I just can't understand what took me so long to do this post. After all, I acquired something I'd been wanting, dreaming about, lusting after, for such a long time, and when I finally got it ... no mention. I've been holding out, keeping it to myself, enjoying it day after day without sharing. But now I confess, I just couldn't wait any longer, I got myself a Vitamix. OK, it's a reconditioned one, but sooooooo? I finally gave in to the "lowest price ever" and ordered it in August. My plan was to order and have it sent to me while we were in Wisconsin this past summer, to avoid the ridiculous and regressive 10% sales tax in Seattle. I thought it would be great to be able to make myself smoothies and fruit ice cream all summer. But I waffled and worried over the cost, and whether I "really needed it" so long, that in the end it was too late to get it before we left Madison, so I ordered it and had it sent to Seattle as something to look forward to on our return.
Do I like it? Oh Yes. But it took a few tries before I got the hang of using it, and I made a couple of compost-worthy bloopers before settling in to enjoy a new level of creamy deliciousness. I was fascinated with the idea of making soup in the Vitamix like the happy cooks do in the demo videos, so I assembled a bunch of veggies to test it out. Let me tell you, never put a piece of lime rind, no matter how small, into a blender. The result will be so disgustingly bitter and vile you will have to discard the soup. No amount of guilt over wasted food will get you to eat it. No.
Next I tried to make ice cream. "So easy," gushed the woman in the video. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but but it may have had something to do with ice cubes. I didn't end up with ice cream, but that's all you need to know about that. The good news is that my Vitamix and I have reached an understanding, and now I love it.
The smoothies I used to make with the Kitchenaid were good, but I could always tell they were made with frozen fruit. With the Vitamix, the smoothies are so creamy and smooth, no matter what I put into them, they're more like a milkshake. I put it to the test with some blackberries I had picked and frozen. With the regular blender, the smoothies were seedy, but in the Vitamix, they were smooth.
I made all-fruit ice cream using a banana, frozen blueberries, frozen mango, non-dairy milk, and vanilla. Yes, it was very, very good. Then I made it for company using banana, frozen blueberries and frozen peaches. I made so much that after we stuffed ourselves, there was still some left, so I put it into a covered dish and stored it in the refrigerator. When I found it two days later, it had turned to pudding, and still tasted creamy and great. I've also made cashew cheese that was perfect.
I decided to try making soup again for this post. I started with carrots, celery, garlic, and water in the Vitamix.
It takes about seven minutes at high speed to purée and cook soup, but after about three minutes I blended some tahini into the soup and put it into a pot to finish cooking.
I seasoned it with salt, pepper, dill weed, crushed red pepper, coriander, balsamic chili vinegar, and truffle oil.
It was wonderful but I think I prefer my pressure cooker and immersion blender for making soup. It's quieter.
To go with the soup we made pasta with a sauce of Field Roast Mexican sausage, crushed tomatoes and broccoli. Yum.
