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Anna, I don't know how convenient a "Food Basics" store is to you, but they have boneless blade on sale this week for $4.49 a lb. p

Two things - Rereading "Night Prey" by John Sandford and... http://forums.egullet.org/topic/135134-eg-foodblogs-information-index/ Totally awesome, just finished 2005 and starting 2006. Thanks to all the bloggers of the past who shared a week with us. If you have the time, the're worth a look-see. p

That was indeed a great well written story, the part about going to Europe with her husband and exploring Italian cooking reminded me of Julia Child. Thanks for the link. p

It's too bad N. America hasn't bought into either the EU or IOC standards. p

Quick question on your Mac & Cheese recipe: Is your "T" abbreviation teaspoon or Tablespoon? I wonder if you could you use whole milk instead of evaporated? Parmesan is the expensive one for sure. p

I'm going out on a limb here but again I come back to density, a thinner mixture (just plain water) will create more steam, quicker than a thicker mixture. When a substance changes from a liquid to a gas heat is given off and the heat comes from the liquid. It takes longer for a thicker liquid to recover that heat and continue to convert itself to vapor. Perhaps someone with more than High School science could jump in with a more expert opinion. p

Density and convection A thick mixture will take longer to heat evenly than a thinner mixture. A bare carrot will be more evenly exposed to the effect of heat than one in foil which is somewhat insulated. Convection. p

Me too! Then I graduated to a fountain pen sometime in High School It never ceases to amaze me the amount of creativity and enthusiasm you have for cooking. p

I live in Orillia, a small town with few grocery store choices. I want to buy my oil in a grocery store, not on-line, not a gourmet shop (of which there are none). Now this is the kicker, I don't want to spend a lot of money. The oil would be used mainly in pasta sauces, in dressings and occasionally for dipping bread. I have been buying Bertoli, but researching online has suggested Coleveti is better and I have seen it in stores. Anyone have an opinion or alternative suggestion? I have access to President's Choice products. This is the price range I am looking at. Thanks p

Check the price @ Amazon vs their website - figure in the cost of the dollar and shipping, do the math, at the time their website was cheaper p

Test Kitchen quotes: It’s time-consuming to bring a big pot of water to a boil, but it’s not exactly hard to prepare pasta. Despite our skepticism, we tested three different microwave pasta cookers, priced from $12.95 to $35. We simply added pasta to each oblong plastic box, poured in enough cold water to cover, microwaved until done (no stirring), and then flipped to drain through the lid. Every model cooked both strand and shaped pasta properly in almost half of the time it took to cook the same amount in the traditional stovetop method from start to finish. Draining through one model’s floppy lid was problematic: Its draining holes let small noodles slip through and it exposed our hands to steam and water burns. But the other two models won favor for sturdy, quick-cooling plastic handles and lids, with narrow slits that strained water away from our hands. Of the two, our winner got the edge for its low price. Foolproof for cooking up to four servings, it makes fast pasta dinners even faster. and comments on Fasta Pasta: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - WINNER Fasta Pasta Microwave CookerIt’s not much to look at, but this microwave pasta cooker makes light work of preparing pasta. Our panel detected no difference in taste or texture between strands cooked in the microwave and those boiled on the stovetop. Wide handles clip the lid firmly in place for safe, secure straining. DESIGN★★★COOKING★★★STRAINING★★★ @dcarch: "...I don't see a need for me to have a microwave pasta cooker." Some do, some don't btw Anna, your model was not recommended for exactly the reasons you gave. p

The Fasta Pasta device has slits/slots at only one end of the lid so basically you just tip and pour much like you would with a pot. Personally l just use a plastic colander as I've always done. p

Anyone eaten there recently? Comments? What choices were good or bad? p

See what you started -Good on 'u!! p

I think we need a short people's forum, i'm 5'5" and i'm debating taking the legs off my island to reduce the height to about 29". I find i'm almost reaching up to chop. Upper shelves in cabinets require a stepstool. I've made chicken stock in my IP and it was good and fast. A lot of people when they first think of PC cooking, think of a warm, homogeneous mixture served in a bowl that resembles a stew than anything else, not true! p

I did not mean to put you on the spot about visiting, I was just sort of kidding, it would require major pre-planning on my part. By my count you've done 5 or 6 things already in less than 2 days, that's a lot of washing up! Can you get by with a rinse & dry, or is it soap and water? Depending on what you plan to cook next, you could just "deglaze" and use the liquid in the pot in the next recipe or to steam some potatoes or vegetables. I live "out in the country" part of Orillia, on a short dead end road with little or no traffic, the nearest grocery is 15 minutes away. I know my postman well and usually when we meet have an enjoyable conversation about fishing or what's going on in town. I'm fortunate and am not looking forward to his retirement in a few years as his replacement may have a more modern approach to his duties. I'm also on a first name basis with my Ups driver, thanks to Amazon p

You're like a little kid, just can't wait to play with their new toy I'm glad you chose the poached eggs as your first "experiment" (which was a success) as your barely edible Chinese dish would have been a disappointing introduction to this machine. I have a Zoji ricemaker as well and it makes great rice, but the time is just too much. I haven't tried rice in the instant pot, but was it too sticky compared to the Zoji? I guess your post person may be in for a little treat come Christmas time, that was considerate of him/her (I hate being politically correct) I hope all issues are resolved successfully regarding your trip, I look forward to your Northerly excursions, I might even contemplate a visit, but l'd have to bring my lady-friend (a Shih Tzu called Missy, we could share a couch ha ha!) Btw you never answered...so much did you save on the notebook? Ha ha! p

Congratulations Anna, I'm sure you'll enjoy it and the lovely food out of it. Might it make the trip to Manatoulin this fall? They are well packed aren't they, that outer box could survive being thrown off a roof! An aside, how much did you save by picking it up across the border as opposed to Amazon.ca? p

^^ I do that with chicken bones as it avoids the stink in the kitchen and more importantly my dog hasn't learned how to open the freezer yet. p

Is Comet/Dutch Cleanser basically the same as Bar Keepers Friend? Another tip, if using induction and you have a spill or boil-over, just lift the pot, wipe and continue cooking, no hot element/burner to worry about. p

Basically echoing Andie's reply, the lid of the box has measuring holes for serving sizes, the website has recipes for up to 4 servings. The only definitive recipe calls for 3 cups of rotini for 4 servings. I add salt to the water before cooking as well though the recipes don't mention it. The side of the box has fill lines for the quantity of water. The bottom of the box is stepped so the pasta (spagetti/linguini)doesn't sit right on the bottom of the box, so there is water below the pasta as well. I had a minor (repeat minor) stroke back in November. Residual effects are numbness/tingling on the left side of my face and in my left hand. While I have no particular weakness in my left hand or arm it is more of a strain or effort to lift things than with my right. I did not buy this with that in mind but it is an unforseen benefit. I can see how this would be a huge benefit to anyone with arthritis or another disability in that lifting and draining a large pot of water would be a large barrier. p

http://fastapasta.com/ I'll try to respond to some points raised: "size" - 4 servings (whatever that is?),one recipe calls for 3 cups of rotini if that helps "cost" - US>cheap, Canada> not so much (difference in dollar, shipping etc) "any container?" - in the cambro discussion there was mention made of the acceptable temp ranges the various types were rated at, only the polycarbonate were rated at 100C - food safe @ 100C? " linguine uncooked" - I have a full power micro (1000 watts) and use the shortest time, not had that happen, I used linguine as well "cook time" - takes me more than 2 minutes to boil enough water for pasta, also you have to stir the pasta now and then to prevent sticking and clumping, this doesn't "efficiency" - boiling water in a kettle is the most energy efficient and fastest method but I wouldn't use a kettle to cook pasta Full disclosure: I'm not a shill for this company and am not trying to "sell" this product but was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked for me. I was surprised that no one had commented on it before however. p

Just purchased one of these from their website. Basically it's a food safe plastic box with a lid (which is only used for draining the pasta). It cooks the pasta in the microwave in about 10 minutes depending on quantity. This is overall much faster than the stove when you take into account the time needed to boil the water. I've used it a few times and followed their direction regarding quantities and time and been rewarded with perfect al dente pasta each time. I got this mainly because of ease of use, no big pot of water to boil and drain.Cost was cheap and came highly recommended. Amazon reviews and ATK all were rave. Actually l couldn't find a negative review on the Web. Does anyone else have one of these? Did you buy one and decide to put it out to pasture because it didn't live up to its promise? Well it's not exactly a multi-tasker, their website does have many recipes including one for cake!!!, mind you from a mix, p

Plan A + plan B leads to success. Well done! p

Chemical vs mechanical, I'd vote for chemical first as there is less chance of damaging things, mechanical on the other hand either works or you go shopping for a new one p