cashba's Profile

JANE UK, the key with the KitchenAid is to buy the regular, "classic." The artisans are much more expensive, and it's debatable whether the artisan style is even better. Here's one on Amazon for a little over 300. http://www.amazon.co.uk/KitchenAid-K45SS-Classic-Stand-Mixer/dp/B000744SZW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336095737&sr=8-1
SALTED CARAMEL, have you experimented with a mini-cuisinart for smoothies? They're cheap and small and they chop frozen bananas well enough for me. The other option would be the Magic Bullet, but I'm curious as to how loud they are.

The bunnies look more like Pikachu to me! Bookmark it for kids parties.

I add spice to limit how much food I eat, partially because it is more satisfying. But it's also because the heat builds up with each additional bite. Very helpful to limit caramel corn and other crunchy snack foods. And I'll get my daily water requirement in!

I think it's funny that most of these comments are adults finding the kid foods too sweet. My dad always told me that adults prefer more bitter foods, while kids prefer sugar (lots of calories to feed growing brains). Oddly though, I'm pushing up to 30, and I can still eat as much sugar as my sugar-lovin' kid-self!

I really hate to bring it up, but so you're aware, you don't actually get away with not paying sales tax when Amazon (or another site) doesn't charge for it. States have use tax that you have to factor in on your taxes.
Granted, sometimes foodstuffs are exempt from a certain state's sales tax, but whatever you would pay sales tax in your state's store, you need to pay the use tax when you file. I'm happy for Amazon to compete with brick-and-mortar stores, but right now they get to compete by practically encouraging their customers to break the law.
On the question of the post, so far I haven't done it because I don't get to even look at the food I'm buying. If I'm buying enough of a product to last six months to make the shipping worth it, I want to at least be able to see the actual items I'm purchasing. And having no ability to smell (or sample!), and I'm still content with regular stores.

Oooh, I'd join you at the sale if I was willing to brave the crowds, but being short in that store during a sale is a guaranteed recipe for an elbow in the face!
On to your point, I'd stock up on cocoa powder. I bought a bunch (those little baggies are deceptively big) and have managed to last through the high rise in cocoa prices so far. If you happen to have an in on what goods are going to skyrocket (like the peanut butter comment above), I'd go for those. If I had to last a season without peanut butter, cocoa, or butter because of high prices, life would be very sad indeed. And that's what freezers are for anyway!

If I had a lot of space or made hard cider, I'd go for the press.
Presently in my city apartment, I go for a chopping apples, blending them, and then sieving them with a canned good on top (or in a french press). The leftover mash is good for applesauce.
Apples are on sale this week, so I'll be buying some for when I need a toasty pick-me-up!

Brownies look awesome, and I'm with you Rachiti!

Similar to vintagejenta, could I just take any cake recipe and mix the dry ingredients? I love the idea of a homemade cake mix, but 5 egg whites is a lot! All that time I saved with the mix, I lost in separating eggs.

I think if you find the stockpiling for a year odd or crazy, you could just extract the lessons for shorter storage - Buy in bulk when things are on sale. Keep a system so you don't leave old food behind for a long time. Buy items you'd actually eat. Think about other places to store food other than the kitchen (which can be too warm for a lot of food).

Besides, I'm not sure there's an area in the U.S. that's immune to natural disasters. Snow, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, power outages, gas shortages. Sure, you may be able to get out of your house after 3 days, but that's assuming your city hasn't emptied your local grocery store (and their</I> trucks were able to make it in too).