Thursday, September 05, 2013

My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets


I love gadgets.  I can spend hours looking at them in a kitchen shop. I don’t own a lot of them anymore though… since downsizing our inventory of ‘possessions’ when we moved onto the sailboat a few years ago.   Even though we are now land-based again, I have only been buying things as I find a need for them.

But there are a few tools in my kitchen that I find myself reaching to use over and over again… and I thought I would share them with you today.  These are all non-motorized gadgets and tools... not appliances.

The first is my new Oil Sprayer.

Aug 30 Oil Sprayer 001

It is distributed by Weight Watchers... see that little swoosh logo?  And yes, I am a meeting receptionist/employee of Weight Watchers Canada, and no, they didn’t pay me to talk about this on my blog!

What I love about this particular sprayer is that you can pump it 10 times, and then the oil actually comes out of it in a nice light spray.  I also have a much more expensive one made by Paderno, without the pump, and the oil comes out of it in blobs.

And another bonus with this new sprayer, which only Weight Watchers members will appreciate, is that one full spray amounts to 1 tsp of oil, which counts as 1 P+ on the Weight Watchers program. No guessing how much oil you have used.

I spray my veggies before making chips and you can also spray your popcorn…. easy and no mess!  It comes apart very easily for cleaning too.


The second gadget I want to share is my Lemon Juicer/Reamer.

2013-01-28 001 007

I picked this up in Calgary last year when my older sister pointed it out to me in a shop we were visiting.  She had just purchased one for herself and raved about it, so I had to have one, too.

It is a handy little tool and I love it…. every morning I squeeze the juice from half a lime into a glass, then toss in the lime, and fill the glass with cold water.  It is my morning cocktail, and this little gadget helps prevents a big mess on the counter, believe me. 

The juice falls through some holes in the cup but the seeds stay behind.  Very clever.  I used it whenever I need to have fresh lemon or lime or orange juice in a recipe.  This picture was taken a while back when I was making Babaganoush.

The third is an Egg Ring… actually I have a pair of them.

Aug 31 egg circles 001

Aug 31 egg circles 002

I was kinda skeptical when The Captain brought them home.  And it did take some experimenting before I finally realized I need to coat the insides with a non-stick spray to prevent the eggs from sticking to them.  (Hey I should be using my new oil sprayer now for this.) 

But I do like to use them for making breakfast sandwiches for The Captain.  He likes his on waffles or pancakes and these little rings keep the eggs compact and neat.

Aug 31 egg circles 003

Aug 31 egg circles 004

I just coat the insides and set them in the skillet, and then break the eggs into them.  I normally put a cover over it so the eggs cook quicker.  And sometimes, I pierce the yolks and spread them throughout the white too.

The fourth gadget I want to share today is my Grapefruit Knife.

Sept 1 grapefruit tool 001

That’s The Captain, using the serated edges of this little tool to slice around the inside of the grapefruit, to separate the flesh from the rind.  You can certainly use a sharp knife for this, I know, but this little tool is curved just right for the job at hand.  Love it.

Tupperware, hmmmm…. Can you even buy that anymore?

I think I have a few more… but will save them for another time.

Do you have any favorite gadgets I should know about?

16 comments:

  1. I used to love egg sandwiches!

    My favorite, can't do without gadget is my wine opener. :-)

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    1. Ah yes, that would be The Captain's fave too! :)

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  2. I try to avoid buying gadgets because I already have an obscene amount of kitchen and dishware items and being that we are a military family we move a lot, however I think I need those egg rings! I just sit with my spatula trying to keep the eggs in one contained area. I do have a spray bottle for the oil but haven't tried it yet! I need to!

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    1. I have a friend who uses mason jar lids for her eggs... it works!

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  3. I just got an oil sprayer - love it! And I'd love to get the egg ring for perfectly shaped eggs to fit on English muffins. BTW - Tupperware is alive and kicking with parties and everything!

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    1. Good to know Tupperware is still there! Eggs can also be done in mason jar rings. I haven't tried it myself but have heard about it from a friend.

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  4. I try to be selective about my kitchen gadgets but they are hard to resist! I have a big plastic measuring cup that also is a digital scale that I love.

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    1. I think I have seen that one online. Very cool.

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  5. i have an olive oil mister also! i really love my ceramic knife - it cuts through EVERYTHING!

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  6. Those are really fun gadgets! I loved our oil spray too and then it stopped working... I should replace it, it was so convenient! I'm a big fan of our immersion blender. It came with a smoothie cup so that's how I make all my smoothies now and it's so much easier to clean than a blender!

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    1. I think you could walk into a WW meeting room and buy the oil sprayer if you wanted one. I love my immersion blender too.

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    1. I don't know what that is... will have to check it out. Thanks.

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  8. I try not to get too many gadgets since I really have no storage space in my kitchen. However, I really feel that oil sprayer is a need! Now where to find it on Maui.....

    Thanks Elle!

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  9. Oh I NEED an egg ring! Lately I've been just frying a lot more often than my old omelets and scrambles, and I'm loving it . An egg ring would just make it so much prettier!

    And a lemon juicer. So necessary.

    My latest favorite kitchen gadget is my Spiral Vegetable Slicer. (See it here - www.dareyoutoblog.com/2013/08/spiral-slicer-grain-free-noodles.html ) It turns squash or other veggies into grain-free spaghetti. LOVE!

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