When you speak to Jodi Berg, you find yourself hoping she’ll channel a little bit of Dan Aykroyd.
After all, she’s the fourth generation to head her family’s Vitamix company, maker of those super powered blenders prized by home cooks and professional chefs alike for their ability to grind and puree nearly anything into smoothie goodness. Because that’s the same blender that inspired the iconic 1976 “Saturday Night Live” skit in which Aykroyd proselytized infomercial-style about the wonders of something called a Bass-O-Matic.
Aykroyd made comic history when he dropped a whole raw fish into a blender, then slurped up the resulting seafood smoothie. And you want just a little of that to come through in Berg.
But here’s the punchline. In an almost tragic case of pop culture absenteeism, Berg had never even heard of the skit. So we needed to halt the interview and get her to a Web browser.
“I have never seen that,” she shouted, laughing loudly.
This is a period of firsts for Berg, who has just written “The Vitamix Cookbook,” the company’s first retail cookbook tied to its product (previous recipe collections have been booklets included with the blender), which was launched in 1921. Sure, the book isn’t much use unless you’ve already paid the (hefty) price of admission by purchasing a Vitamix. But people who do tend to love them.
So how powerful is a Vitamix? You can fill the blender carafe with frozen vegetables and cold broth, turn it on high and walk away for 5 or so minutes. When you come back, it will not only have pureed the soup, it will have — thanks to the power of those blades whipping around — rendered it piping hot. And the cookbook has plenty of recipes that harness that cool feature.
Broccoli Cheese Soup
No Vitamix? No worries. Simmer all of the ingredients except the cheese, then carefully transfer to a blender or food processor, add the cheese and puree until smooth.
Start to finish, 10 minutes. Two servings.
Ingredients
1 cup skim milk
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
½ small yellow onion
½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Combine all ingredients in the Vitamix, then fit the lid on securely. Turn the blender on low, then slowly increase the speed to high. Blend for 5 to 6 minutes, or until completely smooth and very hot.
Nutrition information per serving: 190 calories; 90 calories from fat (47 percent of total calories); 10 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 780 mg sodium; 14 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 13 g protein.
