I have long resisted getting an apple peeler.  I enjoy using my knives, and I enjoy the process of cooking, not just the final product.  But, with tiny helping hands and their matching tiny attention spans, sometimes speed is better than…my much bally-hoo’d process.  When I read about House on Hill Road’s apple device, I immediately ran it past an acquaintance who is a pastry chef.  He said he couldn’t live without his.  HOW DID I NOT OWN THIS?  I’ve carried back chopsticks from China, plates from Paris, and serving pieces from Prague.  But me, the ultimate apple-pie making Momma, did not own an apple peeler.

I ordered one on Amazon immediately. You shall be named Uma Thurman, and you shall be mine.  I named it after Uma’s performance in “Kill Bill” because while Greg and the girls giggled, making long strips of peels, I sliced my thumb the first second I used it.  As much as I cook, I rarely cut myself.  Unless I’m at my in-law’s house and I go within 10 feet of their bread knife.  In another life, I’ve wronged that utensil; it’s been out to get me for years.

This device cores, peels, and slices, all with one hand-turned crank.  It’s tricky to anchor to the counter top (meaning, I’m still surfing that learning curve), but if it stays put, it makes the act of making applesauce quite snappy.  My thumb finally healed today, and tomorrow is the All-Cousin Pumpkin Decorating Contest and Shirley Temple Movie Marathon Sleepover. We’ll leave brevity for less colorful people to enjoy.  Uma and I might have a second go at some new apple recipes…but I can’t get this quote out of my head, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” (Kill Bill, Volume I, The Godfather, Star Trek, etc…). Stay tuned…