So you know when it’s really cold out and you’re too poor to turn up the heat in your apartment, so you just put on layer after layer of thermals and lay in bed under a mountain of blankets? What about when you have work to do via your nifty laptop? The rest of you is toasty warm, but your hands, your formerly warm hands…well, they just turn into icicles, now don’t they? But you have to pay the rent, and that’ll be pretty hard to do once your hands become frostbitten and fall off, so what’s the solution?
With USB Heated Gloves (Perpetual Kid, $24.99), you don’t have to worry about losing your most lucrative appendages. These amazing gloves plug right into the USB port of your PC, Mac, Playstation, etc. and instantly warm your frozen hands. You can wear them as mittens or fingerless gloves, so when you’re not typing (or doing anything else that requires you to be very dexterous) you can wear one or both of these gloves as mittens to further insulate that warmth. Made of wool, the gloves themselves are pretty warm, even if not plugged into your computer. The gloves have two heat settings, so if your hands feel like they’re starting to melt, you can tone it down a bit without completely sacrificing your heat.
Each glove has an individual USB plug, so if you have a USB port on each side of your laptop, you’re golden. If not, don’t despair because these gloves have a decent cord length. You can get these gloves in men’s or women’s, although they both only come in one size (one size fits most). The only difference between the men’s and women’s appears to be the colors – men’s only comes in a modest grey, while the women’s is available in blue and pink. To be honest though, I would probably pick the men’s because the women’s are a bit too cutesy for my taste.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Easy finger mobility
-Made of wool
-Gloves individually connect to USB ports
-Works with any USB port
-One size fits most
-Includes one pair of USB G-gloves and two USB connecting cables
-5 minutes 10 degree rise
Ok, so I had no idea that brownie edges were in such demand, but apparently there’s a whole not so secret cult of people out there who just aren’t satisfied with your everyday brownie. That’s right, while I was helping my mom cut the edges off our brownies to make a pile of “brownie bones” (what, like it’s weird?), there were starving men, women, and children right here in the USA who, given the opportunity, would devour those edges.
To you edge lovers out there, the Baker’s Edge Nonstick Edge Brownie Pan (Amazon, $34.95) is your personal baking savior. Its unusual shape allows for two edges per individual serving, so there’s no more fighting over premier brownies. Now, I know what you’re thinking, this pan may be ingenious and all, but I bet it’s going to be a pain to have to adjust recipes to fit its special shape. Well guess what? There are no adjustments needed! This pan works with standard recipes for 9″ x 9″ and 9″ x 13″ pans, so it’s just like baking with your average brownie pan, only better.
The pan itself is nonstick, and let’s face it, if it wasn’t there was no way I’d even be writing about it because there’s nothing I hate more than having to interrupt my brownie demolishing to scrub a pan. Also, it had rounded corners, so that if some little bit of brownie tries to escape, it’s easy to clean. The handled on the side of the pan are recessed, making it simple to move this sucker from the oven to the stovetop. Don’t worry about uneven baking either because this pan’s patented sidewalls help to circulate heat throughout the pan.
Still not convinced? Ok, so you know how most people love cupcakes, but aren’t really that into cakes? It’s because a cupcake it a personal little cake, just for you, the way you like it. That concept is alive and well in this pan. Not only do you get more edges with its newfangled shape, you can customize your section to include what you like. Do you like your brownies with nuts, but no one else does, so you’re always stuck catering to everyone else’s wants? Oppressed no more, you can put as many nuts as you want in your section – you could fill the entire section with nuts, it that’s what you want! Love, thy name is Baker’s Edge Nonstick Edge Brownie Pan.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 13.5″ x 9″ x 2″
-Weight: 3 lbs
-Adds two chewy edges to every individual serving
-Patented sidewalls improve circulate heat evenly
-Fits standard recipes and box mixes
Do you love to cook? I know I do. And I especially love to cook those greasy foods, you know like bacon, that splatter all over the place when you try to flip them over. And while I love to cook these foods, I hate having to try to dodge the boiling hot grease that flies all over the place as soon as I disturb the natural essence of said grease.
Luckily, Fusionbrands Fingertongs Silicone Wearable Cooking Tongs (Amazon, $14.99) is here to rescue your burnt fingertips. This handy (!) item resembles an oven mitt, but it is for your fingertips. So you just slip this ambidextrous do-dad on your hand of choice, and get in on that bacon action. And don’t worry about burning these things because they are heat resistant up to 675°F, and frankly, if you’re cooking at a temperature higher than that, god speed. These tongs are nonstick, so you can get right in that pan and not have to worry about half your food ending up on the tongs. After all that fantastically easy cooking, you can just throw these things right in the dishwasher. As a side note, I wonder if these could double as potholders, since they are made of the same silicone material as those newfangled potholders, or would the tong part of the product get in the way?
I like the idea of these tongs, but I have to wonder if they’re really as flexible as they claim to be. I mean, did you ever try to function wearing those giant yellow dishwashing gloves? They’re not even that thick, but yet everything seems to be a little more difficult when wearing them. Now, I’m going to safely assume that these gloves, with their 675°F heat resistance, are thicker than dishwashing gloves, so what makes them so easy to use? And a tiny tiny style issue, but I could only find them in blue or grey, so maybe they’re just testing the waters before they start offering all the colors of the rainbow.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 9″ x 3.2″ x 2.4″
-Dishwasher safe
-Nonstick
-Heat resistant to 675°F
-FDA compliant silicone
You know those chilly days in winter, when all you want is something that makes you feel all warm and cozy? You can only drink so much hot chocolate before you start to feel sick, and it’s not really that satisfying as a meal anyways. So what is the solution?
The Soup And Sandwich Ceramic Tray Duo (Uncommon Goods, $30) has come to your comfort food rescue. With this nifty little marriage between plate and bowl, you can instantly delve into relaxation central. Now you can carry your breakfast/lunch/dinner from the kitchen to the couch in one swift movement with no worries! Both the plate and the bowl are ceramic, so they can be a little on the heavy side, but that weight adds to their durability. The plates and bowls are easily stored because they are stackable, so even if you buy a dozen of them, you don’t have to worry about them taking up too much space in your cabinets.
You aren’t just limited to this soup and sandwich combo either. Think of the bigger picture: salad and sandwich, cereal and toast, chips and dip, etc. Basically, anything you can think of that involves a bowl and a plate, this duo can (and will) deliver. The duo can withstand just about anything you can present it with – oven, microwave, dishwasher…the duo is safe for use in all three. Say you make this delicious soup and sandwich combo, but then you get distracted, or you have to run a quick errand, or the house is on fire…ok, maybe not that last one. But seriously, you can just stick the duo in the oven to keep warm for you, so that your perfect meal doesn’t go to waste. How cool is that?!
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 12.5″ x 6.5″ plate, 5.25″ bowl
-Ceramic bowl and plate
-Oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe
-Set of two trays and two bowls; spoon not included
Have you seen that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine has the fantastic idea of opening up a shop that only serves muffin tops? Well, that fantasy can become a reality, but you don’t need to open up a shop to enjoy those muffin tops.
Amazon offers a few muffin top pans that allow you to make just the top of the muffin, no muss no fuss. One such pan, the Chicago Metallic Gourmetware Original Muffin Top Pan ($13.95), made the cut because it had the best consumer reviews and the best price.
Now, I think Elaine was wrong when she said that you had to make the whole muffin just to get the scrumptious, fluffy top. This pan eliminates the need for the whole muffin, with its six oversize shallow cups. The pan itself is covered with nonstick coating, so you don’t have to worry about greasing the pan. Also, cleaning is relatively simple, as food just about falls off the pan. It is dishwasher safe though, in case you really bake it on there and that few minutes of sink scrubbing just won’t cut it.
With its 1/2″ deep cups, you’re not just limited to making the traditional muffin’s better half. If you think outside the box, the possibilities are endless…cornbread tops, hamburger buns, cookies, etc. An issue or two though, one being that the pan is completely covered in nonstick coating to aid in easier transition from pan to mouth, but this makes them incredibly hard to handle. Plus, the slippage factor is increased by the fact that the pan’s nonstick handles are smooth, so maybe a little bit of texturizing is needed for us klutzy bakers. The only other problem I had with this pan was that there were only six cups. Six cups? Come on, at least give me the traditional 12 so I can make a proper batch of deliciousness.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 16″ x 11.5″ x 0.8″
-Weight: 14.4 oz
-Steel construction for strength and durability
-Superior heat conduction
-Nonstick coating, easy food removal and quick clean up
-Dishwasher safe
