Now that tablet computers are becoming affordable, there’s a whole lot of use for them in the kitchen. Including the Electronic Recipe Assistant. (Queue announcer voice: “A new ERA in home cooking has arrived…”)

Really it’s simple stuff. Aggregating the groceries for the week’s menus, and letting people “cross off” stuff they already have shelved, to produce nice grocery lists (print to any networked printer in the house). Touch the screen to see the next step — ERA will need a plastic screen guard, to keep the grease off, something you can toss in the dishwasher. Heck, if it’s got a loud enough speaker, it can read the next step, and respond to requests: “ERA: Next Step!”

I don’t know if I’m just a geek, but when I’m alone in the kitchen cooking, I could use an ERA…