Kitchen Gadgets

I've never been one for kitchen gadgets. It took me years to buy a microwave after they came out, and it was long past the time of the original take-up-half-the-counter size microwaves. It's small and compact, and has a spinning turntable mechanism in it. I think I got it on sale for $99. And I hardly use it. I might once a month heat up a cold cup of coffee in it or use it to melt some butter for a recipe because I don't feel like dirtying a pot, but, in general, it sits in its cabinet not getting much use. It is nice for setting things on. I have a toaster, too. This gadget I like. I got it 20-25 years ago from a friend. Yes, it was used and beat up from the beginning, and I see no sense in replacing it because it still works.

Off and on, maybe once every couple of years, I find that I get this insatiable urge to buy a kitchen gadget. It's always a spur of the moment decision. And it's almost always a decision I regret because I'll use the gadget once or twice and that will be it. It just takes up space in a cabinet or closet somewhere in our already cluttered  house. Like the breadmaker I bought one year. Actually, I bought 3 of them--2 to give away as Christmas gifts: One for my mother-in-law, one for my aunt-in-law, and one for me. They were on sale, of course. I used mine once and discovered quite quickly that I like the process of making bread from scratch--it's something about the kneading and rising process and going into what I call the "bread zone." The breadmaker just didn't do it for me. It bypassed my "bread zone." So it sat for several years gathering dust on a shelf in my pantry before I gave it away on FreeCycle to a nice young woman, a new mother with an adorable baby in the back seat of her car, who thought she needed it, too. After cooing at the baby, I handed her the bread maker and gave her an uninvited motherly lecture, explaining that she didn't really need it and that I had enclosed in the box an easy bread recipe that she should try to make on her own. I promised her it wouldn't fail. I wonder if she ever tried it? Anyway, my bread machine gifts didn't prove to be worthwhile either as my mother-in-law uses hers as a footstool in the living room (bread maker still in the unopened box), though she did ask if I minded, and my guess is that my aunt-in-law does something similar with hers, as I've never once seen it in the house when visiting. But it doesn't bother me. In fact, I totally understand.

And, of course, there are the 2 mainstays in my kitchen that I've had for years and would never give up:  My KitchenAid mixer and Cuisinart food processor. They may not get used regularly, but when I need them, I need them. And they always work. Who wants to whip egg whites by hand or grate 10 pounds of potatoes on a box grater?

About 6 years ago, I received a new kitchen gadget as a Hanukkah gift from my sister, Cori. A cute little red Rival 3-cup rice cooker, just the right size for Mickey and me. When I opened the box, I have to admit, I thought, "What the heck am I going to do with this thing?" "I know how to cook rice on top of the stove." So I opened it, took a peek and called Cori to thank her for her thoughtful gift. And then I put it on a shelf in the pantry.

Fast forward 3 years. I'm trying to make the shift from white rice to brown rice for health and taste reasons. While I consider myself a better-than-average cook, for the life of me, I can't make brown rice on the stove. White rice is easy. Bring the salted water to a boil, pour in the rice, turn the temperature down to low, plop the lid on the pot, and 18 minutes later I've got perfect fluffy white rice. Not so for brown rice. I almost always end up with watery undercooked rice. I've forgotten that I have a brand new rice cooker gathering dust in the pantry and I'm complaining to Cori on the phone that I can't make brown rice to save my life, when she says in a disbelieving tone, "Have you tried using the rice cooker I gave you?" Well, of course I haven't. I totally forgot I even had it. I pull it out from the depths of the pantry while we're still on the phone and ask a couple of questions. Why read the directions? It even has a steamer basket I can use to steam veggies while the rice is cooking. That night for dinner I plugged the little red thing in, put my rice and water in with the same proportions I'd use if I were making it on top of the stove, added some salt, plopped the lid on it, and flipped the switch to cook. I made the rest of our dinner while the rice bubbled and steamed away. And voila! Perfect brown rice (and quinoa). The best $10 anyone could spend on a kitchen gadget. I use it almost daily.

Damn. Why didn't I try it sooner?