Kenmore – no more
Lori is on her third breadmaker. Jodi loves her stand-up mixer enough to devote serious counter space to it. Heck, I have not one but two crockpots. Clearly, my gadget policy isn’t as firm as “thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s Veg-O-Matic.” Unlike some rule makers, I allow a little wiggle room. Permit me to explain my philosophy. I want my appliances to earn their keep. If you use your food processor every day (or even once a week) then you get a gold star and my blessing to go forth and Osterize. I used mine only at Christmas. A $200 item dragged out once a year is the motorized equivalent of a freeloading domestic partner. It costs money, takes up a lot of space and doesn’t give back.
On the other hand, my Braun MultiPractic immersible hand blender, cost $65 and gets used at least twice a week. Compared to my mooch of an ex-food processor, it’s practically Hazel.
Not only can I puree black bean soup right in the pot, its easy-to-attach mini-chopping feature is so indispensable I stripped the gears from frequent use. Since I didn’t need a whole new unit, I decided to replace the broken add-on with a stand alone mini-chopper.
A word to the wise: When all the other mini-choppers on the shelf are $50 to $85, the $24.95 Kenmore isn’t necessarily the most inspired choice. Let’s do the math.
1 sweet deal of a mini-chopper – $25
1 bandage to cover scratch received trying to open impossibly tight lid – $0.25
1 onion, crushed, not chopped – $.50
1 bunch basil, mauled beyond redemption – $2
1 bottle red wine to take edge off foul mood- $12
2 hours searching for receipt when I could have been doing paid work – $100
2 litres gas driving back to the store – $2
1 package Tums to deal with stress of finding the right “department” – $1.50
Total cost of mini-chopper: $143.25
I got wise and have replaced the replacement with a pricey Cuisinart. Is it worth the sticker price? Stay tuned and find out. Next week I’ll be reviewing my favourite gadgets and providing the recipes I used to test them. In the meantime, what can’t you live without in your kitchen? (Sorry, Andrew. Kentucky Fried Chicken is not an acceptable answer.)