What kitchen appliances do you love best?

Me, I love my Kitchenaid mixer. It kneads, it mixes, it grinds meat and stuffs sausages, and it makes ice cream. Among other things.

On the other hand, I've gone about 3 weeks now without a stove. The old one attempted to burn the house down (oven wouldn't shut off) so its been banished to the scrap heap. And so I went shopping. Decided that if I was going to get a new stove, I might as well replace the old vent hood with a microwave/convection oven/vent hood.

Considering that I usually bake bread a couple times a week, living without an oven has been difficult. And I'm getting a little tired of crockpots and other electrical devices for cooking. But the end is near.

After much electrical work, the microwave/convection oven/vent hood is now in place, and I just pulled a batch of cinnamon buns out. Mmmmmmm.... finally....home-baked goodies.

In a few days, the plumber will be along to run a gas pipe for the gas cooktop, and I may be back in full operation by the end of the week. The new stove may replace the Kitchenaid as a favorite, for a while. I look forward to being able to boil water for pasta, and to sear meat on a cast iron pan.

But then the Kitchenaid will probably win back my little electrical heart. Because once the weather heats up, most of the actual cooking moves to the outdoor grill.

So what appliances to you love? Which ones couldn't you live without?