I'm still learning my oven, but I've found that if I'm making a new to me recipe that was written for a non-convection oven, that it's better to do it with the convection off. It doesn't seem to matter for casseroles and covered pots, so I use it just because. I have a convection broil setting which is great for lamb chops cooked on my cast iron grill, but not so much for anything thicker. It's good for standing chicken roasts if they aren't in a pot. What I didn't guess before I actually got to use it was how much I'd love convection for cookies and appetizers. Being able to bake them all at once and get them over with is really fun! I only have one large oven (and two specialty ovens), so multi-level baking of puffs (choux paste) makes a big batch into no big deal instead of waiting for the oven to cook for each tray. Convection is considered a problem for anything that doesn't like the turbulence. That would be anything egg risen, like a souffle or sponge cake. Some people include custards as well, which might include quiche. I haven't tried custard with convection, so don't know for sure. I've have found that small, lean beef roasts can get dried out with the convection on, as well. General rule: Use convection with anything that won't get dried out or blown around. If a couple hundred dollars will make a big difference to your budget, I'm sure you can balance your cooking so that you only need the convection in one oven. Multilevel or multipot cooking is where convection makes the biggest difference, so dozens and dozens of cookies for the bake sale or reception would be a lot easier with two convection ovens. For Thanksgiving, you can put the turkey and maybe something that isn't very touchy in the non-convection oven, and the other things in the convection. BUT, if you were planning to buy a pair of stylish new boots or a night out on the town, it's worth forgoing that to not have to worry about which oven you put what in when, and just get convection in both.

Yachter, you could buy a board at Lowe's and have them cut it into "blocks" for her if that's what she wanted to make. However, I would imagine she would be more interested in creating banners for her room, signs on cardboard for her door at home like "no boys allowed" or like Jeanne suggested she could make cards for friends or scrapbooks for her pictures. There are tons of ideas out there, I've seen those $1 wooden frames from Michael's decorated with scrapbook paper and then some words. I just did three square glass bowls for Halloween, I'll have to get a picture taken of them to show you. Another fun thing is to personalize water bottles, book bags, and note books. These are not inexpensive however because you have to buy the cartridges for the letters and shapes and those usually run around $30 on sale. Once in awhile you can find some for less. Luvs

I use smell, but I think I use sight more. How can you "smell" when onions are transluscent? I suppose they might have a certain smell at that point, but I think I use sight more. I never really thought about it before I guess!! I usually taste at the end to adjust seasoning as Annie said. Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess I do use smell a bit more than I thought. When I'm making things like Cuban black beans or chili, I do smell to make sure I have enough spice - I can smell whether there's enough cumin for example. But in dishes that have to cook a long time, like gravy (spaghetti sauce), it doesn't make sense to taste until you're getting towards the end because the alcohol in the wine needs to cook out, the different ingredients need time to meld, etc. I guess whatever works for you is the right way to do it! Everyone has their own technique. Lisa

I peel towards me with just about all fruits and veggies. The one exception is carrots...I just scrape those. The new age peeler I'm curious about is the "Titanium Peeler" I think it is called. You can run it back and forth, it peels both ways. Anyone heard good or bad about that peeler? NancyLouise