blending debacle

Yesterday, I learned - the hard way - that not all Vita Mix's are created equal. Just because they look similar and have the same buttons does not mean they blend the same...

My Vita Mix works like this:

• Switch on right turns the power on, but does not spin blades.
• Switch on left starts blending action, slow at first, then kicking in to high after 30 seconds. (It's good to note here that slow initial blending keeps liquid and ice from exploding out the top of blender.
• Lid doesn't have to be on tight because aqueous material is mixing at a steady and controlled pace.

Jeanne's Vita Mix works like this:

• Switch on right turns power on and spins the blades at a highly explosive, alarmingly fast pace...

...really, that difference alone is all you need to know to get the picture that these two machines, with the same name, did not work the same. With blender fully loaded, lid not fully engaged, and expecting to be merely turning on the power (this would be equivalent to simply plugging the machine in), I flipped the right switch and rrrwwaaaaarrrrrr! Milk, coffee, chocolate, and ice exploded out of the blender - all over me, the counter, the floor, the cupboards, the dog...just kidding about the dog - but it would have been true if he were standing in the kitchen.

Embarrassing really - since I claim to be a blender snob and coffee aficionado. In my defense, I only ever said I owned a coffee shop with a commercial blender, not that I worked there much. In fact, when I would work, I could tell from the way Chelsey and Carey hovered around me, that I was not as skilled or proficient in the actual act of barista work as I trained them to be.

In addition to the major equipment malfunction debacle, I made sub-par granitas. The mix I have been using at home was not the same mix I had instructed Jeanne to get...I used the ratios from my at-home blending recipe...needless to say, the blended coffee drinks were a little weak in taste...another amateur mistake.

So, that's how I learned that all Vita Mix's are not created equal. I'm guessing there are many practical life lessons that this little episode can teach me...things don't always work the way you think they should; instruction manuals aren't just good for fire kindling; just because you know how to do something well, doesn't make you an expert...but, the biggest lesson I have learned - the one that will stay with me forever - is don't judge a blender by it's buttons.

Blend well. Have fun. Honor God.