Mandolin Memories

According to "Raw Energy" another major player in the raw food kitchen is the Japanese Mandolin Benriner. This tool is useful for slicing foods thin for use in recipes or for dehydration.

I had an experience with a similar gadget when I was around 11yrs old. I wanted to make french fries when my parents weren't home so against my better judgement, I pulled out my mom's and started slicing with the french fry attachement. My hand slipped and went through the blades. I hastily cleaned up my mess and bandaged up my sliced hand and never told my mom that I had injured myself. My motivation? I didn't want to get stitches. I still have three visible scars from that crazy mandolin episode.

Later I bought one from Pampered Chef, but my earlier life experience combined with it's poor performance made me loath to use it so I finally sold it in a yard sale or gave it away.

Since I began to make occasional batches of Thai wraps, I have thought about picking up another one of these kitchen helpers, but now that I have set myself down the road of eating more raw foods, it appears to have become a necessity. Fortunately, a friend and co-worker told me about the Oriental Market on Dougall Ave. that sells a simple but effective model for 1/2 the cost of other stores. They were out of stock for several weeks but just got a shipment in today so I slipped by after work and picked one up.

I've read the instructions and the packaging and have seen "watch your fingers" many times. I break into a cold sweat just thinking about the hazardous possiblilities! I can do this.