I have the same experience as Olychick regarding Cusinart made after 2005. Bought a Cusinart food processor after 2005 and it broke within 3 months while making pesto. Agree with what Olychick wrote: "I don't remember the Model #. It lasted until about 2007 or so. The shaft finally gave way or something...I can't really remember but it wasn't repairable. I bought a new one, also the largest available...it lasted a couple of years of very light use....I never make bread anymore, but still chop/slice/grate everything in it or in my mini. It quit working and I sent it in for warranty repairs which took 3 months or some gawd-awful length of time. Got it back, it lasted less than a year. From Straw: I still have my KitchenAid heavy-duty food processor for 15 years, works great in grinding meat. Kneading bread didn't work though. I need to shop for a smaller one to grind a smaller amount of meat or pesto, with less cleaning.

To dehydrate kale: Wash thoroughly. Remove stems (save to use in another dish, stir-fry, or soup). Cut the kale leaves (kitchen scissors work well for removing the stem and cutting the large leaves into smaller portions) or tear the kale into manageable-sized pieces. (After you've made dried kale once, you will decide what size/s of pieces work best for you and fit in your dehydrator.) Dip the cut pieces in an acidic water bath (1 t. citric acid powder, OR vitamin C powder,OR Fruit Fresh per quart of water). This aids in preventing bacteria growth, helps maintain color, and adds a little vitamin C. Drain (I give the cut pieces a gentle spin in my salad spinner). Place same-sized pieces together in a single layer on a dehydrator tray - or on one side of a tray if you mix sizes on a single tray. Equal-sized pieces will dry in approximately the same amount of time. If you put a combination of large, medium, and small pieces together on the same tray, the small pieces will finish drying first, and you will need to remove them so they don't over-dry - so keep the same sizes together as much as possible. Dry between 105-120-degrees F. until crispy dry (or about 4-6 hours). When crispy, allow the kale to cool to room temperature while on the trays (20-30 minutes). Don't let the dried kale sit in high humidity or it can rehydrate, and if enough moisture is absorbed, it can mold in storage. As soon as it is cool, store in an air-tight container and keep in a dark, cool place. This is a great way to "save" some less-than-perfect kale you forgot in the crisper drawer. -Grainlady

I have an old VitaMix w/ reversible motor. I use the reverse function when I grind egg shells into powder. DSII bought a Ninja that he uses for making smoothies. I've only used it a couple of times. It's a Rube Goldberg contraption and is somewhat confusing to assemble the different blades, bowls/ containers. I default to using my old Cuisinart food processor, the Vita Mix or a stick blender. Also have a regular Oster blender--seldom used. Mostly, I use a stick blender or the food processor. I use the bread maker to make yeast & pasta dough. (Super easy clean--just let the leftover dough bits dry & they flake off.) Kitchen Aid mixer is used for making cookies & cakes that need long mix times for creaming butter & sugar. Use a hand mixer for making mashed potatoes.

I forgot about Thermomix. :) It's barely available in the U.S. I think the Magimix at Williams Sonoma is the 5200XL but I can't find a good description of the Magimix models. I like the concept of the multiple bowl sizes. I have an 11-cup which is often not quite big enough but other times just right. My main reason for liking the Magimix, given that there are positives for both it and the Cuisinart, is aesthetic. :) I was looking awhile back, before I was able to fix my Cuisinart (I think percussive maintenance did the trick), and was tempted by the Robot Coupe, but it's so un-pretty! And I don't really need a commercial machine. OTOH, my mother's old disks might fit the 14 cup Cuisinart. I'll have to look into it. And them. To see if I really want them. I use the grater and the rasp on my current one, but not the slicer. And I have a KA mixer and a Vita-mix, so I don't need it to try to do what they do. :) I definitely don't need the Pastisier, and I'm not Euro enough to want the one that cooks. :) I have lots of pots.