rachiebob80's Profile

Generally, I think processed cheese is kind of disgusting and I'd rather have good cheese (or use colby as others suggest), BUT... as a replacement for Whiz on a cheesesteak, this sounds ideal. If I'm already going greasy and unhealthy, I'd like to go all the way. And surprisingly, Whiz isn't always available.

"Try This! _____ roasted in bacon fat!"

Yes, obviously, that would be good no matter what. The idea with bacon fat (or plain old lard) is that you can use less of this than butter or olive oil to cook with high heat and not burn or stick. Olive oil (for example) does have health benefits not provided by bacon fat, but in terms of pure calories, the bacon fat is lower in calories and less is needed to cook.

My grandpa used to make a huge bag of popcorn in bacon fat on the stove every Sunday night and my dad and his 7 siblings plus my mom, my aunt's husband, and the 6 original cousins would all sit around and eat it and play trivial pursuit. Now there are 30 cousins and bacon fat is supposed to be bad for you...

Thanks for all the replies so far! The paste idea makes a lot of sense, I can work with that. I lived in eastern Europe for 2 years (Austria, but a mile from Hungary) and I'm happy with the sardines+flavorings+bread/crackers combo. I may just be eating these myself while my husband does his own thing. The trick is that WIC is *very* limiting re: brands, types, etc., plus it depends on what the store stocks. I could eat anchovies in any form by the spoonful, so I'll follow up on these suggestions that treat sardines a bit like anchovies.

Can't you just do this yourself with string, alcohol, and a lighter? Maybe some glass-polishing paper. Buy a flavor of soda you like and drink it for way less than $32.

I'm sorry to be flatly argumentative, but produce *is* expensive in the "universe" of the San Francisco Bay area. If you are working three jobs (like me) and you have kids, you can't make a bi-weekly jaunt to the farmers' market. It's important to us to eat a lot of fresh produce, lean meats, lean dairy. We don't buy junk food, we rarely eat out. But our food budget is a very high proportion of what we have left after rent of the roughly $2000 per month income. Live on that in Berkeley and then tell me produce isn't expensive. I'm not say *not worth it* -- including for long-term health costs. I'm just saying: it's a large part of our budget. I cook mostly from scratch, but that costs time, too. I'd like to have that time, but instead I have to work at three low-paying part-time jobs despite having a Master's degree. Hello, recession. Thanks.

@ matt: your rolling pin is probably a version of a springerle mold, where you roll out the dough (with a regular pin), then roll the molded pin over it. You can trim the edges off, bake the cookies as a sheet, and then cut them up; or you can gently cut them apart first. I think the first way works better. I've also found that I have to be careful about the fat (butter, etc.) when using these molds because too much fat softens the details of the design during baking. (I think this is the reason... anyone else?)

What kills me about it is the number of these battery-operated toys, almost always plastic and with computerized parts, that end up in landfills (and can have dangerous metals mined in poor conditions and causing violent conflicts in the country of origin). We also are in the "don't buy them/get them as gifts" category. Not only are these toys made of plastic, they come VERY securely wrapped in lots more plastic. Wooden blocks in a cardboard box are better for the environment and I worry much less about chemicals or lead in the product.
The reality is, computers are probably going to play an even bigger role in our kid's life than ours, so we limit screen time but don't deny it. And imagination and creativity can come in lots of forms. But even with sharing and donating, the sheer mass of these plastic things that will fill up dumps and never biodegrade seems unimaginable. Although I do think green toys are pretty cool.

What exactly is it that he loves about Halloween? The scary part? Because then you could do a sort of "monster" themed party, or ghosts, or vampires (surely there's LOTS of vampire stuff out there right now). It wouldn't have to specifically be Halloween. Or is it the costumes? Because, depending on your religious viewpoint, January is the beginning of the Carnival season, where in many other countries people go to costume balls or parties all the way up until Mardi Gras (Jan. 6 to March 8 in 2011). (Obviously you don't have to be religious to celebrate Carnival, but it's technically kind of a Catholic thing.)

Any chance you could get the parents to dress up, too? Kids LOVE it when their parents get dressed up in costumes.

So far it feels like we're failing... in a two-room apartment, there is only one bedroom (and one other room -- Berkeley rental rates one student husband one non-working new mom). Our one-month-old son is really loud, not crying but just making lots of baby noises (lots of LOUD grunts). Did others who couldn't get into another sleeping arrangement just grow used to this? Do they quiet down? Our cat, at least, has found respite on a small pile of cushions in a corner of the kitchen, but he still glares at the baby as much as possible. We'll be sticking it out in this in-lawl unit for at least another 10 months...

My spouse and I picked out Denby china (via Macy's) as our only china because we knew we'd be moving at least three times in the first 5 years of our marriage and didn't want to cart around "everyday" and "fancy" sets of dishes. The Denby is amazing -- we love using it every day (we have the "fire" collection, about 30 pieces now). It's beautiful every time I look at it. And very durable! Just as an example, my clumsy husband has only barely chipped one piece of the Denby while washing dishes; in contrast, he's broken over 25 glasses and we haven't even been married two years. We're dedicated to only buying glasses at Ikea now.