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Cooking with less water (“waterless”).

Set of Vintage copper-clad RevereWare pots.

Despite the title, it actually all started with a manual food processor.

This one.

I got mine in expected vintage condition on eBay – $26 including shipping.
It worked well, but when I did a bit of cross-referencing on how to use it, it started working brilliantly.
I learned the techniques from videos on good ol’ YouTube – mainly ones by/in association with SaladMaster (whose name is on the modern-day standard of this machine).

I soon learned that you could get a free [brand new/non-vintage] processor of your own by hosting Saladmaster at your home for a food preparation party which includes a dinner at their expense. Sounds fun, right?
There’s always a hidden motive with these things, though. Or not so hidden.
The main function of the dinners are to get you to buy from their selection of very expensive ($thousands if you want full sets) “waterless” cookware.

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Surviving the summer heat without air-conditioning.

This is the story of our personal experiences in our 1870’s Victorian Italianate house in Northeast Ohio, USA. This recount should be enough of a practical guide to enable any reader to unlock the clever designs of their old house to make it through summer much like Victorians did.
If you would prefer a very concise guide (void of personal experiences) this may better suit you. http://hilda.hhandg.com/?p=1399


Background.



When we bought our house in 2007, it was little more than a vinyl-clad shell – and a fairly worn one at that.
Certainly not boasting the grandeur of its appearance (above) in the 1980s.
It boasted a sizeable air conditioning unit for relief from the summer, and two (yes, two) furnaces for warmth in the winter.
Now. If sweet music had been playing on a record as you read the opening sentences, this would the point that it scratches to a halt.

Continue reading “Surviving the summer heat without air-conditioning.”