Thanks for these recommendations. I bought the green Crane one. Looking forward to using it.

The Pioneer Woman did a comparison of different counter tops. It might help you: http://thepioneerwoman.com/home...

There's a certain amount of fine dust on rice that goes away when washed. The water even turns a little brown. I always wash rice, sometimes more than once.

This looks like what we call a bottle gourd in India (Lauki in Hindi). I hate it's texture! It feels like cotton in my mouth, and not in a good way. If I never eat this another time, it'll be too s...