Category: Recipes | Post by: Andrea Wong
There's nothing quite like buying something that you have saved long and hard for. The joy of counting the coins in your piggy bank (in my case, an old coffee tin) and realising that you can afford the thing that you've been longing to buy.
The object of my desire and savings was a Magimix 3200 food processor. It's true, I could have dipped into my wee savings account to buy it a year ago, but at $549 I couldn't bring myself to buy it right away. I thought, "what if I save my spare change, could I save enough to buy my Magimix? And because it's just spare change that I'm saving I won't notice a few cents less here and there?"
And do you know what, I was right - I didn't miss the few cents from my wallet and I actually enjoyed finding money that dropped behind the sofa because it meant another small step towards my goal. Admittedly it took me just over a year to save, but it was worth it!
Just before Christmas, I emptied my coffee tin (having a 'piggy bank' made me feel 7 years old again) and counted up... $30 short of the asking price for my Magimix - ah, that's close enough!
I ordered my Magimix online, from LV Martin and thankfully, the service was mercifully swift with it being delivered a mere day and a half later.
I unpacked my Magimix (very excited).
I read all the manuals (yes, I'm that kind of gal).
I carefully washed the parts, as per the instruction booklet (admiring how shiny and unscratched everything was).
and... I promptly cut my finger on one of the blades (yes, I did see the picture showing you to be careful with the blades).
Apart from a slight diversion to the bathroom to clean up my finger and put on a plaster, I was on my way. I had been thinking for ages what would be the first thing that I make in my Magimix. After thinking long and hard about it, I settled on aioli - it's something that I love to eat (who afterall, doesn't like a nice, garlic mayonnaise?) and isn't too difficult for my newbie status as a food processor owner.
In the past, when I've made aioli by hand, I've used a number of different recipes. From the good old Edmonds cook book, to recipes scrawled on bits of paper or ones found online. They are all quite similar: a clove or two of garlic, a cup of oil, a couple of egg yolks and a bit of salt and pepper.
Basic aioli recipe
This recipe is one that I've used a few times and was written on a bit of paper - its exact origin is long-lost.
Ingredients
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup oil (I used rice bran oil, sunflower oil is also good)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
Directions
- Pulse the garlic cloves to finely chop it
- Add the mustard and egg yolks and mix well
- With the motor running, add very slowly, a couple of tablespoons of oil and let it blend well
- Very slowly, add the rest of the oils. The mixture should thicken up
- Add the lemon juice
- Add the salt and pepper and more lemon juice if you like, to taste
Because I'm now in the habit, I've started a new loose change fund. The tin is feeling very light now, even though I've managed to find $20 worth of coins. My next question is, what should I save for now? hmmm, I'll have to think about that one...
What would you save up for, if you started a 'piggy bank'?