I went to Oto's Japan Food a few weeks ago. I bought Kim-Chi with no MSG, natto,
and bonito. None of which were organic. I greatly prefer my home-made Kim-Chi. I
haven't tried the bonito yet, but I am planning on making fish stock with it for
miso soup. Natto- well natto is really healthy, just don't think about how it
tastes.

I also bought an Ikeda turbo oven for just $44. A turbo oven is an alternative
to the microwave recommended by Sally Fallon and others. Or I should say they
recommend not using the microwave. This one consists of a large glass bowl, with
the heating part attached to the glass lid. The heating part has a fan, so what
you get is a small convection oven, capable of heating things fairly quickly.

Normally I like to do a lot of research and buy a quality brand, but for that
price, I figure if it breaks I will still have a large glass bowl for making
ferments that would cost at least $20. So far, I have not been disappointed by
the turbo. I have been able to go microwave free. I heat things up in a glass
pie dish inside the turbo, which keeps it clean. I just made my first dish in it
instead of just re-heating, and I liked the ease of use with its small form
factor and how easy it is to see the progress of the food through the glass. I
am also considering using it outside in the summer to avoid heating up the
kitchen at all.

Problems:
When I first bought it, I turned just the fan on mand there was a greasy
chemical smell. I left it on (lid off the bowl) for probably at least two hours
until the smell went away. It is certainly not as fast as a microwave, and there
is extra work in transferring the food into the glass dish to be cooked in, and
cleaning that dish.

Overall I am quite happy with this purchase.


Greg Abramowitz Weber