Homes and Gardens

Last year I told you about my freezer purchase, since then I have asked several manufacturers for review units, most seemed not interested but when I met a gentleman from SMEG at a recent event he was, so here is there current offering.

Labelling machines, a one use product, can be very useful in the home and in a business could save you falling fowl of the latest government regulations, either way they have come a long way since I last looked at one.

Tefal is well known for its kitchen ware but, if you buy it, are you just paying for a brand name? A test on stew pots from its Preference and Sensorielle non-stick ranges showed that they make it easier for the experienced cook and would probably enable the beginner to avoid disasters.

This is the middle one of three security cameras recently released by Swann. The catchily named Pro-670 with the others 660 and 680. The 660 being wide angle and the 680 having optical zoom. So it fits between the others.

Although I have reviewed a number of vacuum cleaners I have to confess this is my first mop. However this is not your ‘bucket and mop’ type mop. In trying to position it correctly it is really a vacuum for all hard floors.

The first is USB and will cool a can for those hot days. The second is a peeler not just for potatoes but for all those items, so if you want a serrated pattern this three blade triangular piece of equipment can probably do it for you.

Most would love a robot to do the washing up, ironing and vacuum cleaning. Well here is a circular device that can do the last named, some would class a dishwasher as the first that leaves the ironing yet to be sorted out.

Unlike the Tefal Actifry that is almost totally for ‘potato type products’ this can work with a whole range of products including meats and fish, perhaps the only restriction is that they should be large enough not to fall through the grid.

First a name that has been around for longer than me but here with a new and totally different product, the second used for decorating and the third when a quick and fast join is required, all worth a try for their own tasks.

For some time I have been looking to replace my existing food processor with a stand processor. I had considered the well known UK range of stand processors but negative comments by some users had put me off. After a further search I found a German company, Severin and their KM3888 food processor.

On first inspection the Melody 2 looks very like the machine I reviewed in December 2008. In fact the only differences are inside the machine as all the controls for it are in the same places; however I do not remember the first unit being called Melody.

Another of the items received – in part – last autumn after a briefing, however they were not reviewed as the star item a potato/vegetable peeler – despite requests – never arrived, spring cleaning has taken place and so now the belated reviews.

Calling this an alarm clock is a vast understatement both in abilities and indeed in size. It has sat by my bed for several days and roused me in the morning even before the buzzer/sounds/radio has sounded simply by it’s built in light.

Over the last few months I have told you about various Oregon products but not the one they are best known for Weather Stations, I got one early in summer and just recently a second model both can prove extremely helpful.

When you hear mention of the name “Air Force” then your thoughts will probably gravitate towards that branch of the armed forces that operates in the sky. However in this case the subject matter is more land-based as it deals with the force of air rather than the force that rules the air. This “Air Force” is a cordless vacuum cleaner from Rowenta.

With three weeks over Christmas and New Year with no events or conferences I am sad to say that DIY finally got to the top of the list, so two new tools from Worx finally got a good test and jobs were completed with ease.

Having first seen an early example of this product at a Panasonic hosted event in Munich, early last year, it has taken until now for me to get my hands on a sample for reviewing. I have to say the wait was worth it.

I have to confess that the continued popularity of digital photo frames has surprised me a little to say the least. Initially I suspected that they would be a passing fad and would quickly loose their original appeal for users.

As my search continues to find a perfect HD box with PVR I move onto this Humax box that I first saw it as a prototype in early summer, now deep into winter one has arrived to be thoroughly tested to see if it meets my high standards.

Three things are certain to start an argument, religion, football and coffee. Stearing well away from the first two I look at my first machine from Nespresso, I have looked at several Dolce Gusto machines but this is my first Nespresso.

The various range of coffee machines from Nescafe bearing the name Dolce Gusto have been amoung the most popular reads, everyone needs coffee to get you going in the morning, some bear the name Krups who make the machine, the coffee that goes in them is Nescafe.

We tend to forget that a radio is a wireless device. As such it could access the Internet and your computer’s digital content.

When showing off your latest power tools for the home, it makes sense to select an appropriate location. In the case of Bosch, this meant a location known as Home Sweet Home. Despite the recent adverse weather conditions, I was there on behalf of Gadgetspeak.

Unlike the unit recently reviewed from Tefal this does not require a stove just a 13amp socket to plug it into. These items used to be called pressure cookers as they cook quickly, now the name is a Multi Cooker as it is versatile.

This gadget is highly recommended as a great value item - you could invest in several job-specific power tools and find that each one in itself was not as accomplished in its job as the Bosch PMF. This is a genuine all-rounder and it is hard to find fault with its design, ability and versatility

A neat cube shaped coffee machine, with Douwe Egberts coffe pods, certainly packs a punch.

The Tefal Actifry Family, lets you cook fried-style food with a fraction of the calorie count. Healthy fried food, made easy.

While this is only a smallish shop they do have a thriving mail order business. I am telling you about just two items from their wide range of gift items that are sourced from places around the globe and I understand the makers are paid a fair wage.

Known for their small precision craft drills Dremel have now introduced the Trio - similar is styling to a small hand-held router or electric jigsaw this versatile tool will cut, rout and sand.

Cooking for Geeks is as much a workshop manual as a cookery book. It discusses the tools, and how to use them; and the components, and how to assemble them; as well as, finally, some plans -- sorry, recipes. It should be very useful to those who want to learn about cooking but need to know what actually is going on. Furthermore, it gives quite a number of tips that could well be new to many experienced cooks.