Electric Knife question
 

Okay!!!! I got the standup mixer question solved. i'm getting one soon. Not an expensive one, but for me, it will be just fine.

Now here's my new problem.

I recently purchased a nice sized Butternut squash because my lovely neighbor (who is 73 years old), made some, and gave me a little bowl filled with it. It was so delicious I said "give me the recipe".

So I got the butternut squash. It's a gourd so I know the outside is tough. I took my titan peeler, and peeled it. So far so good. Now I have knives in my house. I have paring knives, and fillet knives, and serrated (both long and regular), and cheap knives and expensive knives.

THIS WAS THE HARDEST JOB ON MY HANDS I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED.

I am going to ask my neighbor "how on earth did you cut up this squash".

this is completely different than zucchini which I have NO problem with.

So I finally (and this took me a LONG time), and it really was hard on my hands. But I cut it open, took out the seeds, cut it in circles (as she suggested), then cut it in cubes, and now it's cooking on my stove.

I was just thinking. "Why not use one of those electric knives". I went on youtube but the guy was cutting up a watermelon and it was ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE for him to do this. I don't know if it was the knife or it was him, but he wasn't having much luck. I didn't watch the whole video on youtube but believe me, the electric knife he was using DID NOT CUT THROUGH THAT WATERMELON.

So is there a particular electric knife (one better than another perhaps?), and I know they sell cordless ones.

Anyone have them, and do they make it easier to cut through a gourd (or any other hard to cut vegetable?

Much appreciated.

Melody

They are difficult to cut.

You can bake it and it will get soft, and then you spoon out the
squash etc.

Sometimes I get my husband to cut it for me. We use a serrated long knife. But I agree, they are tough.

I don't peel it unless I am using it in cubes for soups/stews.

I cut it in half lengthwise, spoon out the seeds and put each half
upside down on a cookie sheet or in a dutch oven, and bake until a fork goes in and out easily. Then remove and spoon out the squash --leaving the skin on holds it all together.

Mrs. D.

I destroyed the squash. I followed my friend's recipe TO THE LETTER.

I peeled it, I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds, I then cut it in cubes.

I browned some onions and garlic, and added the cubes, and added some water. I then added some chopped tomatoes (I wrote down everything she said to do).

I covered it and simmered for 25 minutes or so until fork tender. She said "you'll know when it's done, when it's tender, it's done".

It was done. The house smelled great. Alan came home and said "wow, what's that smell, it smells fine".

I tasted it. It was AWFUL.

I added some sweetner to his portion because he loves anything sweet.

HE LOVED IT. I tasted it again. It did not resemble anything like what my friend had given me.

I have eaten other things today that tasted just fine, so it's not my taste buds.

COULD IT HAVE BEEN THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH? It had no taste whatsoever.

I think Alan just tasted the sweetner I used.

Thanks, Melody

Squash is very tasty. I add some Morton's salt substitute, and a little butter. A very little.

She may have salted it, to bring out the flavor, etc. You may not have cooked it enough. Also when you add water, it may dilute the flavor compared to baking it, which you don't need to do any liquids etc. Baked it is just fabulous!

The different squashes have different tastes. The butternut is the most flavorful. The acorn is rather bland IMO. And so is the spagetti one...which needs alot of additions to taste good IMO.

I prefer the butternut myself. I love squash...and there are stories from my babyhood in the family that it was my favorite when they put me on solids!

I cook it whole like I said before, and do not add liquids to it. When I add the cubes to beef soup and stews I cook it with some curry powder. It absorbs alot of flavors including red wine in that way along with the curry.

I use a wide blade chef's knife, like the 2nd one down in this picture.
http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/L10384638.jpg


I press on it with both hands and kind of rock it back and forth trough the tough skin on things like squash.
one hand on the handle & one on the top of the blade.

I don't know about electric knifes and squash, but maybe that guy had a really dull blades on his.

I fully understand how you feel. My granny gave me the same directions one time and I called her after cutting my second finger and asked her how to cut the dang thing. Oh, it's easy. Sure.
After I hung the phone up I took it out into the back yard and found the axe. :eek: I can tell you, that an axe will not work.
I'd rather eat my grannys anyway.
Good luck to you

VOODOOR!!!

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. When I read about the axe, well believe me, you gave me my laugh today. I needed one.

Now here's a good one. Maybe I bought an acorn squash and not a butternut? I'm going to google what I cooked and I'll let you guys know.

And I did my friend's recipe to the letter. As a matter of fact, I called her tonight and told her what happened and she burst out laughing. She then said "maybe it's because mine was harvested out of someone's back yard, and not bought in a store??" Then she said "Maybe it wasn't ripe enough?" I said:

"they have to be RIPE???" How the heck do you tell if it's ripe? She had no idea. She also said she HAD NO TROUBLE CUTTING IT INTO CUBES.

She's 73. AND SHE HAD NO TROUBLE??

I'm going to google butternut squash right now and see what I bought.

be back later.

Melody

OKAY, I'M BACK,

Here's what I bought. AND IT WAS A BUTTERNUT SQUASH. This image is exactly what mine looked like

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...ed=0CCMQ9QEwBw

I think a lot of the texture/flavor and maybe even skin toughness.. depends on the growing conditions. the water/weather factor...

I've had some delicious squash and also some dry stringy ones...
some home grown, some store bought and some from farm markets...

Well, since I can't tell the ripeness of the squash when I buy it, I'm not going to be doing THAT anymore. I spoke to another friend last night, told her the whole story, she burst out laughing and then she said:

"why on earth are you going through all that bother, just do what I do, (she went to Shop Right, she went to the frozen food section, she bought a package of cut up frozen butternut squash".

So believe me, the next time I go to my local BIG supermarket (the others don't sell this stuff, or maybe they do, I've never even looked because who knew?? I'm so busy growing sprouts, I never thought of frozen cubed butternut squash)

So my quest for the perfect butternut squash will have to wait.

Maybe I can grow one in my kitchen, next to my sprouts? " !!!!

lol lol lol

Thanks to all of you for your words of wisdom.

I'll learn to cook eventually!!

Melody

I used to love spaghetti squash with some nice Italian sauce on top. Two great favors. Yum. DH makes turnips with bacon fried and cut up and potatoes,all veggies mashed together (maybe boiled carrots too) with butter & milk, some salt and pepper. Great!!!

That sounds really good.... I'd add some peas in there too! ;)

We don't do potatoes much any more...they being in the nightshade family make my feet burn more. But when I was a kid I used to mash up veggies like that in potatoes all the time.
The bacon would be a nice touch!

Kitt:

Do you have ANY idea what using a hammer would do to my hands? I'm laughing just thinking about it. I try and not use hammers or anything that vibrates because a long long time ago I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel (I can type 145 words a minute), and I wouldn't advise anyone to type that fast). I ruined my wrists.

So I'm really careful with my hands. i won't be using hammers and chisels and anything on any butternuts.

lol lol lol

Melody

As soon as you described the hammer encased in rubber a little lightbulb went off in my head. I have ALL sorts of goodies in my tool box. Every kind of wrench, screwdriver, all kind of socket things (things I have absolutely no idea of what they are), that when my landlord came to my house once he said "show me your toolbox, you have great stuff in there".

so when you described the hammer, I went to my tool box and sure enough, there was my rubber hammer. I've never had occasion to use it because I have other hammers and Alan used those to put together some stuff. I haven't hammered anything in quite some time.

So when I try again to do the butternut squash thing, I'll know what hammer to use.

MY DEADBLOW HAMMER!!!

lol. Thanks much

Hey, Mel...

Costco this week had containers of cubed peeled butternut squash for sale. First time I've seen them offer this.

So I bought some and made a bit of it with our Salmon 2 nights ago. What I did because it was a small amount...was steam it.
I have a small microwave steamer, and I did them for 8min on high and they came out very flavorful.

You might try that way instead of boiling. When I make whole squash, I bake them face down after splitting in half until fork tender. But cubed like this, the steamer seemed easier. (you brush them with a bit of butter before baking--this brings out the flavor more).

Hi there.

Hope you are all having a very Merry Christmas!!

Take care

Melody-Bells (seems appropriate for today)

lol

What's your recipe for salmon?

Salmon?

The fastest and easiest I like to make (in summer we sometimes grill it)... is poach/steam mix.

Hubby has a fish hatred... so I have to get it as unfishy as possible.

I sautee some sweet onions and Crimini mushrooms (not too many) and remove them from the pan (I garnish with these). I cut thin slivers of fresh lemon and put them in the pan with a tiny bit of water--2 or 3 tablespoons, put the salmon on top and sprinkle with MrsDash lemon pepper...cover for about 4 minutes on med high. A very fast easy one pan thing. The water never touches the fish as it is sitting on the lemons.
We try to have fresh veggies with this, so it is either French green beans, or the squash, or whatever is available. I'll do frozen if I have to. I cooked our Whitefish this way all summer and it was faster and better tasting than grilled I think. If I bake the fish instead of poach, I use blood oranges or regular instead of lemon. (I saw Martha do that once-- and they come out nice too.) When I use the citrus...the fishy quality is reduced and hubby will eat it. That is my main goal. He is fussy.
It is a quick easy meal. I try to keep a couple of frozen salmon fillets in the freezer...Costco sells a long rack of it, so I cut it into 2 person portions and freeze.