Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary to Us (and a Kitchen Aid Giveaway!)

Danny and I were married in an apple orchard in rural Quebec exactly ten years ago today. It was a late spring that year; the apple trees shimmered in green, but withheld their blossoms for warmer days.

Although the sun shone, it was a cool day, but we only felt the warmth of our young love and the thrill of the moment we had been anticipating for years.

My dad walked me down the freshly-mown aisle of thick spring grass, while my sister-in-law, Laura, played Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ in a violin solo. Before family and friends, in a simple ceremony, we were wed.

Today we will return to the very same orchard with our three little ones in tow, to picnic on the grass, play tag among the trees, and reminisce over our wedding day.

Later tonight, Danny and I will slip away for a dinner on the town where we will sip champagne, slurp oysters, and forget for a few hours that we are responsible adults with a family, car payments, mortgage and the like.

My Favorite Wedding Present

It was a long-time dream of mine to marry Danny in an orchard. On one glorious day, ten years ago, my dream came true.

On that day, four of my chef-girlfriends pooled their hard-earned money and gave me a 5-Qt tilt head KitchenAid stand mixer in a beautiful cherry red. It was my absolute favorite wedding gift – and my most prized possession in the kitchen for years.

Over the last ten years I have put that little mixer through the paces. It kneaded the bread I baked for my new husband, it mixed the peanut butter cookies for my pregnancy cravings, and it beat the batter for my children’s many birthday cakes. That KitchenAid mixer has been my rock.

Due to a growing family, a blogging business, and my love of batch cooking, I have recently found myself in need of something a little bigger and more powerful that that wedding present, but still that trusty mixer I love. Something like this…

That, my friends, is the KitchenAid 7 Qt Bowl Lift Commercial Stand Mixer. Isn’t she marvelous?

KitchenAid USA was awesome enough to send me this mixer to review (and giveaway!) and it has not disappointed. I get the impression that the 1.3HP motor I am now working with is easily going to last me another ten years of marriage – and ten more after that.

Strong and sturdy, this mixer has everything going for it. Not only is it the most powerful model to date, but it is also the most quiet – a feature I can appreciate when Clara is dozing in her swing in the kitchen while I am baking.

My favorite feature? That generous 7-quart bowl of polished stainless steel! It can take on a double batch of whole-wheat bread, rising included, as pictured below. It handles smaller jobs equally well.

Included with the KitchenAid 7 Qt Bowl Lift Stand Mixer are the 11-wire Elliptical Whip, coated metal Flat Beater, Power Knead Dough Hook, and a Pouring Shield. Guess what? All the accessories are dishwasher safe, ideal for me, as the baby is usually just waking when it comes time for kitchen clean-up.

Aside from those attachments, you can also accessorize your KitchenAid mixer with super fun – super practical – accessories such as the Ice Cream Maker or the Food Grinder. Think of the fun you could have with those!

7-Qt Stand Mixer Giveaway from KitchenAid!

** This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Julia Janzen!!!**

So, today we celebrate the occasion – with each other, with our children, and with you! In honor of our 10-year wedding anniversary, I’ve partnered with Kitchen Aid USA to bring you an amazing giveaway.

One Simple Bites reader will win a 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Residential Stand Mixer from KitchenAid with an estimated retail value of $899!

You can even pick your choice of colors—candy apple red, medallion silver, black storm, or white.

Everyone has three chances to win. Here’s how:  GIVEAWAY ENDED.

1. Comment on this post, answering this question: What’s your favorite thing to bake? (If you’re reading this via email, you must click over to the post to comment.)

2. For an extra entry, follow both Simple Bites and KitchenAid on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway. Make sure you include both our Twitter handles and this post’s URL. Your tweet can be something like this:

“Win a 7-quart stand mixer from @KitchenAidUSA on @simplebites! ERV $900: http://bit.ly/JVAjbc .”

3. For an additional extra entry, you may also ‘like’ KitchenAid and Simple Bites on Facebook—then come back and leave an additional comment to tell me you’ve done so. (You don’t need to leave an additional comment on Facebook.)

Fine Print: This giveaway is open to US residents only, provided for you by Kitchen Aid USA.

Disclaimer: Kitchen Aid provided me with a stand mixer to review. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions about Kitchen Aid are my own, formed in my experiences with their product.

This giveaway will end Tuesday, May 22, at 11:59 PM. Winner will be announced on this post on Wednesday, May 23. Good luck to all!

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2,315 Comments

  1. My favorite thing to bake is noisy chocolate cookies.! I love chocolate cookies and this mixer would be the perfect thing to help me bake…..

  2. I also love moist chocolate chip cookies : ). This mixer is a bakery’s dream.

  3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake chocolate chip cookies! I’ve got a secret family recipe that I don’t give out, but everyone absolutely loves them.

    Also, I liked you on Facebook as well!

    James

  4. My favorite thing to bake?! Cookies and cupcakes. There are just so many options! But then nothing smells better than freshly baked bread…this question is impossible!!

  5. My favorite thing to bake is cupcakes. My 11 year old and I always find a reason to make them. We love making all kinds from lemon to chocolate with sprinkles & icing. I have a basic walmart hand mixer It would be a dream to win thanks for the chance.

  6. My absolute favorite thing to bake is chocolate chip cookies! This mixer is gorgeous and will make a beautiful addition to a lucky winners’ kitchen. I’ve shared the giveaway info on Twitter.

    Good Luck to all who enter!

  7. ps Love your pages and THANKs for the Giveaway =)

    Veronica
    (aka: Wolvietat_VK)

  8. I love baking cupcakes and cakes. But its hard to make frosting with the hand mixer, I would love a kitchen aid mixer. They Red Candy Apple is pretty. I’d like to have my own cupcake shop one day.

  9. My favorite thing to bake is cupcakes, especially devil’s food and banana!

  10. I can’t narrow it down to one favorite thing to bake! Wheat bread, focaccia, oatmeal bread, apple cake, banana muffins…the list goes on and on! Like your first Kitchen Aid stand mixer, Aimee, mine has been a workhorse, and I can’t do without. The 7-quart would be a little more luxurious, that’s for sure!

  11. This is a totally fantastic prize. I would love to mix up a double recipe of my Grandma’s nut rolls. It needs a heavy-duty mixer and you can’t beat KitchenAid!

  12. I love to bake everyday cakes. My family and I eat the wedges for snacks and dessert.

    Thank you for the giveaway and congratulations on your anniversary, Aimee!

  13. Tweeted! @kimchiburgers is my handle. I’m on my phone so i cannot get the link to my tweet. Thank you and congrats!

  14. Snickerdoodles! I know cookies may sound boring, but I just can’t get enough of them 🙂

  15. My favoite thing is cake. Just made my first wedding cake & I know this is my passion. What I want to do as a career.

  16. You have no idea how much I need this giveaway!! I’m getting married in September, and my mom and I have to bake everything for the reception. This would help us so much!!! Thank you for this amazing opportunity, and I’ll be crossing my fingers!!

  17. I love to make bread but I have been without a kitchen for ages due to construction!

  18. I love your blog and easy to follow recipes. Thanks for sharing. Happy Anniversary!

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