Want to play passive-aggressive and keep your hallmates up at night? Crave luscious drinks, savory soups and decadent pâtés? One appliance can deliver them all — your blender.

Whether you are still stuck in a dorm room or have your own kitchen, a blender is an incredibly easy appliance to use and store. For many, a blender is synonymous with smoothies and margaritas. But while the humble blender can certainly create both, if you’re ever ready to totally surrender to the blender, you can create anything from milkshakes to hummus.

The two best blenders on the market are the Vita-Mix and Blendtec, both of which are strong enough to make a smoothie out of a suit of armor. But for making the garden variety zucchini soup, any standard blender will do.

The main difference is the length of time needed to blend, as well as how much can be blended at once. Cheaper blenders sometimes cannot liquefy every little scrap of fiber, but they still come close.

Once you have a blender, the first, obvious use is to create a smoothie. With summer coming, smoothies are starting to look much more appealing. But you needn’t spend your paycheck on Robeks — just whip up a tastier, cheaper smoothie in your room.

Go wild with flavor combinations. Grape, apple and peanut butter are excellent, as are ginger and pear. Use pineapple and coconut oil, and you’ve got a morning friendly piña colada.

Here are a few tips to help you out-juice the Jamba. Frozen fruit, which is cheaper and longer-lasting, makes for a thicker smoothie. For a creamier consistency, add a pinch of xantham gum or guar gum, two natural thickeners found in certain grocery stores. If you do not have the gums, use a banana.

Texture adds dimension and satisfaction to any food, so don’t forget your mix-ins. Adding a few toppings like granola, nuts or cacao nibs enhances the whole smoothie experience. Also, if you know you need to eat more veggies but cringe at the sight of kale, a fruit smoothie is a great way to ninja in some vitamins. Toss in a handful of spinach and you won’t taste it at all.

Finally, if replacing a meal with a smoothie, make sure to add some protein and healthy fats to help you stay full and avoid a sugar crash. A little protein powder, nuts, nut butter or healthy oils — like coconut and flax — all make yummy additions.

The smoothie’s more decadent cousin is the milkshake, which is essentially just ice cream and milk. However, if you’re working on a six-pack for summer, you might not want to be slurping down a pint of Chunky Monkey every night. Luckily, there’s a way to fake it.

If you have protein powder, blend it with milk, ice, fruit, nuts, xantham or guar gum or a banana and spices to get a very respectable mock-up. For recipe ideas, take advantage of the free samples at 21 Choices. Using just vanilla protein powder, a thickener, cinnamon and a handful of dry oatmeal, you can replicate the Oatmeal Cookie. Topping it with sprinkles won’t even cost 95 cents.

But drinkables are only the start of your blending adventures. If you want fresh soup but don’t like slaving over a pot, there are many easy, delicious soups you can make right in your blender. There are slews of recipes across the Internet, but the limit is just what produce you can find at Superior Grocers.

Adding an avocado gives any soup a creamy, bisque-like consistency. Oils and nuts do the same thing. One soup I am particularly fond of is carrot-ginger, which blends with cumin, tahini, lemon juice and cinnamon to make a spicy-sweet side. Just be sure to add in oils at the very end — they work better when drizzled in and act as emulsifiers.

You can warm any soup you make in the microwave, but blenders are especially good for cold soups. When it’s hot out, a chilled cucumber soup is delicious, as is watermelon. You can try your hand at borscht, but don’t be surprised if the Department of Public Safety thinks you’ve murdered someone.

A soup and salad make a great light lunch, and your blender can help with the salad half too. If there’s any Panera dressing you fancy, you can easily mimic it at home. Add your veggies, spices and oils, get things grinding, and add enough water to reach your desired consistency.

Blenders can also churn out awesome spreads, dips, sauces and pâtés. The same guidelines as dressings apply — just use less water. If you’re craving hummus, skip a hike to Ralphs, and grab your blender. The same goes for pesto and baba ganoush. Blending also allows you to get creative: Substitute in some black beans and cumin for a Mexican-inspired hummus, or use pistachios instead of pine nuts for a wonderfully nutty pesto.

If you have some dull leftovers — like a cold, half-eaten sandwich from Submarina California Subs — slapping on a homemade marinara sauce gives you an excellent meal. If a sports game or movie is coming on and friends have decided to crash, it takes no time at all to blend up a tasty dip for your chips. Red peppers, cream cheese and sundried tomatoes work exceptionally well.

For those wanting something a little more gourmet, nut pâtés are great for stuffing into tortillas or topping salads. Blend a cup of nuts with anything from juice to veggies to spices, add just enough water to get it thick and creamy, and you’re instantly a five-star foodie. Nuts can be gross on your wallet, so opt for sunflower seeds to save money. Almonds blended with garlic, curry powder, lemon juice, salt and garam masala makes a very tasty Indian-inspired pâté.

If you’d like a roadmap for some blender action, check out the recipes from websites Epicurious.com or Allrecipes.com, and look for key words such as “blender” and “no cook.” Some people complain they have no time to cook. But preparing awesome food doesn’t mean standing over pots and waiting for oven timers. Just press a few buttons, be sure to close the lid and hope your roommate doesn’t have a headache.

Mimi Honeycutt is a sophomore majoring in print journalism. Her column “Gingersnaps” runs Wednesdays.