The following was stated: "Glyphosate breakdown via heat produces mostly aminomethylphosphonic acid, carbon monoxide/dioxide, amino acids, and water/vapor...similar to microbe breakdown, but a lot faster. ." H.Kuska comment. I am aware of the microbe breakdown products, but I am not aware of any references that state that the thermal breakdown is similar. The melting point of glyphosate is nearly 230 degrees C. That would be nearly 446 degrees F. This is the main thermal paper that I have been able to find so far. Unfortunately it does not identify the glyphosate decomposition products. Howver, it appears to me that very little glyphosate would actually decompose in normal hosehold use. The first observed decomposition product is: "By analyzing the infrared spectrum of the sample which is processed by rising temperature to 260 C at the heating rate of 6 C min-1, the most possible group loss in this stage may be methylene. Moreover, the mass loss in the first stage by TGA is in accordance with the mass loss of a group of methylene in the molecular of glyphosate." Then. "With the temperature increased, the second stage appeared the exothermic peak after a smaller main endothermic peak, and the lost mass had continued, which indicated that this stage might occur burning phase, thus exothermic phenomenon occurred. By analyzing the infrared spectrum of the sample which is processed by rising temperature to 360 C at the heating rate of 6 Cmin-1, the most possible group loss in this stage may be the group of carbonyl. Moreover, the mass loss in the second stage by TGA is in accordance with the mass loss of a carbonyl in the molecular of glyphosate." Now Canola Oil has a smoke point of around 238 degrees C, so I doubt that the glyphosate is breaking down very much in normal Canola Oil use. http://www.culinary-yours.com/frying_oil.html Of course, if you can document your answer, I am willing to look at the reference. Here is a link that might be useful: link to thermal study

My good old, Sunbeam Oster Kitchen Center has an attachment that offers thin, thick, and crinkle cut slices as well as a blade disk for cutting into diced pieces. The unit has no built on bowl to catch the slices, but instead a slinger and output shute off the side. I cna slice cukes very fast and prety much any other food. It also has graters for cheese. My true 10" blade slicer was bought from Weston, and it was their last one, so I git it for under $200. Its nearly the same size as delis use, but I wouldn't use it for slicing anything but meats. Mine also came with a blde sharpener attachment. Who big is 'substantial'?

I'm also sorry to hear of your loss of two friends in such a short amount of time. I think the catering and Costco are good ideas for that many people, if it's pretty much you and your husband. I've done weddings for up to 600, and find that there are a couple of good websites for amounts. That said, my family tends to not eat the raw vegetables or salads as much as they do desserts, so I've adapted to fewer veggies and more sweets. Anyway, Growlies for Groups at bigrecipe.com has tables and amounts for various size groups and "big recipes" that serve a lot of people, you'll find links down the left side of the page. There are buffet charts here: http://www.angelfire.com/bc/incredible/Buffetchart.html Good luck, it's a very nice thing to do in memory of your friend. Do you have help cleaning up, setting up, etc? You might want to be sure you press some other friends into service just for that. Annie

I like the second one better! The laundry/mudroom combination leaves no room to set a laundry basket, and puts them right in the traffic path from the garage. It also gives a lot more space for the mudroom, with direct access from the back yard, rather than tromping through the dinette. The kitchen still needs some work, but I much prefer not having a traffic path through it. I would combine the two - I agree with Cindy that you don't need seating with a table so close, but you do need more prep and storage space. In the first kitchen, the distance from sink to stove is a problem, especially with a doorway at the bottom. Try the "hot pasta" test - do you want to lug that pot form stove to sink to drain - with 2 kids running through because they smell dinner? And the fridge won't open next to the wall as drawn. How about a U kitchen, open to the dinette? I'd put the fridge at the "mail center" end (you could still build that into the fridge surround), so it's close to the table, family roo, and back yard; range at the closed end, out of the traffic, and sink on the right side. Open this up to the family room completely, build a full wall, or something between.