ApprenticeGardener, Not to step on your toes or anything. But I don't agree with "but it's better (trust me) to buy a restored vehicle than to try to "bring" one back to life yourself--" A "restored" vintage tractor looks pretty, but doesn't necessarily mean that it is a better tractor than an old ugly one that has been sitting for years and looks crappy. And the biggy, the restored tractor will cost about twice as much! I'm an AC fan, since you mentioned that! LOL I have a lot of experience with old tractors growing up and through the years. I have found that the AC's are more user friendly and cheaper to buy. They are cheaper because the 3 point hitch on them isn't the main standard that everyone went with, the Ford style. So 3PH (quick hitch) attachments are harder to find. AC's are more dependable, in my homely opinion. They are not as finicky to start, especially after sitting a while. And they don't break down as much. My neighbors, friends, brothers, and my Dad had Fords, Masseys, JD's, ETC. I spent a lot of time every spring helping them get them started. Plus I had to repair hydraulic cylinders, pumps, starters, generators, magnetos, and other things for them. I bought an AC-CA, 1954 model, about 25 years ago that had been sitting in a field for about 5 years after the owner died. I drained and flushed out the gas tank and carburetor, stuck a new battery in and it fired right up. I bought it for $1000 , including a bush hog, harrow, drag harrow, layoff plows, planter, and other stuff. I'm still using it and it fires off every time I need it! The only thing I have had to replace/repair were the brushes in the starter and the generator. Back to the OP: Look around for an older tractor, search farmer bulletins, and estate auctions. I wouldn't recommend buying a tractor that has a magneto, such as the AC-B, unless you want to convert it to a coil system. The kits are expensive to convert, $200 the last time I checked, 20 years ago. LOL But if you are kind of handy I can help you convert it to a coil for less than $50. I have converted several. If you buy an AC with the quick hitch make sure that you are getting and/or can find the attachments for it. And as ApprenticeGardener said make sure the rubber is good especially the back tires, they are expensive. Good luck!!

Terry, you remind me of myself when I was first married. My mother did not want anyone in her kitchen except to clean up or to make an occasional batch of cookies, so I didn't know much. Poor DH ate so many flops! Looking back, I would give you several pieces of advice. The first is that you invest in some tools. A portable mixer, a food processor, a nice marble rolling pin, some silicone mats, some nice heavy cookware (I use cast iron skillets and a dutch oven. For my saucepans, I use nice heavy ones that I bought at a flea market. For bakeware, I like those insulated pans.), measuring cups and spoons, and a good set of knives. The mixer can be an inexpensive one. It needs to be lightweight enough that you can bring it to the stove and use it to mash potatoes and make 7-minute frosting, if you want to someday. I had a big MixMaster for years, but I found it too cumbersome and heavy. The food processor can be an inexpensive one, too, but get one that has a big bowl if you can. I use a Cuisinart. It was killer expensive and if I had it to do over again I would've bought something else, due to the fact that once in awhile the blade gets jammed down onto the bowl and it has to be shipped to get it repaired, and they take their sweet time. I have Cutco knives, simply because I was suckered in when I was 18 and not very consumer-savvy (something ELSE I had to learn on my own!). They have served me well for 40 years, but I've broken a couple things and the manufacturer will not make good on the "Lifetime Guarantee" because I lost the certificate somewhere along life's way. There are lots of brands of knives that are still good that don't cost as much. They should feel balanced in your hand when you grip the handle in a cutting position. I use my food processor a lot. I make my own chopped and shredded vegetables, "Shake'n'Bake, graham cracker crumbs,and lots of other things. When a recipe calls for the sugar, eggs and fat to be creamed together, I just drop them all in and turn on the motor. So also when the flour and fat needs to be "mixed till the mixture resembles corn meal". I find I hardly ever use my blender unless I'm making smoothies, and I bet I could make them in the food processor, too. I like wire whisks for when I make gravy, puddings, pie fillings. Christmas is coming up, maybe you can put in a request to Santa. I almost forgot, I use my crockpot a lot, too, and it's one I bought at a thrift shop. I have a microwave I bought at WMT on sale, but mostly I use it for heating up things, melting butter and thawing frozen things, and baking potatoes. I think I could probably do without it easier than some of the other tools I have listed here. The second piece of advice is that you learn certain skills, such as how to cut up a chicken and how to roll out a pie crust. Yes, you can buy cut up chicken and rolled-out pie crust. If you want to cook for your family in order to cut your grocery bills, you'll notice these things are more expensive. The third piece of advice is that you start with casseroles. There are lots of variations, each calling for a pasta, rice or potato ingredient, a meat ingredient, one or more vegetable ingredients, and usually something that binds them together, like tomato sauce or canned soup. Men and kids usually love a good casserole. If you go to Allrecipes.com and do a search on "casseroles", it will return any number of dishes. These are all rated and critiqued, and these are worth reading. No, I'm not connected to Allrecipes in any way, and there are other sites where you can do the same thing, it's just that it's my "Go to" site usually. They even have a section of "How-To Videos". Here's something I make and use a lot. I think I got it off Allrecipes.com. You can use it on chicken, fish, pork cutlets. Pop these in the oven, make a nice salad and bake some potatoes in the microwave: Shake n Bake an 18 oz box of cornflakes yields about 5 cups of fine crumbs. I mix this recipe up and keep it in a quart canning jar in the refrigerator. When I'm ready to use it, I put only about 1/4 cup on a plate and dredge the meat in it. You can always add a little more to the plate if you need to, but this way you don't waste, because you need to throw out whatever comes in contact with raw meat that doesn't get baked. 3-1/2 cups corn flake crumbs 1/4 C all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons onion powder Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Prepare chicken following the same technique as described on the box of the original mix using 2 1/2 lb. of bone-in chicken (6 to 8 pieces, with or without skin) or 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves Preheat your oven to 400º, then moisten the chicken with water. Use a large plastic bag for the coating and use the same steps as described on the original package: "Shake moistened chicken, 1 to 2 pieces at a time, in shaker bag with coating mixture. Discard any remaining mixture and bag. Bake at 400º in ungreased or foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan until cooked through --BONE-IN: 45 minutes/BONELESS: 20 minutes" Sorry this is so long! --Ilene

I've only done parts in my Gaggenau combi-steam. They came out fantastic, but I can't remember doing anything special. I think I just used the same temperature as for chicken (360° F., 20 min. per pound, 60% steam). Whether I'm doing a butterflied whole chicken or a quarter of a turkey, my theory is suntan lotion, seasoning, steam. That is, some kind of sauce, dressing or oil with a little sugar in it for the crisp skin, S&P and/or herbs and spices, and if not the steam oven, then some wine or broth in the pan to steam with. With the combi-steam, just put it in the solid pan and put it in. It's helps if it comes to room temperature first, however, so there isn't as much condensation. While I was offhand about the flavors, above, I do match them together!

Rules of thumb with convection are 25° F lower or 10-20 minutes fewer for the same recipe IF it takes less than an hour. If it's longer, like a turkey, there's much less of a difference. Your oven may have quirks, however. Even though convection evens out the air temperature a lot (that's the main point of it), with a fan you can get a hot spot, depending on what is blocking the airflow, how. If you use a deep roaster, there's no problem. If you tent with foil, there's less of an issue than in a short sided open roaster with no cover. For the last method, keep your eye on it so that you don't get one burnt spot, or have the skin way too done and the inside not cooked. Browning happens at 350° F and above. That's one reason that many cakes are baked at 325-330°--those aren't supposed to brown. Be careful with that automatic temperature adjustment that you have something that you want to be nice and caramelized go wan and pale because the oven is second guessing you. It's possible that there's some kind of magic where their fan heat is a lot hotter than the set temperature, but normally that is not the case. Often a large turkey is cooked longer at a lower temperature specifically so it will not brown, then the temperature is raised near the end to make the skin crisp and pretty. A moist environment helps with the crispness. If it gets too brown too fast cover it. I don't use a lot of foil, but a roll of heavy duty foil can get you out of a jam. :) And it's totally recyclable. In your situation, I'd pretend that this wasn't a new to me oven and just cook the danged turkey, ignoring that there was the addition of convection, but I'd put a lot of extra time (like an hour or even more) extra from the start time, and I'd check it as it cooks. That's a good way to learn more about the new oven too. Remember, a turkey needs to rest for a good long time. It's probably the long resting that made those turkeys of Suzanne's so good. If your bird is done way too early, just put some foil over it, and some heavy towels, or let it sit in the cooling oven (if the oven is really cooling, or with the door cracked open). It won't suffer from a good long rest. Wishing you a wonderful meal and much joy from your new range.