Kitchen Tool Review...

So my plans to figure out the best way to ripen a pineapple were not needed. Apparently, my pineapple was ready to be cut in to, because it started leaking on our counter. It was probably good, because I was so eager to try my new pineapple wedger from The Pampered Chef. I definitely give this tool an A+! It took a little upper body strength, but was five million times easier than hand slicing! Not to mention my pineapple looks so professional!

On the pineapple note, I heard a couple of urban legends (for lack of a better wording) on how to choose a ripe pineapple. The first was to choose a pineapple that was as yellow on the outside as you wanted it to taste on the inside. Okay...maybe in Hawaii this is true, but here on the mainland they are all primarily green. The one I picked that had a little yellow, was ripe and very ready to be cut. The second legend I heard was that a leaf should easily be plucked out of the top. Well, I could hold my whole pineapple by a leaf without the leaf coming detached. Since I have a week long supply of pineapple, I won't be purchasing anymore this week, but in the near future I will figure this out! If nothing else for curiosity sake. In fact, I'd like to be better and figuring out how to choose produce in general. Hmm, sounds like a possible goal!

Okay, The Pampered Chef mandolin was next on the list of new toys to try. I had tried it at the party I went to and felt a little clumsy. However, once I tried my very own- it was beautiful! The mandolin was so smooth and made my chore of slicing zucchini super efficient. I mentioned earlier that I refused to let the zucchini chip recipe defeat me. Well, I was about ready to admit defeat. I think the mandolin helped hugely with consistent, even, slices of zucchini, but the final product still tasted like ashes. Yep, zucchini ashes. The dear husband tried one and spit it out. I don't think he has EVER done that with any food I've made. After dinner (bison burgers with Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning and McCormicks steak seasoning...mmmmm) we had to run a quick errand. Our last pan of zucchini chips were not quite done, but it was getting a little late to be running errands. We turned the oven off and left for half an hour. To my delight and amazement, the pan of zucchini chips actually turned out!!! So, by accident we figured out a better way to make zucchini chips! In case you are curious...here it goes.

Zucchini Chips
Sea Salt
Zucchini
Mrs. Dash in any flavor (we did Chipotle Southwest)
Olive Oil
Cooking Spray

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice your zucchini. Uniform slices are a must. I suggest 1/8 inch thick slices. Take a gallon size bag and drop your sliced zucchini in. If you are interested in knowing, one full pan was 8 oz. worth of raw, small zucchini. A full pan is a great serving of cooked veggies. Once you have your zucchini in the bag, drizzle in some olive oil, probably about a tablespoon. Then add a couple dashes of sea salt. Even if you LOVE salt, keep in mind the zucchini will shrink down and a little salt ends up going a very long way. Same with your dashes of Mrs. Dash, for your first pan be modest. Shake, shake, shake that bag. Spray your cookie sheet with cooking spray (I used generic butter flavored spray). Spread the zucchini in a single layer and pop in the oven. Over the next ten minutes, flip the pieces three times. After attempting to flip the zucchini with various tools, the best one ended up being tongs...piece by piece. After ten minutes we had slightly browned zucchini. At this point shut the oven off. Walk away for about thirty minutes. When you come back, voila zucchini chips.

I will admit that zucchini chips do not taste like potato chips. You may be thinking, duh...but I had some expectation when I first tried these that somehow they would be a nice replacement. For caloric intake purposes, if I am craving chips I still prefer to make my own corn or whole wheat tortilla chips. This is a nice vegetable serving that can be packed when you are not sure if you will have access to refrigeration or even a vegetable option on the road. Now that I have figured this crazy recipe out, I will probably make some in the weekends to come and pack them for my long road trips.

Do any of you have alternative chip recipes? I'd love to hear them!

Additionally, I'm about to take on eggplant. I have never liked this vegetable, but want to give it one last shot before I write it off. Suggestions on cooking would be appreciated. Right now I am planning on cutting it into chunks and roasting it. My other thoughts was to slice it in my super cool mandolin, coat it with bread crumbs, and bake it...sort of like eggplant Parmesan. I'll report back soon!