I know $800 to $1,000 for a 4.7 or 6.4 cft Kimchi fridge may seem expensive. But this is new technology with limited patent rights. These are very popular in Korea in fact in 2011 more Kimchi refrigerator sold in Korea than regular refrigerators, and in Korea most people buy the full size ones not just these small ones. These kimchi fridges are not like a regular fridge. They use positive air flow with strict temperature control to control the kimchi fermentation process. In Korea kimchi is like wine. It has a different smell and taste depending on its "ripeness." Some people prefer it fresh or not very fermented, some people prefer it very ripe or very old, and others prefer it everywhere in between those two stages of "ripeness." If you want to make sauerkraut I would not get one of these fridges because sauerkraut can be made with a $125 stone fermenting crock. My wife, who is Korean and I live in Phoenix where it is very hard to store certain fruits and vegetables like potatoes, onions, apples, pears, squash, etc. for long periods of time. This kimchi fridge makes it possible to store these items for months and keep their freshness. We can now go to the store and buy 25# of potatoes or store the cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, squash and other vegetables that we grow during the winter and spring in Phoenix. I�m sure you people in Florida have this same problem storing fruits and vegetables. In my opinion, I would get one of these kimchi fridges if you have the need to store any fruits and vegetables and you live in a hotter climate that does not allow for good storage. Or if you want to store kimchi. You will fall in love with it. I was skeptical at first when my wife wanted to bring one of these back from one of our recent ventures to Korea, I work in Korea for about 4 months every couple of years.

Ilene, I don't think our doctors test for vitamin D unless they have a reason to suspect a deficiency. I know vitamin D is especially important for "women of a certain age" because it helps the body absorb calcium......so, even if you take calcium to prevent bone loss, you need to have vitamin D too or your body can't use that calcium. I try to get that 15 minutes of sun every day. It is easy to do....just work outside a bit before putting on sunscreen. Well, it isn't easy to do this month..... One thing that surprises me is how many young folks will tell me they don't like tomatoes and think they taste just dreadful. Of course, in their young lives, all they've experienced generally are store-bought tomatoes. If you give them a garden-fresh tomato and can convince them to try it, suddenly they have a whole new attitude about tomatoes. I've also had people ask me when our home-grown potatoes and green beans (among other things) are so tasty....they'll make comments like "I didn't know green beans could taste like that". LOL I tell them "this is how food is supposed to taste". Maybe they'll never become gardeners, but at least now they have an idea that fresh veggies really are better, and maybe they'll search out fresh locally-grown food at farmer's markets or at least buy and cook fresh veggies from the store, instead of canned or frozen ones. And, speaking of canned veggies.....I hardly buy canned veggies at the stores during the gardening season, but needed to buy some canned beans and corn last week to throw together a quick pot of taco soup to take to a bereaved family. The prices of the canned veggies shocked me! Apparently, while we've been busy eating fresh for the last few months, food prices have been climbing. It is funny how you don't even notice that kind of thing if you aren't buying those items. It sure made me appreciate the veggies that I do have put up in the freezers and root cellar. (I'm just going to call the tornado shelter the root cellar from now on....because we might visit it once a year when a tornado threatens....but it is a root cellar every day, year-round. I store all my home-canned goods there too.) I haven't seen Dr. Oz's new show yet, although I keep meaning to find time to watch it. I've read one of his books and liked it, but some of it is a little extreme for me. Dawn

I haven't made it but I used to enjoy eating it from a small Korean-run market I would often stop in when I lived in Philly. Here is a recipe from David Lebovitz who, if you're not familiar with him, is a very entertaining American chef and cookbook writer who lives in Paris (and he's also spent time in Korea I believe). His recipe uses a Korean chili powder and also a Korean chili paste. I don't know how hard it is to find those ingredients. Here is a link that might be useful: Kimchi

I finally got around to using my new mandoline, and I have the replacement blade for the Benriner. I decided to test the new machine with carrots, which I wanted to use in coleslaw. The new machine did a pretty good job with the carrots, but only cut half a carrot, and then the food guard stopped working. Although I have Kevlar gloves, I was afraid to risk it with carrots, as it takes quite a bit of effort to get them through the machine. So I took the half carrots and put them through the Benriner, which was a bit awkward to use, as the food guard does not grip the food, but it did manage to get through two more passes with the carrots. After that, I was left with a fairly thin piece of carrot that I cut with a knife into matchsticks. For the kimchi, I ran the carrots through my electric meat slicer and then cut the matchsticks from thin slices of carrots, but this was slightly more labor intensive. I sliced the cabbage with a knife, as it is easy to cut. Here's how they looked together:Of course you cannot tell which carrots got cut which way, but all in all, the results were similar and acceptable. I had never made coleslaw before, as it was never one of my favorite salads, and I never liked what was served to me in restaurants that much. However, I decided that I like cabbage enough (what I get at the farmers' market is sweet), and so I decided to come up with my own recipe for it, as follow: 1/3 head of green cabbage, slice thinly 2 carrots (one red and one orange), cut into matchsticks dressing: 2 Tbsp coconut vinegar 2 tsp raw sugar 1 tsp tomato bouillon (Knorr Caldo de Tomate Con Sabor de Pollo) 1/3 cup mayonnaise Fresh ground black pepper I microwaved the vinegar, sugar, and soup base in a one cup measuring cup for 10 seconds, so that the sugar would dissolve, let it cool, and then I added the mayonnaise and whisked it with a small whisk to combine. The I poured it over the cabbage and ground the pepper over that and mixed it together. Yes, the bouillon has MSG, and so you may want to substitute tomato powder plus 1/4 tsp salt, but I felt that it gave the salad a richer flavor. Also, the coconut vinegar gives a nice flavor, but you could use cider vinegar instead, but it would have less flavor. Anyway, I liked the salad enough that I might try making it with other vinegars, although this is my favorite use for the coconut vinegar so far.Here' how it looked with the dressing. I did chill it before serving. I thought about grating the carrots next time, but I really prefer them in matchsticks.