dcarch

Or: eBay, all you need for better performance: 100 watt (v.s. 30 watts, more than 3 times the power) solar panel with charger: $250.00 1,500 watt power inverter: $60.00 12V car batteries say $500.00 dcarch

Two food forums shut down recently: Chef2Chef (spelling?) Cooking.com (in another week or so) dcarch

Simple solutions: 1. Use a solid state relay. 2. Or connect in series with a diode to cut current in half. dcarch

"---Desperate to use it I got some porn tenderloin---" LOL!! dcarch

1. Use a heavy plate, heat up the plate first. 2. Use large block of Himalayan salt and have the salt block heated. 3. Infrared heat lamp. 4. Electric hot plate 5. Table top butane stove dcarch

Actually I have been able to get crispy skin, I mean crackling crispy without over cooking the fish. The salmon was SV at 120F. dcarch

Kim - Pot roast may be easy for you, but I find it not alway come out the way I like. David Ross - That fried shrimp dish is not easy either. mm84321 - ugly fish, beautiful dish. Rico - nice looking steak, so what it's a little chewy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Storm after storm here in NY. There was not much to do, everything was shut down, Only boring weather reports and campaign commercials on TV. So I turned off the TV and cooked dcarch Salmon can have three textures: Raw as in sushi, fully cooked flaky like canned salmon, then there is Sous vide salmon. Salmon cooked at very low temperature has this amazing tender juicy creamy consistence. Roasted pork with roasted pepper Baked ribs with baked cauliflower Sometimes, just too lazy to fry green tomatoes. Season the slices and pop them in the waffle iron

Not trying to be a purist; however, is it just me or do they look more fried than poached?. What you are looking at is powdered bacon sprinkled on top. You can't fry eggs in water dcarch

In the unlikely event that you have electricity but no water: An air conditioner can extract water from air effectively, so can a dehumidifier. If the lack of water for an extended period of time is of major concern, look into how to make a simple solar distiller. It is not that complicated. dcarch

"------ if I see a cheap one I'll give it a go, see how it goes with tomatoes (I eat a lot of tomatoes, they're always my test for knife sharpness)" You don't need to spend the money for a good knife for cutting vegetables and tomatoes. If you keep a consistence slicing angle, a sharp plastic knife will last a long time. I find a ceramic knife not that good for slicing tomatoes. Because the brittleness of ceramics, they have to grind the edge at more blunt edge angles. dcarch

The purists are not going to like this one either. I have seen all the videos of "perfect" poached eggs, including those by famous chefs. This is my egghead approach of poaching eggs: 1. I don't use vinegar, salt or baking soda. 2. I don't stir the water 3. And I don't want to waste any egg white. 4. I want my poached eggs done exactly the way I like, EVERY TIME, regardless of how big, how old, or how cold the eggs are. The basic property of egg white and egg yolk and the thermodynamics of water are simple, and the desired end result can be predictable and repeatable. 1. Crack eggs into small plastic cups. Season the eggs if you prefer. 2. In a large pot bring water to rapid boil. 3. Place cups with eggs in boiling pot on a rack to STEAM the eggs. Do not BOIL the cups in water. 4. In a minute the egg white will be somewhat firm and the yolks are still runny. 5. Remove the cups, and turn off the fire. 6. Gently pour the eggs into the hot water. The egg white will not spread all over because it has been cooked firm. 7. Select from the egg charts (you can find many on the WEB) the degree of runny-ness you like the yolks, add cold water to the boiling water and use a thermometer to check the temperature. I use my sous vide cooker to keep temperature to within one degree F. 8. As long as you keep the temperature constant, your eggs cannot be overcooked. dcarch

I would think there are good or bad ceramic materials. Chipping is not good for a knife, otherwise you will see tungsten carbide used in knife making. High carbon steel is great for knives; it is used to cut tough metal. Very few things in your kitchen and refrigerator present a problem for steel knives. dcarch

Fluffy. dcarch

Not sure where this topic belong. A tip: Many of you may find it essential to store water after having seen the destructiveness of the storm Sandy . The bags from box wines (You wine snobs, shut up. LOL) are perfect for emergency water storage. They take very little room to store, and they are very durable. Each bag can hold about two gallons. Don't throw them away and mess up our environment. dcarch

You can't use a magnetic knife holder. dcarch

I have a couple of ceramic knives for a while. Never liked them. If you get one, you should also get a few diamond sharpening stones so that you can sharpen it. A pain to ship it back to the factory to sharpen. dcarch

Good to have you back Kim. Good to hear things are back to normal. Good to see you are betting even better in cooking! dcarch

Thanks everyone. Yes, caltrop nut (Asian waterchestnut) is very edible. There are many recipes you can find on-line. dcarch

I got lucky, Sandy didn't do much damage (NY). Power never went out. Last year's Halloween was cancelled because of a big snow storm. I was determined to celebrate this year. dcarch Blondes Have More Meatballs? SV Tenderloin with baked Kabocha Squash For dessert, I found some crazy nuts (caltrop) to go with strawberries.

I don't think those are generators. They are just inverters with batteries. They are OK for low wattage use, like phones and computers, TVs and radios, not for any household appliances. dcarch If you read the specs they can power refrigerators... If you get an available solar panel charger, you dont even need to plug it in to charge it. Yes you can power up a refrigerator, the question is how long. You will need a huge huge huge solar panel to charge it up to run a refrigerator during a power outage. A system like that will need to be on trickle charge fulltime 24 hours year after year. Perhaps someone can have a small engine which uses hydrogen, or fuel cell battery technology. dcarch

I don't think those are generators. They are just inverters with batteries. They are OK for low wattage use, like phones and computers, TVs and radios, not for any household appliances. dcarch

Great to know this dcarch, I was just thinking about buying a unit like the one you showed, or the Iwatani as I already stock Iwatani canisters for the torch. I was thinking in fondues or searing meats "on the fly" at the table, but keeping food warm is another great use. Are these type of units also strong enough for real cooking with then if needed? No, you can't cook on them like regular stoves, but plenty good for light duty cooking, about 1/2 the fire power of a regular stove. Many Chinese hot pot restaurants use the same type, which is much cheaper, about $20.00 each. dcarch

Based on all the reviews, that seems like a good unit. I have had mine for 10 years (15?) no problems. I use it regularly. Put a ceramic plate on it on low fire, keeps food warm/hot the entirwe meal. dcarch

I have seen that place. They restore (not just repair) old appliances to their original glory. I wish I can remember that name. :-( dcarch

And don't do any 48 hour sous vide meals even if you have a generator. dcarch