Yes, a tall claim, but I'm not afraid to make it. There are a million cookie recipes out there, and about a thousand of them are vegan, so what sets this one apart? Because it is the best, that's why!
Now I didn't come up with this recipe. I made some small modifications to the original Homestyle Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe created by Dreena Burton, a Canadian vegan supermom who has an adorable accent, two very lucky little girls, and three awesome vegan cookbooks. This recipe comes from my favorite book of hers, Vive Le Vegan.
I'm going to post my modified recipe, but you can see the original recipe here. Even better, you can watch Dreena making them on YouTube. I love that she doesn't sift the flour.
Our first worm bin is fully operational! I used the "Deluxe Worm Bin" design from Red Worm Composting.
I found that I did not have an ample supply of bedding materials, but I did scrounge up some cardboard and unbleached paper to use. Cutting cardboard is a real pain, but ripping the paper was a lot nicer. Most websites recommend using newspaper, but we don't have any and the video I watched said that cardboard was better. We shall see.
After setting up the bin, we waited a week before picking up my red worms at Durham Worm Farm. They were really friendly and knowledgeable, and the worms came in a mix of compost and worm castings that any gardener would drool over. Mark at Durham Worm Farm did not recommend using newspaper in the worm bin, and he said that feeding the worms bread will give them protein sores. He also said that fruit flies would be attracted to the food in the bin (even with the lid on), and that we should drape an old t-shirt over the top layer inside the bin to keep flies out. One pound of red worms cost $26, and he was nice enough to only charge us for a pound even though he collected more than that for us. The worms looked very healthy and were moving around quite a bit.
I've been interested in composting for quite some time, but I have never actually had my own working compost pile. I made a valiant effort at our last place, but the steep slope in the backyard conquered me and I abandoned it. Of course, I have seen a design for sloped compost bin since then, but at the time I conceded defeat.
Now that we are flatlanders, I knew my dream of a compost pile would come true. I began researching composters, but the idea of vermicomposting kept popping up. I worked a little bit with both at Humboldt State, so I was definitely open to either. Here is a list of factors to consider when making this important decision:
Location
Worms work best at temperatures between 55 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so unless you plan on keeping them inside you might prefer an outdoor compost bin. If the temperature is too cold or too hot, the worms will die, so it isn't just a matter of efficiency. We couldn't even keep our bin in the garage because it gets so hot in there.
For a while now I have had this desire to go to a restaurant and, upon being asked if I would like anything to drink, respond with, "Gimme a coffee, and make it irish" in a gruff voice. I'm not sure where this came from, but it has come up sporadically in my mind over the last couple of months.
This silly scenario will never actually occur for a few different reasons. One, I am very polite and would never order like that. Two, my voice is anything but gruff. Three, I cannot tolerate coffee after 11am unless I want to be up all night. And lastly, irish coffee will likely always have dairy in it.
I did actually visit Herbivore in Berkeley not too long ago and noticed Irish coffee on the menu. However, it was 11:00 at night and so the first three rules came into play.
Recently I bought a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme and made my own Irish coffee at home. However, the suspicious lack of ingredients on the bottle and the artifical sweetness of the liquid ensured that I didn't want to buy it again any time soon.
Apparently regmon now crashes Windows Server 2003 systems that are patched with the latest Microsoft updates. I left regmon running unattended for about 30 minutes and the system suddenly stopped responding to all network connections with the error:
"Not enough server storage is available to process this command."
The System event log was filled with messages like this:
"Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Popup
Event Category: None
Event ID: 333
Date: 10/31/2007
Time: 5:04:45 PM
User: N/A
Computer: DRSERV1
Description:
An I/O operation initiated by the Registry failed unrecoverably. The Registry could not read in, or write out, or flush, one of the files that contain the system's image of the Registry."
Apparently in California there are regulations about what you can put in your car's windows. The law is Vehicle Code Section 26708, which states that "No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows."
Now before you go and throw out your toll roads transponder, your rear window wiper motor, and your sunvisor, there are exceptions to this rule. (Including the three I just mentioned). They are listed in 26708(a)(3b) of the above code.
The one I am most interested in is (3b)(3) which states that
Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removedfrom the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which aredisplayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or othermaterials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower cornerof the windshield nearest the driver.
This would seem to affect a number of drivers on the road, like the truck I saw the other day with one of those urinating Calvin stickers and that fluffy Garfield suctioned to the center of the back window.
I first encountered Eric Schlosser's writing in Rolling Stone magazine in my teen years. His story took me inside a slaughterhouse, and I never looked at a hamburger the same way again. Later on I read Fast Food Nation, and gave up eating at the big fast food places altogether. I also learned a lot about the far-reaching implications of the fast food industry. It affects the service industry, real estate, agriculture and has psychological and physiological effects on children. His writing is articulate and informative, with incredible detail and endless footnotes, but it still flows easily and keeps you turning the pages.
Since the book came out I heard tell of another project of his, which was supposed to be about the prison system. I would google him every once in a while to check on it, but all I ever saw were references to the book being written. Tonight I thought of the book and again decided to check for the status. Only now instead of reinventing the wheel and reading the same old interviews every year, I decided to track what I found, and piece together the story of the eagerly anticipated book.
I just found a wonderfully informative website developed by the Water Education Foundation. They have a page to determine where your water comes from if you are in California.
California, like most of the arid West, has a rich history when it comes to water. It includes monumental feats of human engineering, shady political dealings, acts of God, and the eternal struggle of man versus nature. If you have never read Cadillac Desert by Marc Reiner, I highly recommend it. It will change the way you look at water and water projects.
If documentary films are more your thing, I also recommend at least checking out the PBS series based on the book, which covers water issues in California, the western U.S.
I have been burned by customer service of late. I've been left on hold, transferred to the wrong people, told by everyone that it wasn't their problem, and fought just to get a live person on the phone.
I know I am not alone in this, but I don't want a support group. I want to fight back. That's why I am so glad to find The Consumerist. Besides stories about people's customer service nightmares, they have stories by people who were able to beat the system, and tips on how to do so.
There are all kinds of articles on the site, including ways to save money, what corporate America is up to, and privacy issues. It seems to be updated regularly, so I'll be checking back soon.
Tired of all those "pre-approved" credit card applications you get in the mail? I dislike credit cards as well as all the wasted paper. I was just about to write to a company that sent me one when I noticed this little gem on the back of the application:
PRESCREEN & OPT-OUT NOTICE: If you do not want to receive prescreened offers of credit from us and other companies, call the consumer reporting agencies toll free at 1-888-5-OPTOUT; or write to:
Those are the three major credit reporting agencies, which you can get free credit reports from once per year. It’s good to check and see if who has been checking your credit and what kind of information they have on you. You can request the free credit reports here, which is linked from the Federal Trade Commission’s website.
