Omg, what have I done? I see spiralizers 100% of the time when thrifting. There must have been a huge fad period some years ago and people are over them. Clearly they are underutilized. The other day I finally bought one. Why you ask? Several factors:
It was in good condition
This model gets good reviews on Amazon and ATK
It was cheap ($5)
There was nothing else at the thrift store worth buying, which signals that I’m vulnerable to buying something stupid. Sometimes I have difficulty buying nothing.
We have not used ours - bought one as a gift to ourselves one Christmas pre-pandemic. We did unpackage it, but put it all back into the box and it sits on a shelf in our garage with all of our other bulky unused kitchen widgets.
I have that model of Oxo spiralizer. I use it for dealing with summer’s onslaught of zucchini, either making zoodles or chopping up the spiralized strands for fritters. I also chop up spiralized carrots for slaw.
That spiralizer is sturdy and super easy to clean.
I appreciate being able to avoid close encounters with the box grater or getting out the food processor. Outside of summertime, the gadget doesn’t really get used though. That’s the downside.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
427
My daughter asked for one for a birthday and used it quite a bit at first (mainly zuknoodles and tomato sauce like Sunshine mentioned, or just butter/garlic). But after a while the excitement wore off.
The kitchen gadget items I see the most are the George Foreman grill presses (or knock-offs), in all sizes. This is at the Humane Society thrift, which for whatever reason has a much larger kitchen section than the nearby Goodwill.
There’s usually a dozen or so of grills, so I figure those also must have had a fad boom-then-bust as people got tired of them. Pretty much tied for second place are coffee makers and toasters.
The last time Sunshine and I drove cross-country we ate entirely too much “Fast Food”. Maybe I’m getting old, but my stomach can’t tolerate it.
Any who, I was thinking about how to make a “hot meal” in a motel room and an electric kettle came to mind. In a motel room, we’ll have access to water and electricity. I’m finding a wide variety of instant noodles, mac & cheese, soups, etc. (just add boiling water). Moreover, hot (instant) coffee and instant oatmeal for breakfast!
I found this electric kettle on Home Depot’s website for $12.99 with free shipping. It’s all plastic, so no glass to break and it boils a liter of water in 6 minutes. Sunshine liked the “pink” version, so that is what I ordered.
Cute kettle. You might also be able to hard/soft boil eggs in it. For your travel kit, I’d suggest a small cutting board and knife, little cooler, porcelain bowls to reheat soup or whatever in a microwave, flatware. On a road trip, I generally bring or buy a tomato, small cuke or pickles, bread or tortillas, and an apple or two. Can or frozen container of lentil soup maybe. I also save up packets of soy sauce and hot sauce to bring along. I usually get a few items from a motel breakfast to augment my stash if there are decent items, lunch at a rest stop, and have dinner at my overnight locale where I favor a brew pub kinda place with decent salads.
Pic of my lunch spot on my first day leaving LA for DC in lovely Yucca
It’s been a while since I’ve found anything worth posting. Found a Matfer mandoline, a pair of green Emile Henry ceramic pie dishes, an oxo bench scraper, a cutco peeler, and a nearly new aero press. Not exactly steals due to thrift store prices that constantly creep up, though.
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(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
441
LoL, Goodwill and their “blade taping”. They tape scrapers and butter knives as if they’ve got a blade worth worrying about. I guess that simplifies stuff for staff, though - if it’s got a blade, just tape it.
Good finds, overall, though. My local GW is really weak on kitchen stuff.
I’m most excited about the mandoline. It’s quite sturdy and simple in design. Look forward to using it sometime soon. My v-blade mandoline is great for thin slices but can’t do anything fancy. I’m looking forward to trying waffle fries and zucchini fries.
