Cooking For Engineers®

Recently, I received a wireless thermometer from Thermoworks to try out. Their newest product is called Smoke and is specifically designed to help people barbecue and smoke food at home. Smoke has two parts - a base unit (which takes two of Thermoworks standardized Pro-Series probes) and a wireless receiver unit - which lets the user track the air temperature and the food temperature without going outside to the smoker.
Thermoworks is selling the Smoke at $99 and this would definitely welcome tool for anyone who likes to slow cook food outside.

These days when I reach for a spatula to turn food in a pan, I've been finding myself grabbing the GastroMax Slotted Turner more often than not. Tina bought this spatula for me after months (or maybe years) of listening to me complain about our various spatulas. After buying the GastroMax Turner, my complaining has stopped.

I love my Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinder, but not for grinding coffee (I get my caffeine through sodas). I use this handheld grinder for grinding spices quickly and efficiently. The metal blades spin at very fast speeds on this grinder and chop spices anywhere from a coarse to a powder fine grind depending on how long you push the button. The design is safe (a momentary switch on lid ensures the unit can't be activated when open) and convenient (the lid doubles as a carrying vessel for the ground spices). Cleaning the device could be easier, but using a small paint brush to brush out the grinding bowl and then wiping with a wet cloth or paper towel does the job. The lid can be rinsed and washed with warm soapy water easily. Best of all, this grinder takes up less than 3-1/2 in. (9 cm) round of space in my cupboard.

One of the most embarrassing moments of my life involves baking muffins for a visitor in my apartment back in April of 2007. These "muffins" I was making actually had to be good, not the barely eatable non-sense I usually made. Having no other game plan I threw something together, prayed, and dished out my questionable muffins to my guest. What a bad host I am! That day, I thought really hard... so what exactly are baked goods? We say "pie crust, muffin, cupcake, coffee cake, puff pastry, and croissant", but do we know what they actually mean? Michael Ohene is an electrical engineer by profession with an interest in the modeling and classification of artistic disciplines including: baking, knot tying, and floral design. At the heart of his research at www.whatsthesequency.com he demonstrates the ability to transform random logic into more accessible visual logic.