nchanceb's Profile

I'd say the rule for gifts is to make it something that doesn't require immediate attention, or dusting- pastries, chocolate, booze, etc. Although it breaks the dusting rule, I've found that everyone can use a trivet. For a weekend, I try to bring a pie. If it doesn't go with dinner, it'll make excellent breakfast/snack.

I used to host alot of couchsurfers, and learned two things: Get out of your hosts way periodically. And do the dishes. It's fool proof. I loved not having to do it, and if they were terrible at it... well, I'd expected to do them anyway, so no loss. On the other end of the spectrum, an unexpected (and not entirely welcome guest) tried to help out by tidying my house, and months later I was still finding things is odd places.

Seconding (or thirding?) using a little plain gelatin. Good for days, doesn't mess with the flavor. However, it's not kosher/halal anymore, which can be a pain, depending on who I'm cooking for.

When I was in college, I used to take apple juice and herbal tea bags (both available in the dining hall) and microwave them together. Quick and dirty spiced cider.

Bowl Noodle, spicy chicken flavor. I think it's a Korean brand, but it's pretty easy to find in the states (I assume anything that's at Wal-Mart is everywhere.) It may not be good for me, but it's the best comfort food ever. And frankly, tastier than most of the fresh ramen I've had. Spicy enough to clear out my nose, full of strange unidentified lumps of fish paste/soy. No clean up, because it's in it's bowl! Sometimes I'll add tofu or veggies, but mostly I eat it plain. I'll have to try egg.

It's great in salads. East Coast, vinegar based barbeque sauce (not that thick, sugary stuff) makes a great salad dressing, and goes well with tomatoes. The result is delicious, and much healthier than eating my barbeque on a bun.

Let's not assume that everyone who goes back to eating meat is a traitor to their own beliefs. Not everyone goes vegetarian for ethical reasons. Some people do it because its a good diet, the people around them are, because they don't like meat, or because they don't have access to responsibly raised meat. Many people who are ethical eaters consume meat. It comes down to whether or not you think the act of eating meat is wrong, or just the act of mistreating animals before they are killed. For alot of people it's not cut and dried.
I would never become vegetarian, because I like meat, and I've never found eating it guilt inducing. However, I would like to become more mindful about my meat eating- where it came from, how it was treated, whether the amount I'm eating is environmentally irresponsible, etc.

Apple pie. But generally only if I can justify making at least four- once all the prep work is done each pie isn't really very time consuming to put together. And I like to carve shapes related to the event into the tops for the vent.

I like these because they're stiff enough to stir fry or scramble eggs with. I've has serious trouble with nylon spatulas melting in non-stick pans, and wood can be a pain to clean, but it's hard to find silicon that's stiff enough to be any use. These won't handle serious scraping, but the metal insert makes them far more useful than than anything else I've found.