Actually, the microwave method was on some website. JL heats his water on the stove just till it foams (he says he boils it, but mine foamed in the slow cooker well before it boiled), then uses the heating pad method. I'll ask him about clean-up and what kind of pots he uses. (Knowing him, expensive ones. :)

On another note, do you ever get a skin on your milk when it's cooling? I did, and I'm wondering if it's because I took the lid off to help the milk cool faster.