Kitchen Gadgets

They look good when you buy them but you end up not using half of them and that says a lot for someone like me that spends a huge portion of my day in the kitchen cooking. I ease my conscience and use the more expensive purchases when I remember they exist or when they block the way to something I actually need in the cupboard.

The George Forman grill is one such gadget. In my defence, however, I did not buy this for myself. This is from that other place that can fill your kitchen with unnecessary gadgets, the golf day!! I pull the George Forman out at least once a year, usually around the time that I go through the linen cupboard - for it's annual charity purge - where is lives tucked neatly away on the very bottom shelf where we have no reason to go other than cleaning. I slap on a few steaks or chicken breasts and feel comforted that it is not a complete waste of space. Today, I will be trying whole pork fillets that have been bathing in a simple solution of olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.

In the spirit of experimentation I'm going to give today's @wwtaste spring onion pancake instagram recipe a go, just something different to the usual steamed, sauted or roast potatoes. These will go wonderfully with the roasted green beans and bacon and avocado chive dressing.

I used this opportunity to get a couple of gadgets out of the way, like the potato masher. I hardly ever use it but I keep it because it does an amazing job of mashing potatoes. The garlic crusher? Ok, I can't pretend or lie, I love this gadget and use it almost everyday. The  rice cooker? Now this is one kitchen appliance I've always scoffed at, like the egg boiler. But I received one as a christmas gift last year. It came with a steaming basket and I use it several times a week as I did today to steam the potatoes. 

"Heads up, steaming or baking potatoes is much better than boiling them for mashed potatoes. You eliminate the waterlogged situation that can make them gloopy and heavy instead of light and fluffy".

The aroma from the hot potatoes hitting the garlic and spring onion mixture is sublime!

The ice-cream scoop? I can't do without mine. Biscuit dough, muffin and cupcake batter portioning has never been easier. I used one for exact portions of the spring onion pancake mash mixture before flattening them into "pancakes".

The gadget once-over is complete, I know what I use and what needs to be relegated to the far recesses of the donation bag or bin.

As for dinner, yummy meal overall!! George Forman did not excite me in the moist department, which I was expecting as I watched all the juices drain from the device with trepidation, it was a fatless fillet after all. In hindsight, I may need a little practice using it.