Gadget Demonstration – TheBrownBagBlogger

Cooking Fish At Work….Can You Do That??

Yes, you can–without offending your coworkers.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve shared my experiences using the Hot Logic Mini Thermal Bag. It’s a portable nylon convection oven with a hot plate insert. When used with a sealed Pyrex dish, this wonderful gadget seals in flavor and odor while warming up and cooking a variety of foods.

This week, I cooked a raw food product for the very first time: Frozen salmon. I must admit that I had my doubts as to whether this would work. However, the manufacturer assured that the thermal bag could do the job.

I picked the fish up at my local Sprouts. Although wild salmon is rather expensive at almost $5 per serving, I’m really fond of the flavor and am willing to pay extra. Also, wild salmon tends to contain more healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids.

I put a slice of the salmon in my Hot Logic, skin side up, along with some frozen vegetables. Then I topped the fish with Lawry’s Lemon-Pepper Marinade and added chopped fresh dill. Finally, I plugged in the device. (By the way, I did not defrost any of this food prior to cooking.)

Two and a half hours later, here’s the result:

Everything was completely cooked and piping hot. The vegetables were tender but not overdone; the salmon was cooked just right. It was delicious!

Best of all, there was no fishy odor while the food cooked. And when I opened the Pyrex dish, the aroma was far less than it would have been with the use of a microwave oven. I should mention that glass Pyrex seems to be the only material that seals in flavor and odor. You can safely use the Mini Logic with plastic and foil containers, but you end up with a smellier cooking process.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Hot Logic Mini thermal bag, please see https://myhotlogic.com for more information. Also, look under the “Gadgets” category under the Menu section of this blog. Finally, you can purchase the Hot Logic Thermal Bag (also referred to as a “mini oven”) on amazon.com. The bag plus matching Pyrex dish runs about $55.

Fish and Vegetables for Lunch: Hot Logic Thermal Bag Demo

After wining and dining throughout eastern California this past week, I felt the need for a healthier, lighter lunch. So I pulled out my Hot Logic thermal bag and went to work.

In case you have not been following my posts on the subject, the Hot Logic thermal bag is a marvelous invention for brown baggers who want a hot lunch, but who do not wish to use the office microwave. The device is essentially a small, aluminum-lined lunch bag with an inner hot plate. I usually place my food in a glass Pyrex dish that I purchased with the bag. It takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to cook most foods with the Mini Logic. By the way, if you’re going on a road trip, you can plug the Mini into a car converter.

Today, I heated up some frozen breaded tilapia and frozen mixed vegetables. This is what the food looked like going into the Hot Logic:

I plugged the device in. Two and a half hours later, this is what lunch looked like:

Tilapia and frozen vegetables after cooking in Hot Logic

All of the food was completely cooked and piping hot. My only criticism is that the breading on the fish was kind of soggy. Otherwise, very tasty.

I should mention that using the Pyrex dish insured there were no food smells emanating from the oven. Great if you want to heat your lunch in your own work area.

My next experiment: Cooking breadless, frozen fish in the thermal bag. The Hot Logic manufacturers guarantee that it can be done. So stay tuned…..

If you are interested in finding out more about this device, please see https://myhotlogic.com for more information. Also, look under the “Gadgets” category under the Menu section of this blog. Finally, you can purchase the Hot Logic Thermal Bag (also referred to as a “mini oven”) on amazon.com. The bag plus matching Pyrex dish runs about $55.

Hot Logic Demo: Frozen Ravioli Cooked in Its Own Container

I am increasingly impressed at the things my new portable Hot Logic thermal bag can do. (The Hot Logic mini is a portable convection oven/lunch bag in which you can cook hot meals for lunch.)

In my last blog, I described a successful demo where I cooked a lamb dish in the bag within two hours.

This time, I decided to test the manufacturer’s claim that one can cook frozen dinners in the Hot Logic….without opening the cardboard container.

Below, you see an unopened one-serving package of frozen ravioli that I placed in my Hot Logic mini.

*Frozen dinner sitting in my Hot Logic mini oven*

Two hours later, I opened up the Hot Logic device, and then the package. (Two hour cooking time per Hot Logic manual instructions.) The cardboard was not burned or otherwise damaged. The interior container and plastic film cover were not damaged, either. The food came out piping hot and ready to eat. Lovely!

As mentioned before: If you are interested in finding out more about this product, you can go to https://myhotlogic.com or type in “hot logic” at amazon.com.

Demonstration: Hot Logic Thermal Bag

I’m a bit of a sucker for gadgets of any kind. With this in mind, I decided to try out the above device after hearing raves from a close friend of mine. The Hot Logic mini is a single-serving conduction oven, apparently made of some sort of nylon on the outside, and aluminum lining on the inside. The operative element is a hot plate placed inside the container. It is small and convenient for transportation, and the Hot Logic makers advertise it as a great alternative for people who lunch at work. By the way, you can also purchase a vehicular converter from the manufacturer if you want to heat food in your car.

The mini oven is sold on amazon.com, along with a Pyrex container, for approximately $55.00. This does not included shipping costs. Dimensions are 10″x7.5″. The Pyrex container is rectangular and holds 6 cups. Specs indicate the nylon case can hold a container up to 8.75″x6.75″x2.5″. You can purchase the entire set for a comparable price at
https://myhotlogic.com.

The American-based makers of this product state that one can heat frozen food and leftover refrigerated food with the device. They also claim that you can use the Hot Logic mini to cook certain foods from scratch. Well, that remains to be seen. However, I did try it with a frozen Saffron Road lamb dish that I purchased at Sprouts.

Although the specs say that the above food item can be directly placed in the oven, cardboard box and all, I decided to play it safe and use the Pyrex container.

I placed the food in the Pyrex dish, sealed it with the plastic top, put the Pyrex in the mini oven, zipped everything closed, and plugged ‘er in. Two hours later, here are the results:

The lamb was hot, moist, tender and delicious. The side dish was just okay, but I suspect that the quality of the rice was more at fault than the Hot Logic device. At any rate, the food was more than adequately heated, and it tasted great. Also, I noted that the outside of the nylon oven was not hot, not even near the point of contact with the hot plate. This would support the manufacturers’ claim that the oven can be safely plugged into a car. Finally, there were no food odors until I opened the device at completion of cooking. This tells me that the mini oven can be used at the work site without bothering one’s neighbors.

You will be hearing more about the Hot Logic Mini as I experiment and try more dishes.