DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 12:39 AM

Stilly, the Dalek is a nickname, I think, for bins of the same shape. I've some neighbours who are extreme gardeners and they use them after the hotbin - they take out the hotbin contents onto a board or plastic sheet and rake the stuff over, putting anything undigested back in the hotbin, then they put the rest into the Dalek, and the worms come from miles, gnashing their teeth and slavering, to get at it; so when it's taken out and used, it's full of fine healthy earthworms and is a smooth black tilth. They've offered to come and help me with this when I come to that stage, which will probably be in March or so.
I'm considering buying an air fryer (probably a Ninja for two reasons: the innards are ceramic non-stick rather than Tefal; and the labour conditions are a central conditions of the maker). My non-brand reason is that it's a lot less hungry than an electric oven. Because of our planning system, we're being ridiculously slow about building windfarms, and our grid is under some strain because we host a lot of server farms. Lessening use of the oven would be a good thing - though I don't know yet whether an air fryer would handle the main things that go into the oven: Eve's Pudding and roast chicken. From the sound of it, you already have an air fryer - isn't a convection oven just a big air fryer?
MaJoC, normally there are no worms in the hotbin, it's too hot; when it cools a bit and I see some young worms I transfer them. Though come to think of it, I've been transferring them into the ancillary hotbin which isn't currently hotting; maybe I should think again about that.
patty, thank you, I'll try those steak fries. I made cheese scones yesterday from Jamie Oliver's website, where he has a few air fryer recipes, and they turned out well. My main discovery so far is that you need to cook a good 20º Celsius lower than in a fan oven, and cooking takes around half the time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 11:48 AM

Dupont:

Think I need to go back to bed. SRS! if you find what I wrote a few minutes ago and left sitting to look for something... I cannot do it again! The drawers were less trouble than might have been. Much better!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 12:25 PM

I’m back at home and more or less recombobulated after a very eventful week.

Christmas in Windsor was pleasant, but very peopley — three generations of SIL’s family, including Nephew 1 and Niece 2 and their children. Niece 2 has three sons who are only now emerging from the feral stage of young childhood, and their father — nice guy, but foolish — gave the middle one a pair of remarkably realistic handcuffs for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? Of course, it had to happen: Nephew 1’s younger daughter cuffed and shut in a closet where she shrieked the house down.

SIL tried to give her elder granddaughter (17 years old) a lovely hand-knit Aran sweater that the kid obviously would not be seen in dead at a dog-fight. So now I am the proud recipient of a lovely hand-knit Aran sweater … Maybe the kid will be willing to inherit it when she’s out of high school and less influenced by TikTok.

The four boxes of Wedgwood now belong to Nephew 1, and are presumably on their way to Ottawa. I packed them into the boot of his car myself.

Reading over previous posts in this thread, I noted some discussion of air fryers. I am toying with the notion of acquiring one, especially for cooking chicken and fish. Does anyone have advice or warnings to offer before I spend any money?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 01:15 PM

No advice from me yet, I'm only a couple of days into trying out an air fryer. My only observation so far is that it cooks faster and way hotter.
Talked to a friend whose cousin has one. She says the cousin has hardly used it, but her sons use it all the time for "fried" foods - chips, toasted sandwiches, that kind of thing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 03:38 PM

It seems to me that the cleaning time must be considered when buying a new appliance. When toasting a sandwich in an air fryer, does it then require a simple wipe down or rinse in the sink, as one would do with a cast iron skillet?

I agree, Thompson, it sounds like my convection oven is a form of air fryer, so I looked it up (I might as well use that subscription to Consumer Reports to tackle this question).

How Do Air Fryers Work?
Here’s the funny thing: Air fryers don’t technically fry food. They’re called air fryers because of their ability to crisp up food and reproduce the kinds of fried-food textures you know and love. Inside, a fan circulates hot air to cook the food and crisp up its exterior. It’s basically convection baking — but the small space of the air fryer and the concentration of the hot air make it especially effective at thoroughly and uniformly crisping up the exterior of whatever you’re cooking.

Over the past decade, the appliance’s functionality has evolved. Once considered a great kitchen gadget for making fries, nuggets, and wings, the air fryer has proved capable of doing so much more. In particular, it reheats food in a fraction of the time it would take your oven or cooktop stove, offering a convenient solution for daily meals or heating up leftovers.

CR tests them based upon controls, noise, and cleaning (convenience). I use the convection toaster oven and microwave oven most often of the various cooking appliances in the kitchen (along with the electric kettle that is only for hot water.)

Where toaster ovens shine is in their size and layout: They can accommodate larger batches of food than most air fryers. You may also find it easier to open a toaster oven door and slide a tray inside, compared with handling things in a deep air fryer basket. And though air fryers can cook things more quickly, they may also crisp up the exterior of foods before the interior is fully cooked. Toaster ovens perform similarly to full-sized ovens, which might be more familiar and predictable for many cooks.

It’s worth noting that some air fryer models now are designed more like toaster ovens, with doors that open outward and racks inside. That puts them in more direct competition with toaster ovens, but they lose some of the perks of basket-style air fryers.

Skipping to the bottom where the recommendations are co-mingled (types of fryers are Basket Air Fryers, Tray Air Fryers, and Toaster Ovens with Air-Fryer Modes). Scores are numbered from 81 downward

81 - Dash Tasti-Crisp DCAF260 (from $70) (5 for noise)
81 - Crux 17796 ($100) (5 for noise)
79 - Instant Vortex plus 140-3079-10 ($110)
79 - Tabitha Brown for Target 8 Qt. Digital ($70) (5 for easiest cleaning)
79 - Chefman Accurfry RJ38-SQPF-5T2P-W ($100) (5 for noise)
79 - Instant Vortex plus 140-3089-01 ($123)
79 - Cosori Dual Blaze CAF-P583S-KUS Smart ($180)
79 - Cosori Lite CAF-LI211 ($50) (5 for noise)
78 - Pioneer Woman PW6136170192004 ($80) (5 for noise & easiest cleaning)

There are several more on the CR Recommended list, two that get a 3 for controls but 5 for noise and cleaning are
77 - Typhur Dome AF03 $380)
75 - Dash Tasti-Crisp Ceramic DCAF26CM ($60) (I listed this since Thompson said the inside material was important)

The recommended Ninja AF101 gets a 71 and 5 on controls, 3 for noise, 4 for cleaning.
The unrecommended Ninja Foodi DZ550 ($170) gets 4 on controls and cleaning, 3 on noise. There's a Ninja 2-food-basket version, similar ratings and price.

You can probably set up a free membership to America's Test Kitchen and see which they recommend over there.

Hope this helps!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 09:56 PM

Dupont:

The shopping on saturday was too weighty; I have been achey and concerned by the moderate pains - remembering what happened back in Feb when picking up something "a little heavy" resulted in screaming trip to ER! And several weeks of bed rest. I have been cautiously waiting but seem to be moderately OK - with aches in several places - back to being careful what I pick up and how I move.

WE continue to try to understand the hearing aids; they seem to have signals we have not yet understood and the interaction with the phone is mysterious. Sometimes we get it just right! We are glad to have them - mostly.

Tomorrow is the - undoubtedly - elegant wedding. R and I will be watching from the comfort of home. Nice not to encounter in person the father of my sons. Grandsons will be there. Only 16 people. Hope I manage the tech OK. I have been to a few zoom meetings.

No interest in any more K thingies. But having read about that air fryer - No need for it at all.

Now I shall zoom to bed!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 10:51 PM

Sounds good, Dorothy!

Transplanting was completed this afternoon, and like Dorothy, I'm headed to bed early. There are new plants in several spots around the yard (I tend to plant the multiple ones in at least two spots, in case one place is better than the other as far as long-term survival). The honeysuckle shrub, several rock rose, two sage (the edible or smudging type), and bulbs. It was a pleasure to work in the greenhouse and putter in different beds. Tomorrow will be clear but much cooler, but I can still get out and do some more digging (to put in some cold-weather crops).

I'm reading a slim volume by Michael Pollan that is the revised (expanded) edition of Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. Again I don't agree with every suggestion, but most are reasonable and difficult to argue with. Rule number 32 is "Eat like an omnivore."

Whether or not you eat any animal foods, it's a good idea to try to add some new species, and not just new foods, to your diet—that is, new kinds of plants, animals, and fungi. The dazzling diversity of food products on offer in the supermarket is deceptive, because so many of them are made from the same small handful of plant species, and most of those—the corn and soy and wheat&mdah;are seeds rather than leaves. The greater the diversity of species you eat, the more likely you are to cover all your nutritional bases.

That bit about the supermarket offerings is what jumped out at me. Aisle after aisle of things not good for us. Snack foods, soft drinks, breakfast cereals, processed frozen foods, the name just a few.

'night, all!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 31 Dec 24 - 06:37 AM

I hope the wedding is Quakerishly simple and honest and gives hopes for a happy future together for the couple and their families, Dorothy. As for the not-picking-things-up, it sounds as if you, like myself, are waiting hopefully for the development of the full body transplant.
As for the air fryer question, for those who worship, here's a link to the Ninja statement of values.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 31 Dec 24 - 11:21 AM

Wishing everyone a pleasant final day of the year, let's close the book on this one and start fresh tomorrow!

Sticking with my shape-up plan so far, though harder today after a night out and trouble falling asleep last night.

The ninja I have is quick to clean, you pull the bin and bottom trivet out, wash, rinse. If I only toasted something, I might just leave the crumbs for next time. My sink is big enough that washing is not clumsy. Nothing sticks. But then, all non-stick stuff is like that when new.   

The time advantages are two: One, I'm more inclined to fix a real meal if it just goes faster. Two, if I didn't use a skillet, I'm not wasting time wiping tiny grease droplets off every part of the gas rangetop; to me one of the worst things about cooking (sure miss that flat ceramic-top electric stove). And if I didn't use a big oven, I'm not looking at some big hairy chemical cleanout from time to time.

And yes, it just blows hot air around, so it's great for anything that requires a dry cooking method. Not so much for things you're trying to keep moist.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Dec 24 - 12:30 PM

It is probably 2025 already somewhere in the world (looking at you, Sandra in Sydney!) so here is the next thread: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025