Month: October 2017

It’s no secret that I’m a gadget girl.   Between Air Frying, Soup Making and Pressure Cooking, I tend to fall for lots of ideas and then not always follow through.

Some gadgets have been absolutely disastrous for me.  I bought an egg cooker that I thought was a saving grace, but within a month, I hated the blasted thing.  It kept cutting out, never cooked how I’d like it to, and the eggs just didn’t taste right.  A rice cooker that I was loving, packed up after a few uses and I couldn’t find the receipt to take it back.  On principle, I wouldn’t replace it.  I see rice cookers and I eye them suspiciously from shop aisles.  I was even suckered into an Air Fryer as my one had packed in.  I have regretted that choice for the last 2 months that I’ve owned it, but it does get lots of use.  I should have stuck to what I know, but it’s done now.

I have a yoghurt maker that I love, and works a treat.  My breadmaker, however will soon need replaced.  Mine is years old and I think is beginning to wilt.  For years, every loaf turned out perfectly, but now, it’s hit or miss.

So – the top gadgets for me are:

1 – New Soupmaker

My husband decided to drop mine, into a bucket of water.  Ahem…..  If you ask me, I think he dunked it to wash, then realised it doesn’t like the electrics being flooded with water.  He did dismantle it to dry it out, but although it still worked to heat, it no longer blended.  He owed me a new one.  I actually just went and bought this, so Christmas won’t be without a soup maker after all.  It’s a little more fancy than my last version, and has a lift out inner to make for easier cleaning, and today, yes, today, will be the first day I try this out with a new recipe.  I do need to review this soon.

(Aff Link)

2 – Actifry

My last Actifry blew up.  It had been used for hundreds of hours, and didn’t really stand a chance against loads of teenagers constantly making chips…….  The ideal thing about that, is that I don’t have to get involved.  The teens found it easy to throw in some chips, bung in a spoon of oil, and when it finished turning, the chips were ready.  AND, if they got distracted and forgot about the chips, they weren’t burning the house down.  When they put food in the oven, it invariably ends up burnt, or with the bottom of my oven seeping whatever food they cooked.

I was in Costco when my Actifry blew up, and they had another make on offer, which I ended up buying.  And while it’s great for other features, it fails miserably for chips.  For the teens to use it on their own, they have to put the chips into a closed basket, which rotates.  It’s rotation feature is amazing for chicken, but for chips, not on.  To get the chips out, they either have to open the basket with their hands wrapped in a towel or oven glove, or lift the whole thing out and do it.  If’s fiddly, and there’s a bigger chance of getting burned.  If they put the chips on the bottom of the pan, they have to be moved around in person half way through cooking, which sort of defies the potential of air cooking.

Anyway, I’m stuck with a machine that is actually good for many things, but just not for chips.  A new Actifry isn’t in my future, but one of these, I’d like.

(Aff Links)

3 – New Phone

Again, this isn’t actually in my future, but I’d love the new, super dooper iPhone.  I guess most of us Apple gadget fans would.  It’s just too pricey for me, so I’ll stick with my old iPhone 6S Plus, which is now out of contract and only costs me airtime.  It does have a teensy scratch on the screen, but I haven’t managed to persuade myself that it’s worth the cost of replacing with something that costs around a thousand pounds.  It doesn’t stop me looking at the picture with pure envy….

I can’t afford the phone, but maybe if I buy an iPhone X case, I can pretend there’s one on the way for my Christmas.  Given that the hub and I only give token pressies to each other for birthday and Xmas, I’ll just live and dream..

(Aff Link)

4 – Hoover – Vaccuum Cleaner

The name depends on where you come from.  Up here, we say hoover, but online, people all tend to say vacuum cleaner, and think Hoover is just a brand of vacuum.  Our is borked.  I don’t buy these often, but when I do, other people tend to be the ones who break them.  Kids – are you listening…….

These are what I’d like.  I haven’t pressed the button on buy yet, as I keep hoping for a sooper dooper sale, but I think I’ll have to go for it soon.

(Aff Links)

5 – Breadmaker

In actual reality, the first one below is the one I’d ideally love, as it also makes pasta.  I haven’t tried making pasta flour in my old breadmaker, so it might be worth trying to see if my dying machine can make anything suitable before splashing out.  I suspect that although I’d love one that also makes pasta, it’s a bit on the pricey side for me, so the second one is more likely to be my replacement one after Xmas. I like the idea of a black breadmaker that’s more likely to blend into my worktop than the light coloured machines.

(Aff Links)