The only thing that has survived my "getting healthier" binge has been green tea. So no more milk, no more sugar, just straight green tea.
My friend Flo, a total tea affectionada, recommended jasmine green tea to me. Being easily susceptible to other people's recommendations, I went out and bought some.
Opinion? Yuck! It's really dry and reminds me of the tea you get at Chinese restaurants. I had one bag and I'm hoping I can find someone (maybe Flo or my sister) who will take the rest off me.
Just goes to show that not everyone has the same tea taste buds.
Rating: 1 out of 10
Things to do different next time: Don't buy it.
Showing posts with label Don't buy again. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Don't buy again. Show all posts
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Magic Bullet Party Mixer review
Last year, I succumbed to the commercials and bought myself a $40 Magic Bullet Party Mixer from Canadian Tire during a sale. It came with four party mugs, one large cup, one small cup, extra o-rings, two types of blades and the base unit.
I was excited to use it for all the things they mentioned in their commercial: salsas, dressings, cheese, alfredo sauce.
The first few times I used it, it wasn't so bad. But now less than a year later, it's hitting it's last legs.
Things I don't like:
1. The party mugs are a joke. They take up a lot of storage space and they don't stack nicely. The coloured rings they give you to put on the rim that has the threads to screw on the mixing blade, are fugly and cheap-looking. I have NEVER had a party and used these mugs. But maybe that's personal choice because I don't like drinking out of plastic.
2. Bad blades. I've used the mixer no more than 40 times ever. I normally only use one of the blades (one's flat and the other has raised blades I believe it's for chopping) and they're both dull. As in, I put the food in the cup and it takes forever to process. And even then, there's still solid chunks.
3. Bad chopping. They teach you to do this "tap" method when mixing food. You have to tap the cup to move stuff down, then you mix, then tap, then mix. It's annoying. Especially if you have a heavy liquid in the cup like mayonnaise. Even if you don't and you're trying to mix salsa, some of the stuff is chopped, while the other stuff isn't. So if you keep going, some gets liquidized and the other stuff is chopped to the size you want it. There's just no consistency.
4. Bad mixing. If you don't fill a cup all the way with food or liquid, then some of the contents will throw up to the top of the cup (when it's on the mixer) and won't get mixed in. You have to unscrew the mixing blade, scrape it down and try again.
5. Poor materials. Mine hasn't broken yet, but it did leak the other day. Granted, I just needed to push the o-ring down further. I've read that other people have had the part that spins the blade break on them fairly early because it's only made with plastic parts. Plus it emits a smell if I put it to mix for more than a few seconds.
Things I like:
not much. It's handy to put in the dishwasher. It's lighter and easier to handle than my full sized blender.
Rating: 2 out of 10
Recommend to a friend? NO!
I was excited to use it for all the things they mentioned in their commercial: salsas, dressings, cheese, alfredo sauce.
The first few times I used it, it wasn't so bad. But now less than a year later, it's hitting it's last legs.
Things I don't like:
1. The party mugs are a joke. They take up a lot of storage space and they don't stack nicely. The coloured rings they give you to put on the rim that has the threads to screw on the mixing blade, are fugly and cheap-looking. I have NEVER had a party and used these mugs. But maybe that's personal choice because I don't like drinking out of plastic.
2. Bad blades. I've used the mixer no more than 40 times ever. I normally only use one of the blades (one's flat and the other has raised blades I believe it's for chopping) and they're both dull. As in, I put the food in the cup and it takes forever to process. And even then, there's still solid chunks.
3. Bad chopping. They teach you to do this "tap" method when mixing food. You have to tap the cup to move stuff down, then you mix, then tap, then mix. It's annoying. Especially if you have a heavy liquid in the cup like mayonnaise. Even if you don't and you're trying to mix salsa, some of the stuff is chopped, while the other stuff isn't. So if you keep going, some gets liquidized and the other stuff is chopped to the size you want it. There's just no consistency.
4. Bad mixing. If you don't fill a cup all the way with food or liquid, then some of the contents will throw up to the top of the cup (when it's on the mixer) and won't get mixed in. You have to unscrew the mixing blade, scrape it down and try again.
5. Poor materials. Mine hasn't broken yet, but it did leak the other day. Granted, I just needed to push the o-ring down further. I've read that other people have had the part that spins the blade break on them fairly early because it's only made with plastic parts. Plus it emits a smell if I put it to mix for more than a few seconds.
Things I like:
not much. It's handy to put in the dishwasher. It's lighter and easier to handle than my full sized blender.
Rating: 2 out of 10
Recommend to a friend? NO!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing
Colleague at work had this dressing on her "Fresh Express" spinach salad the other day. I stole a leaf and it tasted good. I got the recipe below from www.cooks.com.
Will try it out to see how it tastes!
DIJON VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
1 clove garlic, minced (I use 2)
1 to 2 tsp. Dijon style mustard
Pinch of basil and/or oregano
Dash of white pepper
Dash of cayenne
A squeeze of lemon - no seeds please
1 to 2 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. good olive oil
Put all ingredients in a small bowl except olive oil.
Prepare greens and vegetables.
When ready to dress salad, slowly add olive oil to other ingredients while whisking to incorporate oil in a suspension. Immediately pour over salad and toss. Sometimes I use a culinary herb blend instead of just basil.
January 31 update:
Made this to go with a spinach salad I had with my almond crusted fish. Eyeballed most of the measurements. The dijon mustard was disgusting. I bought a huge jar of it from Costco and maybe it's because it was a little old (ok a lot old) but I detested the taste. It would have been better with regular mustard. I recall not liking the dijon mustand even when it was new. It just has this... tang to it that's not pleasurable.
The ingredients were extremely similar to the dressing that Mela taught me to make, other than the change in type of mustard.
Future reminder: DO NOT BUY DIJON AGAIN!
Will try it out to see how it tastes!
DIJON VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
1 clove garlic, minced (I use 2)
1 to 2 tsp. Dijon style mustard
Pinch of basil and/or oregano
Dash of white pepper
Dash of cayenne
A squeeze of lemon - no seeds please
1 to 2 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. good olive oil
Put all ingredients in a small bowl except olive oil.
Prepare greens and vegetables.
When ready to dress salad, slowly add olive oil to other ingredients while whisking to incorporate oil in a suspension. Immediately pour over salad and toss. Sometimes I use a culinary herb blend instead of just basil.
January 31 update:
Made this to go with a spinach salad I had with my almond crusted fish. Eyeballed most of the measurements. The dijon mustard was disgusting. I bought a huge jar of it from Costco and maybe it's because it was a little old (ok a lot old) but I detested the taste. It would have been better with regular mustard. I recall not liking the dijon mustand even when it was new. It just has this... tang to it that's not pleasurable.
The ingredients were extremely similar to the dressing that Mela taught me to make, other than the change in type of mustard.
Future reminder: DO NOT BUY DIJON AGAIN!
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