Had a lovely night and need a little snack before bed. The popcorn maker makes me perfect popcorn everytime no jhudgemnt no questions asked. I live in an otherwise-gizmo-free household, but I do genuinely use this things twice a week on average. What gizmo are you not ashamed of?

I also got an immersion blender for $20 a week ago and used it once to make squash soup. Perhaps that isa second gizmo… It’s gotten more use than my microave in the same timespan…

  • OrionsMask [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    This is gonna sound silly, but dishwasher. I got a small one only this year after many, many years of being the dishwasher (and not cooking as much as a result). But since getting a dishwasher, I’ve been cooking loads. It’s genuinely amazing the difference it makes, knowing that you don’t have to leave a big pile of stuff to clean up later every time you cook. I can even put my whole air fryer basket in there!

    Plus it uses a controlled amount of water for the whole load so you aren’t running the tap constantly and wasting water.

    • Barabas [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      Never used to have a dishwasher and getting one was a huge difference. It saves a huge amount of time in washing glasses and cutlery most of all.

  • Dessa [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    Rice cooker. I do not want to fail at rice often enough to get good at it, and I never have to with my trusty rice cooker on hand

  • Angel [any]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    Why did I misread the title as “I thank god for giving me a pronoun maker”

    I immediately said, “The woke have gone too far this time!” of course.

    My answer would have to be my audio interface… let’s me directly input audio into a DAW. Definitely something essential for me to have. Honorable mention to my portable charger thing that I got during Milton.

  • EstraDoll [she/her, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    toaster oven

    whole oven is too big? usually. use small oven! it also works as an air fryer! the last one i had even worked as a dehydrator on the two times i year i might ever need one! broiling stuff too? why not! use it as a toaster! perfect for heating stuff up in one particular way!

    • Carl [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      aww yeah I used to be about that life until my toaster oven mysteriously stopped working. I was gonna try to fix it but other stuff came up and I don’t think I have it anymore.

  • DragonBallZinn [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    Everyone’s already said it, but rice cooker.

    I don’t have to even put much thought into making rice, and just season it how you want and you get an easy comfort food whenever.

    (True science fact: put in a quarter cup of rice vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar for every cup of short grain white rice to get sushi rice. Then just add in crispy tofu and stir-fried vegetables and you get what is objectively the best bulking meal possible.)

    • kittin [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      I got this microwave plastic dish designed for cooking rice that is like 90% as good as a proper rice cooker.

      The secret to it seems to simply be a perforated top (like 40% of the surface area would be holes of about 0.5cm diameter) so I imagine it would be easy to make one by punching small holes in some Tupperware, but also the real thing only cost about $15.

      A very economical almost-as-good option, and more space efficient.

  • LocalOaf [they/them, she/her]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    Immersion blender and those little grabby wand things for getting cat toys out from under the furniture lol

    Oh and the hose nozzle with the multiple spray patterns for watering different plants and the sprinkler with the different spray patterns

    I just think they’re neat