Betty

More Hot Air

Red oil sprayer.
There’s a new girl
in town.

It is not good for man to be alone. It’s in the Bible, right? With that in mind, I got Stumpy signed up for plenty-of-airheads and there, he found Evo. Evo is sleek. Evo is cosmopolitan. She is a colorful, complementary contrast to Stumpy’s dark facade. Stumpy and Evo are a perfect union, the likes of which can be found online at Walmart.com. Together, they will blissfully live out their days on my kitchen counter.

Evo is an oil sprayer. A needed companion, I am told, to cooking with an air fryer. In addition, I’m told olive oil is the gold standard with regards to air fryers. Only the best for Evo.

With Evo at his side, Stumpy’s been cookin’ with gas. Not really, but you get the idea. Here’s what’s been going on with them:

3 pieces salmon – Air fry at 390 F for 7 minutes. I forgot to preheat which didn’t seem to matter. Salmon usually takes 15 minutes in a conventional oven. So, using the air fryer saved a bit of time. The salmon was delicious, just like when it is cooked in a conventional oven. Next time, I may try roasting the salmon since that is an option on our air fryer.

4 pieces frozen cod – 380 F for 12 minutes; flip for 3 more minutes. Again, I forgot to preheat which didn’t seem to matter. The outside coating on the fish was definitely crunchier than when done in the oven. Frozen cod take 18 minutes in conventional oven. So again, the air fryer took a bit less time with the added benefit of a better end result (i.e. the cod was crunchier.)

2 frozen hamburgers – 350 F for 12 minutes; flip halfway. This time I remembered to preheat, but it didn’t seem to matter. The burgers could have used a bit more time – maybe 2 minutes? It seems any time saved is minimal; although, the clean up did seem easier.

Onion Rings – Now we’re talkin’. Dan and I love onion rings, but, of course, we limit how many times we eat the conventional type. I found a recipe online, and we cooked the rings at 350 F for ten minutes. I increased the temperature to 400 F for the second batch. They were pretty good. A healthier version, but tasty enough to satisfy. However, I felt the process was messy, took a little too much time, and left us with more onion scraps than we normally use.

Three bowls with egg, flour and panko crumbs to use when making the onion rings. Also, is the air fryer basket with three onion rings ready for cooking.
Notice the healthy bananas.

But never one to give up, I found some recommendations on Youtube for “Nathan’s Thick Sliced Battered Onion Rings.” These onion rings can go straight from the freezer to the air fryer. That’s my kind of cooking. No prep. Fast to make. Easy clean up. Nathan will definitely be invited over.

Plate of cooked onion rings.
Our Homemade Onion Rings
Just a few beyond “moderation.”

Now, we won’t be pigging out on onion rings often, but the idea we can easily make a limited amount once in a while is definitely appealing. As my grandmother would often say – and she lived to 96 – “You can have anything – in moderation.”

Here’s a few more recent lessons I’ve had with regards to our Instant Vortex Air Fryer:

All you need is Youtube. There I found Doug as in “CookingwithDoug”, but of course, there’s plenty-of-air-fryer channels available.

Clean up seems really easy. Of course, this could just be a honeymoon phase. But I don’t think so. Sometimes you just know.

Besides saving time and cooking healthier, air fryers are energy efficient. Since we don’t like to use our oven on hot days, this is a nice alternative.

Kitchen counter with air fryer and oil sprayer.
Beauty and the Beast

Our air fryer, the Instant Vortex Air Fryer, has a mandatory “preheat.” This means, that when you set the time and temperature, it takes a few minutes to heat up. When it gets to the set temperature, the air fryer displays “Add Food.” However, after a short amount of time, it automatically continues on with the cooking. So, no big deal if the food is already in there. But, if you do have to add the food, you have to take out the basket, so wouldn’t the temperature decrease as a result?

To me, this process seems like preheating a conventional oven, then leaving the oven door completely open for a minute or more while putting the food in the oven. The temperature in the oven is gonna decrease! Since an air fryer gets to the set temperature quickly, this mandatory preheat thing seems like something to be ignored – which is exactly how you should handle the quirks of the ones you love.

19 comments

  1. I’ve never preheated my air fryer for anything. It’s an old T-fal ActiFry (the monster one so it stays in my pantry) and none of the recipes that came with it called for pre-heating, so I’ve just never bothered, even with newer recipes. For most things, I don’t use any oil at all and am always happy with my results. My go-to cooking appliance is my Instant Pot. I even have a small one I bring along in our motorhome. I do use the air fryer for some things when we’re home … mostly frozen fries and chicken wings. I love how you name your things! 😊

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    • The only reason I talk about the preheat is that you can’t get around it on the air fryer model I have. It’s not big deal; it just seems unnecessary. I don’t have an Instant Pot, but I have a number of slow cookers which I use often. Enjoy your Sunday!

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    • It is a success for us. Tonight, I’ll be baking pork filet mignon wrapped in bacon in the oven. We’ll have a salad and some french fries made in the air fryer. First time for french fries in the air fryer. Our dinners are usually meat, green veg, and a starch. Our library does have air fryers that can be checked out. I had requested one (the wait was long) which is what gave Dan the idea to get me one for Christmas. I was going to use the one from the library before buying one to see if we would really like it. Fortunately, we do. Have a good Sunday!

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  5. I never preheat my air fryer either and have great results. I always go down on the temperature and set the time for less than recommended. Lesson learned after a super dry chicken breast. 🙂

    I am glad you are tying it, it’s fun isn’t it?

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  7. I sit here in the camper looking at the counter top where a Keurig coffee maker, Berkeley water filter, portable ice-maker, Blendtec blender, Insta-pot, and — this morning — a space heater is sitting and I wonder where would an air-fryer go, but you have a strong argument to convince me to try.

    As far as man not being alone, you are corrected that it is in the Bible. Adam was alone in the Garden of Eden when God saw he needed a companion and gave him Eve. Have a good day.

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    • Our library does offer air fryers to check out. There is a bit of a wait. I was going to do that before we bought one, but Dan got me this for Christmas. We have been using it often. Eve got Adam in a whole lot of trouble! Hopefully, our little Evo won’t cause such trouble in our home! Hope you have a good day, too!

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  8. My Vortex is my go-to four or five times a week! So much faster and more energy efficient than an oven, I think. Mine was a gift I didn’t know I wanted.

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    • We’ve been using our four or five times a week, also. We really like it, too. I find clean up is also very easy. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Sunday!

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    • Thank you for letting me know! I knew nothing about air fryers either, other than, they were good for french fries. Turns out you can cook so many things in there! Enjoy your Sunday!

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