Technology in the Kitchen

I sometimes wonder what people from generations before ours would think if they could see how technology today has infiltrated our lives.  It’s all around us, and even the kitchen is no exception!  Our entire company here at Our Best Bites is centered around the focus of people reaching for technology to enhance their experiences in the kitchen so we know first-hand how awesome it is to have so many resources at our fingertips.  I’m constantly on the lookout for things that make my life easier, more productive, and well- just more enjoyable, too!  Enter the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

Are you guys all familiar with the Microsoft Surface?  Even if you didn’t realize it, you’ve probably seen the catchy commercials.  Check this out:

Honestly, I think if the Surface had feelings it might be a little offended when it hears itself referred to as a “tablet.”  In all fairness, it is a tablet, but the most amazing thing about it, to me, is that it has the power of a laptop.  It acts just like my computer.  It can do all the stuff my computer does, just in a sleeker, lighter, more portable outfit.  Jackpot.

One of my favorite things about the basic construction of this device is the built in kickstand.  No special case or stand needed, the back panel of the incredibly thin, and light device, pivots out to place it at the perfect angle.

It works in both horizontal and vertical orientations, and makes typing, reading, and general use incredibly feasible.

The large screen (it’s 12-inches, that’s really good sized) has a brilliant display and makes it easy to follow along with my favorite recipes.  As a side-note, tis the season for zucchini!  We found our very first lovelies in our backyard garden this week (which is the earliest we’ve ever seen our zucchini) so I immediately whipped up this Zucchini Gratin.  If you haven’t tried it yet, put it on your to-do list this summer!

The Surface Pro 3 has an awesome Food & Drink Section built right in, and I’ve been impressed with how user-focused it is, making it easy to get organized and feel productive.  (I’m still waiting for the app that does my dishes and cleans my bathrooms.)

You can search for recipes, including featured daily eats,

or browse through an impressive collection to find new things to try.

There are plenty of apps to download from the Microsoft Store; two of my favorites are the beloved Allrecipes, and Every Day Food from Martha Stewart.

And of course I use it to look up my own recipes.  Sometimes people assume Kate and I have all of our recipes memorized.  Unfortunately we are not human database prodigies (like, honestly I can’t even remember where my own keys are right now).  We head to Ourbestbites.com just like the rest of you!  Just the other day I had my Surface open with two recipes on split-screen, which makes it really easy to multitask if your talent, like mine, is procrastination.  I transformed our crazy-popular Whipped Buttercream Icing into Cookies & Cream Icing for an Oreo-loving birthday boy.  Can’t wait to show you this one, but yes- I still had to follow along with my own recipe!

If you want, you can even browse by chef to find your inner culinary genius.

And when you do find it, add your waves of brilliance to your customized meal plan.  Keep notes, link recipes, or enter your own and have a great overview of your week.

I may have mentioned before that I am a compulsive list-maker.  I make lists for everything.  I make lists to organize the lists I need to make.  And when it comes to grocery shopping, as I often tell my husband, “if it’s not on the list, it doesn’t happen!”  It’s the only way I manage to stay (or at least appear to stay) organized.  I love that in this grocery list I can divide it into the different stores I need to stop by, and with one simple click I can print it out to pop in my purse and take along with me.

And while we’re on the topic of lists and notes and trying to appear organized, I am in LOVE with OneNote.  Do you guys already use it?

It’s an amazing organizational notebook tool (see more of what it can do, here) but in the kitchen specifically, I use it a lot for my recipe development.  When I write recipes, I used to have a bad habit of writing them on random scraps of paper, which then often mysteriously disappear (go figure.)  I’d have these beautiful photographs, but no details of how I actually came up with the recipe!  I tried typing them in my laptop as I went along, but that proved to be difficult too, because I have a funny sort of scribble technique that just works better with a pen and paper.  Enter  OneNote.  One click of that pen and it opens right up.

I’ve tried writing with a stylus before and itty-bitty screens, and it just doesn’t work for me.  This awesome pen feels just like a normal pen, only smoother.  And since the tablet itself is the size of a normal sheet of paper, it’s so easy and comfortable to write on.  I love that I can take notes just like I would on paper, with my arrows, color coding, notes, scribbles and everything.  Only this one doesn’t get lost!

I keep several different digital notebooks, for example one for blog recipes, and one for new recipes I’m developing for our new book, so I can keep everything in the right place.  Everything gets uploaded to my cloud so I can access it from lots of different places, and I can even convert my own writing into type.  It’s absolutely brilliant.  I also keep it separate from my husband’s stuff, because he can have his own notebooks where he often does his medical charting and notes directly on the tablet and keeps it organized.

You can even click in a colorful keyboard to really turn this tablet into a portable laptop.

It’s thin and light, but the weighted keys make typing feel like a normal computer, if tablet-typing isn’t your thing.  Plus they come in tons of fun colors!  You can easily get to work (or play) on the go, and all of the programs you’re used to from the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) are right there.

For me, that means I can easily keep up with my work, like writing proposals, recipes, or blog posts, and then hand it off to my kiddo to practice math or watch a video while I’m cooking dinner.  My husband can keep his stuff organized as well, and it’s all easily connected to the desktop PC in our office.  It’s truly a great device for families, and tomorrow I’ll show you how we integrate technology in my home to keep our kids happy, learning, and having fun!  Also, if you’re thinking there might be a giveaway involved here, you would be thinking right.  Make sure to check The Scoop tomorrow! 🙂

How many of you out there already own a Microsoft Surface?  What’s your favorite feature?  If you don’t already have one- what do you love the most from what you see??