dcarch

I suppose if you are in areas not far from silkworm farming, mulberries can be very cheap. Silkworms only eat mulberry leaves. I remember long time ago, I travelled to a town where there was a lot of silkworm farming. A very ecological way of life style. Mulberry trees produced berries for people, leaves for silkworms. Silkworms made silk. Silkworms also made a lot of droppings, which were used as feed for carp fish farming. After silkworm cocoons were processed for silk, the pupas were fried as snacks. Very tasty snacks and healthy for people. 100% recycling. Nothing was wasted. dcarch

Frequently on Craigtslist, you can find good insulated aluminum windows all for free. dcarch

Admiring everyone's sophisticate recipes, I am not done with simple corned beef yet. SV corned beef on black and white asparagus. dcarch

Good advice!!! There will be problem with the Lithium battery if vacuumed. dcarch

A thin (and cheap) hot pot has advantages. Many hot pots are used on a $12.00 propane portable table top stove, which has limited fire power. A pot with thin wall works well. Many hot pot restaurants too use that kind of portable stove and the same thin pots. dcarch

Vacuum is a great dehydrating method. Water vaporizes quickly under vacuum. dcarch

I think rice as a desiccant may be one of those myths. "But I always put rice in salt to keep salt dry" In fact, the opposite is true, it is the salt that is keeping the rice dry. Salt is an excellent drying agent. If you don't bag your ice melt salt well, soon the salt will turn into water. That is because it draws moisture from the air very effectively. dcarch

So when will dinner be ready? dcarch

The aprons are a great decoration idea. I have one from the TVfoodnetwork. Why the TV is mounted so high? Could cause a pain in the neck. dcarch

Components for my DIY solar electric fence charger: 12v 5 watt solar panel $10.00 solar charger controller $8.00 high voltage generator $5.00 Used Apple computer rechargeable lithium batteries, two, $6.00 I intend to win the battle. dcarch

I posted my corned beef on the Dinner thread. dcarch

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Sous vided corned beef on napa cabbage. 138F 72 hours resulted in fork tender corned beef. dcarch

Time to take a look at youtube on "How to make your own smoke bomb" dcarch

if I was to make a solar cooker, I would use 1" thick rigid foam for the outside (foam is cheap at HD) box. For the window, I would look at Craigslist for salvaged modern insulating windows for IR reflecting glass. For interior finish, I would go to a telescope making forum and ask for information about the blackest black paint. Solar light enters the cooker, hits the black surfaces, converts into IR(heat), the IR reflective glass blocks the IR from escaping. You may end up with a real practical solar cooker. dcarch

Sunlight gives you less than 300 BTU per sq. ft. compared to a gas range, which produces 18,000 BTUs. The whole key for a better solar cooker is insulation, insulation and insulation. Also, the cookware should be as black as possible. dcarch

The meatballer can do a few things better, such as the picture above shows inserting cheese in the middle. I have done meatballs that were 1/2 black and 1/2 white. The hole on the meatballer can also allow the insertion of asparagus, fro instance. No problem for me. Just brush some vegetable oil inside the meatballer. Assuming the meat is solid and has no air bubbles, based on the law of physics, it is impossible to compress solids. dcarch

This one: Norpro 155 Stainless Steel Mini Meatballer For perfect meatballs, and no raw meat under your fingernails. dcarch

Very easy to grow. My year round arugula supply, summer and winter. dcarch

Am I the only one who uses the meatballer? dcarch

No wonder it is so big and heavy. A typical window unit has only two motors. the cooling and heat ejection fans use the same motor and the compressor uses another motor. This thing has at least 5 motors. One for the compressor, two for heat ejection, at least one for cooling and the small thing on the bottom is a shaded pole water ejection motor. dcarch

An air conditioner always need to drain away condensate water from dehumidification. Some drain it out side, some splash on condensing coil to cool the coil and gain efficiency. There may be a hole for water to go from the cooling side to the hot side. dcarch

What is the model# of your A/C? I am guessing there is an opening connecting the evaporative side and the condensing side for the purpose of ventilation. You can probably close that opening with duct tape. dcarch

Not necessarily. In aerodynamics, when air is blown over a surface, it will create an uplift pressure. Try to blow over a piece of paper. It does not mean air is being sucked out. Check your air flow pattern. dcarch

Here you go. dcarch

Cut off the fat layer and deep fry to crispy. Better than bacon. dcarch