I have a Cuisinart custom 11 that i have to hold to work, the lid is cracked alittle so I bought a new Cusinart 14 cup but didnt open it. Does anyone think the newer one is superior to older one....thinking I should have just gotten replacement part.

I have a KitchenAid and I love it. I broke the blade on the first one grinding pork and they sent me a whole new machine, which has worked fine since. I use it for hummus, for grinding meat, for chopping vegetables and grating cheese, but I've been unsuccessful at using it for bread or pastry. Bread just seems to overwork the machine, and it doesn't get kneaded enough, and pastry gets overworked, gets too warm and has to be refrigerated or frozen for an hour or so just to cool it off. So, it's good for a lot of things and the customer service was awesome, but I use the bread machine (zojirushi) for bread and I just make pastry by hand, I haven't found a better way and it's not that difficult to do with a handheld pastry cutter. Annie

Like LindaC, I have a blender, a food processor and a hand held "boat motor" type blender. I never use that darned thing, I haven't found one single thing it's good for. My first one was a used one from GoodWill, Elery told me it didn't work well and he brought me his bigger and more expensive one. It doesn't work any better, IMO. The blender gets used a bit more, Ashley uses it for smoothies and for frozen strawberry margarita type drinks. I used it Friday night to puree the tomatillos, etc. when making the sauce for Ann T's stacked enchiladas. The food processor gets used the most, but still not a lot. I make hummus, I use it on the rare occasion I make pasta, I use it during canning season to shred cabbage for kraut. I use it to shop meat for sausage, I like to make my own instead of buying it. I don't use it for pastry dough because the dough always gets too hot and I have to put it into the freezer for half an hour, it's faster and easier to just use a hand held pastry blender and less mess to wash. I don't use it to chop vegetables because I mostly turn them into puree, the pieces are either too big or they're soup. If I'm going to grate just a little cheese, the microplane is handier, faster and again, easier to clean. So, do I like it? Oh yeah. Do I use it more than the blender. Probably. Would I use it to make smoothies? Probably not. I've never had a mini-food processor, so I can't tell you about that. Annie

To dehydrate kale: Wash thoroughly. Remove stems (save to use in another dish, stir-fry, or soup). Cut the kale leaves (kitchen scissors work well for removing the stem and cutting the large leaves into smaller portions) or tear the kale into manageable-sized pieces. (After you've made dried kale once, you will decide what size/s of pieces work best for you and fit in your dehydrator.) Dip the cut pieces in an acidic water bath (1 t. citric acid powder, OR vitamin C powder,OR Fruit Fresh per quart of water). This aids in preventing bacteria growth, helps maintain color, and adds a little vitamin C. Drain (I give the cut pieces a gentle spin in my salad spinner). Place same-sized pieces together in a single layer on a dehydrator tray - or on one side of a tray if you mix sizes on a single tray. Equal-sized pieces will dry in approximately the same amount of time. If you put a combination of large, medium, and small pieces together on the same tray, the small pieces will finish drying first, and you will need to remove them so they don't over-dry - so keep the same sizes together as much as possible. Dry between 105-120-degrees F. until crispy dry (or about 4-6 hours). When crispy, allow the kale to cool to room temperature while on the trays (20-30 minutes). Don't let the dried kale sit in high humidity or it can rehydrate, and if enough moisture is absorbed, it can mold in storage. As soon as it is cool, store in an air-tight container and keep in a dark, cool place. This is a great way to "save" some less-than-perfect kale you forgot in the crisper drawer. -Grainlady