Getting my husband to help out in the kitchen and subsequently letting him discover that he was a really good cook started with getting the right tools in the kitchen. If it feels and performs like a high-quality power tool, he’ll use it. When tools feel like they belong in a commercial kitchen, they are a joy to use, and use them he will, much to the benefit of me and my family. I save time by getting to shed a large part of the daily tasks of cooking, and the rest of the family enjoys eating the masterpieces he creates. My husband enjoys the praise and recognition of preparing part of a delicious meal.
Take, for example, my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I had asked for one for years for Christmas, but being fairly expensive year after year I kept receiving cheap $9 handheld blenders from instead. These would break each year in November, about the time I started baking Christmas cookies for the freezer. This past year, several members of my family went in together to get me a Professional KitchenAid stand mixer, including several attachments like a meat grinder, vegetable pureer, food processor, etc.
This appliance is so heavy, so shiny, so beautiful… If a hurricane came through our house, the walls may blow down around it, but I believe the KitchenAid will still remain exactly where it stands. The day after Christmas, I unboxed the mixer and set it up. My husband started drooling immediately, then tried his hand at grinding a beef chuck roast into ground beef. He was hooked, and immediately went on the Internet to investigate sausage recipes to use with the Kitchen Aid.
He would never dream of making a Smoothie — not manly enough — until I got him his own high-end blender for the bar. Now nightly he proudly serves me delectable cocktails, like “Nada Coladas” (fat-free, but NOT alcohol free pina coladas), Mojitos, Mudslides. I need to buy more power tools for my kitchen, quick, so I can sit back and enjoy La Vida Dolce as he uses modern technology to create masterful concoctions for our family!
This brings me to my recently requested review of a new website — The Splendid Life at http://www.splendidlife.com . This site is brought to you by Splenda — a sugar substitute that happens to be a staple in our kitchen. Their Cooking and Baking section features a selection of unique kitchen appliances, including Stand Mixers (yes, the KitchenAid that I own is on there), blenders, waffle irons, food processors, and other small appliances. I appreciated that the selection is fairly small — it is not overwhelming, and only high-quality products are represented. Besides KitchenAid, other brands include Krups and Zojirushi — all brands that will make you feel like a professional chef when you use their superb products in your own “Splenda Kitchen“. I have my eye on one of the waffle-makers for a gift for my breakfast-cooking husband. He needs a new power tool to keep him in the kitchen where he belongs!
Other products in their Cooking and Baking section include bakeware, cookware, and “cooks tools” — small colorful gadgets and accoutrements like grinders, lemon squeezers, mixing bowls.
Check out their End of Summer Sale for up to 50% off several items. I buy gifts year-round from these types of clearance sales to save the money and craziness during the Holidays.
Also noteworthy is their “Kids Can Cook” section under the Family Fun tab. It has quite a few fun-colored kitchen items for kids. Getting kids to help in the kitchen is great bonding time, teaches math skills, and the kids will usually eat whatever they create.
I hope you will visit SplendidLife.com soon.
