Hand-Powered Food Grinder

This is something exciting which I think may benefit busy moms like me, in the kitchen. It doesn't have a specific name therefore, I shall call it, Kimmy - the mini food grinder.

Ok... I found this baby by accident while shopping for groceries in Giant Mall, Kelana Jaya about a month back. Usually, I wouldn't really pay any attention to those sales people along the walkway/lobby. But somehow, the heavenly smell of garlic and onions (sorry people... I DO love garlic & onions so much hehe...) caught my attention.

The salesman, Calvin, demonstrated to many interested patrons how simple it is to use it. And I was so amazed at how easy it was to grind even carrots and peanuts! Of course, those tougher items like carrots and peanuts should be dipped in hot water first to soften them a little.

Why was I so interested in this appliance? Well... not only is it not necessary to be plugged in for such simple grinding/processing task, it is also extremely easy to dismantle and care for. The best part is, it retails for only RM15 and comes in various candy-coloured covers!

A side view of Kimmy

So, how does it work?

Firstly, you chop them onions. In this cooking session, I had chopped both onions and garlic for my Ratatouille dish.

chop chop chop...

Then, just nicely place them in the see-through bowl (which, I was told by Calvin, is made of fibre glass).

you can see the cover and the attached blades just behind the bowl.

After that, close the bowl by pushing down the three clasps that lock the cover to the bowl. I find that the clasps and the design of its bowl must be one of its most brilliant features simply because you could just lock them together without having to search for the right position - no matter which turn you place the cover, you can just press down the clasp on the bowl and it locks! Brilliant. However, the clasps are of plastic material and I am not sure how long it can last under wear and tear of pushing them up and down repeatedly. I have only used it twice and will update on that again.

view of the brilliant feature.

Then, start twisting the top and the bowl.

Surprisingly, twisting the bowl isn't as difficult as one might think. I tried it before buying Kimmy and I was twisting it the wrong way, as pointed out by Calvin. You see, I have a peppercorn grinder in the kitchen and my arms went stiff when I was adding ground pepper to my homemade burgers during preparation. Thus, I was a little apprehensive when told that I'd need to twist the bowl to grind them onions. So, after Calvin showed me the right way to twist it, my arms didn't feel the strain at all...

the twisting efforts can be pretty smooth, actually, if you do it the right way -

by using only the fingers...

this is the wrong way to twist - do not use your palms or you'll strain your wrists.

Tadaaaa... in just a few twists, I have in front of me, the finished product...

if you want them finer, you can twist it longer...

I think it makes my life (in the kitchen) so much easier as I do not need to chop them onions finely nor do I need to take out my pestle/mortar to pound them... they all take too much energy and focus. But this... this is as easy as 1, 2, 3... A, B, C... hehe...

My only complaint would be the design element in its attachment blades... how or where do you store it dry after you use it, without any risks of injuring anyone, including myself? So, after several attempts at drying it, I decided to keep it attached to the cover and place it on the drying rack, as per below...

the blades are fine and extremely sharp... that's a good and bad thing ;)

I was told that this 'gadget' can be found in many shops selling kitchen appliances in the Klang Valley and if you are interested to get one, I can furnish you with Calvin's handphone number for more information. They also sell additional blades for just RM10.

Do you have any useful gadgets/tips in the kitchen that you'd like to share?

Scotch-Brite High Performance Micro-fibre Mop

When it comes to mopping, I have to say that I am one person that is utterly conservative. Although we've been using the mop when I was much younger and staying with my parents, I must say that I have always hated the mop. I think it is ugly, it collects dust when not in use, it can stink really bad and I just think it looks hideous... like those pleated hair rasta-style, scaring the hell outta me whenever I enter our store room. But more so, I have never liked using a mop because it is too thick to wring and the floor will always be slippery wet.

Even the modern mops - those yellowish spongy material where you're able to twist the handle of the mop to ease the wringing part... I find the mops ineffective in collecting dirt as it easily transfers one area of dust/dirt to another area. Through wear and tear, the mop will turn soggy and full with black mold from it being damp as the material doesn't dry out easily. Even twisting or pulling a special lever on the handle was too much of a hassle for me.

I don't really remember doing much mopping in my uni years, staying with a bunch of housemates. But if I did have to mop the floor, I have always preferred to use my hands and go down on my knees wiping the floor (instead of mopping) with a hand towel. Yes, it can be a little tougher to get this task done but the results have always been very satisfying since I know that I would always manage to wipe every inch of the floor... even table stands to the TV cabinet and everything else that's placed on/against the floor will be wiped clean. And... unlike my facial skin, the skin on my hands ain't sensitive at all... so, that is one less worrying factor.

I have to say, though, that it has been so long since I last mopped the floor. I kept telling Mr Hubby that I wanted to mop the floor to our apartment every single weekend but that never happened... not until today, that is. And I am so happy to have found one mop that meets my superior perfectionism in floor-cleaning (eheh!) with much ease...

*Image credit: MumCentre

When I opened the package, I didn't bother to read the instructions and only looked out for how to wring water out from the micro-fibre material. There's none. Thus, I assumed that I'd need to remove the blue cloth from the mop, immerse it in my favourite lavender antiseptic floor cleaner and wring the water out with my bare hands, the way I always do with a hand towel. Fastening the material back to the mop is easy as the flap instantly sticks to the velcro-like substance on the mop.

I had so much fun mopping today since dust was lifted and not easily transferred from one area to the other (but be sure to at least sweep/vacuum the floor beforehand) and I guess, coupled with a good floor cleaner, the cleaning process became such a liberating thing for me, making the word, 'liberating', sounds so ironic for a housewife ;)

As I went along, I discovered how flexible the retractable handle was that I could even mop the walls with so much ease! And I think, My Hubby was extremely pleased as he had less things to help this weekend (haha..). The mop is so light that I could even do the walls of our bedroom, and the nooks and crannies near the babycot. Though I still would need to get dirty with my hands, I wasn't that concerned since the floor cleaner has antiseptic properties.

Now that I am writing this review, I just realised that it is stated in the box that the mop is light-weight! That's a good point compared to those ancient wooden mop handles, eh?

Information on the package:

1. Cleaning is a breeze - which I so agree.
2. Super durability, as the micro-fibre cloth can be reused and washed repeatedly.
3. Leaves no water mark and dries quickly - well.. there can be some water mark if you do not wring it well, actually...
4. Does not scratch wood floorings - I agree to this too.
5. Multipurpose household cleaning where its adjustable handle length enables you to clean ceilings, walls, glass windows, cabinets, etc. - Agree 100% and very happy with this discovery!
6. No detergent required for normal household cleaning - Just found this out but since I love the lavender scent of my floor cleaner, I much prefer the use of detergent.

another plus point.

Priced at RM48.99 in Giant when purchased on 30 October 2009.

Harpic Hygiene Block

I am a sucker for TV ads when it comes to essential household items. After all, I would like to own products that could make my house-wifey cleaning duties easiest possible and cleanliness accomplished at the shortest time possible.

Thus, I was truly intrigued with the Harpic ad where Afdlin visited a home and a housewife told him that she'd need to clean her toilet before he could use it. Afdlin then introduced the new Harpic Hygiene Block where usage is very simple - just hook it onto the toilet bowl where the block sits on where water is at its maximum when flushed. With just a flush, the toilet bowl basically self-cleans from the cleaning agent that's released into it.

*image credit: The Star

From that promise of 'self-clean', I decided to purchase one block at RM3.89 in Giant, in lavender scent since I've always loved the smell of lavender. I've been using it for close to 2 months already.

My verdict:

1. There's no such thing as self-clean although you do have to clean the toilet bowl less often than when you are not using the Hygiene Block. So, instead of the usual several times a week, you only need to clean it every 2-3weeks (only Mr Husband and I use the toilet in our master bedroom).
2. The lavender scent isn't as nice as I had expected... it made our toilet smell, well.... toilet-ty - something like you'd smell out of a public toilet after they have it cleaned. Therefore, scent wise, although it was strong and powerful, it kinda failed to make it into my favourite list due to some similarities to the scent of mothballs.
3. After about 4 weeks, the block started to disintegrate and there will be remains stuck on the rim which looks like hardened soapy debris. This, did not go well with me as I'd like my toilet bowl looking clean and shiny.
4. It took quite a bit of adjustments for the block to truly sit on the rim when hooked since it wasn't a perfect fit and wasn't totally immersed in water when flushed.

In the UK, they also have it in Lemon scent which one reviewer commented how good and fresh it made her toilet smell. Unfortunately, as far as I know, they only have it in Pine scent here in Malaysia which I have yet to try. I may not, though, as I find the lavender scent unappealing and I am afraid if the Pine scent would also give that similar effect.

My overall verdict: I shall stick back to my frequent cleaning with my usual favourite Harpic Active Cleaner in Lavender Fresh.

*image credit: Banana Blue

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