Thanks again to the kind folks at Tryazon , my family and a couple of friends were able to try out a compact, affordable veggie slicer from Vasta. I have been trying to limit the gluten in my diet, and daughter must be gluten-free, so we have wanted to try veggie noodles and gluten-free alternatives to wraps. This device looked like it would solve a lot of our problems, and open up a whole cookbook of new recipes! We envisioned veggie lasagna noodles, cucumber wraps, zucchini noodles.....a quick search of the internet turned up a plethora of tasty salad and dinner options!
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| The Vasta 2-in-1 Sheet Slicer |
The Tryazon program is quite easy: I applied to host a Vastabilities Party, they sent me two Vasta 2-in-1 Slicers and a guide. My responsibility was to host a party with at least 5 guests, to demonstrate and let the guests try the slicer, then to post pictures and reviews online in the week to follow. Since my family was gathering for a socially-distanced dinner that week, it worked out perfectly. A good friend came over right after the dinner, for tea and dessert, so we had the opportunity to demonstrate the Vasta slicer to six people and my spouse. I am sorry to say that none of them were very impressed. Normally these reviews are very easy to write, but this one is tough, since I want to be honest and yet not overly critical.
I started preparing by finding a few easy and quick recipes that we could add to the table, and which we could "prepare" after the guests arrived. I settled on a cucumber "noodle" salad and baked apple rosettes, since these each used a different Vasta blade and would demonstrate its versatility. But I wanted to try each recipe out beforehand, to be sure that they were tasty and easy to prepare, and I am glad I did.
I tried regular cucumbers first, in a recipe that called for kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, feta cheese and red onion. Simple, right? I was eager to make cucumber noodles, but after struggling to attach the noodle tool to the razor-sharp slicer, I managed to get one turn of the handle before the cucumber fell apart. So I tried English, seedless cucumber. This time I didn't even get one revolution before the cucumber disintegrated. I had to chop it into pieces to finish the salad. 
The apples worked much better, and I was able to cut nice, long strips from a few varieties of apples with very little effort. I learned to lock the cutting blade up while skewering the apple, and to make sure that the blades on the handle were firmly embedded into the apple. The recipe called for butter, cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar, and was to be made in a bundt pan, but I chose to use a muffin pan, and to make individual rosettes. The day of the dinner, I laid out the ingredients, and one apple per person. Although they watched me make strips, only one person agreed to try it herself, and she admitted that it was easy and fun - once the apple was mounted on the slicer, and she didn't have to adjust the blade herself! The baked rosettes were a hit!
We all agreed that we would make the apples again, and may use the slicer for apple pies as well, but that we needed to find firmer vegetables to test. We brainstormed ideas -- like air-fried potato slices, carrot noodles in a slaw, or - and this may be as difficult as cucumbers - zucchini slices in a lasagna.
Although the slicer is easy to store, it is a little scary to wash and take apart, and one guest wondered if the plastic parts would hold up. I gave both away, and made the lucky recipients promise to tell me whenever they use the slicer, and to send me pictures of the results!
The Vasta Slicer is great for a person who really wants to use fruits and vegetables in unique ways in their recipes, it is affordable and, once one gets the hang of it, easy to use. I thank Tryazon for letting us try it out!!
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