I've got a smoothie machine...

… and I promise to keep its motor clean. Yes, I’m back and indeed I am let loose. This time with a smoothie making machine, or two. A recent visit to Jeremy’s house revealed the wisdom of owning a blender for hangover curing and delicious smoothies. The tale of the first machine is intermingled with that of a toothbrush, a local PepBoys and a master cylinder. The machine, a standard household device with ‘dual function food processor attachment, was purchased with 20% off from Bed Bath and Beyond whilst returning a faulty (electric) toothbrush on the way to the PepBoys to fix the master cylinder. Four hot days and one completely free master cylinder repair later the seemingly unloved blender was extracted from the car and it was not long before it was begrudgingly making smoothies. Less than two weeks later, its soul obviously not in it - it died a horrible death at the terrifying hands of a frozen strawberry. I hope it goes on to a better place.

Round two - ding, ding - time for a new machine. This time there was to be no ‘dual function’, no wussy commercial touch pads, just raw power and a good pedigree. Oh yes, bring on the Waring Blender. This may mean nothing to the average consumer, but to a biochemist they are like gods thanks to their use in 1952 by Hershey and Chase, who used one to identify DNA as the genetic material. They may not have the shear grunt (2 horsepower!) of a VitaMix, but they do have a trademark cloverleaf carafe designed to promote vortexing (so ner).

In case you can’t find any historic experiments to do - here is a recipe for a tasty smoothie:

• 500ml Orange Juice
• 1x Yogurt
• 2tbsp Whey / Soy Protein powder (too much sugar otherwise)
• Frozen Strawberries
• Frozen Raspberries
• (Frozen) Banana

For other recipe ideas, and huge money savings, why not make your own Jamba Juice creations or follow Justamin’s suggestion of adding Tofu instead of protein powder.