Gadgets: Bowl makes oatmeal for 4

Lekue’s $40 oatmeal kit is essentially a 1-liter microwaveable bowl with a decorative cover and matching spoon. But before you mock it — and many have, one person noting that she already has an oatmeal maker, “It’s called a bowl” — you must know of my repeated bad luck at microwaving oatmeal.

Many mornings I have opened my microwave to find most of my breakfast all over the rotating glass plate. I finally succumbed to using a huge bowl (bigger than the one in the kit), which is ridiculous, but works. Lekue’s kit makes up to four servings at a time in a bowl that’s about half the size of what I use for one.

Plus, I like the aesthetics of the Lekue products and the few I’ve used have worked well.

So I gave it a try. The oatmeal, although cooked, was a little runnier than what I’m used to, but after sitting for about 10 minutes a lot of the liquid was absorbed and I finally had oatmeal sprinkled with mango for breakfast.

Lekue also touts its bowl as being a rice and grain cooker and includes instructions on cooking several types of rice, wheat, quinoa and millet. But when I tried making brown rice I instead got uncooked brown rice soup. I had better luck with white rice, although it wasn’t cooked fully, giving me a little more than an al dente bite.

Then I noticed the section in the instructions that suggests checking on the rice halfway through the cooking time and again just before time is up to “make sure the rice or grain is always moist until it is cooked.” If I have to keep checking I’d rather use a rice pot.

Does it work?: Kind of.

Pros: It’s easy to clean and the bowl and its cover are pretty enough that it can be used as a serving dish. Also, four delicious oatmeal recipes — apple pie; carrot cake; banana pudding; and mango, orange and ginger — are included.

Cons: Too much work to use as a rice and grain cooker.

Cost: $30-$40 on various websites, including lekueusa.com and amazon.com

Worth it?: Sadly, not at that price.

Got a gadget that you love? Or are you curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com, or write Crave, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.