Reviews by meandthecats

meandthecats says "Perfect rice, and it plays me a song when it's ready!" about Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy 5.5-Cup Rice Cooker

meandthecats — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:09:55 GMT

When I got married some 35 years ago, one of the first appliances my husband wanted to get was a rice cooker. I was not much of a rice eater and thought he was nuts, but when I found out how easy it was to make perfect white rice in that simple little machine, I became a convert. Many years passed and that old machine still made perfect white rice, but times, and my tastes, had changed. Looking for healthier alternatives, I found I much preferred brown rice, and my simple (and cheap) old cooker just couldn't do a good job on that.

So, here is the answer. Not only will it make perfect brown rice (or white), it is also surprisingly convenient to make a number of rice dishes. The instruction book that comes with it is not much on recipes, so let me recommend a great cookbook: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. Make risotto without standing there to stir it constantly for an hour! Make rice desserts and layered rice dishes with meat, too. The combination...

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meandthecats says "Almost too tiny, but works like a charm!" about Olympus - WS-300M Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player

meandthecats — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:50:49 GMT

I bought this tiny voice recorder to record class lectures and conversations with clients. The interface is easy to figure out and use. At first, I was dismayed because there is a lot of static if you touch the machine while recording. The microphone accessory (not included) seems to make this worse. For my purposes, I find that not using the mic and not touching the machine once it is set alleviates the problem.

I did not have much luck with (or trust in) the feature that allows recording only when someone is speaking. The pickup did not seem sufficiently sensitive, so if that is a feature you need, this may not be your machine. For straight voice recording, though, this little guy picks up even quite faint sound clearly.

What I really needed was an easy way to transfer my recordings to a PC so they could be recorded or emailed to others...and that, this machine does superbly, with a built-in USB port. It couldn't be easier!

The model I bought has 256 MB, which is hours of recording time....

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meandthecats says "Not perfect, but tiny and convenient" about Panasonic - Lumix DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera

meandthecats — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:24:15 GMT

I'm not a real photographer, so not having manual controls on this little camera is not a problem, as far as I am concerned. What I wanted was a small camera I could keep handy in my purse, that would give a good zoom photo with good clarity. Cheaper point-and-shoot cameras did not have nearly the high quality zoom feature of this little guy, so for me, the extra money was well spent.

While this camera is not fabulous for taking photos in low light, it has a very efficient little built in flash. I have found that the photos of pets or my granddaughter or scenic shots have turned out very well with minimum effort on my part, and that's how I like it.

The controls are easy to see and to manipulate, and the camera is a rather attractive little thing (it even comes in a pretty dark blue). I have been very happy with my results, for the most part. The LCD screen is so large and clear that I don't miss a viewfinder, at all.

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meandthecats says "Good coffee with minimal cleanup" about Jura / Capresso CoffeeTEAM Therm #455 10-Cup Coffee Maker & Grinder

meandthecats — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:39:12 GMT

I had used a burr grinder for a few years and considered it a quality product but it was still a pain to grind, transfer the coffee to the coffeemaker, and clean out both machines. When the grinder broke down, I decided to try this combination.

It is easy to mis-assemble the several parts of this machine, and if it is not put together just right, it either won't grind or won't brew. However, after a few tries I found it easy to put the thing together properly, and have never had a failure since. I suspect if I had bothered to watch the enclosed DVD, I could have avoided those early failures!

The coffee could be a little stronger. Their "strong" seems quite average to me. It is possible to set the grinder for a larger amount of coffee than the amount of water you put in, which will make the coffee stronger, but it does seem this should not be necessary on a high cost machine.

The thermal carafe does a nice job of keeping the coffee hot for a couple of hours (as long as I have ever cared to...

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meandthecats says "These are essentials I didn't know I needed!" about ISI Flex-it Silicon Bowls

meandthecats — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:08:00 GMT

I needed new bowls and wanted something I could use in freezer or microwave, on occasion. I wanted something as attractive, but not nearly as heavy, as the ceramic mixing bowls I already own. This set of three bowls (1, 1 1/2 and 2 quarts) filled the bill perfectly. The outsides are textured, so they don't slip around. The insides are smooth. They are so flexible that it is very easy to use them to add ingredients to a pan, blender or food processor, yet they are substantial enough to stand on their own. They come in bright green, red or white, and there is also a set of small prep bowls avalable, with lids....