Cupboards are filled with abandoned small appliances that have left their owners perplexed as to how they can be incorporated into everyday use.
One of those appliances is the food processor.
But, two new books are hoping to change that.
The New Food Processor Bible: 30th Anniversary Edition by Norene Gilletz (Whitecap) guides you with recipes and nutritional information to stand up to your processor, and your taste buds.
Meanwhile, 650 Best Food Processor Recipes by George Geary & Judith Finlayson (Robert Rose) includes recipes from appetizers to desserts.
Check out these two recipes adapted from each book.
The first (from 650 Best Food Processor Recipes) is for a simple Traditional Salsa, which you can store for up to one week in the fridge.
The second is for Brownie Bites from The New Food Processor Bible. The brownies are a great snack addition to any lunchbox. They can also be frozen.
Traditional Salsa
Ingredients:
• 1 onion, cut into quarters
• 1 lb (500 g) Roma (plum) tomatoes, cored, cut in half and seeded
• 2 serrano or jalapeno chiles, halved and seeded
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice
• 2 tsp (10 mL) sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt (approx)
Preparation:
1 In work bowl fitted with metal blade, pulse onion until finely chopped, 10 to 12 times. Place in a strainer and rinse with water. Drain well. Set aside.
2 In same bowl, pulse tomatoes, chiles and cilantro until desired consistency, 15 to 20 times, stopping and scraping down sides of the bowl once or twice.
3 Add tomato mix to drained onions. Add lime juice, sugar and salt to taste. Let stand for at least 1 hour before serving. 650 Best food processor recipes
Emily Richards is a professional home economist, cookbook author and tv celebrity chef. For more on emily, visit emilyrichardscook.ca.
Brownie Bites
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) tub margarine
• 1/2 cup(125 mL) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar
• 6 tbsp (90 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) baking powder
• Chocolate glaze (optional)
Preparation:
1 Spray miniature muffin pans with non-stick spray; set aside.
2 Process margarine, sugars, cocoa, egg, egg white and vanilla until well mixed. Scrape sides of bowl. Add flour and baking powder; process with quick on/off pulses, just until blended.
3 Spoon batter into muffin pans, filling three-quarters full. Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven for 16 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool and frost or glaze, if desired. The new food processor bible/The Canadian Press
