Ode to a Faithful Blender

Alas, alack, I think my dear blender is dead. It perished whilst valiantly attempting to blend up a large quantity of leek and potato soup for the vegan dinner party. Farewell, good friend.

You have served me well, Philips blender

I don't actually remember when or how I got this blender, and I'm not sure how often I've used it. To be totally honest, I only remember making three or four milkshakes and three lots of soup with it. That isn't exactly heavy use, so I wasn't impressed at it dying on me. There's a chance it could be the fuse which has blown, but the strong smell of burning shortly before it stopped working suggests it was in fact the motor. Either way I don't have the least idea how to go about repairing it.

Like any true mourner, I will leave a respectful interval before replacing the sad broken appliance with a shiny new model - actually it's because I can't afford to buy one just yet, but let's pretend it's out of respect for the old blender's loyal service - but I have researched and chosen a suitable model. Introducing...

the Breville Hand Blender. (Sadly the picture I had shamelessly uploaded from the supplier's website has gone, probably due to the copyright pixies.) Despite its alarming name, this appliance is intended for food assembly use and not bodily mutilation. I like the fact that it comes with a dinky little cup and a food processor - the Philips blender only had a jug. I was dubious about the idea of using a blender that doesn't fully contain both itself and the food in a tidy lid, but the customer reviews were universally positive and I'm assuming that someone would have mentioned if blending a smoothie resulted in fruit-splattered walls.

Now all I have to decide is whether I actually need a blender at the moment, as my cooking will be limited until my exams finish on June 7th and then will be taking place on an entirely different continent while all my own equipment languishes in storage. Perhaps I will simply have to manage without any summer smoothies and buy my new blender in September.