AriEisenberg's Profile

Soups freeze well pretty consistently. Even if they contain some of the veggies on the no-no list, soups do a good job masking anything that might have changed texturally a bit, or even making soggy vegetables taste perfect! I always make big batches of the Moosewood cookbook's carrot soup, for instance (http://www.slashfood.com/2007/08/21/the-original-moosewood-carrot-soup-recipe/), and then freeze it in several containers so I can defrost it little by little. Often I'll get a rotisserie chicken for dinner one night, and then add the leftover pieces of chicken to some defrosted soup the next night. I'm always satisfied with it.

Thank you all for your comments! I will definitely try a soy-based paint stripper or Ready Strip--no idea why none of the three local hardware stores I visited (including Home Depot) had any; people I spoke to at all three stores had no idea what to recommend to me!

@THESMILEQUEEN: I like the tiles too! The cracks don't bother me nearly as much as the flaky paint does.

@DEARMISHA: Unfortunately, the tiles are different in all three fireplaces. Though I'm not willing to do that much work to a rental house, anyway. There is absolutely zero chance of the landlords reimbursing me for it--we could barely get them to pay for necessary repairs like fixing a broken front porch railing!