Must have kitchen tool - an immersion blender

This is one of my favorite kitchen tools that simplifies tasks. This is a favorite on Amazon and my Braun stick blender came with a whip attachment. By immersing the 'stick' in a soup pot, it blends what is under the round cup at its base. I lift and place over and over again until the soup is lump free and smooth. No longer do I have to manage pouring hot liquid into a traditional blender. The whip attachment makes great fluffy beaten eggs and egg whites. The clean up is easy. I don't want to own gadgets that I seldom or never use. This one is a must have tool!

Whoopie Pie or portion control - I'm decided!

It's portion control! A new pan from Williams Sonoma, see web description below, is perfect for small cakes or muffins, under 100 calories each .....a terrific snack for children and adults too. I tried a gingerbread mix and six regular sized muffins in a muffin pan and used the left over batter as my first experiment using the whoopie pan. The pan has a dozen wells, 7 were filled with gingerbread batter and the empty holes filled with water. The small cakes took a few minutes less to bake and I watched them carefully not to overbake. Delicious! I'm delighted to enjoy a small cake because I can't be trusted to eat only half of a regular sized muffin.

from Williams Sonoma:

Whoopie Pie Pan: A taste of sweet nostalgia, whoopie pies were introduced generations ago, when American country homemakers placed them inside lunch boxes as an afternoon surprise. Enriched with a luscious cream filling, the cakelike sandwich cookies are said to derive their name from the shouts of delight that spring from everyone who tastes them. Our pan is designed with shallow wells to bake a dozen round cakes that pair together to make the tops and bottoms for six 23⁄4" diam. whoopie pies. Constructed of heavy-gauge aluminized steel, the pan features our signature Goldtouch™ ceramic-reinforced nonstick surface. Cakes bake evenly and release effortlessly every time. Hand-wash. 18-oz. cap.; 14" x 10 1/2" x 1/2" high. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

Why we really need an egg separator

I have always separated the yolk from the egg whites by cracking the egg and spilling the yolk into the empty cracked shell. I recently purchased a set of measuring cups that came with an egg separator and thought I'd try it. And this is why I'll use this gadget again. I had more than double the quantity of saved egg whites and it was so easy to use.