Out With the Old... In With the New

Going back to school and traveling about 40 miles per day 5 days a week has taken its toll on the old '96 Metro that I bought new nearly 15 years ago. The transmission started complaining... loudly... to the point that I feared getting stranded somewhere inconvenient at a time equally inconvenient. So... out with the old...


In with the new... a (new to me) 2002 Ford Focus. This car is a sweet find. Extremely well taken care of and maintained, it looks new except for a few places damaged by some would-be thieves during the previous owner's possession.
But... that's not all. Every Thanksgiving for the last few years we have been frying our turkeys "New Orleans" style in a turkey fryer. This huge propane fired pot takes about 5 gallons of peanut oil at $10 per gallon. Don't get me wrong, the turkey is worth every bit of it. But, as I've already said... out with the old...
Yes, those turkeys were delicious. But, the used oil proved to be difficult to get rid of. Also, the producers of the oil started packaging it in 3 gallon containers instead of the original 5 gallon ones. That meant having to buy an extra $10 worth of oil we had no particular use for. Still, the delicious turkey was worth it. But, there just had to be a better way. So... in with the new...
There really wasn't a better way, that I was aware of until now. There still is only one manufacturer of this little gem, but I have to believe others will be jumping on their band wagon soon. An oil-less turkey fryer. Yes... oil-less. It is a propane fired infra-red cooker that cooks the turkey to a beautiful golden brown and just as juicy (manufacturer's promise) as the oil variety turkey fryer. We will see. Just a couple more weeks at this writing and we will see. It still cooks the turkey in less time than a conventional oven, even though it is about twice as long as the oil fried method. The health benefits (no oil) and the safety benefits (no oil) alone make it worth the investment. But... it will even more than pay for itself in just two seasons with the savings from not having to buy oil. Plus, it can be used anytime on a whim since there's no oil to have to purchase. The cleanup, too, promises to be a lot easier, again, because of not having to deal with oil. Now... about some of these old appliances we have... hmmm.
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Forward Policy for eMail

A good policy to observe when forwarding emails is, if you cannot or don't want to verify it, don't forward it! It serves no one's best interest to perpetuate false information. Remember the parable of the little boy who cried "Wolf". When there is a legitimate concern, it will be ignored because of all the junk that preceded it.

For any that took the time to read this, thank you. For those willing to adopt my proposed forward policy, God bless you.

The Binford Grill Master 2000

I've been wanting to get a new grill. I didn't necessarily want to replace my existing grill. I wanted to add another grill to my arsenal. I have, or should say had, a pretty nice propane grill and wanted to also have a charcoal grill. Well, last night, as I was using my propane grill I realized that some of the essential parts were badly worn out. No problem, I thought, I'll just rebuild this one and I can still get a charcoal grill.
Sure, it looks fine on the outside, that's why I thought I'd just replace the worn parts and keep it. However, it seems that this particular model has been obsolete for quite a while and all the parts that I needed are out of stock and will never be manufactured again. To make matters worse, the "universal" parts just aren't universal enough to work on this grill. So, I decide to go grill shopping. My dilemma, however, was whether to get another propane grill or, at long last, the charcoal grill I had been wanting for so long.
Enter the Binford Grill Master 2000:


Well, that's not it's real name. That's just what I call it. If you remember Tim "The Tooltime" Taylor from the sitcom "Home Improvement", he was always souping up something that was a Binford something or other 2000. And this baby is a Tim Taylor worthy grill. As you can tell, it is a propane grill. What isn't necessarily as obvious, however, is the fact that it is also a charcoal grill and smoker. Yes, that's right, the best of both worlds in one easy to use unit. Oh boy, this summer's going to be the best ever. Tomorrow night it is going to be dry rub marinated chicken breasts hickory smoked and cooked over Kingsford premium charcaol. And no charcoal lighter fluid smell on my food either. I got a charcoal chimney starter too. Can't wait to taste those birds. Mmmm Mmmm.