A Kitchen Update with Samsung — Raspberry Flavoured Windows

At 15 years old my old American style fridge freezer was on it’s last legs. The fresh water dispenser and ice making machine had long since packed up, the lights no longer worked, all the door shelves had broken and the fridge seemed to freeze everything whilst the freezer didn’t quite manage to freeze anything. Add in to the mix that every so often I would wake up to a flooded kitchen (how does that even happen with the water supply is turned off) and well, it had come to the end of it’s lifespan. You can imagine then just how extremely grateful, stupidly excited and over the moon I was when asked me if I would like to try one of their American fridge freezers and talk a little about how it helps in our day to day life. So come and join me on a kitchen update with Samsung.

Now first of all we are not a huge family but reasonably sized. There are five of us and two out of the five are still growing teens. When my youngest hit two (many moons ago) it became quickly apparent that a normal size under counter fridge and freezer were no longer going to cut the mustard. Let alone let me store some! If I was lucky I could fit a day and half’s food in it. And don’t get me started on milk, we now go though at least four litres a day. And that’s where fridge number one came in. It was a revelation and made life so much easier for me. Fast forward 15 years and it was more a pain in the backside. Especially once the door shelves gave up the ghost.

LOOKING SLEEK AND SEXY

So lets take a look at the model I chose. After much research and hours of reading reviews I chose the Samsung RS8000 with SpaceMax Technology RS68N8230B1/EU . And let me tell you it lives up to the great reviews I read. I love that its design means there is extra space internally without increasing the external dimensions. Our kitchen is small so having hidden handles is also a massive bonus. Every bit of space I can save in my kitchen is crucial. It also has Twin Cooling Plus™ which optimises the temperature and humidity in the fridge and freezer with independent cooling systems which keeps food fresher for longer. No more soggy cucumber in the salad drawer!

DELICIOUS FRESHLY FILTERED WATER

But it’s the water dispenser and ice machine that really make my heart sing. No one, however hard I try will drink tap water in my household. And I’m actually with them on this one. Our water tastes horrible! When the old fridge made the decision to no longer support me in my endeavour to get the boys to drink more water I thought a water jug for the fridge is the answer. But soon realised this was not a viable option for us. We would literally need five jugs and with no door space anymore where would I store the food? So with a heavy heart I had to buy bottled water. I hated every day that I had to buy it. Our single use plastic consumption was through the roof! But not now! The water dispensed from my Samsung fridge freezer is delicious. Going through an inline filter it pours straight out of the nozzle in the freezer door. Just add in some crushed or cubed ice from the same dispenser and it’s a winner.

CRUSHED ICE PERFECT FOR A COCKTAIL OR TWO!!

Now as I said earlier 2 of my sons are autistic. What you may not know though is that autism is a sensory disorder and amongst other things this part in particular can make things difficult when it comes to the kitchen. Firstly there’s the problem of taste (what one likes the other doesn’t) mind you I think we can all relate to that one. Next up is smell, so closely intertwined with taste, it limits what I can cook. And thirdly there is the question of texture (it’s a big no all round for mushrooms). So often in my household I end up with at least three meals on the go or variations of one at least. But one thing they do all like though is Pasta. So imagine my surprise when Christmas arrived and guess what? No perfume for me, nope, I get a pasta machine. But hey, it’s good to learn new skills and I have always wanted to try making some homemade pasta.

ONE OF MY FAVE BITS — A WINE RACK!!!!!

Fast forward a couple of months and I’m really getting the hang of this pasta making malarkey. The fridge is full of fresh Italian ingredients with room to spare and the boys are enjoying learning to cook with me. For the first time in a long time the kitchen feels like the heart of our home once more. It’s full of laughter, love and warmth. So for anyone else who’s never made pasta before I say give it a go. It’s way easier than I thought. In fact here’s the easiest recipe that I have found, please if you are a cook/chef forgive me! Along with my cheap tomato sauce that is honestly…… To die for. It’s my boys favourite. I call it spaghetti alla RFW 🙂

ALL THE STORAGE SPACE YOU COULD EVER NEED.

Firstly the sauce, this feeds six. Add together into a pan four tins of chopped tomatoes, a good glug of olive oil, a packet of fresh basil that you’ve chopped up, a springing of salt and a good heaped teaspoon of sugar. Give it a mix, bring to the boil and then simmer for half an hour. When the timer goes off grab a ladle, a sieve and a clean pan. Pop the sieve over the pan and ladle in some of the tomato mixture. Then using the back of the ladle work it through the sieve into the pan. The idea is to remove the skin and pips but retain everything else. Keep adding a ladle at a time, work it through the sieve and then discard the waste. Once you’ve worked through all the tomato mixture return the new pan to the heat and give it a taste. Adjust your sugar and salt accordingly and simmer a little more to reduce if needed.

EGGS AND FLOUR ARE ALL IT TAKES TO MAKE DELICIOUS SPAGHETTI

For the spaghetti I use 100gms of plain (and I mean normal plain) flour and one egg per person. So for me 500gms of flour and five eggs. I make a well in the flour and crack the eggs into this. Then using a fork I whisk the eggs and start to incorporate a little of the flour at a time. Beware though! The first time I made this I added too much flour too quickly and ended up with a Vesuvius type of flour/egg eruption that made it’s was down my kitchen cabinets and across the floor! It was a mess! And harder to clean up than picking bogies off a snotty toddler!

NEARLY READY TO ROLL

Once all the eggs and flour are mixed together it’s to get kneading. Think of that one person that always makes your blood boil and give it a good pummelling until it’s smooth. I promise you will feel so much better both mentally and physically by the end. Now wrap the dough in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Let the fun bit now commence with the spaghetti making. Grab your dough and divide into pieces around the size of a large satsuma. Then Grab your machine, start on number one and wind your pasta through, fold and repeat 13 times. Now take each piece down through setting two, then three, then four. Here is where I stop as I want my spaghetti quite chunky. Top tip! Keep giving the sheets a light dusting with flour between settings to stop it all sticking to one another.

YUMMY STRANDS OR SPAGHETTI

Now it’s time for the spaghetti side of the machine. I wind through each sheet to create the spaghetti and then give each batch a dusting with flour immediately. My first attempt was a disaster that resembled play dough because I missed this very important, nay (Mr Wilkes) crucial step out. And now with your sauce ready it’s time to cook the spaghetti. Boil a pan of water with a good dash of salt and add the pasta. It literally takes 90 seconds to cook! Drain it and add it to the sauce so that it clings seductively to every strand.

For added texture and flavour I add two finely torn apart mozzarella balls to the sauce seconds before I add the spaghetti. All you have to do now is serve. Add a sprinkling of Parmesan and enjoy. Don’t forget some crusty bread too because believe me you will want to mop up any left over sauce. And well in the famous words of Julia Child….. Bon Appertit! Ok so I know that’s french but well you get what I mean. What’s your favourite Italian dish? I love to hear all about it.

NB* Although this my American fridge freezer was kindly gifted to me by Samsung all thoughts and words are my own. Oh, and although my old fridge was no longer viable for use or repair or to pass on I did pay extra for the delivery service to have it removed and recycled.

Welcome to Raspberry Flavoured Windows. I’m Rach, pleased to meet you. I’ve worked in interiors and furniture design for the last 25 years. I’m here to share my hints and tips on all things interior related. I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them. And remember, Life’s way too short for Vanilla!

Originally published at https://raspberryflavouredwindows.com on February 29, 2020.