Another odd encounter

I had an interesting encounter this afternoon at the local mall. I can't stand going to the mall, but I had grown tired of Omaha having so many pairs of jeans and other clothing items with holes, and she agreed that it was finally time to replace part of her wardrobe. After trips to Jo-Ann's fabrics for art supplies and the hardware store for a replacement toilet valve, we dropped off at the mall where I man-shopped for a pack of socks. Kouryou-chan and I were at loose ends while we were waiting for Omaha to get what she needed, and so we wandered out into the main mall and up the concourse.

I was surprised by just how many stores were gone-- and by just how many kiosks were now littering the concourse. They were probably no further apart than was necessitated by fire codes.

We hit the bookstore and, on the way back, stopped by the kitchen gadget place. While we were there, I was looking at the gadgets and asked the woman behind the counter if they had any of the counter-top sous vide machines.

She looked at me with something like horror and so, "Oh, no, I don't think we should carry anything like that. There's some chef who raves about the technique but-- you're cooking with plastic. Who knows what that's doing to you?"

Actually, we know quite a bit. At the temperatures at which sous vide operates (between 130°F and 160°F), not much. The food-grade bags made by Ziplock emit nothing that can be detected, according to Consumer Reports. (I checked, but you'll need a subscription to find out for yourself, unfortunately.)

It was just your typical odd encounter.