GoStanford's Profile

Ivan Yeung - this is interesting! My farmer's market sells three different kinds of vegetable all with this shape labelled as bok choy. One is small with light green stems and dark green leaves. One is small with white stems and dark green leaves. The other is larger (about twice the size) with light green stems and dark green leaves. Are they related?

Clover Organic unsalted or regular Clover unsalted are excellent. I am used to low-salt cooking (prefer the taste) and this way I can use the same butter for baking as for spreading on toast.

Clover takes very good care of their dairy cows (drive outside San Francisco toward the coast to see some of their dairy farms) and even the non-organic dairy products are from cows that are pasture-grazed. Delicious.

mdorothy, if you have a recipe for an eggless cheesecake, please say so. My child is allergic to egg whites and so I do not use recipes with egg. I try not substitute apple or flax because I'd rather find an eggless recipe.

People routinely sleep in much less space than this on airplanes - it's just that those are "open-air" and feel less closed-in. This pod is big enough to make a cozy call room in a hospital - I'd use it occasionally, safer than driving home late.

I highly recommend Simmons Beautyrest Black mattresses if you are looking for a very firm mattress. That's what I like - and we are fans. We also got pallets sold by Room and Board to put under the mattress for additional support. Like the mattress sales associate said: "It's like sleeping on cement with a fitted sheet on top." Exactly what I like.

I am not a pro at dinner parties but I learned from the best - my parents. Two things I've done have gone well in the past:
1. Accept help from those who are good at helping! This means if your messy but well-meaning friend offers to do dishes, consider steering him to the drinks area to help out. But if your quiet, efficient friend offers to do dishes, be grateful!
2. Make a take-home goodie ahead of time. Once at a party a couple of weeks before Christmas, I gave each couple a little box of homemade candied walnuts to take home. I was able to make those ahead of time when I wasn't stressed out about the party, and my friends said they used them as snacks/salad toppings later.

As a guest, I try to remember this: I only bring things if asked (food) because so often I have seen guests show up with a dish that they expect to be served, and it doesn't go with the planned menu...and it's just so awkward unless it's intended to be a potluck.

This is my opinion, my experience.

I am a home cook and not a food professional but I work in the health care field. The original poster is entirely correct to be concerned about regulations related to food safety, particularly if licensing of a small business is at stake. I have often wondered, as a non-professional baker, would eggs in a baked cake also be problematic for storage at room temperature beyond a few hours?

What a wonderful article! This is a very practical topic on which to gather tips. My suggestions as a former patient and health care provider, based on my experience and family experience, include:
*avoid flowers in the hospital room due to potential infection, but consider leaving flowers at the nursing station if allowed
*cards from children/grandchildren
*designate a family member or trusted friend to coordinate visits - so many times the patient's spouse gets flooded with calls, "When can we visit? What can we do," and having someone to buffer these well-meaning calls really helps.
*check with nursing staff on whether hot food from home is allowed - this can be very helpful for those with special diets/vegetarian diets, and if asked considerately, the staff usually help as much as they can by heating up food, etc.
*tea from home - hot water is available in the inpatient units
*slippers, robe, and nightgown from home often are OK and feel very good

Please keep in mind that an inpatient unit often is the worst place to get rest - so many interruptions (necessary) for vital signs, food, medical checkups, custodial services, etc. The real recuperation often follows at home, and again, management of well-meaning visitors by a non-immediate family member or trusted friend can be very helpful.

What do all of you do with your book jackets? I take my hardback books out of their jackets when loaning them out, using the jackets as a reminder of what's pending return. I usually take off the jacket for my own reading - just gets worn and in the way, but I don't want to recycle the jacket since secondhand bookshops (which thankfully are plenty in my city) like to have the jackets available for future buyers.

I was very lucky to grow up with freshly grated coconut in our home cooking - South Indian food uses fresh coconut for many dishes (coconut chutney for example). My dad used a hammer to break open a coconut and would grate it on a special blade made for this purpose. My parents still do this and freeze some of the coconut to have on hand.

A long time ago Maya Kaimal showed Martha Stewart this type of coconut grater on Martha's show - maybe the segment is on youtube.