use the mince grinder as I don't make homemade tortellini anymore - the tortellini filling was made with minced broth meat. Broth meat was also minced to make meat balls.
    I use the pasta machine a lot, at least once a week, and I freeze the pasta too. My mum until her 90th birthday, 3 years ago, used to make pasta the old fashion way, no pasta machine but, with a long rolling pin, then she used to cut the strips into tagliatelle. She cut very fast and with a very sharp knife!
    Cro, the pasta machine is the easiest thing to use, as long as you get the dough right (not sticky) then even a child can make pasta with it.
    I like the enamel cups - dont find them here.
    The bottle with tap would work perfectly for grappa here :)
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Homemade pasta just has another taste, no comparison to the dried stuff you buy in the supermarket. Wish I could eat a portion of yours one day, just to taste the real thing from Italy

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  6. I’m not a gadget person. So I don’t have a lot of things in boxes
    But if I let hubby loose I’d have soooo many!
    I have toyed with the idea of a pasta maker. But I know I’ll use it once and put it away. So I never got one
    Good thing now as on this diet I’m not allowed carbs. And once I reach my target weight I’ll only be able to have small amounts of carbs. So fresh pasta will be out. I can’t stop at a little lol

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  7. Unless you're Italian you are not going to use it very often, believe me!!
    Anyway I am sure you can buy fresh pasta in the fridge section of your supermarket. We even see it here now and again, at xmas.

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