Just as I bestowed pom-pom topped club covers, golf ball retrievers, and rubber gardening shoes on my golf- and gardening-enthusiast father, I now am bombarded with egg poachers, cookbook weights, and whisks of all sizes and shapes.  If a new culinary contraption hits the markets, chances are I’ll receive it as a Christmas, birthday or hostess gift.  Yes, my lust for cooking has turned me into the goddess of kitchen gadgets.    

Some sound too quirky to be useful.  Take, for instance, onion goggles.  Others, such as the silicon oven mitt, sound like a clumsy baker’s dream.  Yet, often the reverse is true.  Onion goggles are a godsend – no more tears! — while that hot, unwieldy oven mitt has been shoved to the back of a kitchen drawer, never to be used again. 

With so many utensils at my disposal I have become somewhat of an authority on non-essential cooking tools.  Below are a few of my favorites.  I could live without them but why would I want to?

Onion goggles – If I sloppily — and improperly — chop an onion, I can forget about itchy, red-rimmed eyes.  The foam around these glasses blocks out tear-provoking vapors.  When not in use, I push them atop my head to hold back errant strands of hair.  Nothing like a little geek chic in the kitchen.   
www.broadwaypanhandler.com/broadway/product.asp?s_id=0&dept_id=4400&pf_id=rsvp_onion_goggles

Silpat baking mat – Banish environmentally unfriendly parchment paper from your kitchen and line your baking sheet with a reusable Silpat baking mat.  With this silicon mat, you never have to grease another pan. 
http://www.kitchenkapers.com/silnonbaklin.html

Silicon muffin cups – Often my muffins and cupcakes stick to the bottom of those cute, decorative, paper baking cups. Try tearing off the paper and end up losing half of the cake.  With reusable “Sili-Cups,” I just flip the cups over and the muffins (or cupcakes) plop onto the plate.  Voila!  No more obvious baking mistakes.              
www.surlatable.com/product/reusable+sili-cups%2C+set+of+12+pastel.do?search=basic&keyword=muffin+cups&sortby=gsa&asc=true&page=1

Wire mesh strainer with pan hooks – Drain pasta, rinse vegetables and sift flour with this simple multi-purpose tool.   www.cpapc.com/store/8-Single-Mesh-Wire-Strainer-P1947C226.aspx

Kuhn Rikon vegetable peeler – Okay, it’s more of a tool than a gadget.  However, after going through piles of peelers, I have found the Kuhn Rikon Y-peeler to be the sharpest and, at $3.50, one of the cheapest.  It skims off potato, cucumber and carrot skins in seconds.  Fast, smooth, inexpensive and in a variety of colors.  What’s not to love?  swww.kuhnrikon.com/products/tools/tools.php3?id=36