The Winey Hubby and I have been married for nearly 30 years. In that time we have raised two children. That means that I have cooked a ton of meals. And by a ton, I may not be exaggerating. I have also baked a similar amount of cookies, cupcakes, cakes, muffins and scones. And until recently, I thought that I had pretty much every gadget to aid me in these efforts. I have a bit of weakness for specialty baking pans, really good knives, salad choppers, herb mincers….you name it.
But then I saw something that a friend posted on Facebook. She raved about her new vacuum food saver. A what? So I did a little research and found out that there are these wonderful machines that will vacuum seal your food. Which means it will last a whole lot longer and be immune to freezer burn. Did this mean I could go back to shopping for “family sized” packs of meat and poultry again (repacking and freezing is a whole new game when you are doing it for two)? It seems the answer was yes. But then I saw it: you could also marinate in about 20 minutes. WHAAAT? I am somewhat marinating challenged, in that I tend to decide on a recipe shortly before I need to prepare it. So that whole “marinate for 12 hours to overnight” line in the recipe is kind of a deal breaker for me. And then I REALLY SAW IT: these vacuum systems could also work for your half full wine bottles. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! This thing was singing my song.
There was one other big plus for me: baked goods. I am normally a cook, not a baker. And yes, there’s a difference. Cooking involves sautéing and chopping and flavoring “to taste”, meaning I can slice and dice to our family preferences. Baking? Well, that involved specific measuring and folding and kneading. You can’t improvise when it comes to the amount of baking soda you put into a recipe (trust me on this one…).
But I have one child in college and another who is in the Army. Care packages are a reality in my life. And if I’m going to spend an entire afternoon running to the oven every 8-10 minutes to get the cookies out, I want to make sure those cookies are going to be worth it. The Winey Hubby and I will eat some, but we are only two people. How do I know said cookies will make it to the Winey Children mold-free? Or what about when the Winey Son deploys, as any Army officer is bound to do these days? How could I be sure that my brownies and cookies and other various baked goods will make it to him without going stale or worse, getting all fuzzy en route? The vacuum system could help prevent such a kitchen tragedy.
And then one day, as the Hubby and I were wandering through Costco, there it was: a vacuum system staring me right in the eye. Let’s just say that Santa got one gift bought a little early.
That very night, I sealed up 10 gorgeous strip steaks, bought in a family sized
pack, into each of their own little plastic sleeping bags. Later that week, I was sending a care package to a deployed solider (not my son, another Hero, but more on that in another post), and I had just made a pan of double chocolate brownies. Out came the sealer…in went the brownies…and overseas they went.
I am somewhat amazed that I have spent all these words talking about my latest kitchen gadget. But then again, the dynamics of my kitchen have changed a lot lately. It’s been a long time since I had to adapt to a new cooking style. But now, no more meals for four. Any baked goods that emerge from my oven are usually headed for a box to be mailed away to various places around the nation and the globe. Once opened, a bottle of wine is destined to stay around for a few days, even if I cook with the wine.
So yes, I did just spend over 500 words raving about my new vacuum sealer. So it’s not just the number of places I set at the dinner table that’s changed lately, isn’t it?
You can find my wine reviews and other musings on life on The Winey Mom.
