Once
upon a time, my mother would occasionally give each of
her children a practical gift – something we probably wouldn’t purchase for
ourselves. One year she gave me an Oster Kitchen Center, a stand mixer with
attachments – salad maker, blender, and meat grinder. Many cakes and
cookies later, mine was dying, so Mother let me have hers when she moved to a
retirement home. And now it’s time to replace that one. I still like the
concept of a “kitchen center,” so I researched for a new one.
Things
come and things go. Sunbeam/Oster is no longer in the forefront of the stand
mixer manufacturers. If one wants a kitchen center, the closest thing is a
Cuisinart, so I decided to try one. The thing is, Cuisinart stand mixers are
not readily available in my local market. (Is anything?)
Of
course, Mike (ever the frugal one) suggested Hamilton Beach or today’s Sunbeam, which can be found at the "nameless mart" of your choice.
“It’s not what I want,” I would say. I’ve been mixing and baking for these 37
years and more, and I’m still mixing and baking. I won’t be talked out of this
decision.
So,
when we were in Denver, Kelly agreed to help me look for the Cuisinart, and we
found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was on sale and the store agreed to ship
it to me free of charge. It came the other day, and now I must learn to use it,
though I don’t anticipate problems. Using a mixer is mostly using a mixer.
It’s
always a little scary, though, to step outside the bounds of what is available
and accepted and try something new.
So,
with a new mixer, you’d think I’d love to give it a try first thing. However, I
try to keep goodies to a minimum, and we were eating on cookies and cake when
the mixer arrived. And then – I just couldn’t make up my mind what to bake. It
seemed like the first product should be something really special. In the end I
took a box from the shelf and mixed up a devil’s food cake, and then I whipped
up some butter cream frosting.
What’s
my opinion so far? The Cuisinart is a little noisy, but otherwise I love it. And -- the
ingredients stay in the bowl. KW
Wow! fancy-fancy. It looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI have KitchenAid stand mixer (with lots of attachments, too) that I use quite a bit. It is especially good for mixing for baking.
It's beautiful! So, what other things came with it? I'm dying to know. :-)
ReplyDeleteJust the mixer, ma'am, and your standard paddle, whip, and dough hook. The attachments are purchased separately. I plan to get the blender and the processor. I kinda scoffed at the timer feature, but I set it to mix the cake batter two minutes -- and it did!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun new toy! The second picture is very clever--you caught your portrait in the reflection of the machine.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. Great addition to your cozy kitchen. A few months ago I bought a new mixer. My Hamilton Beach stand mixer had a frozen motor. It was about 35 years old. I thought of using my hairdryer to warm up the gears & decided to let it rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteMy Mixer shopping was on the internet & I found my new cornflower blue Mixer at Target. Paid $284.99 with my 5% Target card discount. Free shipping, too. It will last at least 35 years, even though I won't.
One day I looked at the fancy new mixer on the counter & thought...it's too bad that the me of 50 years ago couldn't have had something so nice. Such is life.
The new one was a KitchenAid Artisan 5 quart stand mixer.
ReplyDeleteHa! Ha! -- my reflection in the chrome! Of course, I meant to do that. (LOL) And in the first picture, you can see the camera and my hands.
ReplyDeleteOh, Leah -- I try not to think about how things will outlast me. And your comment about having something so nice 50 years ago -- the very reason my mother gave each me a Kitchen Center. "You're living just as much now as you're ever going to live," she would say. Not quite my husband's philosophy, but I can't blame him.
Oh, so you have some more shopping to do. Or maybe some things to add to your Christmas list. :-)
ReplyDelete(And you're not the only one caught in a reflection this week. After I put my snow picture up, I noticed I could see my arm and camera on the right side (I took the picture through the window). Guess we're into self portraits! LOL)