a good letter. really nice. It doesn't sound like an excuse, but an explanation. and putting the options out is good.

What Jen said.

Thirded--good letter, VW!

I'm heading off to my high school reunion soon (need to pack, shower, get to airport). Called my ONE friend who said she was going to come (a few weeks ago, but hadn't bought a plane ticket) the other day, and she's not called back. I really hope this is not going to be a "wow, I'ma sit here at a table and pretend like I'm not bored amongst a bunch of strangers..."

Also, it is POURING here. Has been for two days. Which has rather wreaked havoc on my plans to straighten my hair and make it all pretty. CRUD.

Yes, very good letter vw.

Raq, the stick blender I have is this one. I use the blender attachment and the chopper attachment all the time. The whisk attachment is pretty useless -- the wires are flimsy as hell, and holding the button down is just as labor-intensive as whisking something by hand -- it's nice for salad dressing, but that's about it.

In other food news, there are NO fish heads to be had anywhere in Carroll Gardens today. I went to both fish stores, and they were both out. (One had just made stock the night before, and the other had had a customer take them all earlier this morning.)

I don't miss my old neighborhood, but at least there, I was the only one who ever asked for fish heads, and the ability to have my pick more than made up for the weird looks.

Raq, I got this because the 200w wasn't properly handing my protein smoothies. I don't use the more food-processorlike of the attachments, because I have one, but it beefed up the standard stuff.

VW-that's a great letter, very straightforward and reasonable. Not begging for pity or even sympathy -- just laying it out clearly and justifying understanding.

I don't think I've ever used the chopper attachment on my stick blender... not for chppong - I have to go look at it now....

I did once, but that was before my dishwasher was replaced and the plastic didin't like to come clean - so a knife was easier

Hmm...I am supposed to be putting together my Christmas wish list, so maybe a stick blender will go on it. I'd feel less bad about burning out something that cost $70 vs. a KitchenAid. Or maybe I can find a good one that runs on 220v/50 cycles...the ones I've seen here are kinda cheap and expensive, but Miele might have one.

Of course, I shouldn't be talking about food prep at all since we had McDonald's delivered for dinner.

meara have a great time in your faboo dress!

As to how I lived without one: really good knives, cutting boards, and a 5 quart Kitchenaid (if I had it to do over, though, I'd probably have registered for the smaller, cheaper model like my mother has, as I think it is slightly easier to work with).

We have a 4 qt/250W we could trade you.

My full-sized Cuisinart gets pulled out mostly for hummus and shredding potatoes or large amounts of cheese.

I really wish I had a full-sized (or just an 11 cup) Cuisinart. Our 5 cup model is too small for anything (chute's too narrow for cucumbers and carrots), and it's a joke with liquids.

To supplement the too-small food processor I asked for a V-slicer last Christmas -- the $20 one on Amazon. It doesn't cut "perfect" dice, but it can dispatch half an onion in five seconds, when cutting up an onion before took three minutes and a trip to the emergency room. It does a good job on julienne, too.

We just made gingerbread pancakes for breakfast. As usual, we have an entire large serving of the things left over, turning cold and rubbery as we speak.

I swear, next time, I need company to help us finish them off.

I served them with lemon sauce and sliced organic Bosq pears. So good.