After a major move around of worktop appliances, I had space on the breakfast bar. I retrieved the food processor from the appliances cupboard, and put it there.
I had a go at making Hummus (houmous?) in it. I usually use my CookExpert for this, as I can just use sesame seeds instead of needing tahini (sesame seed paste). I thought the processor would work.
It didn't.
I was a little surprised .
Some days later, I decided to have a go at making steamed sponge puddings, using the Medlar failed-jelly that I made a couple of weeks ago. and cooking them in the pressure cooker.
On a whim, I decided to swap the food processor with the stand mixer which was also in the appliance cupboard (having been rescued from the utility room when I sorted that out a few weeks back). I don't remember when I last used the mixer. I had thought about using it a couple of times, but it was too much hassle to drag it out of the utility room. I normally end up using an electric hand whisk.
So, the mixer was on the breakfast bar, the food processor back in the cupboard and I made the sponge batter in the mixer. t was a bit of a faff weighing stuff to put in (and having to use a receptacle to weigh into, or to wrestle the bowl off the machine). However, it did a really good job, and I remembered why I preferred it to the beautiful (but not particularly good) KitchenAid I'd had before that. I decided to keep it on the counter for now, and to see how often I used it.
In the meantime, I've been making protein shakes, and using a poncey stick blender (PSB) and a jug to combine the powder with the milk. The PSB has been used more in the last couple of months than it has been used in the 10 or so years I've owned it. I've thought sbout selling it, many times, but I'd end up buying a cheap stick blender for the odd in-pan blitzing, and so I might as well keep the one I have. For now.
I remembered that the stand mixer had originally come with accessories, including a liquidiser, and I wondered what had happened to it. I knew I'd sold a load of accessories a few years ago, and I couldn't remember if it was those ones, or ones for an even earlier machine.
One evening, I went up in the loft, right to the back where all the appliance boxes are. I excavated everything, looking for the box.
It was a useful exercise actually as I found some bits I'd been looking for for my brother, and I found the kitchen floor tiles we thought we must have thrown away. I also found several boxes we no longer needed to keep, and some items I could donate.All in all, an excellent use of an evening.
I didn't fund the box for the mixer, so I concluded it must have been those bits that I previously had sold.
I looked at the price of a new liquidiser on the manufacturers website. I looked for a preloved one. And then I saw that there was a newer version of the stand mixer with an integrated scale.
The liquidiser has been in daily use, and the PSB is in the drawer. I found its box and stand when I was excavating the loft, so its future is uncertain.
The stand mixer - apart from the liquidiser bit - has yet to be used. If it doesn't get used it will vacate the space (and may even be sold!)
