I love my Kitchen Aid

I really ought to illustrate this with me kissing the white wonder, or tenderly embracing it. It is an anti-depressant device! DH asked what I was going to bake this week, and I suggested a cake. He requested something tropical, since we are having a blizzard predicted for the middle of the week. I found a receipe for a coconut/lime cake which he approved. This morning, since I desperately need exercise, I walked the half mile to the store, watching the clouds disappear and the sun come out in frozen liar's glory. No warmth in THIS brightness. I bought coconut milk and a lime and walked briskly home, then proceeded to bake. The mixer makes it so simple, so easy, so - Look, when the receipe says, "Beat for 8 minutes on low," I never before have beaten that batter for more than two minutes. It's fully mixed by then, right? What's the point of standing around, holding the mixer for another 6 minutes? Well, the point is, that it makes the cake lighter and more even-textured. and a helluvalot better. When all I have to do is turn on the Kitchen Aid and walk away, it makes the rest of the stuff start to make sense, too. Like, a teaspoon of baking powder really ought to be a level teaspoon, not just one that's mostly mounded at this end and half full on the other. And this stuff about cake flour being different from bread flour? It makes a difference! Whodathunkit? I thought it was just one of those things that you can't tell the difference in unless you're an expert with an over-refined sense of perfection and too much time to be fussy. I ain't fussy, and even I can tell. I baked a pretty good cake today. Oh, my, there is a WORLD of new stuff opening up for me!

Actually, I baked cupcakes, because it's harder to give slices of cake to the locusts. ( We call the guys DH works with, "the locusts" because they will consume anything.) As I work with the mixer, I will be doing a lot of experimenting, and I expect the locusts to find a use for the failures. Even the successes shouldn't be eaten up by just the two of us. But the knitting teas may become a little more deliciously supplied. Two cookies, at least one cake, a savory and some fruit is my usual goal, but we shall see what I come up with in the future.

Really, my Kitchen Aid should be named. Has anyone else named their kitchen appliances?