Hot water in the pot, add the steel cut oats and a little salt (brings out the oat taste), and leave it covered several hours or overnight. No skin, no lumps, reheats perfectly. I usually have it w...

I've read elsewhere, and the Consumer Reports article mentions this too, that the plastic/foil packs and pouches are usually BPA free. Tuna comes comes in a pouch, and tomatoes are sometimes availa...

Another 'conscientious' omnivore here (thanks, art, for the word). I don't eat much meat (and my husband is a recent convert to grain based sausages!), but what we do eat we try to make sure it was...

Just be careful of the heat! I tried something similar with plastic egg cartons and melted the plastic. (Not only was it gross and got who knows what into my food, but I couldn't get anything out b...

We used to get apples from a relative in styrofoam mailing packs that were perfect for ornaments. Something like 36 (6x6) round indentations in a styrofoam slab, with a matching top. I think my mot...

I've never made colored pasta, but I buy them regularly, fresh and dried. Do the ones you've made with beets keep their color when boiled? I've never had premade beet pasta that didn't turn pale wh...

Last year I went as a "data pirate" (idea stolen from a college classmate way back when). Generic pirate costume with flash drives hanging off my hoop earrings, necklace and anywhere else handy, a ...

I really have to do the books (purge, sort, reshelve), but I'm not sure if I can do a full cure right now. I think I'll just tag along and cheer; maybe I'll get inspired!

Does anyone have a suggestion for getting slides scanned? My family has a ton of my grandfather's slides--we aren't sure what to do with them.

It seems to me that the color of the food and the color of the dishes (or table, walls, etc.) would be completely different things. For that matter, light is different than color--the blue bulb in ...

Oh, and I have something very like the Martha Stuart one (might be a knock off). Very useful, but be aware that the collapsible colander really collapses--it almost useless outside of the cutting b...

Domestic Intellectual, many years ago, I had some large rectangular burner covers (painted metal) that fit over 2 burners--I think I got them at a local hardware store. They were large enough to ma...

Sorry, but this sort of thing just irritates me. Avoiding pesticide consumption is just one reason for choosing organic, as several people have pointed out. (And the organic label is not the be all...

Set? What's a set? I have sort of a set of stoneware (wedding presents, but bought as bits and pieces) and lots of odds and ends picked up whenever something interesting shows up. As long as ...

Oh, Thank you! I never ate eggplant and am now getting them in my CSA box. Now I have all sorts of things to try! mntwmyn, is this the Mollie Katzen recipe you mentioned? I just found ...

I've heard that kudzu vines make good paper, too (suitably pulped, of course).

Serve it at a party and get someone else to gush about it. Not only will they be encouraged to try it, but most people don't want to look squeamish in public. Lying about food is horri...

Depends on size (I answered 'Neither' but it's really 'Both!'). Small ones I just cut across the top, larger ones get either a V or cored.

White chocolate is usually flavored with vanilla, so if you don't like vanilla or the vanilla flavoring is not good, it's awful. I love vanilla, so *good* white chocolate is heaven. So often, howev...

I once "painted" a wooden birdfeeder with hot sauce because the squirrels kept chewing on the wood to get at the seeds. It worked until the next rain. You can even buy capsicum treated birdseed, ad...