KimberlyM, I got my electric grill at Wal-Mart for about $30; my sister has the same one and just loves it. The first couple times she used it, the food didn't have much of a smoky flavor. After ...

Yeah, it comes across as a little junky and garage-sale-y to me. I know a lot of people like open cabinets in general, but I think they just make the space look cluttered.

Cook's Illustrated also tested the "mushrooms soak up water" thing and found it to be bunk.

Well, you've got ful there, but not the medames! Medames means mashed; the way I've always had it is roughly mashed (not pureed) with a fork. Then you tear off a small piece of pita bread and use...

Here's a picture of the City Hall and part of the plaza (scroll down); beautiful building but walking through there is creepy and forbidding, a wind-swept no-man's-land.

You know, I can't quite figure out why, but this really reminds me of the City Hall plaza in Boston. Maybe it's the big expanses of hard, light-colored substances. And I think this, like the plaz...

thinkingwoman, it kind of sounds like you and your parents are both trying to express love in different ways: you by cooking, them by relieving you of the burden of cooking! Maybe, if they don't ...

Yes, cooking is a way to care for someone; like a well-chosen present, it can also convey the idea that the giver knows the recipient well enough to know what he or she needs or wants and cares eno...

See, it's situations like Fern's that show why we shouldn't use antibacterial cleansers unless there's a good reason, such as immune system problems. If we overuse these cleansers, the bugs evolve...

Why in the world would you want to consume this? It's good for calves, so therefore it must be good for humans? If that's the "logic," it's pretty lame, I'm afraid.

goldfixe, do you have a Bed, Bath and Beyond near you? I was in one just the other day and they had a mandoline for $19.99. I didn't look closely at it and I don't remember the brand, but you mig...

Yeah, that's the ticket! I'll just burn some weeds, wave my hands a bit, and it'll all go away! And all you pay is shipping and handling! Marie, no disrespect to you, but I would sug...

Soooooo . . . art students are going to pay $1500 for the privilege of fixing up HER place. Nice little racket she's got going there.

Okay, this is only on-topic if the topic is what flatters people's complexions, but I've always thought Samantha looked terrible as a blonde! It doesn't work with her skin at all. She always look...

Oh, and I would like to make a pitch for not trying to get out of jury duty unless you have to. It's very, very important to have a variety of people on juries and it's also a very interesting pro...

The last time I had jury duty, I worked on sewing the binding on a quilt I was making. That was several years ago, though, and I wonder if they would let you through security with needles these da...

Why is it exactly that you can't just remove the labels from the things you buy? And, yes, I'd love to wash my windows on the outside, but I can't reach them.

I guess I'm some sort of philistine, but I've never seen the appeal of the sterile, characterless, energy-wasting glass box. And it's not like we have some sort of shortage of them; every big city...

Oh, that is sad, sarahbest! I hope you do find it was a critter--little thieves are easier to foil than big ones. My "garden" is a self-watering window box full of basil in my bedroom...

I dunno . . . I think you'd have to live in a place where it rains all the time or the grass wouldn't get enough water. Seattle probably gets enough rain, but the problem is that it rains so much ...