chop chop chop it up.

so, i imagine that everyone has a few things in his or her kitchen that ALWAYS get used: a particular spatula or pan, that fork you just love, a kitchen aid stand mixer that everyone always told you couldn't live without and you were living without it and then you got one and you don't know how you lived without it, particular bowls just because they are pretty but not really the right size. you get the idea.

my best appliance (besides the mixer) probably cost $15 when it was purchased. and that was probably 10 years ago. maybe more. maybe i had it in college. (i am getting old, kids.) it's a black and decker mini-chopper.

i use it because i don't want to use the food processor. mine is not the best, but more importantly, it has a million pieces that require cleaning. i am sure the food processor can handle bigger, tougher jobs better than this, but it's perfect for small batches. i used it to make hummus (a la smitten) this week. maybe it was not ethereally smooth, but it got close.

it's not important to have this exact one. lots of brands make similar products, and i happen to have this one. and i like it.

**the photo above is not mine. i was searching for a good image of it and apparently the newer ones look a bit different. it came from here.