These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I think I'm going to start doing a regular post called "My Favorite Things" where I highlight things I have--gadgets, prized possessions, recipes, etc.-- that I really like.

Today's Favorite Thing is my Braun handblender set.



You know how every once in a while you buy some gadget at the store or from an infomercial hoping it will revolutionize your life, but it rarely does? Well, this time my impulse buy was one of the best purchases I've ever made. It's a 3-in-1 blender/whisk/food processor and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.


It comes with a hand blender motor and 3 attachments that just twist on and off. The first attachment is the blender. It takes the place of anything you'd usually have to sit there and stir 100 times or anything you want stirred or mixed to a more even consistency. I use it for whipping my instant breakfast into a frothy delight, for mixing up frozen juice with ice--it turns it into a foamy, slushy smoothie type juice--mixing together oil and vinegar based salad dressings, mixing pancake batter, and my mom uses it for blending all the carbonation OUT of her room temperature Diet Coke (ew, I know.)



The second attachment is the whisk. At first I didn't think this would be that handy. But let me tell you, it is awesome. You have to use a tall cup (it comes with one) to use this attachment or you'll get liquid sprayed on every surface of your kitchen. But it's great for whipping things super fast and super fluffy. It's only for small amounts, but nothing is faster. Like when I make waffles, it calls for whipped egg whites. I make small batches, so I only need to whip 1 or 2 eggs at a time. I don't think they'd even touch the beater if I tried to use my regular mixer. But with my whisk attachment, it takes about 20 seconds to turn two eggs into meringue. It's so fast. It's also good for making small portions of whipped cream. Again, the big blender doesn't make much contact with the small amount of cream. And even when it does, it takes forever. My Braun whisk attachment takes about 45 seconds to whip the cream into super fluffy whipped cream. It's also great for omelet.




The best attachment is the mini food processor. It's perfect for dicing, chopping, or crumbling a small amount of anything. Like tomatoes, cilantro, or green onions for salsa, or nuts for sundaes, or cheese crumbles for Mexican food. Or, my favorite use, cutting up onions w/o them making you cry. You can fit about 1/2 to 1 whole onion at a time (depending on size) and in 3 or 4 pulses, it dices them large or a couple more pulses, they're diced super fine. It takes maybe 10 seconds to set up the whole contraption, and 10 seconds later your onions are diced with no mess, no smell, and no crying your eyes out.



I know I sound like an infomercial now, but seriously, I use this device and its various pieces every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. It's so quick to set up and take down. It saves me tons of time on the most tedious parts of food prep. And I keep it fastened to my wall by my sink so I can just rinse it off when I'm done (or put it in the dishwasher if it needs a more thorough washing). I bought my mom one of these last year and she tells me on a regular basis how much she loves hers.


So, there. Now you know one of my favorite things.