Saturday, July 24, 2010

All Mixed Up and Going Bananas

It's Lumberjack Days in Stillwater, Minnesota, the birthplace of Minnesota. My husband, youngest daughter and I went yesterday afternoon. We watched the K9 show and wandered through the vendors and then went to Mill Antiques in the old saw mill.. where I found a 1936 Hamilton Beach mixer for $35. Whomever owned this beauty did not like to cook because it looks brand new. It's identical to the KitchenAid on sale at Amazon.. well, give or take a pair of glasses.

I like knowing that women in Minnesota and Wisconsin owned mixers during The Great Depression. They probably got a big discount since they had to build them. I also like that this mixer is not worth much because it LASTS FOREVER, probably because it was built by women.


Then, I bought the instruction manual on eBay last night..


I am really excited to see all the attachments that I cannot get for it. It came with the small bowl with the pouring lip, but the juicer was missing. That's okay, it's pretty weird looking anyway (found this picture online)..


So, onto using a mixer for something totally cool that involves egg whites. If you don't have an awesome mixer like mine, you'll just have to come over and eat this at my house. There's no food depression happening here. That's because I shop at Aldi.

 

All Mixed Up and Going Bananas
  • 1 tbsp. melted butter
  • 2 ripe bananas (as ripe as possible without being rotten)
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
  • 4 tbsp. sugar (just get the sugar out, you need 2, then 1, then 1)
  • 2 tsp. vanilla 
  • 3 large egg whites
  • tiny bit of salt
  • powdered sugar (to sprinkle on top)
In a small mixer bowl, blend the bananas, egg yolk, 2 tbsp. sugar, lemon or lime juice, and vanilla on a slow speed until smooth. Pour into a big bowl and set aside.

Butter 4 soufflé cups and coat with 1 tbsp. sugar (pour loose sugar from one to the next to the next).

In the large mixer bowl, beat the egg whites and the salt until it kinda peaks. Then add the 1 tbsp. of sugar left and beat until it peaks and is glossy.

Use a spatula to fold the egg whites into the banana batter - just do about 1/4th at a time. 

Fill soufflé cups to the very top, you can jiggle or tap them to make sure they're full.

Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 400° for 15 minutes, but watch them the last 3-5 minutes as they grow way above the top and you want the tops to look brown.

Sprinkle with powered sugar and serve immediately.

Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

4 comments:

  1. Just curious how you know the year of manufacture? I can't find it online. I have the same mixer. It was my paternal grandmother's & still works great!

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    1. Hi Megan, I had a book from the library, but I can't remember exactly how I figured it out - it was probably small changes year-to-year and something in the serial number plate.

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    2. 3 November 2013 I turned 65. After taking hiatus of several decades I have started baking and the like. I pulled out my Hamilton Beach Model E and got to work. My Mom gave me the mixer at least 35 years ago and I think it probably belonged to her Mom. Tonight I thought I might do a little Internet search and came across your interesting and informative page. I never realized that this mixer had so many attachments. I only have the two bowls, mixing blades, and juicer attachment. Anyway it is still going strong and it is hard to believe it is a lot older than me. Thank you, Donald Hill, Las Vegas, NV

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    3. Hi Donald - Happy Belated Birthday! I'm glad you enjoyed the manual, my mixer has been collecting dust for a few months, but I'm getting geared up to use it now that it's cold here.

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