"So I set the timer on high for 25 minutes. I didn't look at the clock, but I'm pretty sure 25 minutes came and went." I don't know what you're talking about (how does one set a timer on "high"?) but I have no doubt you don't know what you're doing. Please do accept FagorAmerica's invitation.

Ditto. Sounds like there is something wrong with that unit. I have an electric pressure cooker which I never use, but I really love the Fagor stovetop items. I have the one at the link; it's a great deal, even at full retail, but Amazon now has it for $96 including shipping. Highly recommended. As far as timers go, I have a Polder 898-90. It's about $13 at Amazon. It's about the size of a pack of gum, and has a cord so you can wear it around your neck. Foolproof. Here is a link that might be useful: Fagor Splendid multi set

It's an interesting place isn't it? And I think it has an interesting history. All started from a mom-n-pop store way back when and the two brothers eventually took over. Trader Joe's and Aldi (short for Albrect Distributing) were split off because the two brothers got in a fight over cigarettes. There's stuff I really like, stuff that's perfectly fine and much cheaper than anywhere else, stuff that's average and comparable in price and stuff that's well, garbage and even sometimes overpriced. The ads are misleading at times. They don't always get in the items they're supposed to and sometimes they get the stuff early. So you never really know what you're going to find there. It's not a store where you'll do all your shopping, but it certainly give you the chance to spend a lot less. Enjoy your adventures! Oh, and doesn't it just make you burn about the price of spices???

"If you want his name stay married." Amen, Sistah! "He was less than happy" The night before my wedding, way back in the seventies, my beloved & I got into a huge argument over the name, ending in his standing up & pointing his finger at me & declaring, "If my name isn't good enough for you, we aren't getting married." hard to remember I was ever that young. Anyway, I cried & hollered & told my mother & my aunts that he was being a butt & why did it *matter*???, & they said if I had doubts, I should call it off. but everybody had given us presents, & everybody had come in, & the flowers were at the church... so I talked myself into it; ("if it doesn't matter, sylvia, why are you making such a big deal out of it?") I was in that marriage for over 5 long, miserable years, during which I didn't even have my name to call my own; it was like I was a dog ("Toto McDonald"). I was an appendage at best, property at worst. The day I filed for divorce, I changed back to "myself" at work, on credit cards, on my driver's license, everywhere. It was heavenly.