I’m at that age where I’ve started to replace my adolescent items with ones of a more mature variety. For example, I recently started drinking wine with more purpose than simply to get wasted but I still feel like a college when sipping out of a colorful plastic goblet. So I went out and bought a few actual wine glasses – nothing fancy, yet streets ahead of my old college dishware.
Just because I’m graduated from plasticware to actual glass doesn’t mean that I’m actually gonna hand wash it so the Tether Stemware Saver (Amazon, $9.26) is a must. Sure, you could take your chances and put your precious wine glasses anywhere in the dishwasher, but who’s to say your mugs or other glasses won’t start pushing and shoving once you close the door? Better safe than sorry with these flexible dishwasher attachments that slide over your dishwasher’s posts on one end and clip onto the wine glass stem on the other. Because they’re flexible yet sturdy, these tethers are suitable for both top and bottom dishwasher racks (depending on the size of your stemware and the fullness of your dishwasher).
Wine not?
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 7.7″ x 1.4″ x 3″
-Flexible dishwasher attachment
-Pack of 4
-Hollow base slide over dishwasher post
-End clasp clips onto wine glass stem
-Top or bottom rack dishwasher safe
When I first started to cook, I did everything the hard way because I didn’t know any better. Did you know that if you put an onion in the fridge that you won’t burst into tears when cutting it? Now I feel like I can’t even step foot in the kitchen without a bundle of time-saving gadgets to help me out. Maybe that makes me a lazy cook; I prefer to think of myself as excessively efficient.
The Garject Garlic Press (Uncommon Goods, $35.00) doesn’t seem like anything too extraordinary at first glance. I mean, I already own a garlic press, why would I need another? Well, trust me when I say that this garlic press kicks your garlic press’s ass. To begin with, you can press multiple cloves at once without even peeling them first (everybody knows that’s the worst part). Once you’ve jammed the cloves in the press, you squeeze the press like you normally would to push the garlic through a network of tiny holes. If there’s any garlic still stuck on the outside of the press, simply use the spring-tension bar to scrape it off. When you’re done pressing your clove(s), open the press and eject the residue with the press of a button. No need to poke around there with your fingers – let the press do all the work!
This is one imPRESSive garlic press.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 7.6″ x 1.75″
-Press multiple cloves at once
-No need to pre-peel garlic
-Scraper removes pressed garlic
-Eject garlic peel when finished
-Wide reservoir
-Study handles for leverage
-Easy to use
-Top rack dishwasher safe
One of the perks of having a small kitchen (perhaps the only perk) is that I don’t have to go very far to clean up my dishes at the end of the night. I would probably go crazy if I had to clean up a proper kitchen space or, heavens to betsy, a dining room. Even now I usually try to grab as many things as I can carry all at once so I don’t have to make another trip. Imagine if you could manage that without the constant fear of breaking all your dishes?
The Table Tidy Tray and Bin (Not On The High Street, $48.99) has space for your dishes as well as silverware so you can carry clean ones to the table and dirty ones away from it. The plates stack on top of a rubber grid that keeps them from jostling and the silverware fits neatly in the side bin. When you’re ready to clear the table, scrape the scraps into the bin itself and replace the cover. Then put the silverware business-end down into the side bin and restack dirty plates onto the rubber grid. One trip to the sink/dishwasher and you’re set!
Now only if there was a way to integrate glasses into this!
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 12.5cm x 27.5cm x 24.5cm
-Easily carry dishes to and from table
-Rubber grid for plates
-Side bin for silverware
-Waste bin underneath rubber grid
-Made of plastic and rubber
As a master chef, or rather a cooking enthusiast of the novice variety, I make a lot of messes. You can try all you want, but you don’t usually have time to be meticulous whilst cooking. I can deal with the fact that I generally need to hose down the kitchen after a particularly tasty meal. What I really hate is trying to scrub off cooked on grease from my counter top and stove – it’s a pain in the ass.
Unless you want to stop cooking splatter-inducing foods entirely, you’ll have to come up with a better solution than a top to bottom scrub down at the end of the night. The Non Stick Splatter Shield (Taylor Gifts, $8.98) will keep your cooking surfaces safe with its handy folding design. Simply place the splatter guard around the dish you are cooking and the mess will be contained within that area. That means you’ll pretty much only have to clean that one section instead of the whole stove. It also means that if you’re cooking a separate dish on the adjacent burner, it won’t be covered in unwanted splatter.
The shield itself is obviously open on one side to allow access to the stove top so that means that while your stove is splatter-free, you are not. Perhaps you could invest in a welder’s mask?
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 9.5″ x 8″
-Splatter guard
-Nonstick
-Wipe clean
-Made of coated metal
I’m actively trying not to eat everything in my kitchen right now. I never subscribed to the idea that if I didn’t buy it, I wouldn’t eat it – I’m an adult, I’ll do what I want! If that means running out to Target at midnight to buy a small red velvet cake to eat in one sitting then so be it (True story). I just need to know that there are options should I decide to indulge, and then I’m usually ok. The trick is knowing how to satisfy your sweet tooth with a taste instead of the whole shebang.
Why bother with low calorie desserts when you could have a tiny slice of heaven? The Just A Slice Cake Pan (Perpetual Kid, $9.99) houses eight individual slice cutouts so you can cook as many or as little slices of dessert as you want. This pan is perfect for friends or couples who can’t agree on dessert flavors because you can bake a slice of each! If you use a boxed cake mix like myself, this pan will make sixteen individual slices. Or exercise amazing self-restraint and bake one slice of cake when the mood strikes you.
It might seem like a waste to bake only one slice of cake, but that’s poppycock. Sometimes, one slice is all you need.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 1.75″ x 10″ diameter
-Individual slice cake pan
-Makes 8 slices of cake per mold
-Makes 16 slices per box of cake mix
-Colors vary
-Made of 100% silicone
