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Salton Electric Toaster Recall- Fire Hazard

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Salton Inc. and QVC Recall Electric Toasters Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Cook’s Essential Electric Toasters

Units: About 5,200

Retailer: QVC Inc., of West Chester, Pa.

Distributor: Salton Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill.

Hazard: The toaster can turn on without bread in the slots and ignite
items placed on top of it, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: QVC has received information that ten toasters
reportedly turned on spontaneously, including one incident of fire
damage to kitchen cabinets and two incidents of toaster covers burned.
No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves the “Cook’s Essential” four-slice wide
slot electric toasters model CET 401. These toasters are made of
stainless steel and measure 12 inches long, 13 inches wide and 8 inches
high. Each toaster has “Cook’s Essentials Classic Look Toaster, Model:
CET401” printed on a plate located on the underside of the toaster.

Sold by: QVC through its television station, its Web page; its toll-free
number, outlet, and its employee and Studio stores from January 2003
through June 2003 for between $63 and $69 plus about $8 for shipping and
handling. Some recalled toasters may have been sold at various
retailers.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the toaster immediately, unplug it,
and cut off the power cord where it enters the body of the toaster.
Consumers who return the power cord in the prepaid envelope that will be
provided will receive a full refund.

Consumer Contact: Consumers who bought a toaster from a QVC’s television
program or at QVC.com were sent a package by mail containing information
on how to receive a refund. Consumers who have not received the
information packet should call QVC at (800) 367-9444, from 7 a.m. to 1
a.m. ET, seven days a week or visit QVC’s Web site at www.qvc.com.
Consumers who bought a toaster at a QVC outlet or retail store should
return the toaster at the store where it was purchased to receive a full
refund. For all non-QVC purchases, contact Salton at (800) 233-9054
between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit the
firm’s Web site at www.esalton.com

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the
recalled products, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08001.html

Recall: Berko Electric Toe – Space Heater

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Berko Electric Toe-Space Heaters Recalled Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Products: Toe-Space Electric Heaters

Units: About 84,000

Manufacturer: Berko Electric, of Peru, Ind., now known as Marley
Engineered Products, of Bennettsville, S.C.

Hazard: If the fan stops working and the heater continues to run, the
unit can overheat, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Marley has received 29 reports of fires resulting in
property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recall involves electric, toe-space heaters typically
installed in kitchens and bathrooms at floor level in the recessed space
under cabinets. The recall includes Berko Electric catalog numbers TS,
TS-1 and TS-1A and Emerson Electric “Chromalox Comfort Heating” and
“Environmental Products” catalog number KSH2000. The heater is
controlled by a wall thermostat or a thermostat mounted on the front of
the heater. The heater has a removable, black metal grille that measures
23 1/2 -inches wide and 3 1/2 -inches tall with five sets of openings,
each with seven horizontal louvers.

Sold by: Berko Electric wholesale distributors nationwide from 1972
through February 1985 and Emerson Electric wholesale distributors from
1980 through February 1985 for between $70 and $170.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately turn off the heater at the
thermostat and, if possible, at the home’s circuit breaker or fuse.
Consumers should contact Marley to determine if they have a recalled
heater and for further instructions.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Marley at (800)
642-4328 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or
visit the firm’s Web site at www.berkomep.com/ts.htm

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the
recalled products, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07298.html

Recall: Electric Heater

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Electric Heaters Recalled by Aloha Housewares Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: “Aloha Breeze” Portable Electric Heaters

Units: About 281,000

Importer/Distributor: Aloha Housewares, Inc. of Arlington, Texas

Hazard: The heater can overheat, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Aloha Housewares has received seven reports of
heaters melting, smoking or catching fire, including one report of minor
property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled electric heaters are white-colored with the
name “Aloha Breeze” printed on the front. The recall includes model
number 05226 with date codes of 07/05, 08/05 and 11/05. The model number
and date code are printed on the silver label located on the bottom of
the heater.

Sold at: Wal-Mart stores nationwide from July 2005 to July 2007 for
about $15.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled heaters immediately and
contact the firm for instructions on receiving a free replacement.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Aloha Housewares at
(800) 295-4448 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. CT Monday through Friday,
or send an e-mail to ahitexaslg@aol.com

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the
recalled products, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07296.html

Recall: Back to Basics Iced Tea Maker

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Back to Basics Products Recalls Iced Tea Makers Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: IT400 Iced Tea Makers

Units: About 10,000

Importer: Back to Basics Products LLC, of West Bend, Wis. and Bluffdale,
Utah

Hazard: The iced tea maker’s components can fail, posing a fire hazard
to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None.

Description: The recalled Iced Tea Maker (Model #IT400) is mostly white
and has a 2.5 quart glass pitcher. The recall includes only those
products with a date code of CA1307 or CA1307-A. The model number is
embossed on the bottom of the unit, and the date code is printed on a
small white sticker, which is also on the bottom of the unit.

Sold at: Bon-Ton department stores and hardware stores nationwide, the
JCPenney catalog, and Internet retailers from April 2007 through July
2007 for between $40 and $50.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using and unplug the recalled iced tea
makers immediately and contact Back to Basics Products to receive a free
replacement product or refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call the firm at (800)
874-4084 between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday; visit
the firm’s Web site at www.backtobasicsproducts.com; or e-mail the firm
at IT400recall@btbproducts.com

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including a picture of the
recalled product, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07306.html

She’s Willing to Eat a Little Burnt Toast

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I know some people have those toasters with the slots on top that pop the toast up, and I remember having a toy one for my play kitchen as a child, but as an adult with a family to feed, I always choose a toaster oven over the pop-up.  My mother had a toaster oven and she would use it for quick meals during the summer when the temperature in our Southern California  house was in the mid nineties.  My mother is well known in our family for her thriftiness and would use the toaster until it absolutely would not toast another piece of bread.  Even when she had to flip the bread over to toast both sides, she kept it.

Here’s a nostalgic piece from the Navasota Examiner for those of us who remember eating toast that had been over cooked in an aging toaster.

I burned the toast this morning and the unfortunate event brought back many memories. The reason I burned the bread to a black crisp was that my toaster oven of about 20 years refused to toast any longer, forcing me to use the oven broiler. One might say the toaster retired. For all those years, the little oven had neatly browned bread, cooked wieners, toasted buns, baked potatoes, cooked tater tots, French fries and chicken nuggets.
I retired it once before, when my children presented me with a new one, but the newer version promptly caught on fire and destroyed itself. One might say it committed suicide. When the new toaster passed away, I dug out the old one and placed it on active duty, sort of like calling up the National Guard.

To read more, click here

Finding Your Inner Guide – or at Least a PDF Manual

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I recently overhead someone ask a friend: ‘how did we ever find out anything before Google?’. I gave away my internet age when I said “with altavista” and added for good measure – in a gopher guide. But nevertheless, the point stands. Google is just the greatest mindshare search tool, but its just a gateway into the riches of the internet. One of the great killer aps of customer service is the ability of any manufacturer to make all of their manuals available instantly to their customers.

att_logo.jpgMy ATT answering machine phone is acting weird, and my wife asked me to find the manual. After 10 minutes of wasting my time in paper files, I just did a quick search and came up with this page listing dozens of PDF manuals to various AT&T phones.

One of our goals here is to create a single point resource with as many manuals as we can hunt down. So here’s a start.

Fresh home made ice cream for the Fourth of July

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One of my fondest childhood memories is of eating homemade chocolate ice cream on the Fourth of July. statue of liberty Fourth of July FireworksI can still hear in my mind the sound of my parents’ ice cream maker churning for hours in the bathtub. (Where it was placed to catch the water from all the condensation that would form.) I also remember the great fun we kids would have smashing blocks of ice into the crushed ice needed to fill the bucket around the ice cream canister. My mother would fill milk cartons with water and freeze them a few weeks before the holiday in preparation for the big day.

make-healthy-rich-home-made-ice-cream-for-your-kidsNow that I’m a mother, I not only make ice cream on the Fourth of July, but on any day I want to give my family a special treat. Old fashioned ice cream makers like my parents’ are still out there, (you can even find ones that require hand churning) but I have one of the gel-canister types that is much less messy. Some advance planning is still necessary, as the canister must be frozen for at least twenty four hours before use, but if you store it in the freezer, you are always ready for spontaneous ice cream making.

Here are a few tips for making your own ice cream:

  • The gel-canister should be completely dry before being frozen overnight.
  • If you plan to store it in the freezer, place the canister in a bag to keep it free of crumbs and ice that might fall on it.
  • Ice cream bases must be thoroughly chilled before processing.
  • Processing times vary, start checking at around twenty minutes.
  • Add nuts, etc. thorough the lid opening during the last few minutes of processing.
  • Let the canister thaw completely before washing.
  • Be gentle with the canister; some can be easily punctured by a sharp tool.

Chocolate ice creams are still my favorite, but vanilla is a big hit in this house as well. I have also found that a good vanilla base is a great start for fruit ice creams. Here are some basic recipes and variations from the manual that came with my Hamilton Beach ice cream maker, that I have used and enjoyed.

Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream

¾ C sugar
dash of salt
1 ¾ c whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ C heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the first three ingredients in a heavy saucepan, and cook over medium heat stirring until mixture is steaming. Reduce heat to low.

In a medium bowl whisk eggs and slowly whisk in half the hot mixture and then pour all back into the saucepan. Cook until slightly thick, about three minutes. Remove from heat and chill.
When ready to freeze, stir in heavy cream and vanilla. Follow directions for freezing in your ice cream maker.

Because that recipe requires advance preparations, and I tend to do my cooking on the spur of the moment, I use the next recipe most often. I also try to cut back on fat and calories where I can and I have found that I can turn this recipe into low fat ice cream (or ice milk) by substituting half and half for the cream and 2% milk for the whole milk. It is definitely a less creamy, icier dessert, but then I don’t have to feel so guilty eating it.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

1 C sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 C whipping cream
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients, mix well and freeze according to manufacturers directions.

home-made-vanilla-ice-cream

Some variations we enjoy:

Cookies and Cream– reduce the sugar to ½ cup and add about 15 broken chocolate sandwich cookies after about 15 minutes of churning.

Mint Chip – Substitute mint extract for the vanilla and add 1 cup mini chocolate chips after about 15 minutes of churning.

There are ice cream makers by Cuisinart, Delonghi, Salton and Rival. You can spend a simple thirty dollars on up to close to three hundred. Kitchenaid even makes an attachment that turns its mixer into an ice cream maker. My simple Hamilton Beach model has worked well for my family; it makes one quart, which serves everyone, (There are six of us.) but rarely leaves leftovers. I sometimes wish I could make a larger quantity, but for the most part this works, and part of the fun is making and eating a new batch.

Braun Immersion Blender

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Braun MR5550MBC-HC Multiquick Professional Hand Blender, MR5550 M BC-HC White Multipurpose

One of the handiest tools in my kitchen is my immersion blender, also known as a hand blender. Immersion blenders have been around for about ten years, and do almost everything that a regular blender does. I have one of the older models made by Braun. Braun makes a number of small household appliances. I also have their coffee maker. (But that’s something for another day.)

For those of you not familiar with an immersion blender, imagine a 12 inch plastic cylinder ergonomically designed to fit comfortably in your hand with a twirling blade at the bottom. To mix, blend or puree, all you have to do is literally immerse the blade in your pot, cup or bowl and push the button. The blade must remain fully immersed or you’ll splatter yourself a bit.

One of the things I like is its ease of cleanup. If you’d like a smoothie, all you have to do is put the ingredients in a large cup, give it a whirl or two, run the blade end under hot water for a few moments and it’s clean. Nothing else to wash but your cup, but of course you’d have that anyway. My Braun hand blender came with a plastic cup as an accessory along with a wall mounting bracket so that it can be conveniently stored in a cupboard. The new models come with a variety of accessories and range in price from around $15.00 to over $400.00 by companies such as Waring, KitchenAid, and Conair.

Something that is important to me, as a matter of both safety and convenience, is the ability to blend right in the pot. If you are making hot soup that needs to be pureed, you have three options.
Wait until it cools and then pour it in small batches into your traditional blender, pour the soup in hot and take the chance of scalding yourself, or, with an immersion blender you can just put the blade into the pot and off you go.

A quick tip: When you are pureeing, be sure to keep the base of the blender at an angle to the base of the pot. If the blender is touching the bottom of the pot, the food won’t circulate, and the machine can’t do its job. I had a friend who had problems using her immersion blender and therefore disliked it. When I explained that you need to keep it angled to allow the food to move through the mechanism she called back to say that it worked perfectly. Depending on the depth of what you are blending you should keep the blade about an inch above the bottom of the pot, and you should move the unit through the liquid as if you were gently stirring it.

The appliance is versatile. Not only do I use it for the basics like milk shakes, smoothies and pureeing soup, it is also wonderful for making homemade refried beans and Hummus. Here’s a recipe you can use to try it out:

Sweet Potato Soup

  • 2 teaspoons butter or margarine
  • ½ cup sliced carrots
  • ½ cup sliced celery
  • 1 ½ cups seeded, peeled and chopped tomatoes
    (or do what I do and use the 28oz can of diced tomatoes)
  • 6 cups broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable – water will do if necessary)
  • 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
  • pepper to taste
  • Plain yogurt as sour cream as garnish

Jane Brody\'s Good Food Book/Jane Brody\'s Good Food Gourmet/Boxed Set
In a large pot, sauté the carrots and celery in the butter or margarine for about 5 minutes. Do not brown them. Add the tomatoes and cook to reduce the liquid a bit. Add the broth and the sweet potatoes, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot and let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.

Remove the pan from the heat and puree the mixture directly in the pot. Add pepper and reheat as needed. (This soup can be served cold also, but we prefer it hot) Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.)

This recipe is from Jane Brody’s Good Food Gourmet.