Catching Up

It's been a while since I've checked in - I've just been really busy with all the holiday shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, parties, etc...in addition to my ongoing piano lessons and volunteer commitments. Not to mention holding down a full-time job. No complaints, just not a lot of free time lately.

So what's been up? Several knitting projects completed, about 2 dozen cheesecakes baked, and the Steelers are circling the drain. I've also deployed my new snowblower with some success. Updates on everything that's been going on will be forthcoming now that I've got a bit of time to waste. Until then, Happy Holidays!

A Kitchen Innovation

Mom got me this cool new gadget the other day...it's called a BeaterBlade+. It's a replacement mixing blade for my KitchenAid stand mixer. What makes it special is the rubber wings on the blade that scrape the bowl as it's mixing, theoretically eliminating the need to stop the mixer and scrape. Supposedly it will reduce mixing time by up to 50%.

Naturally, I had to try it out immediately. So, I made...a cheesecake. Shocking, huh?

It worked beautifully - I am very impressed. I don't think that it cut my mixing time in half, but it definitely made things faster and easier. This will come in quite handy when December rolls around and I am cranking out several dozen cheesecakes for Christmas gifts.

So, I had a yummy Oreo cheesecake stashed in the fridge when my friend Trig called about an impromtu get-together with friends at his house Friday night. Not much in the way of leftovers!