Cuisinart Multi Cooker Review

I'm so excited to share this latest addition to my kitchen! Meet my new best friend, the Cuisinart Multi Cooker.

What's a multi cooker? Well, basically it's a little miraculous device that can sautee food, and then slow cook it. This means that you can brown food, and then simmer at a low temp with just a touch of a button!

I love that you don't have to change pots or move from the stove to the slow cooker. My favorite dish to make with this slow cooker is lentils. We have them about once a week here, and I used to use a pressure cooker to cook the lentils, and then transfer them to another pot to season and simmer them. This always left a mess of pots and pans to deal with-- and it took forever.

With the multi cooker I can condense all those steps into one. The first time I used the cooker I was a bit worried that the heating element wouldn't get hot enough to temper spices, but I shouldn't have been. The multi cooker performs exactly like a pot on an electric burner-- with the added benefit of being able to walk away.  After adding the lentils and water, I can just turn the cooker on simmer and walk away. By dinner time, the cooker has magically turned my 5 minutes of prep into dinner.

My favorite part of using the cooker is that it means that I can cook on the counter with the kids. The outside (the stainless steel portion) of the cooker does get hot, but not hot enough to burn. This means that the kids can 'help' prep the veggies and actually see them being cooked through the clear lid at the top, instead of me shooing them away from the stove.

I can't wait to use the multi cooker during the holidays. It will be so nice to move any soup and daal making onto the counter and free up a burner for other items. Plus, the keep warm setting means that I can just serve right out of the multi cooker on the keep warm setting!

The cooker I have is 4 quarts; but if you have a large family, or plan on using the multi cooker for entertaining, I really suggest getting the 6 quart version. You won't regret it!

Cuisinart provided these products for me to review, but all opinions are my own. Purchase using the affiliate links above to support Make It Handmade at no cost to you. 

Hummus + Cuisinart Food Processor Review

It's the Monday after Thanksgiving-- a day when the nation as a whole thinks back longingly and regretfully on what they ate all weekend. I know our leftovers are nearly finished and I was looking for something lighter to eat as a snack this morning.

Enter Hummus! We make a batch and keep it around to eat in sandwiches, on crackers and sometimes with chips. It's a healthy, high protein snack which is perfect for our vegetarian family. We use this recipe with a secret ingredient that makes it irresistible.

It also gave me a chance to play with this new Cusinart Food Processor. It's part of their new "Elemental Line" which is slightly cheaper than their standard food processor. I've been coveting my mom's Cuisinart food processor for years, so I jumped at the chance to try it out.

 It's pretty, isn't it?  Up until now, we were using Cuisinart's Smart Stick to make hummus, smoothies, salsa basically anything either a food processor or a blender would do. It's worked amazingly-- and I vehemently recommend it to anyone who has a kitchen. It's on sale at amazon for 35 bucks which is an amazing deal.

But I'll admit, the food processor works faster and with less effort. The hummus was done it about 5 minutes! I love the extra capacity-- we were able to make a double batch easily with room to spare.

The only thing I really disliked about it is that the handle is right in the middle front of the machine, and gets in the way of the buttons. It's not too bad, but since my kids are in the kitchen with me often, it would have been nice to have something a bit more out of the way.

I love this machine, and even though I'll still dream of upgrading to one of their dual workbowl 14cup models, I can tell that this machine will be with me for years and years and hundreds of batches of hummus.

Oh and that secret ingredient I told you about? A splash of Sriracha Sauce. As much as you can stand. Go on, I dare you to try it.

How To Make Indian Flatbread... plus a Cuisnart Handheld Mixer Review

Rotis, chapatis, puris, thepla, debhra... flatbreads are a huge part of Indian cuisine... and consequently a huge part of my life.

We were lucky enough to grow up with a mom that made roti nearly every day. I don't make it as often, but they are still my kids favorite food.

A few weeks ago my mom, grandma and I got together to make up a batch large enough for us all to take some home. I wanted to write down the recipe for you all, but my grandma is like a cooking ninja. I couldn't record everything fast enough. But I did find a good recipe that seems authentic, and is very similar from Show Me The Curry. (We make it with and without the methi, this time we made it without.)

Instead... I'll just share a bit of our afternoon cooking with 4 generations.

This is Grandma practicing mise en place... without the fancy containers.

 And of course, the compulsory argument about how much sugar is needed. (This is my mom and grandma)

 There are a lot of things I dislike about my stand mixer, and one is that I have to use a special bowl. With  the Cuisinart Handheld Mixer, I was able to us a bowl that was comfortable for hand kneading as well as machine kneading. Plus... I didn't need to drag these two gals to the counter -- they were able to work on the kitchen table.

 Oil... lots of oil...

The Cusinart mixer came with dough hooks and claimed that it could knead dough. I'll admit it was skeptical, especially since this dough is a very dense whole wheat dough. Would the mixer pass the test?

 I have to admit, I was pretty impressed. This little machine saved me quite a bit of time in hand kneading.

 It's even grandma approved.

 You'll still need to get your hands dirty to shape and divide the dough, but the machine does save time and effort; especially when making a huge batch of dough.

 Now, simply divide the dough into golf ball sized pieces, and roll out. I'm lucky enough to have inherited a few traditional rolling pins-- it makes rolling thin circle shapes much easier. You can buy these at your local south asian market for a few bucks-- it's so worth it!

 After rolling them out, you can cook them on a pan much like pancakes or tortillas.

And of course, don't forget the helpers! We have a set of wooden cutting boards (like these) so the kids can help too.

 Because you aren't just making food... you are making memories.

 I'm so grateful that my kids can see their grandparents and my grandparents on a regular basis.

I couldn't end the post without showing a picture of Amaani eating thepla when she was a baby.

She still loves them just as much! See you back here on Friday for Rakhi pictures!

*Cuisinart provided a mixer for review, but all opinions are my own. 

Strawberry Snow Bundt Cake

I think I've found a new love. Bundt Cake. But before we get started-- have you entered the Southern Fabrics Giveaway yet? There's just one day left!

Yes, bundt cake. Having a lot of family around means that we (thankfully!) have quite a bit of birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate each month. I am constantly looking for a cake that feels like a celebration but can still be something I feel good about feeding my kids, parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

I've made my peace with cake mixes, but I know that frosting from a can is super unhealthy. This is the first time I've made a bundt cake, and I'm in love with the idea! After a bit of research I learned that bundt cake pans were invented in the 50's They are supposed to be quicker to make since you don't need to frost or layer them.  I found out that there are so many gorgeous variations on the pan like rose shaped and even a castle shaped pan!

 So, instead of actually frosting the cake, I just dusted some powered sugar all over. Amaani was convinced it was snowing!

I also drizzled some tinted (pink of course) white chocolate and some sprinkles (pink of course) over top while little miss was cleaning up.

Although we didn't have a party, Amaani was absolutely thrilled with her pink, pink, pink cake. Can you guess what flavor it was?

If you guessed strawberry, you were right. We used a Betty Crocker mix. The cake was pink through and through, just like my little girl. I will absolutely be using my bundt cake pan over and over!

What about ya'll, do you bundt? Any favorite recipes? Spam me please!