beccaboo

Yes--I hate cooked turnips but quite like cooked rutabagas. Rytabagas aren't so watery, and don't get that icky uriney flavor.

What's less nice about the QVC one? I have the 'nice' one (lucky me!), but the QVC set looks like a good deal.

I only use a hand mixer for one thing--seven minute frosting--but for that it's essential. You couldn't possibly use a stand mixer with a double boiler, and I don't imagine a hand blender would work as well either.

Peel them, cut them into little matchsticks, mix with chopped coriander and green onion, pour some hot peanut oil over them, them mix in a little soy sauce and sesame oil and a pinch of sugar. Yummy salad! I hate them cooked, though.

It's only 2 1/2 liters, I think. It's really nice for when you want to cook just a few carrots or something, and by the time they're done cooking the water seems to have gone aaway, or thichened--anyway, there's no need to drain them. I guess it could be because it's small and there's less air to expell, but that wouldn't account for my big Magefesa only needing 1/2 cup of water. Don't the cheaper pressure cooker need at least a cup of water? That what Lorna Sass says (her books are good, especially Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure )

One advantage of the new expensive pressure cookers is that they get up to and maintain pressure with less water--my little Kuhn Rikon 'pressure fry pan' only needs 1/4 cup water, and my big 8l Magefesa needs 1/2 cup.

If you use 100% linen tea towels, the dough won't stick nearly as much as with cotton towels. Also, try flouring with rice flour--it's really non-stick!

Arrowroot's much cheaper if you get it in bulk from the health food store. I use it in place of cornstarch, because I think it tastes nicer, so I go through quite a lot of it.

Rice--basmati, vialone, jasmine Flour--all-purpose, pastry, whole-wheat pastry, whole wheat bread, cake, durum.... Corn meal, masa harina Sugar Beans--garbanzo, black, cannellini, azuki Garlic Oil--olive, peanut, rapeseed, sesame Potatoes Allkinds of things I can'r think of now....

I try out new recipes on guests--I can usually tell if a recipe sounds reasonable. My mother says you should never serve a recipe from Gourmet magazine without trying it first, because, though usually good, they can often be unexpectedly inedible. That's the Gourmet of 15 and more years ago, though--things may have changed.