Today we’re looking at a unique recipe because it’s also a gadget - a review of the Cuisinart Evolution X cordless blender and my favorite recipe for Shamrock Shake smoothies. More and more things are battery powered nowadays with the motors and the batteries working together to be a significant improvement over what was available just a few years ago. 

What I bought was a Cuisinart Evolution X cordless blender and I was a wee bit apprehensive. There are a few reviews on Amazon where folks just didn’t like the thing at all. But I also have friends who think my battery-powered chain saw is stupid. Until they actually try it. 

I have been on a kick of eating better (despite the impending margaritas) and a big part of that is making smoothies for lunch. Said smoothies are usually made with coconut milk, plain yogurt, whole almonds, spinach leaves and some sort of protein powder. Then I bought several extracts to add some more flavor to the thing. 

In fact, I bought peppermint extract and the green in the spinach always turns the smoothie that color so the peppermint makes me think I’m getting a Mc Donald’s Shamrock Shake. It’s not bad. 

The requirements of the blender are to pulverize the spinach and almonds to the point that I have a mostly creamy mixture. 

Further, when it is time to make margaritas I want the blender to be able to evenly chop up the ice in a fashion that would be approved by Jimmy Buffett. None of this silly big chunks and little chunks nonsense. 

That’s as annoying as those coffee places where you get the big chunk of ice that plug the straw on those fancy coffee drinks. 

And that’s another area where my canning jar and electric drill fail pretty miserably. While the drill has the torque it absolutely doesn’t have the speed to accomplish the task with any level of success. It’s almost more of a party trick than an actual, useful kitchen gadget. 

Taking charge

Charging up the Cuisinart blender couldn’t be more convenient as it charges using a USB cable. There is an included wall wart charging brick but I just plugged the thing into an existing high-performance USB charging station that I have. This could also be plugged into the Jackery or your tow vehicle or any number of places since USB charging is such a standard. 

In short order all three blue lights on the base of the Cuisinart blender were illuminated meaning smoothies were coming right up. 

The blender consists of a base with the motor and then a plastic cup with a threaded top, and a blender base that looks a lot like the one I bought that was the Oster blender base. Lastly, there’s a lid for the cup with a top that flips open. 

For those who care, the cup is reportedly free of BPA. It’s not going to remain alcohol-free for long, though. 

You fill the cup and then screw the base to the cup. This is really well done in that some of these screws, including the Oster blender base and canning jars, are really fiddly. The base of the Cuisinart blender and the cup go together like peanut butter and jelly and there’s a seal in them so I have had zero issues with leaking or otherwise and I’ve already used it quite a bit. 

Once the cup and base are twisted into the base there is one button and one speed and that’s it. Push the button and the thing goes into action. 

I was pleased with the result of everything I ran through this blender. The smoothie was smooth and I seem pretty good at timing this process such that the ice for the margarita is reasonably evenly pulverized. 

As I write this I’ve had the blender for five days now and have yet to have to recharge it. In that time I’ve made a number of test margaritas (you don’t want to look like an amateur, after all) and two smoothies a day. 

I would say the performance is as good or better than I hoped and I’m really surprised by the battery life. 

The only thing I really don’t like about this set-up is that it sounds cheap. I don’t know if it’s just my ear being used to vintage stuff or that it’s cheap, but the sound the device makes just is not confidence inspiring. 

But the performance sure is. 

One of the biggest bummers about this blender is that it doesn’t have measurements on the side of the cup. I’d love to be able to add the liquids or ice or mix or shots to the cup and have a measurement on the cup itself much as I have on my big Vitamix blender. Nope. 

Overall I really like this thing and it’s going to allow me to make a bunch of margaritas, er, smoothies next week at the vintage trailer rally. Of course I’ll easily be outdone by my friend, Dave, who’s going to bring a blender powered by a lawnmower engine but that’s just the way it goes. 

As long as I don’t step on a pop top.