Thoughts of a Middle Aged Man

A while back I got a new chef toy, the Vita-Mix blender, and it has become my new cooking partner. With enough power to grind nuts, this machine will mix anything, anytime and in minutes. It all started when I needed a new blender to create a smooth pea soup for a wine food paring that we donated for charity. I have had my eye on one of these since they started showing up regularly on cooking shows on all the networks. After I saw how easily it created a great smooth texture of the split pea soup, I started experimenting with other things. First thing I did was to take some pomegranate seeds and blended them to a wonderful juice. After that came mango puree, chipotle puree, sweet potato filling for pasta, BBQ sauce, and on and on. One thing to be aware of, on full power which most men will insist on using, I sure did (Tool Time Rules!) it will blend in a lot of air emulsifying the contents of the pitcher, creating a thick liquid like a milk shake. That is probably OK for smoothies, shakes and some soups, but not OK with sauces. My advice is to take it slow and increase the speed and watch the consistency of the pitcher’s contents. Uncle Ben, from Spiderman was correct when he said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

So if you get to eat at my house, there is a good chance you could taste something that went through this blender as it has become a staple kitchen utensil. A lot of my meals lately use the smoker that I received as an overseas hand-me-down, and this blender. Anyone up for some smoked brisket and some homemade BBQ sauce?