Misa

Taco Bell is my husband's favorite fast food place. When we go, he gets enough for several days. I'm not fond enough of it to eat it several days in a row, so I get less... and I almost always get cheese and rice and pintos and cheese, along with something chicken.

At school, we used to have a major towel problem. Since the first quarter students got in later than the rest of the the students, first quarters often had to do without a towel of thier own. The problem is fixed now, and there's even enough towels that people can have two if their towel gets really goopy, though technically, they're only supposed to have one. Towel problems are one of my biggest annoyances in the bakeshop. If my towel is not clean enough, how can I use it for things I need to use it for?

Raw chocolate chip cookie dough - I sometimes make it just to eat the dough, freezing part of it to make it last longer. Pickle juice - It sounds gross, but I really do enjoy it. And I know it's pretty bad for me.

I find menus on the floor to be tacky and messy. I live in an buzz-to-get-in building, and we've got a table right next to the elevator. Oversized mail goes there, and a lot of times, menus get put there, too. I like that because if I decide I want to order from someplace, I can, but I don't have to see paper all over the floor.

I used to say "Mom taught me how to bake. She taught my sisters to cook." And while this is mostly true, it didn't really matter. I was seven years old when my grandma bought me a cookbook (Betty Crocker Kids - I don't remember the exact title and it's at my mom's right now) and I began cooking out of that. Then, I'd find other recipes and cook from them. My family used to joke that I couldn't make macaroni and cheese from a box, but I could make anything I wanted to from scratch! (That was a little closer to the truth than I like to admit...) Anyway, Mom and I used to get into arguments because, after she started having to work more hours (and several evenings), she would expect me to make Hamburger Helper. And, I would throw a fit. Eventually, I decided that I hated cooking, but baking was fun. I've changed my mind quite a bit now.

I use my toaster as more of a "warming" device - I usually am not looking for "toast" so much as "crisp, warm bread." However, if anything besides butter goes on it, I do make toast. And I need it to still be warm when I put my toppings on. With PB, I give it a couple of seconds to cool down, but I still want it somewhat warm.

I don't have any children of my own, but my sisters often come and stay the night (generally, one at a time). They're all in their teens. Usually, the younger two will want to make breakfast. Sometimes, the older one makes dinner. It's so sweet when you wake up and they already have breakfast ready!

My mother is Catholic, my father is Mormon, and any time a family member died, there was food. When my father's mother died two years ago, the Relief Society (women's group) from his church provided food for after the funeral. When ny father's father died a month later, they did it again. But I don't know that every LDS church does that, though I'd imagine that most of them do. As for my mother's side of the family, there is always food after a funeral. But I'm not sure who provides it. I know that when my Uncle Brian died, the church members did - but he was the priest's assistant at that church. I remember being amazed at how much food there was - but then, almost everybody who attended the church also attended his funeral, so I guess there had to be. There was food when my Aunt Anne died, too, but I was too young to know where it came from.

Oatmeal-Dried Cranberry are really good. They're one of our more popular cookies.

A nice, juicy pear. Preferably straight from the farmer's market. It has to be so juicy that the juice dribbles down my chin if I don't have a napkin there to catch it... mmm.

You could also use them as part of a French Toast "batter."

I was going to say ice cream or creme brulee, but those have both been suggested. Anything custardy would be a good use for them.

I just recently moved into a one-bedroom apartment. Before that, my DH and I lived in a studio apartment (and a sublet room before that!) so I've not been much of the "Would you like to come have dinner at my place?" type, unless you're a very close friend. I do, however, offer to do the dishes, what can I bring, would you like me to come early so I can help you cook, etc. And, occasionally, I'll take friends out for dinner. Hopefully, though, I'll get to have people over soon! One thing DH and I would NOT do, however, is invite over couples with children, unless we knew a tactful way to make sure that they had a babysitter. Why? We don't have a childfriendly home. Our animals aren't very kid-friendly (my dog doesn't mind a pet or two, but stop means stop-this-second and my cat is... testy). And furthermore, mainly, in fact, we don't WANT children in our home. There's a reason that we have no children ourself... we're not really child-friendly people. But, in the same regards, we very rarely accept dinner invitations from a couple with children because we don't want to have to deal with that. At all. (We solve this problem by not having many friends with children!)

Pat, what day is your COD?

I tried some, and have to say that I enjoy the taste much better than Pepsi One (which is what I'd been drinking for the past month or so due to a recently discovered aspartame sensitivity). However, I don't like it as much as "regular" Diet Coke.

Rmockler, you're lucky: I think there were a total of eight of those apple tarts and they just flew out the door! (I worked the pastry buffet table on Friday - I'm in the pastry program at SCCC.) I'm glad you enjoyed your meal!

I think it's a great concept. But, to be honest, I wouldn't want to work there, because I don't enjoy working front of the house. I've done it before, and it really isn't for me.

Thanks for the pic! Even though it is blurry, it is still very helpful - I now know what the outside of the container looks like. Blue cap.

I really like chunky rhubarb-applesauce. Ok, so I admit: it was supposed to be a filling, but we modified the recipe and it was so good. This is, of course, not savory, but still very delicious.

My understanding is that Diet Coke will be made with Splenda, while Coke Zero will be made with aspartame. I can't wait till we get it out here.

Here in Manhattan, McDonald's delivers. You can just go online and order whatever you want, and they bring it to you. ← ... which makes me wonder why they can't do it in more places.

How neat!!

My husband and I both freeze our sodas until they become slushy. It's wonderful.

I used to drink lots and lots of Diet Coke (between 2-3 liters a day ) but had to give up... aspartame sensitivities. So, now I'm drinking Pepsi One, which is made with Splenda. I don't like the taste as much, because it tastes more "real." But that is because I grew up drinking Diet Coke. When Diet Coke goes to using Splenda this summer, I'll probably go back to Diet Coke. Meanwhile, my mother and sisters will switch to Coke Zero, which will have aspartame.

When one of my sisters was really little, she was opening a can of corn. She reached in to pull the lid out and, instead, got a trip to ER and several stitches. To this day, I still think "I have to pull this out with a knife or a fork. Otherwise, I could end up needing stitches." (I guess that's more of a "I'll never do what she did again.")