FOAS,I have pretty much stayed out of the sous vide discussions but I'll jump in this time. I tried half a dozen or so stove top sous vide experiments last winter and this spring with success in all but one attempt (although bemoaning having to listen for the alert beep of the probe thermometer when the temperature fluctuated). The one failure was with lamb shanks which came out tasting so gamey that they became dogfood. They were large shanks and maybe from an older animal. They were seasoned with a little salt, pepper, garlic and bits of preserved lemon and should have been great. I think the fault was with the meat and not the method. This spring Max got me a Sous Vide Magic temp. controller and a Fresh Meals Magic bubbler/heater that came with an 18 liter Cambro type vertical container and lid. I would say that on average I use the entire setup about once every ten days. I like that you can cook more than one kind of meat at time, as long as they cook at the same temperature and as long as you write down and set timers for the amount of time each meat requires. I use the heater with my ten cup (probably six quart water capacity) rice cooker for cooking smaller amounts of meat and bringing previously sous vide cooked and frozen meats up to a serving temp. I would say I use the rice cooker setup at least 5 times a month. I have a two and a half pound chuck roast reheating now, and what I have learned about chuck roast is that I should cut and seal it in smaller amounts, more like a pound, because while it reheats and sears beautifully ONCE, it is not so great if you have leftovers at that point. Although Oliver, the 76 pound poodle in the house, thinks they are wonderful so nothing is wasted. As with anything there is a learning curve and I have kept notes on what I've cooked, the time and temperature, and whether any adjustments needed to be made in the future. I'm not sure how or if altitude affects the whole process. I have Doug Baldwins book and since he is at the University of Colorado here in Boulder I can only assume that since his book does not address altitude there are no modifications needed. My questions, earlier this year, about seasoning cast iron pans were in order to have more successful post sous vide searing and I do now have a number of well seasoned pans that I'm happy with and use them and my cast iron grill pan to do most of the finishing. We are only a two person household and don't eat dinner at the same time every day (basically we eat late, and later) so it is a great convenience to just be able pull something out of the freezer and thaw and heat in 45 to 60 minutes. Of course there are many other ways of achieving a good and quick dinner and I use them too. The meats that I have cooked repeatedly and like are: eye of round, cooked to just below med rare with one dinner using the hot roast and the rest chilled, sliced thinly, frozen and used for sandwich meat (beefy red-pink all the way through and tender); pork loin done the same way as a roast and sandwich meat and also with one inch thick boneless slices to finish as pork chops (pork cooked to 138�), boneless, skinless chicken breasts to use in many ways, chicken hindquarters bone in skin on cooked in a confit style; short ribs; chuck roast, lamb shoulder chops (very successful unlike my one attempt with shanks), ribeye steaks and prime grade sirloin steak. Only once did I cook pork too long and noticed that it was harder to slice neatly and had a slightly softer texture than I would have liked. So I'm glad I have it, I wouldn't want it to be only cooking method for these meats but we have been pleased with the results. I haven't tried fish in it because fish is so quick to cook in other ways but I'm sure I'll get around to trying salmon since one of our favorite ways with that is low/slow roasted at 225�. I haven't tried eggs, or vegetables, but I am intrigued with using it for yogurt and dulce de leche. Lee P.S. You are probably right about the sub $100. version, but wait we'll send you two, on a late nite infomercial - someone is already marketing a modified deepfryer/sous vide unit.

What a great thread...just found it today as I was surfing GW - I live mostly on the Kitchen & Home building forums :) Ilene - I was particularly interested in hearing your story - how is your daughter doing? I, too, had gastric bypass in Jan 06...my only regret was that I didn't do it earlier. I was indeed 'dying' a slow death & to me, it was the last resort, too. It took me 20 years to finally decide. I researched until all the cows came home...I am one to research something to death - I had to be sure. I'm almost 5 years post-op & I feel great! I've lost about 165 lbs & feel so much better. Hubby likes it, too ;) (Before & after pic below). The bypass is by no means a 'free pass'...it's a tool that, if used correctly, can have dramatic results. There is no magic solution...one still has to work. Yes, it does make it easier in some areas but the surgeon's knife didn't work on my brain. I had to use the 'honeymoon' period to build the good habits that will keep the weight off. I'm not perfect but like with anything you do...you just keep shooting toward the mark. :) Sugar was the reason I weighed 333 lbs. I was blessed with an intense sweets aversion from the moment I woke up. God must've said, "This gal needs this!" LOL A lot of people have sweets aversion following surgery (along with other weird food tastes that do eventually change) but they most often 'train' themselves right back into the sugar habit by just switching to sugar-free or even with the real stuff. I just chose to keep the white stuff out of my life. I was the dessert queen so it was kind of a challenge to hand off my 'crown' :) I do have to be careful, though...my sweet tooth has become very salty - love salt (funny, I have low blood pressure). I love those new Pop Chips - very low calories & fat. My favorite snack is the Revival Soy Jalapeno Cheddar protein chips...yum! The thing that helps me is cooking in bulk & freezing in portions. I make a lot of Arrabbiata Sauce (a spicy Italian sauce) & either combine it with meatballs or 'chunky' cooked hamburger (when I cook I don't mash the meat into tiny bits...I keep it 'chunky' so it's meaty.) I eat that with cottage cheese & don't miss the pasta at all. When hamburger is on sale, I make 2 huge pans of meatballs & cook them in the oven & store in Ziploc bags in the freezer. I can use these in so many different ways. I also make a boatload of chili at a time - one of my favorite meals. I've gathered a lot of favorite recipes & try to always have something on hand. For me, planning is essential. I fill my fridge with in-season produce & veggies. I make a lot of roasted veggies & eat with cottage cheese. I make tons of homemade salsas & use Mission extra-thin corn tortillas for my 'chips'. Quarter them, zap in micro for about 1:30 until crispy, 1 oz cheese on top, zap, serve with salsa, sour cream & a few grapes. I make a lot of beans, rice for...

I was looking for reviews of washers and dryers when I needed to buy a new one. Google found the Laundry Forum. I don't think I even joined at that time - I just read what I needed and left for probably a few years. Then when I decided to remodel my kitchen I kind of remembered GW That Home Site had kitchen stuff too so I came back. Then I joined and became totally immersed in the Kitchen site for about two years. Once I was done with that project I drifted around to Cooking and some other places. Someone else from Kitchens who was done with their kitchen suggested KT. I checked in here for a while but didn't find I had much in common with most folks since a lot of people seemed to be retired. I probably still don't have all that much in common with a lot of people here but I now check in daily to see if there's anything going on that's at all relevant to me.

Asked : Nomen, this is off the subject a little, but do you have any of your own experience/evidence that watering a hot succulent (or any plant) can cause damage? My apologies for the waiting time for my response It's a welting warm and very sunny day with temps well into the 90's At Apx 1:00 PM a sudden rain storms strikes all your succulents when your not around and wont be around until 5:00 PM the sudden rains ends falling at 3:00 PM During the same time frame The temps then drop to a modest 73 F from the cooling rain but then climb back up to a warmer 88 F quickly after.. Are we all to believe this doesn't ever happen every where there is a succulent in a pot hanging around the adobe and then to agree that such event will also have no ill effects on any succulent ? A statement I can not agree to kindheartedly . I think you want to ask yourself is Does the succulent that is outside and already sun hardened in the sunny location have the experience to adapt to the sudden changes of outside climatic conditions/ changes I just mentioned with out ill effects ? It's not wise to water any plant in heat to suddenly cool it I consider such watering to be the equivalent as a sun bather laying on the beach for three hours until being tossed into the cooler ocean I suppose if that person is use to it someone can easily say the sunbather wont go into shock as I insist they most certainly will. We also know that most any plant in every species doesn't fair as well with sudden changes of hourly ups and downs in watering and warmer to cooler. In my experiences is only as small tid bit of information that may be of little to no value to you and maybe even less to all others. No two people will always agree to another persons methods regardless the facts that one person can produce to all others. Even when the results state to me what is common sense is also common scene to you if you think about it long enough it comes down to three things of which none are soils and/or soil less containers These three things are the potted plants location, location and location Time of year is also a consideration depending on each persons zone VS plant zone hardiness I can understand why the OP wants to address their concerns to others with observations of gritty mix use Common sense tells me that they would need to use higher volumes and more frequent watering during warmer months than what they would use ( or not use) during cooler months. Also understanding that cooler air also carries more moisture content in it the same cooler air can also ( potentially speaking) deliver more moisture to a potted succulent that specializes in getting and holding on to moisture from the air.