A few years ago I decided to season my new wok. It was early in the morning, but still after my husband had left for work and before I had taken the dog for our morning adventure around the neighborhood.

My wok was happily seasoning away in the oven — or so I thought. Suddenly, the integrated home smoke alarm went off with more force than a tornado siren, and I had firemen at my door. (Did I mention I was still in my PJs?)

Too bad I didn't have one of these little birds; it would have saved me serious embarrassment that day. More

My day job requires trips to the grocery store at least three times a week, and sometimes up to five times a week. Needless to say, I'm always looking for tools to help make shopping quick and efficient, with a minimum of forgotten ingredients — nothing is worse than having to return to the store for one stupid thing! — and I think I've found it all in the Grocery iQ app. More

My iPhone is a veritable graveyard for cooking apps.

I have screens cluttered with apps that help me time cooking or substitute ingredients or shop more efficiently or find the most perfect dinner to make for my family tonight.

In reality, there are only a handful that I actually use, and those are ones that get used a lot.

Which apps do you think are worth buying? More

PepperMate Pepper Mill

• $34.95
• Amazon

When The Kitchn team reviewed our favorite pepper mills, I was surprised that no one used the PepperMate mill. This efficient little mill with a handy container to catch the pepper has been on my wishlist for years. It's especially useful in the kitchen (as opposed to on the table), where cooks often need to measure pepper in quantities of teaspoons, not grinds.

Color options: Black or white.

Remember one-ingredient banana ice cream? The surprise hit of the century here at The Kitchn? This treat is one of our all-time most popular posts, probably because of its crazy, semi-magical nature and simple preparation. (Freeze bananas. Blend until they resemble soft serve ice cream. Eat. Repeat.) So I was flabbergasted to see this new as-seen-on-TV gadget that proposes to do this magic work of transforming frozen bananas into ice cream. One-ingredient banana ice cream has officially hit the big time — or jumped the shark. More

How many tools does a home bartender really need? I find I'm of two minds on this. Sometimes I want to go keep things pared down to the essentials (just a jigger, shaker, bar spoon, strainer, and citrus reamer, ma'am). Other times I find myself eyeing spherical ice molds and ornate absinthe spoons. Here's my own bi-level bar tool essentials/appealing extras list. Tell us, what's on yours? More

I recently came across a recipe for fruit leather made in a dehydrator and found myself sighing a lusty sigh. With recipes like this catching my eye and summer produce just around the corner, the lure of the food dehydrator is becoming harder to resist. Do you own one? More

We've come up with a lot of inventive solutions for keeping our iPads out of harm's way in the kitchen, from wall-mounted peg boards to rolling them in plastic wrap. But this Chef Sleeve might be the best idea yet. More

When I first saw this, I thought for sure it was a belated April Fool's joke. Over-sized metal coffee beans that can keep your coffee at perfect temperature for hours without reheating? Yeah, right. But believe it or not, these magic beans are real. More

Have you seen this video of the magic robot spatula? It's pretty amazing; it can pick up and put down soft, semi-liquid foods like mayonnaise without a wrinkle. Take a quick peek! More