Ooooh, that is sad. (Recipe? I am also skeptical of slow cooker recipes, though I've found a handful that work well enough...)

Okay, final (hopefully) update: the baking soda/vinegar thing working was a coincidence. Must not have been as dirty a load as usual. The problem continued more or less sporadically and I finally just called the appliance guys. They cleaned a lot of "trash" out of the dishwasher drain, which obviously was causing a slow drain issue---exactly as someone here suggested, except with the dishwasher itself and not any part of the pipes that are connected to the sink/disposal (why flushing with baking soda/vinegar wouldn't help). He left with the tip that,---contrary to what I said above, and exactly as pairswellwithwine said!-- at least with older models with the filters like these, it's best to really scrape or rinse every dish that goes in, or else the drain will get clogged deep inside and you just have dirty water recirculating and causing this problem. Haven't yet run a load since he left, but the serviceman seemed confident and I hope this is the end of the dishwasher saga... Despite its loudness and exorbitant water use, I really wasn't wanting to replace this machine and shop for a new one yet.

1) I could always, always do better at wasting less. I realize where my pitfalls are, e.g.: didn't like the food much the first time around and so I turn my nose up at the leftovers, but I never take them out and try to tweak them to make them more edible, as is usually possible.

2) Organize well and generally make the most of an amazing feature of our new house: the pantry!! (Hall closets had been used before, not to great effect at all.)

3) Do more efficient meal planning. I have always sat down and made a "menu" for the week ahead based on sale ads and/or what I need to use up. But inevitably I'll come across a new recipe I'd much rather make than the planned stand-by, and I find myself spending another half hour rearranging things to make it work, only to remember that a 2 hour roast won't work with our schedule on Saturday, or whatever. I love thumbing through cookbooks and it can turn into a real time-waster when I actually need to have food on the table, or make up a plan to use up x or y ingredient that are languishing in the fridge. I need to separate the fun cookbook skimming and menu dreaming from the everyday planning, or else I end up wasting time and food.

I have a mixer, and I don't whip egg whites either, ever. I really think I understand what makes egg whites fail to whip (plastic bowl or utensils have traces of grease, microscopic bit of yolk got in the whites, etc.), and had a baker friend show me how she does it without fail. I still have about an 80% fail rate and every time I try (like once a year) I swear it's the last time. I give up.

Yes, which is absolutely tragic given how good they *taste* roasted...

Many faithful ATK/CI followers have said things to the effect of, "I love the concept and the recipes but the entire marketing department needs to be fired and/or shot." I've begun to agree with that sentiment the more I get to know the ATK machine. It's sad, because I don't think the super-obnoxious marketing tactics are going to help keep it going. People are going to get sick of it. ATK has been one of my main cooking and baking "tutors" the past few years and I recommend their stuff to everyone I meet who is interested in learning to cook. I hope they change.

Ugh, that has to be frustrating. Shopping for major appliances can be exhausting if you are the type to do a lot of research. I am because avoiding buyer's remorse is more important to me than a quick and easy purchase...it's too bad one little (I assume?) part forces you to start all over again. Did you try looking on the internet with the part number just in case it's sold at some obscure appliance store or secondhand site?

Sorry for the slowness, what is CLR? I do always run the disposal too, because I've seen what happens if there's a real clog in the pipes and the dirty water starts draining...

Well, happy update: yesterday I did a couple rounds of baking soda + vinegar + hot water into the drain (the side with the disposal). I ran a load last night and just took it out: pristine. Nothing in the standing water, nothing on the inside of cups. I think that really might have been the problem. Thanks so much for the tips. I may run an empty load to clean out the dishwasher too, since that was suggested and I highly doubt it's been done in recent months. Ah, I am so relieved to figure out what causes this!

Thanks---I forget that Kitchen Aid makes large appliances. Good luck with that.

Sanity, that sounds quite plausible (if disgusting to think about). I'll go try that now. Thanks for the idea.

Jkling, those are some pretty insane appliance deals. Unfortunately I am absolutely inept, almost in an Amelia Bedelia sort of way, when it comes to reading mechanical instructions and carrying them out, so DIY plumbing is not really an option... I'll have to look into the acid if this doesn't work I guess.

dcrb, I'm not at all handy, but that sounds like a good idea for my husband to try...thanks.

jkling, we don't rent anymore: this is the dishwasher that came with the new house. I have no idea what they paid for it but like I said it's 10 years old and very basic. I'm hoping we can get a few more years out of it at least. I know the lines are fine, and I do the thing where you get the water at the sink hot before running the machine, at least most of the time. Thanks for the craigslist tip: appliances are not something I think to look for there.

Thank you, now I remember the reason for the no-rinse principle. :) I didn't think about enzyme cleaners, that's an idea.

I know, you're right. Mind telling me what brand/model of dishwasher it is, for future reference?

I do use the Finish, actually, and like them a lot. The dishwasher cleaner is an idea. I had always written that off as silly given that the inside of the dishwasher sees lots of soap and water, but you know, I may try it.

Thanks sueatmo. This isn't etching; the food particles are up inside the glasses, disgustingly enough. In those indentations the standing water that is inevitably left also has crud in it. I will probably try more pre-rinsing and hope that does the trick before I mess with calling anybody. It is good to know your same-aged dishwasher is still doing great!

P.S. Oh, and I know about the phosphate-free detergent reformulation. I don't think that's been the problem, given the timeline---wasn't it just last year that this happened?

Rinsing the dishes: now that is a good, and embarrassingly obvious idea. I've always thought that you get the big scraps off the plate and let the dishwasher do the rest, because it uses less water and that's what the dishwasher is made to do. I even read in some housekeeping book, according to an appliance technician, that dishwashers last longer when you don't rinse everything completely---don't ask why, I admit it sounds ridiculous. But obviously if I decreased the amount of "stuff" to be washed off, there would be less to end up back inside the dishes. This machine does have a grinder inside, only a plastic filter thing at the bottom of the tub so that nothing too big goes through to the grinder. I wonder if that is the culprit. Thank you. And that is very good to know about filters being more effective, in case we're in the market for a new dishwasher soon. Not sure what the life expectancy of Whirlpool machines from ~2000 should be.

I believe the dishwasher is one of the best inventions ever. I have only had experience with low-end machines and I still feel this way. But over the past couple years I have found myself having to soak and re-do much of our drinkware by hand after glasses come out with the insides caked in various bits of food and grainy crud (for lack of a better phrase), which gets baked on during the heat cycle. I like to think I know my way around Google, but I've done search after search and have yet to find anyone who's had this particular problem (and had it resolved). The history behind this makes me think I must have something to do with it, but I know how to load the dishwasher correctly---i.e., following the visuals in the machine's manual and using common sense.

We just moved into a house whose dishwasher is a 10-year-old Whirlpool. It is very basic, but I thought, as long as it gets my dishes clean and doesn't flood the kitchen, I'll be grateful for anything. It did the job the first couple of loads, and the potent heat dry cycle was a happy surprise---the previous two machines were failures in that regard even with my religious use of Jet-Dry. But around the third load, it started happening again: when I go to unload after the cycle is finished, in the standing water in the bottom of cups (which of course are resting upside down in the top rack), there will be stuff in the water (cornmeal, a few rice grains, things we didn't even have on the dishes that load). But that doesn't bother me nearly so much as the nasty crud baked all along the sides of my tall glasses, and sometimes shorter glasses or bowls. It is completely random.

In our previous place, we inherited a fairly new dishwasher that did this every few loads, but began getting much worse and more frequent, so our landlord had a technician come. He said there was a lot of mildew in the hoses, and something else I can't remember, and that it would just have to be replaced. The landlord was understandably frustrated that the thing only lasted five years. She replaced it with a very basic machine (Whirlpool Silent Partner I). It was like $300, which seems to be about as low as you can go, and we joked about the name, because it was neither silent (anything but!) nor our partner in reliably getting the dishes clean and dry. However, this phenomenon I have described only happened every few cycles. Here at our new house, it is happening every time. Again, mostly just the top rack, tall glasses but sometimes bowls and shorter glasses, and the "crud" is made up of a nice mix of food particles that were removed from other dishes (NOT from the cups in question) baked into the dishes once the cycle is done.

So, has anyone else dealt with this...?

Lots of scary mandolin stories here...I have one of those cheap ceramic blade ones that is still super sharp and rarely use it, out of fear.

Stupidest kitchen injury so far was thanks to my early morning pre-coffee stupor + the ceramic stovetop. Had just boiled water for my coffee, and noticed that the light above the stove had gone out. I set down my coffee and leaned under the microwave to see what kind of lightbulb I would need, resting my elbow on, you guessed it, the burner that had been turned off no more than two minutes before. It took a week of wondering when the lovely white spot was going to heal before I went to a doctor and got the third degree diagnosis, plus tetanus shot, antibiotics, silver sulfadiazine, etc. *Then* it healed (ooh the itching). I really had no idea those stovetops got hot enough to do that kind of damage.

I too have an ongoing problem with burning myself on skillets fresh out of the oven, like others mentioned. Even if I put a potholder around the handle, somehow my hand finds its way underneath. Not fun.

What todao said. Why can't you do the bulk of the work ahead (freeze the cakes), then once they are thawed the day of/before delivery, drizzle with the fresh glaze?

Thanks for the correction re: the meaning of dark/oily. Good to know... I do tend to prefer ultra dark roasts that some would say have less flavor, but if it means I'm not getting an overwhelming acidic taste (I think my tastebuds are especially sensitive to acidity), it's good for me. I would *love* to home roast someday soon. I think I need a proper ventilation system for that, though...I hear it causes a lot of smoke?

I really, really want to like Eight O'Clock. Talk about a bargain. But I've tried all their dark roasts (whole bean, I grind fresh and use an Aerobie Aeropress) and they are unbearably acidic to me. Other cheap dark roasts (e.g. some of Trader Joe's $5-6 blends) are not as complex and flavorful as some pricier brands, but the beans are also very oily/shiny and fresh; when I open a bag of EOC they are so dull looking. The fresh roasted beans at Whole Foods and sometimes Fresh Market are amazing. I don't love Starbucks' in-house brewed coffee, usually get an americano there, but if I buy their dark roast whole beans (French roast or espresso) at the grocery store, grind myself before each brew, and use the Aeropress, I get excellent results. (In case you can't tell here's a +1 for the Aeropress recommendation.)

No trans fats or cholesterol in this big bag...of course the little bag that was so good is long gone, maybe those were the ones with bad stuff in them! If so, it figures...

I doubt banana chips are new at TJ's, but I'd never bought them until two weeks ago, when they had a display at the front with small bags for $0.99. I bought some for my husband---I've never liked banana chips. I opened these out of curiosity and, oops, devoured the whole bag over a couple of days before he even got to them. They were SO good, almost moist but still properly crisp, and none of that weird off flavor that these sometimes have. So when I was at another TJ's store a week ago and they only had larger bags ($2.99), I naturally picked one up. But these were awful. Crack-your-teeth dry and pretty flavorless. I'm not sure if they suddenly switched distributors, or if the bag had just been languishing on the shelves for too long---the exp. date is still several months away, though. Anyone else notice this?

Along the lines of your initial suggestion, I've made a winter greens gratin from Alton Brown a couple of times and liked it. This is basically it (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...). You can sub turnip or mustard greens and I think kale. As for making it ahead, I don't know: maybe you could cook the greens and mushrooms and prep the cheese and yolk mixture in advance, then just assemble once time to cook?

I've made several scone recipes over the years and some have been MUCH better after a day or two than others, but generally I too want to avoid leftovers. In the future, you might try taking the recipe to the point of slicing your dough round into eighths or whatever, then placing the unbaked scones on a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze them that way until solid (a few hours), then store all together in a plastic bag, wrapped individually in foil if you want to be sure to avoid freezer burn. Just bake them as you need them, straight from the freezer, per the original recipe, plus a couple more minutes (no more than 5 extra minutes in my experience). This way I feel like I can have perfectly fresh scones anytime.

I stopped in for the first time a couple weeks ago. Very nice, spacious store. Helpful, unobtrusive salespeople. I had only heard of Penzey's through Cook's Illustrated, never bought anything, and was prepared for much higher prices. Like others have said they really are quite reasonable if you opt not to pay for the glass containers.

Probably the most dangerous area for me was the back: cocoa, vanilla, and all manner of cinnamons. I was so happy to find Dutched cocoa much cheaper than Droste. I think this is a great addition to Atlanta.

I had a childhood hatred for what I knew of tomatoes---watery, mealy slices of nastiness intruding on my Burger King cheeseburger. I decided to try an on-the-vine grocery store tomato a couple of summers ago, expecting the worst, and was amazed at how unobjectionable it was. And THEN when I graduated to farmers' market heirloom tomatoes--- the rest is history.

Ohh, I didn't know that. That does encourage me to try, thanks.

LOL @ "little golden brown pillows of love..." I so want to try chicken livers, and paté, but I have this psychological obstacle that has nothing to do with the livers themselves: in my local grocery store they are stocked away from all the "regular" chicken parts, off on their own next to the chitterlings and who knows what else that I never think about buying---very often when I'm passing by I'll notice the "manager's special" sticker on the chicken liver packages. And so I worry about the freshness, if they have such poor turnover around here. (At the same store I recently almost bought Hebrew National hot dogs that were three months past expiration; checking the package date is a reflex for me, but I still can't get over that weird fear of the livers not being fresh.)