response 29 of 66:

Nov 22 18:08 UTC 2001

Appliance that I think we forgot to mention is the crockpot -- we use it maybe
once a month, to cook my pot roast (no vegetables, just meat).

response 31 of 66:

Nov 23 13:16 UTC 2001

Forgot to mention the crockpot.

Apropos bread machines: Ours has a small vented compartment in which 
you can throw extras such as candied fruit.  We've never used it, but I 
once made the mistake of putting my nose right over the vent slots in 
order to smell that nice rising-bread smell during the rising cycle and 
got a snootful of some weapons-grade yeast gas.  Unbelievably painful.  
What *is* that stuff?

response 33 of 66:

Nov 23 17:21 UTC 2001

The fruit dispenser sounds like a bleach dispenser.
We will try increasing 1/4 cup at a time.  What is the symptom of overload?
2.25 cups produces a loaf half as large as the pan (not half the size of a
regular loaf as the pan is only a half-loaf size).
I suppose we could also mix all the ingredients together by hand and let them
sit for an hour before turning on the machine so it would rise more, but then
why use the machine at all?  I suspect this one is simply not clever enough
to make whole grain bread.

response 35 of 66:

Nov 24 21:20 UTC 2001

Jim says this time he put in 2.5 cups flour, and more water, and then he
'threw in breakfast' - so we will have oatmeal bread if it works.

response 37 of 66:

Nov 25 14:05 UTC 2001

If my nose is hypersensitive it must run in the family, no pun 
intended.  When I cautioned my son not to get his nose too close to the 
vent he promptly gave the vent a big sniff and five seconds later he 
clutched his face and doubled over in nose-agony.  Whereupon my wife 
decided to see what the menfolk were carrying on about and despite our 
shouted warnings she too suffered the fate.  I guess nasal 
hypersentsitivity is not the only thing that runs in the family, 
although in our defense I must say you wouldn't believe something that 
painful could come from a bread machine no matter how many warnings are 
shouted at you.

response 39 of 66:

Nov 27 03:46 UTC 2001

I think this one starts all over if you unplug it.  We only wanted to let it
rise longer, not knead it again (which would make it smaller again).  A 2 1/4
hour cycle probably works for white bread.  The dough mixes ok but it simply
does not have long enough to rise.  It also does not seem to keep the rising
dough warm and the kitchen is not all that warm  now.

The machine is a lot quicker to clean up than a bowl and spoon and pan.
Non-stick coatings are better than the Teflon my mother used to use.

It is not a good idea to add leftover wet oatmeal to a bread recipe - the
machine does not seem to overheat, but you get bread pudding.

response 41 of 66:

Nov 29 01:01 UTC 2001

What was the website, Sindi?  I still need a belt for my Panasonic.

response 43 of 66:

Dec 4 18:44 UTC 2001

Jim tried out the machine he found at the curb, with the timer. It tells him
how much time is left to finish and light med and dark are 7 min apart in
cooking time.  He used the dough blade from the other machine and the same
recipe and procedure and got bread that actually rose and had the texture fos
omething other than a wet sponge. It also did not burn on the outside (perhaps
because it was 3.5 instead of 2.5 inches high in the pot) and tasted better.
So either they improved the technology or the other machine has something
wrong with it (maybe itw as supposed to keep warm during the rise and does
not?).
The pot and gasket on the found machine are beat up so he will rob them from
the other machine and then attempt to take the other one apart and get it
working with computer control so that he can run each cycle as long as he
wants.  Has anyone experience with this sort of thing?

response 45 of 66:

Dec 14 00:01 UTC 2001

Kiwanis did not have any bread machines for sale (they get them in often) but
two former electronics customers heard me ask for broken bread machines and
dropped one off on Jim's porch.  He found a blown thermal fuse and is trying
to replace it with something similar (different max temp and physical size
since nobody in town carries the right part) from the popcorn popper.  This
one will make bread in either 3 or 4 hours rather than 2 hours 15 min, which
should give the whole wheat dough a better chance of approaching the top of
the pan.  He has carved a cast aluminum dough blade for the curbside find.
I am supposed to order another 50 pounds of flour.
        The blender and juicer just sit there unused.  The idea was to make
tofu with them.

response 47 of 66:

Jan 16 03:47 UTC 2002

A bad motor may have caused the original fuse to blow.

response 49 of 66:

Jan 17 03:50 UTC 2002

Another bread machine (with something different broken)?  My impression
is that those are rather specialized stepper motors.

response 51 of 66:

Apr 30 11:17 UTC 2002

resp:14  I wish I could find a yogurt maker.  Around here, they are 
very difficult to find.  I wanted my mother to give us her Yogurta, 
but she said no way-- it had sentimental value, and you can't get it 
in the States.  (She got it in Spain.)  I guess we are going to have 
to beg my grandparents (her parents).

Our veggie/rice steamer, our toaster, and our waffle iron seem to get 
the most work.  Sometimes the electric teakettle is used.  Everything 
else is used pretty sparsely.

I used to use my Juiceman more, but I've fallen out of the habit.

response 53 of 66:

Apr 30 15:16 UTC 2002

They tend to show up at all the yard sales and rummage sales here for 
$5, in fact I think we even saw one at the curb recently.  Any oven with a
pilot light would work but you say WA state is all electric.  YOu can also
try making yogurt in a closed box with a light bulb for heat (a styrofoam
cooler might work, with the pot of yogurt-to-be in it).