Food Processors in your Kitchen

When my firstborn was getting ready to start eating babyfood, my mom bought us a food processor so I could make my own babyfood for her.  For a while, I thought that was the only thing it was useful for was making baby food (which was alright, because I was making her babyfood almost daily). Since then, I've used it to puree vegetables to hide in our foods, or to powder or chop nuts for recipes, and even use it occasionally to make pie dough, it'll "cut in" the butter on it's own instead of me doing it by hand. You can also grate cheese, slice tomatoes and potatoes, shred cabbage for sole slaw, make smoothies, powder candies to add into cookies or hot drinks (like peppermint in hot cocoa), make babyfood and applesauce, and much more!

	When grating or chopping hard items like cheese or nuts, it's normal for the processor to hop around on the counter top.  Keep a firm hand on it!
	When blending drinks in your blender, add liquid first before other things like ice.
	Meats and cheeses should be chilled prior to being used in the processor.
	Pour ingredients off-center through the hole in the top so they don't land on top of the blade in the middle, which will take much longer (if ever) to mix below.
	To get better performance and mixing of your ingredients, 'pulse' the power button or turn it to a higher speed.
	Cook vegetables before pureeing, to get the smoothest consistency.

Did you know you can use a food processor to make bread dough?  You will need to check the cups of flour in your recipe and compare it to the bowl size and motor capacity to make sure it'll all fit.  If it won't, divide your recipe into smaller batches then combine to rise.

• Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water in a separate container.  Add some sugar to feed the yeast.

• Put your dry ingredients into your processor and pulse to mix thoroughly. Just a few pulses is all you need.

• Add any cold liquids to your recipe.  Any excess water beyond the 1/4 cup you are proofing your yeast in should be cold.  The motion of vigorous blending will actually heat the ingredients to the desired temperature.   Pour the cold liquids through the hole in the top with the processor on.  Keep a steady stream, but only as fast as the flour will absorb it.  You don't want to saturate the top of the flour, because if you over-process trying to mix well, your dough will not turn out well.

• In less then a minute (about 30-40 SECONDS) your dough will be combined and you can continue with your recipes instructions for rising.

Note: If your dough consistency seems too wet or dry, you may add additional flour or water (1 tsp. at a time, in the hole, with the processor on) and check consistency after 10 seconds.

Second Note: Any seeds, fruit or additional add-ins should be added in at the last few seconds just long enough to distribute through the dough but not so much processing that you can't tell what those items are anymore.