How to improve Sunday lunch with Joseph Joseph
Did you see recently that Moley Robotics and BBC Masterchef winner 2011 Tim Anderson have trained a robot to cook thousands of dishes? While I’d quite like an extra pair of hands in the kitchen sometimes (clearing up after breakfast with two little ones, yes please!) I think it will be a while before we’ll see robots cooking dinner at The Barn. But in the meantime, a helping hand from quality kitchen accessories is very welcome – frankly I need all the help I can get!
The fashionable yet functional kitchenware from Richard and Anthony Joseph, the brothers behind the innovative Joseph Joseph range, are brightly coloured and a very smart edition to any kitchen and when they asked if we’d like to try out a few of their products I was keen to see how they performed. Could they improve on our well-honed Sunday lunch preparations?
I say ‘we’ because Sunday lunch is the one meal of the week when the husband takes charge. I’m relegated to sous chef status, prepping vegetables and warming dishes while he meticulously prepares the meat and works out all the timings. It’s practically a military operation!
A couple of Sundays ago my Mother was staying with us and Curly Girl asked if she could help her Nana peel the vegetables for our meal. While I would have been a bit reticent Nana immediately said ‘Yes!’ and involved her in the process straight away – don’t you just love that about grandparents? We had a huge pile of root vegetables to prepare so it was a great opportunity to put the three Joseph Joseph Multi-peel peelers through their paces.
Up first was the Multi-peel straight peeler with two additional tools – a scraper and an eye remover – perfect for potatoes. Mum set to work showing our eldest how to peel like pro and she commented straight away how the incredibly sharp blade made peeling super easy.
Onto the carrots and this time Curly Girl had a go – I was so proud standing back and watching her in the kitchen next to her Grandmother. Three generations preparing Sunday lunch – it was enough to bring a lump to my throat!
While the carrots were on the chopping board we decided to try out the Julienne Peeler – not strictly needed for Sunday lunch but who doesn’t need a nice garnish from time to time? And the results were fab – perfect for creating a delicious carrot salad with a lemon juice, olive oil and wholegrain mustard dressing… yummm! I can see myself using this a lot in the Summer for salads, garnishes, even toppings for burgers fresh from the BBQ.
The last peeler in the Multi-peel set has a serrated edge perfect for soft-skinned fruit and vegetables. Our slightly-past-their-best parsnips were not strictly soft-skinned but the peeler did a great job nevertheless and I’ve used it since on pears – the little people’s favourite fruit – to great effect. It would be perfect for kiwis too, I always find them so tricky to peel without losing all the flesh with the furry peel!
With the vegetables prepped and ready for roasting with olive oil, herbs, dried apricots for sweetness and a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs for some extra crunch, we could move on to the meat – roast chicken, a big family favourite.
There’s nothing worse than dry roast meat, and while the husband is the master of moist (*ahem*) he was keen to try out the Joseph Joseph ThermoBaste as it has an integrated baster, meat thermometer and even a cleaning brush. All three pieces fit together for easy storage.
After a bit of fiddling we managed to get all three pieces apart and the baster did a good job of basting the chicken.
The thermometer can be left in the oven so you can check when the meat is done without opening the oven door and letting out all the heat – a great improvement on our current one – and the dial is super clear so you know precisely when each time of meat is perfectly cooked.
We were very impressed with the Joseph Joseph range and they’ve already become a staple part of our Sunday lunch preparations. The super sharp blades, sturdy construction and bright colours work perfectly with our new kitchen and all three parts of the ThermoBaste washed well and fitted back together – with a bit of fiddling. In a few weeks I’ll be sharing a brand new innovation from Joseph Joseph that will set the standard for safety in the kitchen so watch this space!
The Multi-peel range (£8 each) and ThermoBaste (£18) are available online from Joseph Joseph and also from John Lewis stores.
What are your favourite kitchen accessories? Is there a kitchen tool that you can’t live without? How do you get your kids involved in cooking? As always I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts at Honest Mum
Ohh I like the channel knife nad how fab 3 geenerations working in the kitchen together. Mich x
Michelle Twin Mum recently posted…
Love Joseph Joseph – half my Christmas/birthday wish list is usually their stuff! But for getting kids in the kitchen, can’t beat Kitchen Craft Colourworks and Head Chefs range. Current favourite after seeing 50 toddlers mashing bananas during our #BakeForHeroes is their Molly Masher. Easy to use (tactile) and fun.
Annabel (Tickle Fingers) recently posted…Lucas’ Trout Cannelloni
i’m a sucker for a snazzy kitchen gadget. I love the Joseph Joseph stuff. We always cook a Sunday roast and these look fab….*move away from the internet* *move away from John Lewis click and collect*
lucy recently posted…Lucy Loves (# 1)
That serrated peeler sounds like a great idea – will have to look out for one of these and the baster with the meat thermometer looks great too. I love Joseph Joseph products – we have the index chopping boards and they’re great too. How lovely to have three generations in the kitchen at once helping to prepare Sunday lunch
Louise (Little Hearts, Big Love) recently posted…From the mouths of babes #18
Great post! I’m always on the lookout for a really good peeler so I’ll have to give this one a try.
Colette recently posted…10 awesome sandwiches you should definitely try
They are fabulous Colette – well worth the extra spend IMHO
They do look great, and I’m sure MOH would like the thermometer and the baster too (this sentence feels like it needs to end with an oo-err! ) I remember being allowed to help peel the veg as a child and feeling so grown up, though knowing what was to come and just how many potatoes, carrots and such like sometimes now I wonder if I should have been slightly less keen! #sharethejoy
Stephanie recently posted…Recycling food waste
Haha I know right? The delight in her face was a real lesson in enjoying the sinple things though 😉
Wow range looks fab, will investigate, you darling look gorgeous. Thanks for linking up to #brilliantblogposts
HonestMum recently posted…Win A Designer Nova Harley Bag Worth £139
It really is a super range Vicki and I think it would go so well in your lovely bright kitchen! Thanks for your kind words too *mwah* x