I dislike shopping. (Those who know me, also know how understated that is, but "loathe" seems too strong a word to use about something so trivial.) On top of that, I have an aversion to adding "stuff" to our home. Until proven otherwise, if it takes up space, it's as welcome as an undocumented worker in Arizona.
It only took me a couple of years of waffling before opening the door to this immigrant, but it immediately proved itself a trustworthy and productive citizen: a Cuisenart hand blender.
Why buy a hand blender when you have a perfectly good regular blender already? That nagging question also postoned this purchase, but the answer soon became obvious: despite the similarity of their names, the two appliances serve different purposes, and the hand blender is far superior for making sauces, soups, and—our favorite—smoothies.
The blender itself takes up little space. (The accessories take up a bit more, and I actually haven't used them yet.) No more laborious transfer of hot sauce bit by bit from the pan to the blender: in a few seconds the hand blender delivers a smooth sauce right in the cooking pot. Throw some frozen berries, yoghurt, milk, orange juice concentrate, and almond flavoring (for example) into a quart measuring cup, whirl it around with the blender, and—voilá!—an easy, healthy smoothie. Best of all, the hand blender is an absolute snap to clean.
Okay, so I'm lazy. Is it that much trouble to use the regular blender for these things? Maybe it shouldn't be, but with the hand blender I actually do them. These days, I'm very much into arranging my life for success. Glenn Doman's philosophy, "We arrange for the child to win," works for adults, too. Our new hand blender has turned out to be an effective addition to that toolbox.
