I think I can fairly say that I am pretty careful about money. I'm not as thrifty as I might be, not by a long shot, but I think I'm pretty good. I have never carried a credit card balance. We pay cash for almost everything and had no debt when we bought our home. B"H, we put extra money toward mortgage principal every month. We put significant chunks of our paychecks into retirement accounts. We don't have cable TV or go to movies or restaurants other than the pizza and bagel shops. Almost all our furniture is inherited or bought used, almost everything we wear is bought in the twice-yearly LL Bean clearance (if it was never in style, it can't go out of style, and it wears forever), and I will happily make multiple trips on foot to the drugstore to buy dozens of packages of diapers if I can save a few bucks on each. And almost all of Barak's books and toys are either gifts or from yard sales; most of his clothes are either from Target or Value City (with the exception of the things I made or got at the LL Bean clearance).
We both have our fiscal weaknesses. MHH likes to buy seforim, and since I know they make him happy I rarely say no. I even bought him a whole Chumash Malbim for his birthday. I like to knit, and I still buy yarn even though it would take me a decade to knit everything I already have. And I buy diet coke by the single can, only one can at a time, which is phenomenally stupid given that I drink a can every day, but when I keep it in the house I go through it like water so I figure that the extra fifty cents is a reasonable investment in my health.
Anyway, the point being that the unjustifiable purchase of kitchen toys is an extremely rare event around here.
But I'm about to buy a stand mixer.
I've wanted a stand mixer for over half my life--since I started baking bread in a serious way in junior high school. (Oy. Closer to two-thirds of my life.) Never could afford one. I never felt that I could justify the expense, since there have always been (and will always be) more pressing expenses.
Right now, my bread machine is out of commission, and since it is flaking Teflon out of the bread pan I don't want to use it anyway. The bakery is good, but does not sell whole wheat challah, which is what MHH likes. I simply do not have the time to knead all our bread by hand. And right now, Mr. Gassy Boy is sleeping happily, because all I ate all day was, well, bread and half a hot dog and some cheese (not all at the same time.) I think I'm going to be eating a lot of bread in the weeks ahead. And I'd prefer it had at least some nutritional content.
So, you foodies or at least bakers out there--what do you recommend? There's that killer Viking mixer, which mixes a whole five-pound bag of whole wheat flour at a shot. There's the Bosch, but that plastic bowl--urgh. And of course there's the rainbow of KitchenAids, but I hear that the motor doesn't stand up to major challah-baking.
If I can buy it somewhere I don't have to pay tax, all the better; I'll definitely have to pay shipping, since a stand mixer is not exactly a stroller-basket item.
Thoughts?
4 comments:
wish i could offer words of wisdom... i wish you luck and to bake in and for health.
i've wanted one for years (I used to decorate cakes and a stand mixer would make creating icing soo much the easier) ... though i've never dreamed beyond kitchenaid..
while i am an llbean girl (i miss their *good* bookpacks) have you ever checked out the landsend clearences (online?) they have this weekly counter (discounts increase throughout the week) that sometimes has really nice things..
oh, *drool* I am so jealous, er, happy for you!
I'd never heard about the kitchen aid motor not standing up to heavy-duty challah making; that's good to keep in mind (yeah, as if I'LL ever get one!).
No suggestions, other than it sounds like you're leaning toward the Viking. Look for it online - you can usually avoid the tax that way. Then again, there was my grandmother's old trick (do stores still do this?): she'd buy the product, but the store would ship it to someone she knew in Connecticut. That way she wasn't charged tax. I figure the state has twigged on to that scheme by now ;)
Well, sure, I'd love the 7-quart Viking. It's just the minor matter of the $525 price tag. At least that does include shipping...
I'm really set on a mixer--I make bread in large quantity, and other things that a bread machine can't handle.
If I get a Viking it will be through KAF though--they have free shipping on your whole order if you buy one, and I'd fill the freezer with flour.
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