Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Efficiency or Laziness?

How many of you own a Rotato? I do, I mean, I did...the blades are no longer good. While googling this I found I can get new blades. This little contraption makes peeling 15 pounds of potatoes go pretty smoothly, not to mention the fact that everyone argues about who gets to do the job. I pull it out on Thanksgiving and Easter. Well on Easter, it did not work so we all pulled out our peelers and had at it. It took forever and our hands were cold and tired. Well, my oldest son saw a great new invention regarding potato peeling and told me I HAD to get it. So I did. Tater Mitts. Come on!!! Ok, so I did buy them. They DO NOT work. I "played" hard with a potato for over a minute and here is what I ended up with.









I thought maybe it would work on apples too, as I made an apple pie today...that is another story! Anyway, here is all it did to the apple. Nothing. So I pulled out the old trusty peeler. By the way, Pampered Chef has the BEST peelers. Their apple slicers are great too. (I do not work for Pampered Chef) OK, I will take a quick detour from the gadgets to tell you about the apple pie episode...I get all the apples peeled and sliced, in a bowl and find I am OUT of Cinnamon and Nutmeg!! HOW in the world can you make an apple pie without those? Thank goodness the neighbor borrowed onions yesterday! She owed me...and she had both of the ingredients. OK, so all the filling is ready and I go to get my pie pan out....no pie pan. Hmmm. I know I had like 5 of those. Nothing. Not one anywhere. My family LOVES to take each others pie pans. Where are mine? Guaranteed no one will fess up! So I throw the bowl of apple filling into the frig and run out to get pie pans. I CAN'T ask the neighbor to borrow a glass pie pan! Alright, back to gadgets. I am thinking the peeler and slicer are fine for making one or two pies, but if I am doing major peeling of apples (like the potato deal on holidays) I want one of these gadgets that Kim showed on her blog the other day. This would make the peeling job much more efficient. I have another gadget that I LOVE...It is called an "eggstrator". How much do you HATE to peel hard boiled eggs? Me too!! And they never peel right. Well I am here to tell you this thing works. One push of the pump and that peel pops right off that egg. You are left with a clean peeled egg and only a little egg shell shrapnel...goggles are recommended. If you ever see one, get it! It is also alot of fun. So you can see I have a lazy streak in the kitchen. I am trying to get better. I actually made my pie from scratch. OK, so the inside of the pie is from scratch! Do you have any nifty kitchen gadgets you can share?...come on we won't laugh!!! I am sure no one thought my tater mitts or eggstractor were ridiculous!

17 comments:

Joni said...

Yum save me a piece please. I loved this post and wish we would all do more on 'does it work?' I never buy gadgets because I figure they are a waste. Now I know!

Knit-Wit said...

Confession time - I used to sell Pampered Chef - twice - about 8 years apart. They have a ton of nifty little gadgets that I love.

Libby said...

Can you use the 'rotato' to peel your apples? I'll have to ponder my gadgets - I don't use a lot, but surely there is something silly that I am blocking right now *s*

Unknown said...

So I have been tagged :) I am sure I have tons of nifty gadgets I have forgotten about. Your pie looks very yummy, I love apple pies.

meggie said...

I had to smile reading this post. My Grandmother loved gadgets & was always sending off for one or another. I wonder what happened to them all. The egg thingy looks neat. I have seen those gloves, but had the feeling they wouldn't work! LOL.

Sue said...

Your pie looks fabulous!

I laughed at the eggstractor because I SO wanted one but was afraid to buy it in case it didn't work like so many other gadgets that come and go. I hate to peel eggs!

and I LOVE Pampered Chef gadgets of all kinds. I have the peeler, it's awesome (and if you use the rounded end, you can easily seed cucumbers without dirtying another utensil) and most of the other smaller gadget they have. I've come across very few PC things that don't work well.

Charlene said...

Bren, you have inspired me. I will be posting some of my gadgets for this evenings blog! I must admit - you are more adventuresome than I when it comes to gadgets, though I once was given a Tator Twister for Christmas from my Boys, and did use it for years....it required me to purchase a Fry Daddy - remember those? to fry up those curly fries.

Yvonne said...

My newest favorite gadget and one that really does work is the "vidalia chop wizard". It makes very quick work of chopping onions and other veggies. I want one of those apple peelers that Kim showed us. Your apple pie looks wonderful...I use that same pie crust and I'm not ashamed to admit it....LOL

Unknown said...

Ok so where's my piece of pie? Fancy making apple pie and not sending out invitations, how rude....lol....Hmm gadgets, I don't think I have many here with me, had quite a few back in Aussie. One on particular was terrifc for making gravy from roasting juices. It removed all the fat so all that was left were the yummy meat juices. I can't stand gravy made with fat or grease in it, and not too fond of the packet stuff either. I'm a make it from scratch girl.

copperswife said...

No gadgets for me....I tended to buy them, stash them somewhere and then forget them! Your apple pie looks scrumptious!

Lily Mulholland said...

You are the gadget queen! We just have a trusty peeler! But then again, no pie making going on here. My hips would never forgive me :)

Rose Johnston said...

Any pie left??? I have cream OMG that just looks divine!!!!

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

I have the peeler and slicer, otherwise 30 foot of apple strudel would not occur in autumn!! Tracey

Ila K. said...

Oh, that pie looks like it's calling out for a cuppa and a friend for a chat!

My favorite peeler is from Cutco... sharp enough to slice pieces of finger! 8-O

I have several of the apple peelers, with broken pokey thingies that hold the apples. Sigh. You think if they can put a man on the moon we could have the perfect kitchen gadget!

Saska said...

I have a potatoe curly-fry maker. Don't know where it came from (gift from my Mom), but it makes the best curly fries! I scrub the dirt off, leave the peelings on and run them thru it. The kids like them better than Arby's fries. It's also easy to clean up.

I have one of the apple peeler-thingys too. --it peels and makes apple rings for the dehydrator.

Your pie looks good.

Kairle Oaks said...

Your pie looks divine, Bren!

I'm honestly not a kitchen gadget type of gal...not even an electric can opener. lol! I'm trying to cut back on my quilting gadgets, too.

Niki said...

I've never even heard of a rotato!
Lovely pie, though!
blessings