I’ve written about Earl’s penchant for gadgets before; how our kitchen is stocked with almost every imaginable tool to help in meal preparation. The thing is, however, that gadget companies are always coming up with new ideas. I guess they have to; otherwise, they would eventually go out of business.
So here are some items on Earl’s current gadget wish list along with my solution for solving the same problem, sans gadget.
He wants a cherry pitter, the better to pit cherries I presume. But the only time one needs to actually pit cherries is when they’re going to be part of a pie or a cobbler. Or maybe Cherries Jubilee. For eating them from the bowl, one can pretty much chew around the pit and discard it.
Then there’s the mini burger patty press, a two piece tool that shapes little three inch burgers perfectly. It’s intended for those times when you serve burgers for appetizers or snacks. Personally, I’ve never thought of a burger as either; rather, it’s part of the main course. I use my well-washed hands to shape big half pounders, and save $26 in the deal.
Earl also covets a pineapple corer and an apple peeler, but I can core and slice a pineapple and peel an apple with the same utensil — a well sharpened knife.
I must admit I enjoy looking at catalogs filled with kitchen gadgets as much as Earl does. But I am rarely enticed to buy one. Maybe it’s because I know Earl will find something our kitchen lacks and surprise me with it. And while I pooh pooh most gadgets, he gets the last laugh when I actually begin to use one. Like the garlic press or the mini-whisk. I have substitute solutions for both, but find the gadget in question really saves time.
And finally there is the Martian, so nicknamed because the apparatus looks like a round space ship on legs. In case you’re wondering, the Martian makes wonderful crispy sandwiches, and I have not been able to duplicate its usefulness yet.
Give me time.
Leave a Reply