Well, I say the show must go on! Get out the confetti and fireworks because this blog will not end with my exchange. When I get home (in 10 short days), my blog can be one of the many things I take from this experience. I'm sure I'll find plenty of inspiration in the world of real life even if there are fewer pizzas and more college applications. Let's get this show on the road then.
The upper-middle class Italian kitchen would not be the same without the addition of a little friend, named "The Bimby." I haven't really seen anything like it before. It's most comparable to the Kitchen Aid Mixer in the States. However, I doubt the market for it would exist in the US because the D.I.Y. American mentality would get in the way of how this contraption makes everything so ridiculously easy. It chops, stirs, weighs, cooks, steams, kneads, swirls, freezes, times, and does about anything else you can think of. It might be easier if I made a list of things it doesn't do.... Here's one, it doesn't magically make my exchange time longer even if it is called "il robot della cucina."
According to the Bimby's website, the Bimby is a German product, invented in the 70s by two fellows who previously spent their time making carpets and vacuum cleaners. Even though I have never seen them anywhere else in the world, they are claimed to be distributed throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, and China, where the Bimby is more commonly known as the "Thermomix." (Leave it to the English speakers to give the Bimby a robo-name when the word "bimby" most closely resembles the Italian word "bimbo," meaning baby.)
Despite the number of distribution locations, the Bimby is not an easy thing to get your hands on. Basically, you have to know someone who knows someone who is hosting a Bimby party or who will help you host one. Then, you can finally buy it, but the price still remains a bit of a mystery. All the websites I've checked have kept it a secret, but my host mom did let it slip, that our family paid around a thousand euros for it. Unfortunately, you really do pay for all that amazingness.
When I leave my host family, I will also have to leave behind my little Bimby. As much as I will miss the mindless manner of cooking, my arms have started getting a little flabby from the lack of mixing and measuring. I will just have to frame the picture I have of my bimbo buddy and await the return of my biceps.
Brittney: So convenient you wrote this! Francesca told us about your Bimby, and I vaguely remembered reading about it a while back in the NY Times--and, we were just telling the neighbors about it. Here's the link to the NY Times story (it's from nearly 4 years ago!).
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