Blowing The Lid Off Egg Poachers (Literally...)

When I was a lad we had a metal egg poacher that came out of the cupboard every six months. As I recall (this was the 1980s so forgive my hazzy description) it was made up of 4 metal 'cups' with little wire handles that sat in a disc on top of your saucepan. Although it looked wondrous, me and 'r' kid always preferred boiled eggs - because you got toasty soldiers and could use the top of the egg to create a little crash helmet for your finished shell (and then destroy it!). 

It would seem it has become a tradition for people to buy me novelty kitchenware for Christmas and this year I was given a microwavable egg poacher. Surely this can't be right I hear you say, you use boiling water don't you? What act of Satan is this?! Well I intended to find out so gave it a go...

Today I will be comparing two egg poachers, the Poach Perfect Silicone Egg Poachers and the Joie Microwave Egg Poacher.  The reason I'm doing this is because I've had the silicone ones for over a year now and in my opinion they work great, so we'll see how the micro-witch poacher compares (no bias creeping in I promise!):

Poach Perfect Silicone Egg Poachers

 Joie Microwave Egg Poacher

Using the Joie Microwave Egg Poacher:

Bang and the egg is gone!

First off I tried the 'Joie' and was immediately instructed to crack the egg in to the orange base and pierce the yoke. Reflecting, this seemed a funny act (piercing the yoke), given that this is what you normally do with your toast soldiers once you've cooked it. Anyway, I presumed this was to stop your egg exploding in the microwave and continued. The rather fetching chicken themed cover was then added and the poacher placed in the microwave for two minutes on a medium heat. After about one and a half minutes this happened (see picture right). No toasty soldiers for me!

I hoped this was a one off and that perhaps I hadn't pierced the egg yoke enough, so tried again...

...and made a bigger mess! 

At this point the wife was enrolled to clean the microwave while I resulted to plan B; boiling water...

Using the Poach Perfect Silicone Egg Poacher:

Egg-straordinary!

Sometimes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So (rather hungry at this point), I reverted back to the tried and tested. The lovely thing about silicone egg poachers is, they're easy to use and even easier to clean. They also work wonderfully. You simply line the inside of the poacher with a little olive oil (you only need a drop), crack your egg into it, season and pop in a pan of boiling water.  You then cover the pan with a lid and wait four minutes to cook. The best thing about silicone of course is that it is pliable so you can remove the egg easily. And voilà! A tasty and healthy snack (without an explosion!)

Rik x

If you're interested, the Poach Perfect Silicone Egg Poachers retail at around £3, a bargain!

Design of the Week (No.9)

Stir-ring my imagination this week is:

(No.9) Creature Cups

It's been more than several weeks since my last 'Design of the Week'. For this I apologise. I went on holiday in October, got food poisoning, had a nasty incident with lawyers and turned 30, so I hid myself in a cupboard for 3 months. 

But I'm back! (hooray!...) and here's my favourite design this week; the Creature Cups (click to enlarge).

These little critters are great fun! I'd love to try them out on my gran: 

Me - "Here you go love, a lovely steaming hot brew. I've put two sugars in it just like you like it. I love you Nan..."

Nan - "Oh you are a dear, you've always been my favourite..."

"You do know I'm diabetic?..."

(Sip, Sip, Sip)

"Arrrgggghhhh! What the what?!!" (Nan collapses) 

Only joking! But it would be ace to prank people. My favourite has to be the Octopus - please feel free to buy it for me (they retail at around £10). Sadly the cups don't come with a saucer (not very British) but this can be forgiven as the designers, known as 'Yumi-Yumi', are based in Brooklyn!

So, kudos to you 'Yumi-Yumi', I love 'em! 

Design of the Week (No.8)

Stir-ring my imagination this week is:

(No.8) Déglon Meeting Knives

Ok, Ok, some of you may have noticed I haven't stuck true to my 'Design of the Week' theme, but I'm guaranteeing a 'Design of the Week (ish), sometimes Fortnightly, Design of the Month'. 

This week I bring you the luxurious Déglon Meeting Knives, a product designer's wet dream! (sorry that was crude... but I'm leaving it in)

This clever little set of knives sit inside one another for easy storage and safe keeping. But that's not why you buy them, you buy them because they look frigging cool! A statement piece indeed, the Herman Miller Chair of Knives! 

I've got to say, I love the matt black finish, it's very ninja. But I bet it's a bugger for finger prints! Sadly, the reality is that, with a set of 4 costing you a cool £900, you're probably going to be too scared to use them! Still, as I advise my Blog readers each post, if you're struggling to find me a 30th Birthday present, look no further than my Blog post for inspiration! 

FYI, I decided to buy a car the last time I had £900 spare. 

Vote for Four-Play!

Hello blog readers,

I need your help! Last month I entered a design competition for furniture store Dwell. My entry has now been posted onto their website and I need your votes to get me into the final! If you like my design please follow this link and give it a star rating (5's are good!). If you really like my design, leave a nice comment too and you will be my friend forever!

You'll find my design here, it's called 'Four-Play': http://dwell.co.uk/dfd.php?category=adult 

And here's what it's all about:

Inspired by the game of Connect Four, ‘Four-Play’ is a side table with integrated coasters. The glossy plastic coasters are contained underneath the glass top and can be removed by simply releasing a latch and dropping the table top. Designed to fit the existing Dwell range, the beauty of this design is simplicity in which you can customise the look and feel of the table. The consumer is given the freedom to swap in and out different coloured coasters to suit their mood or match their home decor.

The table features a stainless steel frame and is available in walnut, glossy white or glossy yellow. Dimensions: 40 x 42 x 47.5cm

What do you think then gang? Is it a winner?! I've got to admit, I really enjoyed designing a piece of furniture, I haven't done it in ages. I'm a big fan of Dwell, it's nice just to go in and get inspired. 

Anyway please, please take a minute to give me your vote, I really appreciate it!

Peace out,

Rik x

Qualy-ty? or in need of seasoning?

OK, so it seems my dear friends took a hint. A couple of months ago I reviewed the Qualy Four Seasons condiment holder and said how much I loved the idea of it - well, now I own one! 

Last Friday I left my permanent job to pursue a freelance design career and get my kitchenware company up and running. As a leaving present, my dear colleagues bought me the Qualy Four Seasons, so now I can review it properly - thanks guys! 

So here it is, and the first shock I got was just how big it was:

As you can see, the domes are about 7cm high, making quite an impressive statement on your dinner table. But let's go back a few steps, to get the full user experience. The product came packaged in a neat presentation box (below), with the four seasons laid out in order. On the pack lovely little diagrams explained how to fill up each dome, clean it and use it (although I'd guess the last bits obvious!). 

Once in, I began to fill each dome. This was done by removing a twist lid from the base and pouring the condiment in (below). I began with salt and what struck me straight away was how much salt clung to every plastic surface, including the inside of the dome. This gave you a frosty look (which I guess is quite apt for winter!) but not totally desirable aesthetically. I guess the trick is to use less fine salt. 

It also got into the closing mechanism of the lid so you had to brush it clean before you put the lid back on. But the thing that really got me was how much salt I p**sed all over the work surface! Surely I'm not that clumsy?! Well, on to the pepper, see if I could do this a bit more efficiently... and again, no, pepper everywhere, WTF?!

...whoops, there's a hole in the top of the dome, the instructions didn't tell me to put my finger over it, what a wally! Newly enlightened I filled the remaining two domes with mixed herbs for autumn and chilli pepper for spring (as I mentioned in my first review the spring bit doesn't really work!).

So there we are, the Qualy Four Seasons. Yes, I few technical difficulties along the way, and over clingy salt, but do you know what, it looks great and makes me smile! Will I use it in day to day life? Probably not. But when people come round for a dinner party you can bet that this little widget will be one of the first things they're talking about :-)

Design of the Week (No.7)

Stir-ring my imagination this week is:

(No.7) The Nunchops Nunchuck Shaped Chopsticks

As ThinkGeek.com put it "The perfect combination of eating utensil and weapon into one weapon-looking-tastic eating utensil". This idea is bonkers, I think that's why I instantly love it! There are some tenuous benefits to this design also; 

1. You'll never be stuck with one chopstick wondering where the other one's got to! 

2. The decorative ridges along the bottom end provide more grip, meaning that slippery bit of chicken might actually make it into your mouth! 

3. If your brother annoys you at the dinner table, or a fly lands of your plate... thwack... dealt with!

The Nunchops Nunchuck Shaped Chopsticks retail at around $5 (£3.10) and are available from ThinkGeek.com, I think that's a bargain!

Design of the Week (No.6)

Stir-ring my imagination this week is:

(No.6) The Eva Solo Citrus Press

This little gem is great for two reasons, not only does it look super sexy, but it's also practically solves two of the great problems with most conventional squeezers; it catches the pips and it catches the juice (without p**sing it everywhere!). I love the detailing; the matt silver squeezer, the matt black funnel filter and the little ripples in the base of the glass. If there was one criticism, it's a bit pricey at £45, but I still want one!