After some bad experiences with ceramic mugs in microwaves and tiny oiled bowls rafted in saucepans of boiling water, I gave up on the idea of a mechanical crutch for poaching eggs. I tried to teach myself to poach eggs the traditional way, but could never get the whites to curl up around themselves, and continually lost track of which eggs had gone into the water when, leaving some too hard and others barely congealed. But after I discovered these easy-to-use silicone egg poaching pods, I am no longer bound to omelets come Sunday brunch. And since they're microwave-friendly, a weekday poached egg on toast has happily replaced my usual cereal.