pdx-R's Profile

Look for any of the CBTL models (Caffitaly in other countries) I have the Kaldi; fantastic crema, great roasts (and the machines are pretty attractive, colors are unusual) much better than any other pod machine I've tried.

I will 2nd the greatness of the Zojirushi. We got it primarily to have an easy way to make sticky rice- but it's nice to save burner space too.

What solved my long standing rice cooking issues was getting rid of the 2:1 ratio, it's not the same for all rice. Oddly reading the bag instructions cleared up the aldente or soupy experiences I'd had in the past.

Not being a rice loving kid, I DID love it when my dad would add curry powder, some salt and raisins to rice (before cooking) man, I could eat just that for dinner (still.)

We just harvested 3 of these bad boys (16 lbs and 2 20 pounders) TEN more on the vine... So happy for more squash/pumpkin recipes!

I don't think peppers ever have a bumper crop here (PNW)- it's just not hot enough, long (or early) enough. We've harvested a few, but they average 1-2 peppers per plant- still tasty but means I want/need to try a hoop house on the pepper bed next year. Pretty much giving up on lettuce, can't find the right spot for it- and takes more time/patience than I'd like. Plus, lettuce is cheap at the farmer's market. Didn't have enough summer squash- so no torturing the neighbors. And can ALWAYS deal with more tomatoes- we did 7 heirlooms this year and fell in love with freezing marinara sauce.

Oh, and to the above mention of beans: they are actually the nitrogen fixers, so good to grow where tomatoes/peppers have been to help the soil recover. Good to move around all stuff, but beans are pretty low impact.

Cheyenne

We too have Marmoleum, and so far (2 years in) it's great. I went for a black/white pattern (mostly black) which keeps me from worrying about staining. Have pretty much exclusively had hideous and poor quality vinyl in rentals- tell me why they thought adding a physical texture to that stuff was smart? Nooks and crannies are NOT helpful when cleaning!

Cheyenne

I mix some plain yoghurt with pesto- homemade or just a jar from TJ's- it's perfect. Light and takes nearly no time at all.

Wow, looks like a great start! We gave up on the lawn and are in the process of converting the front to edibles/drought tolerant perennials. Am jealous you've gotten to the water feature in just over a year- that's a ways out for us, but fun to think of!

Cheyenne

Hmm, ice cream, that might be interesting! We recently 'discovered' that what appeared to be a generic green shrub in the yard was actually a bay laurel. Never will I have to settle for the crumbly dregs in the bulk bins!

We've actually been taking advantage of their bug-repellant properties- by drying and then grinding the leaves and sprinkling around the exterior of our house to deal with some odorous house ants. So far, so good!

Kate-

Sadly that's what I've had 2 roombas do- it appears to precede death. I'm done, $250 vacuum robots should last longer than a year. Just got a Dyson, at least it comes with a 5 year warranty...

Bagless all the way

They seem handy, and while I don't have/use one, there was a wall mounted one in my kitchen when I bought it. Initially I thought it'd be a cool, useable relic- but then I realized it smelled strongly of turkey. From how many years previous I don't know, so in the interest of not grossing out people with a smelly used electric knife, to the donation box it went.