We're attempting to again increase book coverage in the community. Trina's "Crispy Calamari in the Kitchen" covers the cookbook AIR FRYER COOKBOOK FOR BEGINNERS: EFFORTLESSLY GRILL, ROAST AND BAKE HOMEMADE MEALS: YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS WITH QUICK, TASTY & HEALTHY RECIPES by Joanne Broadhurst. What interested you about this book?
Trina: There are a lot of e-mails about air fyers. There are people who are using it just because it's a newer kitchen gadget and they want to sample it. There are people who are using it because it fries with heat and not oil so it's healthier. There are people e-mailing about it because the hot summer's coming up and they're looking for ways to cook without heating up the place with the oven or standing over the hot stove. There are people who are trying to use air fryers due to space limitations or money. Space limitations? They may have a tiny home as part of the tiny home movement or they must have a small kitchen and space is limited. Money? There were two e-mails this past week about ovens going out from people who couldn't afford to buy a new one. You can do a lot of stuff in the air fryer.
That's interesting. Let's stay with that for a moment. Our oven goes out and we can't afford another, what would we do?
Trina: Sure. If you could afford an air fryer -- either right away or in a month or two -- you could manage pretty well. I think you could get by with a microwave, an air fyer and two burners -- you could get two individual burners at WALMART for about $30 bucks, for example. So you'd be able to cook in the air fryer anything fried -- really any meat you needed to cook, or eggs, you can do boiled eggs in an air fryer, you'd have the two burners to cook whatever -- vegetables, pasta, you name it. And you'd have the microwave. Would it be perfect? No. But it would give you a range of options while you attempted to save for the cost of a new stove.
How many gadgets does a person to need?
Trina: I've you've got an oven and stove, you're fine. I'd throw in a microwave. But you could do everything with an oven and stove and people have for years. Gadgets just help us out. I've got tons of gadgets because I cook all the time and I raised a family of eight. Do I use them all? No. It's personal taste. I got rid of the bread maker about 10 years ago, for example. I can make bread -- even Boston bread -- without a bread maker -- using any recipe in Frances Moore Lappe's original DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET. We keep the blender in the pantry and take it out when we need it. We just use it for drinks. Same with the mixer. Even a cake, I'm going to stir by hand. We gave our toaster oven to a nephew who moved out on his own and we thought we'd replace it but that didn't happen because I realized how little we were using it. My husband uses the Foreman Grill and we replace that about every five years. I have an instapot that I need to use more -- and it's good gadget to have -- and a slow cooker and, of course, a coffee pot. Those are in the kitchen on cabinets. As it a toaster. I've got the microwave on top of the fridge.
Talk about your air fryer.
Trina: Sure. I do a lot of dough, rolling it out, etc. And I do a lot of chopping. I have a nice size kitchen and I'm not giving up counter space to any more appliances. I need it for cooking and prep. So when we got the air fyer, I was at a loss with where it would go. We were going to get a rolling thing to put it on but never could see one I liked. So I just, for a short term plan, turned over one of stock pots in a corner by an outlet that wasn't used for anything else. I put a cookie sheet on top of the stock pot and then put the air fryer on top of that. That was supposed to be for a month while I figured out what to order but it worked out so good that I still haven't ordered a cart.
Do you use your air fryer a lot?
Trina: Personally, probably twice a week at least. But it's used more than that. The kids use it, for example. I'd say it's probably used six or seven times a week.
Let's go over the benefit to the air fryer one more time.
Trina: Sure, when you're frying -- a vegetable or meat -- traditional frying means you're submerging it in hot oil to cook it. With an air fryer, there's no hot oil -- or oil at all -- which lowers the fat intake from the food.
And you shared a recipe for Crispy Calamari and Five-Spice Broccoli in your post. You also brought one along for this discussion.
Trina: Right. This is a recipe from the book for roasted Italian Bell Peppers:
Ingredients:
one each of red, yellow and orange bell peppers, sliced
one tbs. olive oil
one t. lemon juice
one t. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 t. sea salt
1/8 t. black pepper, ground
1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leafy parsley
Instructions:
1. Combine all bell peppers in your basket. Toss in oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, salt, plus pepper.
2. Warm up your air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast for 8 mins, shaking once till tender. Top with parsley and serve.
Thank you. And you recommend the book?
Trina: Yes, it's got a lot of strong recipes that even first time air fryer users will be comfortable with. It's got advice on to clean the air fryer and lot of tips for using it such as, "After taking the food out of the air fryer, let it sit until it cools down. This will help to lock in the moisture and ensure that the food is cooked to the desired degree or texture." Traditional cooking usually notes that with regards to, for example, steak. It's often suggested that you remove it from a skillet and let it set for a bit before serving -- some people will even put a pat of butter on it during this period. So, yes, I would recommend the book.