Be careful what gadgets you control from your phone. My son who is a software engineer who works in cyber security just told me not to ever let anyone use my WIFI because if they have anything controlled by their phone such as garage door, door locks, heat in their home, oven, and such a hacker can get into their phone through these devices which are not usually updated and secure and then into your WIFI from their phone and your bank account and wipe it out all in less than 10 minutes. He controls nothing from his phone for this reason. Holy Smokes.
We mostly seem to use our own for playing radio and searching for shop opening hours and checking phone numbers of various shops. Husband has connected all our lights as well for voice control. Ha, that will be the first thing to go should he shuffle off this mortal coil before I do!
A colleague, who is a definite gadget fan, has all his lights connected to his devices.
The consequence of this is that when he experienced a momentary power interruption in the middle of the night, he was woken by all his lights turning on at full brightness. (They're made so that if you switch them off and on at the wall, the lights come on, which is a sensible safety feature, but it can't distinguish between someone operating the switch by the door and someone operating a switch at the local substation.)
I actively hate all these things that have to be operated remotely or via an app. I want to be able to go turn a dial or press a switch dammit.
And what happens when you don't have power?
When you don't have power, your electric appliances don't run. Because you don't have power.
It's a rare device that can only be controlled remotely. Often you need the app for the full feature set (because it's much cheaper to support network control and build an app than it is to build a full-featured control interface into every stupid little bit of hardware), but things generally have at least a local on/off button, and often some sort of basic mode toggle.
Our phone provider has been running an ad claiming we can go in and exchange our phones anytime--free. We went in today and inquired about it. Turns out you do have to pay a monthly service fee for it. We found it odd the salesperson actually talked us out of getting new ones. Saved us money, though.
Our phone provider has been running an ad claiming we can go in and exchange our phones anytime--free. We went in today and inquired about it. Turns out you do have to pay a monthly service fee for it. We found it odd the salesperson actually talked us out of getting new ones. Saved us money, though.
I love it when the sales and service people actually work in the clients' best interest.
I have now caught the watch out inventing data. Yesterday I got fed up with it on my wrist and took it off after breakfast and the breakfast glucose peak. I didn't put it on again until late afternoon, and I didn't have lunch. And the watch showed, and communicated to the app the usual lunchtime hillock of up to eight mmol. I had drunk water, and maybe part of a milk shake, but there was no way the watch could have known that and if my body was anticipating a meal by releasing glucose, it wouldn't have been registered because it wasn't on.
Don't buy.
I have a (really small) air fryer arriving on Saturday. Mr Boogs is going away for three weeks and I want to be able to roast/bake small amounts without turning the oven on. 🙂
I have a (really small) air fryer arriving on Saturday. Mr Boogs is going away for three weeks and I want to be able to roast/bake small amounts without turning the oven on. 🙂
Ooh - how small is it (and what make)? I'd be quite interested if it didn't take up much space but did ovenish things for the solitary piglet.
Ninja air fryers are really good. We have a single drawer model which says for 2-4 people but it is more like 2 people. If the boys were still at home we’d get a larger dual drawer model.
I have a (really small) air fryer arriving on Saturday. Mr Boogs is going away for three weeks and I want to be able to roast/bake small amounts without turning the oven on. 🙂
Ooh - how small is it (and what make)? I'd be quite interested if it didn't take up much space but did ovenish things for the solitary piglet.
It's a Salter and it is 23.5D x 23.5W x 30.5H centimetres. It cost £24 so worth a try, I thought. 🙂
Ninja air fryers are really good. We have a single drawer model which says for 2-4 people but it is more like 2 people. If the boys were still at home we’d get a larger dual drawer model.
Mum bought a dual drawer Ninja despite there usually just being her and Dad in the house. Dad takes the divider out to bake shortbread in it, and last time I blagged a Sunday lunch off them, a small rolled shoulder of lamb fitted into 1 side, with courgettes and carrots being roasted in the other half. If we had space in the kitchen I would seriously consider one!
Mine is a 4 litre Tower. I use it where I might have used the oven (except I would never use the oven to heat one item.)
I reheat a previously made fish pie, lasagne , cottage pie, or cook breaded fish, jacket potato ( that’s best if part cooked in the microwave first). You can get a nice crisp finish, which you wouldn’t get in the microwave. I cook chips or sweet potato fries, or roast a few parboiled veg. with a lamb or pork steak. Sausages are excellent too.
I haven’t yet done any baking in it but I gather it is great for making a small quantity. Apparently eggs can be cooked to perfection.
I've enjoyed mine. One of the best things is cooking a small whole chicken. It does an excellent job and can cook it from frozen. A lot less mess.
I have a ninja single drawer one on sale for about $100 canadian.
It sits on a metal cover on the least used burner of my stove. I did that just to try it out and it has turned out well.
I have a (really small) air fryer arriving on Saturday. Mr Boogs is going away for three weeks and I want to be able to roast/bake small amounts without turning the oven on. 🙂
Amusingly enough, I am also about to receive one. My employer offers a faintly ridiculous employee appreciation programme that basically says "you've worked for us for donkey's years - which one of these bits of tat from the sort of catalogue you find on an aeroplane would you like?"
Most of the tat is completely pointless, so I figure I'm getting a free air fryer, and if I don't find it useful, I can pass it on to someone else without feeling like I've wasted anything.
I've been using our air fryer quite a lot recently. In our house Saturday night is "get your own" night. My go to has suddenly become piece of salmon, frozen chips and vege balls. The salmon and the balls come from the Swedish shop. I put all in together and on the occasion where vege balls have run out I do some mixed frozen veg in the microwave. I love that I can do a whole meal in the same appliance and am not heating up our whole oven for something small.
A couple of weeks ago the salmon had run out, but a dig in the freezer turned up some crumbed chicken, so that was a good alternative. I have also recently begun doing the microwaved spuds, crisped up in the air fryer and they have been delicious.
Kids use it fairly frequently for pies, or chicken nuggets.
I don't know if anyone remembers toaster ovens from the 1980's, but we used to use one for mini pizzas made on English muffins for quick winter lunches. I must check to see if these are still sold. I remember my Mother In Law making a tiny batch of scones in it as well, on a Sunday afternoon, I imagine these could be done in the airfryer too these days, especially if using a silicone mat to reduce the mess/crumbs.
Seems to me that some gadgets sacrifice basic usability in the name of progress.
A case in point .... our TV aerial gets affected by adverse weather. So I have bought a Fire stick thingie. Now instead of changing channels by simply pushing a single button on the remote that takes me instantly from channel to channel, I have to spend time going in and out of apps, waiting for them to load and navigating their busy screens to get from one channel to another. What was simple and instant is now complex and time-wasting.
This is how I feel about having a screen in the car. I've opted for an older car and many people are changing out the old radios and heat and air conditioning controls for the high tech type. I much prefer reaching for the volume control knob and instantly being able to change it. Same with the fan speed and the other features. It seems much safer to me to have an actual dial or button to connect with. I think reach for an arrow button on a screen would distract me a lot more.
I agree. I haven’t yet worked everything out on my new-to-me car, but one of its selling points for me is that only the so-called
“ entertainment” is on the screen. All I will probably use is the radio, and mostly one station, so once tuned, that’s easy. Anything else is distracting.
My sewing machine is buried at the back of the cupboard under the stairs. I haven’t used it , or its predecessor, for about 40 years. I need to make some cushion covers, but I might just seam them by hand.
My sewing machine is buried at the back of the cupboard under the stairs. I haven’t used it , or its predecessor, for about 40 years. I need to make some cushion covers, but I might just seam them by hand.
Yeah, I was going to say that when I recently bought a sewing machine I managed to get something a couple of years old for about a third of the new price. Like pianos there seemed to be an excess supply issue.
My sewing machine is buried at the back of the cupboard under the stairs. I haven’t used it , or its predecessor, for about 40 years. I need to make some cushion covers, but I might just seam them by hand.
Yeah, I was going to say that when I recently bought a sewing machine I managed to get something a couple of years old for about a third of the new price. Like pianos there seemed to be an excess supply issue.
[tangent] Several years ago, we could not even give away a piano [/tangent]
I have a couple of small sewing projects I want to do. The difficulty is that setting up takes over the kitchen table, and I either need to ask my family to accommodate my sewing need, or I have to set up and take down and set up and take down and set up and...
I have been wondering about getting an Air Fryer for a while, but have been anxious about the space they take up, and learning a different way to cook after what must be over 60 years using a gas oven & hob (and a microwave for 50 years),
The Salter Compact Air Fryer that Boogie has bought looks like a good way of learning, as it seems to have nice simple controls, is not expensive, and I think I can see a way of fitting one into my kitchen.
I have been internet shopping quite a lot in the last couple of weeks, lots of July birthdays in the family, and some rather elderly undergarments needing replacing, so have included the air fryer in my summer spending spree!
Should arrive on Friday.
I have been wondering about getting an Air Fryer for a while, but have been anxious about the space they take up, and learning a different way to cook after what must be over 60 years using a gas oven & hob
They are 'just' small convection ovens, if that helps, everything you could do in a convection oven you can do in an air fryer - albeit at smaller scale and lower cost.
This has been very helpful. I had a look at a small air fryer in Lakeland (a shop specialising in cooking gadgets) but wasn't convinced that it did anything I would cook that my Remoska wouldn't. Also from Lakeland and ideal for small meals. Unfortunately, my surfaces are occupied by A N Other's stuff. I have bought a soup maker because it's quicker than slow cooker plus blender. But wrong weather.
My two sewing machines are also out of use because of surface issues.
I had plane for being able to do hobbies AND have a living room able to invite visitors in, but in the way of that saying "Man proposes, God disposes" He has disposed of my retirement.
I once, hearing someone blethering about repentance on the radio, asked what I should be repenting of,and the answer floated in "Resentment", You realise, thought I, that I now not only resent what has happened to my life, but also being told to repent my response to being told. And answer came there none.
I have been wondering about getting an Air Fryer for a while, but have been anxious about the space they take up, and learning a different way to cook after what must be over 60 years using a gas oven & hob (and a microwave for 50 years),
The Salter Compact Air Fryer that Boogie has bought looks like a good way of learning, as it seems to have nice simple controls, is not expensive, and I think I can see a way of fitting one into my kitchen.
I have been internet shopping quite a lot in the last couple of weeks, lots of July birthdays in the family, and some rather elderly undergarments needing replacing, so have included the air fryer in my summer spending spree!
Should arrive on Friday.
I have the Salter one too ...I love it! Live alone now and it saves me hardly ever needing to put oven on. (For example Jacket potatoes are great if given 5 mins in microwave first then another 5-10 mins in air fryer to crisp up. )
The breadmaker is getting on a bit and the hopper for adding ingredients mid bake is broken. But I was so scunnered by the supermarket offering for focaccia that I put on a oregano and olive loaf which certainly looks good.
This is how I feel about having a screen in the car. I've opted for an older car and many people are changing out the old radios and heat and air conditioning controls for the high tech type. I much prefer reaching for the volume control knob and instantly being able to change it. Same with the fan speed and the other features. It seems much safer to me to have an actual dial or button to connect with. I think reach for an arrow button on a screen would distract me a lot more.
I agree - for me, physical buttons for anything that I might want to control while driving is a necessary safety feature. This includes things like turning off the music, volume adjustments, heat / cooling and so on.
I cooked two chicken breasts today - delicious. Yesterday was bacon, it came out crispy, just right.
I have bought a silicone liner so washing up is a doddle too.
Trying chips tomorrow.
It's a hit with me. 🙂
My Salter compact air fryer arrived yesterday and I am relieved to say that I have managed to find it a convenient home without too much reorganisation of the kitchen.
I don't often use the griddle on my cooker and the air fryer just sits nicely on the griddle cover. It also fits for storage below the griddle in the long-defunct smaller oven - could almost have been made for it!
Mr RoS has bought a couple of pasties for dinner tonight, so its first job will be to reheat those.
Boogie, where did you get a silicone liner that fits your air fryer? The one I bought with the fryer is far too big.
I don’t know if this qualifies as a gadget in the home, but I love my (recently) new noise-cancelling earbuds. I got the Apple earpods pro, not expecting a lot, but they are great for me.
I quite like the idea of the bigger over-the-ear noise cancelling earphones (which I have tried on planes) but they seem to make the arms of my glasses cut into my ears - ouch!
Ooh, gadget inspiration (maybe I should look away now). My latest addition is a Ninja mini multi-cooker which is a pressure cooker and slow cooker as well as an air fryer, so a definite space-saver for me. It says it bakes too, so perhaps I'll try that next.
Not as good as I hoped. The outside was too brown but the inside a bit undercooked. I need to adjust temperature and cooking time.
One possible solution is to leave them in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes after the time is up and it has shut off. I've been doing that with anything that seemed a little too browned when at the halfway point. I've shortened the second half of the cooking time and left it to rest as if it was in a regular oven. So far, it has worked well. That being said, I've not really baked in it but it has worked on several other things.
We are having major work done on our kitchen, which is due to start in a week or two and take around two months (eek!). There will be a sort of temporary kitchen in the room I currently use as an office and library, with a cold water pipe if they can rig it up, and our fridge, microwave and bread maker. Would an air fryer or Ninja work as a cooker for two people in that set-up, bearing in mind that around two thirds of our meals are things cooked on the hob? I keep hearing how wonderful they are for roast dinners, but we don’t very often have those.
If you mostly cook on the stove, I think you'd be better off with a two-ring hob that you plug into an ordinary socket. We had one while we were waiting to have our kitchen fitted and it was a lifesaver.
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The consequence of this is that when he experienced a momentary power interruption in the middle of the night, he was woken by all his lights turning on at full brightness. (They're made so that if you switch them off and on at the wall, the lights come on, which is a sensible safety feature, but it can't distinguish between someone operating the switch by the door and someone operating a switch at the local substation.)
And what happens when you don't have power?
When you don't have power, your electric appliances don't run. Because you don't have power.
It's a rare device that can only be controlled remotely. Often you need the app for the full feature set (because it's much cheaper to support network control and build an app than it is to build a full-featured control interface into every stupid little bit of hardware), but things generally have at least a local on/off button, and often some sort of basic mode toggle.
I love it when the sales and service people actually work in the clients' best interest.
Don't buy.
On the other hand, I am quite fond of our new breadmaker, which can also be used to make yoghurt, thus reducing my plastic footprint.
I have a wind up radio, a wind up torch and a large solar phone charger for just such emergencies.
Ooh - how small is it (and what make)? I'd be quite interested if it didn't take up much space but did ovenish things for the solitary piglet.
It's a Salter and it is 23.5D x 23.5W x 30.5H centimetres. It cost £24 so worth a try, I thought. 🙂
Mum bought a dual drawer Ninja despite there usually just being her and Dad in the house. Dad takes the divider out to bake shortbread in it, and last time I blagged a Sunday lunch off them, a small rolled shoulder of lamb fitted into 1 side, with courgettes and carrots being roasted in the other half. If we had space in the kitchen I would seriously consider one!
I reheat a previously made fish pie, lasagne , cottage pie, or cook breaded fish, jacket potato ( that’s best if part cooked in the microwave first). You can get a nice crisp finish, which you wouldn’t get in the microwave. I cook chips or sweet potato fries, or roast a few parboiled veg. with a lamb or pork steak. Sausages are excellent too.
I haven’t yet done any baking in it but I gather it is great for making a small quantity. Apparently eggs can be cooked to perfection.
I have a ninja single drawer one on sale for about $100 canadian.
It sits on a metal cover on the least used burner of my stove. I did that just to try it out and it has turned out well.
Amusingly enough, I am also about to receive one. My employer offers a faintly ridiculous employee appreciation programme that basically says "you've worked for us for donkey's years - which one of these bits of tat from the sort of catalogue you find on an aeroplane would you like?"
Most of the tat is completely pointless, so I figure I'm getting a free air fryer, and if I don't find it useful, I can pass it on to someone else without feeling like I've wasted anything.
I have bought a silicone liner so washing up is a doddle too.
Trying chips tomorrow.
It's a hit with me. 🙂
A couple of weeks ago the salmon had run out, but a dig in the freezer turned up some crumbed chicken, so that was a good alternative. I have also recently begun doing the microwaved spuds, crisped up in the air fryer and they have been delicious.
Kids use it fairly frequently for pies, or chicken nuggets.
I don't know if anyone remembers toaster ovens from the 1980's, but we used to use one for mini pizzas made on English muffins for quick winter lunches. I must check to see if these are still sold. I remember my Mother In Law making a tiny batch of scones in it as well, on a Sunday afternoon, I imagine these could be done in the airfryer too these days, especially if using a silicone mat to reduce the mess/crumbs.
A case in point .... our TV aerial gets affected by adverse weather. So I have bought a Fire stick thingie. Now instead of changing channels by simply pushing a single button on the remote that takes me instantly from channel to channel, I have to spend time going in and out of apps, waiting for them to load and navigating their busy screens to get from one channel to another. What was simple and instant is now complex and time-wasting.
“ entertainment” is on the screen. All I will probably use is the radio, and mostly one station, so once tuned, that’s easy. Anything else is distracting.
I've just spent half an hour learning to thread it and wind a bobbin.
No, it's not difficult, but it's many years since I did any sewing. My first project? An apron - back to school days!
🙂
Yeah, I was going to say that when I recently bought a sewing machine I managed to get something a couple of years old for about a third of the new price. Like pianos there seemed to be an excess supply issue.
[tangent] Several years ago, we could not even give away a piano
I have a couple of small sewing projects I want to do. The difficulty is that setting up takes over the kitchen table, and I either need to ask my family to accommodate my sewing need, or I have to set up and take down and set up and take down and set up and...
The Salter Compact Air Fryer that Boogie has bought looks like a good way of learning, as it seems to have nice simple controls, is not expensive, and I think I can see a way of fitting one into my kitchen.
I have been internet shopping quite a lot in the last couple of weeks, lots of July birthdays in the family, and some rather elderly undergarments needing replacing, so have included the air fryer in my summer spending spree!
Should arrive on Friday.
They are 'just' small convection ovens, if that helps, everything you could do in a convection oven you can do in an air fryer - albeit at smaller scale and lower cost.
My two sewing machines are also out of use because of surface issues.
I had plane for being able to do hobbies AND have a living room able to invite visitors in, but in the way of that saying "Man proposes, God disposes" He has disposed of my retirement.
I once, hearing someone blethering about repentance on the radio, asked what I should be repenting of,and the answer floated in "Resentment", You realise, thought I, that I now not only resent what has happened to my life, but also being told to repent my response to being told. And answer came there none.
I have the Salter one too ...I love it! Live alone now and it saves me hardly ever needing to put oven on. (For example Jacket potatoes are great if given 5 mins in microwave first then another 5-10 mins in air fryer to crisp up. )
I agree - for me, physical buttons for anything that I might want to control while driving is a necessary safety feature. This includes things like turning off the music, volume adjustments, heat / cooling and so on.
This breadmaker is getting on a bit also, but I can still hop. Baking our own bread is something that has been an unexpected pleasure from retirement.
I don't often use the griddle on my cooker and the air fryer just sits nicely on the griddle cover. It also fits for storage below the griddle in the long-defunct smaller oven - could almost have been made for it!
Mr RoS has bought a couple of pasties for dinner tonight, so its first job will be to reheat those.
Boogie, where did you get a silicone liner that fits your air fryer? The one I bought with the fryer is far too big.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CQVJ821C?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
thank you - ordered!
I quite like the idea of the bigger over-the-ear noise cancelling earphones (which I have tried on planes) but they seem to make the arms of my glasses cut into my ears - ouch!
Anyone else found delight in audio gadgetry?
How did it go?
If you use the earphones at home, then, yes, they qualify as gadgets in your home. IMHO.
Glad you like them.
One possible solution is to leave them in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes after the time is up and it has shut off. I've been doing that with anything that seemed a little too browned when at the halfway point. I've shortened the second half of the cooking time and left it to rest as if it was in a regular oven. So far, it has worked well. That being said, I've not really baked in it but it has worked on several other things.