Glenda, I haven't used a Foley's Food Mill in years so I don't know that I can compare the performance of the two. And, come to think of it, I wonder what happened to my food mill? I had it when we moved here. Anyway.... I chose this particular tomato strainer because it was highly recommended over and over and over again by quite a few of the hard-core food processors at the Harvest Forum. I especially wanted it because of the set of extra screens, which if my memory is correct are for salsa (I've used that one and it is great), pumpkin/winter squash and berries. I used the salsa screen to make two different batches of salsa and both turned out perfectly. I then used the sauce screen to make plain tomato sauce which I then used to make pasta sauce for dinner. The sauce screen gives you perfect sauce with not one little piece of peel or seed or core. The sauce was just gorgeous to look at. I haven't tried the other two screens yet. Turning the hand crank was easy, the machine didn't leak, the suction cup adhered to the counnter, etc. When I get old and frail, LOL, I can buy the optional engine and use it instead of the handcrank. Or, if I should develop carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis or something that makes manual operation difficult, it is nice to know there is a little motor available to turn the handle for you. I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer and it is only about 5 years old and probably will last forever. So, for me, it is likely that the best grain mill option would be to get the Grain Mill accessory for the Kitchen Aid. As for the Food Saver, I remain undecided about that, but I really do want one and bet I go ahead and get one before next spring. We buy a lot of meat in bulk at Sam's and CostCo and repackage it, and I keep 3 freezers pretty full of home-grown veggies and fruits, so having the food saver to vacuum seal bags and cannisters would be quite useful. All the kitchen gear does add up to a lot of money over time, but I think I'll use them enough to make it worthwhile. For years I wanted these 'harvest helpers' and couldn't/wouldn't spend the money for them because we were putting our son through college. In a good year when it rains, I can put up enough veggies from the garden and fruit from the fruit trees to make a huge dent in a grocery bill. In a drought year, though, the harvest is not as heavy and I don't put up as much stuff. So, in a good year, I need all the equipment in order to put up as much of the harvest as possible as quickly as possible. I've gotten a lot more serious about raising more and more of our food supply the last few years. Homegrown is just so much tastier, and it is better for the environment because the food we're raising isn't having to travel to our home from grocery stores that get it from South America or even from California. Since reading "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, I've tried to become more serious about eating locally-raised food--and not just locally raised, but home-grown as much as possible. I'd like to think that if I am serious and work a little harder on getting great yields, I could raise most of our food in future years and all those 'harvest helper' type kitchen gadgets will get a good workout. Dawn

Sheshebop, I am another Sherry whose nickname is Sheshe, or often Sheesh. My wishlist: A Cuisinart FP, an oven stone and More Space! I can't bring myself to get rid of any of my stuff, and I just acquired all of my dad's stuff, too. I am getting a kick out of using his stuff (my brother got Dad's Cuisinart - nuts), but where to put it all? Also, a bigger Slow Cooker and a Santoku knife. I do love my Mezzaluna for all sorts of jobs, though. I really need to purge my kitchen....so I can buy more stuff!

I got that Kitchenaid blender about a month ago, and it was free because Kevin had credits from his credit union account (at work) that allow him to cash in for items, and this was on the list. The one we got has the whisk attachment, which I haven't used yet, but I know that Lee has used it to make Zabaglione, which I have not made because I don't like Marsala wine, but I could probably sub a different wine that I do like. I've been using the stick blender a lot, and I used it this evening to make a marinade for the Opah fish we had for dinner. The marinade consists of one Serrano chili (with seeds), 1 inch of ginger root, peeled, 3 cloves garlic, a thin slice of onion, lemon (or lime) juice, toasted sesame oil, light soy sauce, olive oil, and cilantro. I guess I made 2/3 to 3/4 cup marinade in all, and I saved most of it for later. I marinated the fish in about 3-4 tbsp of marinate in a ziplock bag for 20 minutes and then grilled the fish. With the leftover marinade (from the ziplock bag) I added a bit of potato starch and some water, which I microwaved to make a sauce for the fish. We had the fish with rice, seaweed salad, and cucumber salad! I was in the mood for Japanese salads! I've been very happy with the KA stick blender, and it is the most powerful one I've used. I like that it has nine speeds, and have found that very useful. As for sifters, I just use a fine wire mesh sieve (about 7" diameter) and stir the flour or powdered sugar with a spoon to make it come out. I've had Braun and Cuinsinart immersion blenders, and I like the KA by far the best. I haven't used the chopper attachment yet, but I plan to the next time I chop nuts. Lars

This little oven is so easy to use! If you want to check something for doneness, you can open it as often as you like and it will start back up as soon as you close the door. You can also add things to the basket later on in the cooking process. It comes with a metal grate that can be used in a couple of ways.....including to layer items in your recipe or to heat things up in the last few minutes of cooking the main item. We have air fried some large breaded cod filets with great results, he has made a baked potato with the most crunchy, flavorful skin. I toasted some pecans for salads, Tonight, I'm going to air bake some chicken breasts and thighs after being given a light spritz of oil and a sprinkling of our favorite herbs and spices. No breading. I know that the skin will be browned and crisp on the top and bottom. For dessert lovers, you can bake in this appliance, too. Even use your own oven safe baking dishes, as long as they fit.