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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