Monday, December 20, 2010

They all came with bows, too!

Food processor My brother is a teensy bit upset with me.  Last Christmas I asked for and received a wonderful food processor.  Over the past twenty or so years, my brother has practically outfitted my entire kitchen, and everything he bought me still works.

Presto fry pan I think the first "appliance" he bought me was an electric fry pan.  Boy, what a little workhorse.  I used to make chili in it (I do that now in the crock pot, which he also bought me), and now hubby makes his wonderful seared scallops in it.  Next up was a hand mixer (which I just used last week to whip up a batch of cookies).  Then there's the little toaster oven, which gets used at least five to seven days a week, be it reheating pizza (lunch) or cooking our breaded chicken entrees. 

As I mentioned, last year I asked for and got the food processor, but it's still sitting in the box.  I've been meaning to make something using it, and even got a cookbook dedicated to food prepared in a food processor, but I just haven't gotten around to opening the box.  (I think it's the fear of cleaning it that has kept me from investigating it further.)

Mixmaster I've got a few hand-me-down appliances, too.  Like my mother's first Oster blender.  Yup, it's got to be about 35 years old, but it still purees like new.  And her old (20 years?) Mix Master.  (Used that last week, too.)

Then there's the milkshake machine hubby bought me for my last birthday.  I've wanted one of those for YEARS, but it seems like I just keep forgetting to buy some ice cream to make the shakes with. (I prefer just vanilla ice cream and milk--NO syrup.) 

Sunbeam toaster And of course nothing beats my 50+ year-old Sunbeam toaster, which I bought at a yard sale in 1979 for $4.  (I know it's 52 years old because someone stamped the date on the bottom of it.)  I found another one at a yard sale last year that looks brand new.  (Mom has one, plus one back up.  She had two back-ups, but dropped one and broke it last year.  Handy all those back-ups, eh?)

So what's your favorite kitchen appliance?