Ode to my Kitchen Hand Blender

I like an economic kitchen without too many gadgets to waste space (although a food processor, despite its girth, would be a handy item to add someday). So the fact that this little hand blender performs several tricks, is easy to clean, and stores in a small space, it's a perfect fit for this cook rookie.

There are few things that I use so often as my Cuisinart SmartStick Hand Blender. I love it so much that I buy it for every newlywed hoping they will get the same amount of amor, enthusiasm, and intensity as I have towards this thing.

Let me count a few ways that I love my hand blender so: 1) it mixes baby food (SO glad I didn't buy into some baby Beaba, Breeza or Bullet blender), 2) it purees soups right in the soup pot (no more pouring half your soup into a blender and returning it), 3) it whips up nut mixes and chops garlic in a jiffy, 4) it makes just the right amount of hummus or pesto for a snack or a dinner; 5) it actually chops and still comes with a  warrantee to boot). Okay, that's only five, but this means, I use it everyday. It's so handy (excuse the pun).

Anyway, what's your favorite kitchen gadget? I probably need more for my kitchen arsenal...

Homemade Power Snack

I'm not quite sure what to call these treats - they sort of taste like a Luna bar or a Power bar, except they're probably cheaper, homemade, and maybe even healthier. It does make me think though to make these for my next mountain bike outing instead of using Goo.

This recipe calls for carob powder, which is a healthy alternative for cocoa. It tastes like chocolate, but unlike chocolate, carob is caffeine-free, oxalate-free, cholesterol-free, and full of vitamins and minerals. Click here to learn more. I'm so glad I've learned about it because I love chocolate, I just don't like the way it makes me feel.

You can find carob in the baking isle. I use Bob's Red Mill Toasted Carob Powder, but any will do I'm sure. These minibars are so easy to make, and I love that they're a healthy alternative that fills that sweet tooth craving.

The fruit/nut mixture I used at the end of this recipe was anything I had in my cupboard - in this case, coconut, raisins, walnuts, almonds, flax seed, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. So that it wasn't super chunky, I combined them all and pulsed them in my handheld cuisanart bowl first. The extra mixture that I didn't use in these treats I just saved to throw in our breakfast oatmeal or a salad. After all, you can't go wrong with a little nut mix.

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey (you could probably use Agave too, but I buy honey from town just to keep it local)
1 cup carob powder
Nuts, seeds, almonds, raisins, coconut (amount desirable)

Warm peanut butter on low until smooth. Add carob powder. Mix in the rest of the mixture.