In a previous post I mentioned how I dread replacing appliances. That was the case with my hand mixer, too. I inherited an avocado-colored hand mixer from my mother when I moved out on my own in college. I had it until a year or two ago.
Granted, the occasions that called it out from the drawer were rare. Most mixing is done with the Kitchen Aid my mom gave me for Christmas the first year Ian and I were married. That was, and still is, my favorite kitchen appliance. And then other mixing is usually split between my Braun hand blender or the regular old blender that most of us grew up with.
Somehow mixing butter and garlic in with the mashed potatoes is easier with a hand mixer, though often as not I grab my old-timey potato masher first. Potato mashers don't work on whipping cream. That's just a guess. I've not tried. But I'm too lazy to whip cream by hand.
Eventually that dear old avocado-colored hand mixer died. Mid-mix. It struggled, emitted a dainty cough, and then died. I overwhelmed it's twenty-to-thirty year old motor with cookie dough, as I recall. Cookie dough is usually best left to the KA stand mixer, but I had not cleaned its bowl or mixer. The more utensils I dirty while cooking, the better I like it. Our arrangement is that Ian does most dishes and runs the dishwasher. I return clean dishes and utensils to their homes. And also do the majority of the cooking, lest you think this division of labor unfair to Ian.
While looking at toaster ovens we came across the hand mixers. I wanted to wait on purchasing one, after all, I've held off for almost a year on this already, but Ian pointed out there were only two pink ones on the shelf.
That's right. He said pink. And now, I'm the semi-proud owner of a pink hand mixer. Pink is way down on the list of colors I like. But its purchase supports breast cancer research. And it's different. It won't match the deep red walls of my kitchen, but it doesn't have to, since it'll be relegated to an over-full drawer.
Upon seeing the mixer out of the box Ian's main complaint was that its beaters are so fine. Not much lickable surface, not much batter will cling to those anorexic tines. And that means he'll lose out on batter.
My main complaint is it's digital control. Long gone are the days of controlling speed by moving my thumb up or down a notch. With that old button, I could take the mixer from zero to whip in no time flat in one smooth motion. But the digital control means I'll have to bump the speed up seven times with my finger to get from zero to whip. Progress is a bitch. And, it's regressive.
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