tasterspoon's Profile

As KatePK and Baker_D say, even at $.50 each it's still a cheap source of protein, so I happily pay $6/dozen via my CSA for the clear conscience.

To be honest, I haven't noticed that they taste different or better than grocery store eggs. Also, they are "medium" eggs, and ALL baked good recipes call for large, so I sometimes throw an extra one in baked goods for good measure, which doubtless leads to variable results.

My problem is that I find it impossible to peel very fresh eggs after hard boiling without tearing off and wasting a lot of white, at which point $.50/egg does seem expensive (plus looks terrible). So if I'm planning to hard boil eggs for anything, I buy grocery store eggs regardless.

People want you to know that they put some love and effort into 'making' you something, so we definitely got a lot of casseroles and baked goods first time around. I definitely appreciated and enjoyed them, but, like others, I was CRAVING nothing so much as cut up fruit and vegetables. My husband just wasn't able to run out for the perishables as quickly as we went through them. Produce isn't adorable, but it is so very welcome.

That said, if you are a long-distance friend, a relative sent us a seemingly bottomless bagel basket from Wolferman's (an of-the-month type club) that was a HUGE hit, at all hours, with all members of the household and guests.

Also much appreciated was single-size portions that can be heated, if at all, in the microwave so I didn't have to wake our houseguests up during a middle of the night feeding when I was starving. Minimizing prep is crucial. Even boiling a pot of pasta as someone suggested is too much time commitment when you just want to get back to bed.

And agreeing about the intolerances. I made a banana bread for a friend and was bummed when I dropped it off because she was avoiding dairy and it had butter in it. Her husband and older child ate it, but I was still deflated. Moms also avoid nuts sometimes. And sometimes soy. Either avoid all the usual suspects or ask!

This time around (we're due this week) I've been laying in a lot of fruit, making loads of veg-heavy meatballs and hoping for the best! Then again, I just ate half of my meatballs while reading this post.

Oh, and this may benefit some moms: consider what mom has been giving up for the last 9 months. Has she had gestational diabetes? Has she been avoiding all coffee? I've had wicked heartburn for the last 20 weeks, so all summer I've been avoiding common culprits like tomatoes and eggplant, which has made me super sad. I'm going to be so excited to return to spaghetti sauce and ratatouille - and I just made a big moussaka for the freezer... If you know a heartburn victim, she may appreciate stuff like that! Also sushi. Last time someone brought me sushi in the hospital and it was GRAND.

Another vote for subtitles. Or just a transcription/summary of the tips. (Especially when they're not show-and-tell how-to videos, or even if they are, it would be a quick way to know whether the video is worth my time). I keep my computer on mute out of courtesy for my co-workers.

And here I thought you were going to say "lower the lights." That's MY instant trick for unexpected guests. Doesn't work for a sudden photography session, I guess, but I can't say I've ever had one of those sneak up on me.

@Carrotsticks, I got swept up in the hype at The Spiral Spoon near Glacier Park in Montana and got a handmade spoon with a big, deep bowl (good for scooping chili, etc.) for $50. There was a lot of entertaining propaganda in the store about choosing a spoon to fit your hand and so forth, but mostly I just liked the looks of it; I feel like one of the three witches. On the other hand, for a spoon that expensive, I hesitate to subject it to much abuse, like leaving it to sit in the stew to get waterlogged, so I can't say that I really use it as often or as carelessly as all my $1 wooden spoons. I probably don't get my money's worth of use out of it.

Holy cow, $200??

Did someone already say quiche? Eggs are cheap.

To answer Sian, I think what happens is larger fridges fill up with half-used condiments - at least, that's what happens to me! Maybe with a smaller fridge my turnover would be better.

My only tip to the commenter would be to make sure you can fit any dishes you are likely to put in there - for example if you were preparing for a party, is there a particular casserole dish you'd want to chill? How about half a watermelon or a gallon of milk? My current fridge doesn't have shelves tall enough for those Ikea glass bottles, and the "tall" section of the door isn't deep enough, so bottles have to roll around on a shelf. Not a huge deal, but if I chilled homemade drinks or certain wines often I might find it annoying. A friend's french door fridge is too shallow for her sheet pans (we were making some kind of candy when we discovered this). My husband's old side-by-side freezer was too narrow for my ice sculpture mold.

- Fried clams from Long John Silver's (my mom loved them)
- Liverwurst (!) sandwiches - I went through a liverwurst phase in 2nd grade - thirty years went by and then, as someone above mentioned, I totally had a liverwurst sandwich craving during my last pregnancy!
- My grandmother's shrimp dip - I think it's just a can of tiny shrimp, a package of cream cheese and...some kind of bottled chili or cocktail sauce?

The rest of mine are all repeats:
Boxed cake with, I know, it's so horrible, frosting from a can.
Pop tarts.
Instant ramen.
Spaghetti-Os.
Miracle Whip - especially devilled eggs made with Miracle Whip and yellow mustard.
Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Rarely, but when the craving strikes, there is no substitute.

Emily Lentini - I am laughing at "Irish Spaghetti." Given your name doesn't sound particularly Irish, I wonder if the name was meant to be pejorative.

A2Always - McDonald's fried apple pies were the best.

Aurora Highlights - a friend made that South Asian ground beef and peas thing in college once, saying it was a childhood comfort food. Every now and then I've tried to re-create it, but I never really knew what went into it. I'll try your list!

@Xtina, I'm with you. Totally not further to this discussion but I love my big mattress and extra tall box spring. I feel like the Princess and the Pea!