New In the Kitchen

I have had my eye on some new kitchen appliances this year. Since my birthday falls shortly after Christmas, this year I thought I would ask my husband and our parents to join funds and also join my Christmas and birthday gifts to help me get these. Although I hoped I could check them all of my list, I didn't think that I would actually get to.



As it turned out, I was blessed with gifts beyond what I deserved! Now you will find three new helpers in my kitchen: a Nutrimill grain mill, a KitchenAid mixer, and a Cuisipro batter dispenser.


My Nutrimill will grind grains extra fine to course. It's main use will be for grinding wheat berries to make wheat bread. Freshly ground wheat is so much more nutritious than the wheat flour that has sat on the shelves. It is also more economical to grind it yourself - minus the cost of the wheat grinder - which is why I wanted it as gift rather than just buying it. Ethan and I have talked about how it might be fun to even try to grow our own wheat someday. (Has anyone had any experience with that?) In addition to grinding wheat though, it can also grind quite a variety of other grains including beans and corn. I have already ground some lentils to hide in other recipes (great fiber!), and I plan on using it to grind corn for cornmeal (they say popcorn works best!). It will be fun to see all of the new things I can do in my kitchen with this. See here for more information about grinding wheat at home.

The KitchenAid mixer will not necessarily do new things for me, but it will help me do what I do quicker and more efficiently. This is important to me since it will free up some of my time. Time is precious when you have children who grow up quickly! I will also be able to make our own bread again. I have had migratory arthritis in all of my joints for the last month so kneading bread for 20 minutes isn't a pleasant activity. (We're still trying to figure out what is causing the arthritis - hopefully it's just viral which lasts up to 8 weeks.) With the arthritis and my month of poison ivy this fall preventing me from bread making, the KitchenAid is quite the helper!

Last but not least, the Cuisipro batter dispenser will be of great help for our breakfast night. You just fill it with the batter, squeeze the handle, and out comes the batter according to the amount selected. It can be set for pancakes, waffles, muffins with blueberries and chocolate chips, and cupcakes. Since I am not the most graceful in the kitchen, this will help contain some of my messes! (*Later note - I don't use this much anymore.  It's hard to clean and doesn't hold much batter before needing to be refilled.  It might come out if I have little ones that want to help make cupcakes or muffins, but I think I might stick with a measuring cup and pouring.)

Tools of My Trade

As mentioned above, my Nutrimill will grind grains extra fine to course. It's main use is for grinding wheat berries to make wheat bread. Freshly ground wheat is so much more nutritious than the wheat flour that has sat on the shelves. It is also more economical to grind it yourself, minus the cost of the wheat grinder. (I put my wheat grinder on my Christmas/January birthday list and asked gift givers to go together on it.) In addition to grinding wheat though, it can also grind quite a variety of other grains including beans and corn. You can even make your own cornmeal (they say popcorn works best!). See here for more information about grinding wheat at home.  You might be able to find a nice used one on e-bay, or you can purchase one new as in the link below.


My kitchenAid mixer was another jointly given Christmas/birthday gift.  It's most common use is for making bread, 3 loaves at a time.  The dough is worked entirely by the mixer with the dough hook, including the 10 minutes of kneading time.  The only hand work is dumping in ingredients and then forming the dough to fill my loaf pans.  I also use my Kitchen aid for mixing cakes, cookies, quick breads, for whipping . . . well, just about for all of my mixing! These can be found used on Ebay or you can purchase one new as in the link below.  I would strongly recommend getting the 5 qt, 325-watt mixer.  I have had friends get the smaller one and have been disappointed with the volume/motor capabilities.