I recently purchased the RK701115 to what can only be described as confusion by my friends and family. They were convinced it would be yet another kitchen appliance that sat dusty at the back of the cupboard never used. They could not have been more wrong.

Not only does this fabulous machine cook rice for you with absolutely no thinking involved (you just put the correct amount of rice and water in it and it works out how long it should cook it for) but it will have dinner ready for you when you get in from work. Unfortunately it doesn't do all the shopping and preparation for you but it does provide a really simple solution for busy people. I'm a vegetarian so i will generally use it to make soups or veggie casseroles either overnight or while i am out at work - just put all the ingredients in and switch it on - it's that simple. It also steams (useful for making little foil parcels of fish and veg which you just pop in when you get home and 20 minutes later - done!), and makes porridge - perfect for this time of year.

It's super easy to clean with a non stick bowl - just be careful not to use metal utensils in it. The machine itself is quite large in size but sits on my worktop and blends in fine as it's a lovely brushed chrome and black. It's not a heavy appliance so storing it in a cupboard and getting it out again wouldn't be an issue. When it's running it's almost silent -though it does beep to alert you that your cooking is finished!

I purchased mine from Littlewoods Direct for £49.99 and though it would have been worth every penny I also got an evoucher for money off so ended up paying about £39.99 for it.

If you're a busy person who still wants to be able to cook healthy meals from scratch but not have to stand stirring and worrying about them all day -this is the appliance for you. A truly useful kitchen gadget.