Oh my lovely mandoline!

I had a lot of fun testing out this new gadget - my Kitchen Aid mandoline! I have been coveting a mandoline for quite some time but had no clue which brand to buy or how much money to spend on one. After visiting the Williams-Sonoma Techniques in Los Gatos last week, I watched the instructor demo a de Buyer slicer, a high-end French brand, and knew that it is something I wanted to aspire to using. I'm just such a klutz in the kitchen that buying top of the line is not necessarily a good move on my part since I view myself as a newbie experimenting with recipes in the kitchen.
I found the Kitchen Aid mandolin for a reasonable price and tested all the blades out on carrots, fennel, a zucchini, a green pepper and a yellow squah. My enthusiasm led me to go a bit overboard as I was left with two heaping piles of thinly sliced and stringy veggies. 
I never knew how peaceful slicing with a mandolin can be. I attached a chunk of fennel to the safety cartridge and zipped back and forth with very little worries of cutting myself. During my consumer research, I learned that the Kitchen Aid mandonline comes with several safety features which are unique to this model. First, there is the safety cartridge that attaches to the vegetable. Then there is a plastic barrier that covers the blade attached to the mandoline, and it pushes outward as the cartridge strikes against the blade. There are also plastic covers for each of the spare blades so it is very difficult to come in contact with anything sharp if you use the tool and all its parts as instructed.

My favorite step is creating the pretty pile of "spaghetti" strings. I actually felt a sense of accomplishment because I worried the veggies would be too mushy or waterlogged.  But they came out perfectly julienned. 

With all these strips and slices littering my kitchen countertop, I now had to decide on making something with them. Perhaps, I should have considered a recipe beforehand, but I was too excited to test out the mandoline that I didn't really care what I made.

I looked-up a few recipes online and was inspired by the root vegetable latkes from this blog - lick my balsamic. There is some serious eating going over there, and I just enjoy all the simply noted recipes, along with the amazing plating and food photography. For my latkes, I ground a handful of multi-grain oats and flaxseed and added it to the veggie mixture. 
Dropped an egg into the bowl with all the above ingredients and seasoned with salt and pepper and a bit of EVOO.

I made four latke and placed them in the oven sheet to bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

My latkes came out a bit burnt on the edges but were perfectly cooked inside. Delicious! I added a dollop of Mountain High yogurt, sprinkled on some chives, and cut up a few figs to enjoy on the side.  I definitely want to make these again and experiment with different veggie combinations. 

And the best part - I already have pre-sliced veggies for my meal tomorrow. I'm looking forward to coming home from work just to cook.