Parent Hacks takes on the crock pot.

Discussions ensue. There will probably be some good things posted here, so check the thread from time to time.

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Kombucha

I picked up a bottle of kombucha while I was running some errands that took me near the local health food spot. I had been hearing about it on various food and beverage blogs and had been intrigued. Kombucha is basically fermented tea. You brew a jar of tea, toss in a bit of culture [...]

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Extra-cool kitchen tip!

Did you know that many, if not most, blenders can be used with a standard mason jar, or wide-mouthed mason jar?
Tip: Blender and Mason Jar at Simply Recipes, via lifehacker

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Tents, mowers, and…FRYBREAD.

As expected, the weather here was beautiful so we spent most of the weekend outside.
On Saturday, we pitched one of the tents just to see how to do it. I think I got it up in around 35 minutes, including several un-doings of poles and re-doings of this, that and the other. Having done it [...]

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Potty, porridge and plans.

Mirabile dictu, we seem to have potty-trained Lefty in a single day. As luck would have it, we hit it exactly right - offering the potty chair on the same day he seemed most interested in and inclined towards it. Off came the diaper for two days, and we had but one accident. He’s fully [...]

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Quinoa and Campari.

No, not together. Shudder.

Quinoa (KEEN-wah) is something I picked up after reading all of the glowing reports on various food blogs. I found a small box in the health-food section of the local grocery store. It looks like birdseed. After I followed the microwave instructions on the box, I discovered that it tasted like birdseed [...]

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Another mystery solved…

…and just in time for the weekend. How does one get cinnamon to properly mix with French Toast batter, so that it’s not all floating on top and gone with the first slice? The supreme arch-mage kitchen ninjas at King Arthur Flour know, and have deigned to share: The French Toast Connection.

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Middle-aged

We I just realized the other night that things are getting pretty medieval around here. The kids are studying the medieval period for history.  E. has started the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, and I’m about halfway through Pillars of the Earth. There’s mead brewing in the closet, and we’re counting the days until we can get [...]

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The Dawning of the Age of Aquarium

Warning: aquarium nerdspeak ahead. 
I happen to glance to the right and notice that today’s saint is St. Ammonius. How apropos.
It’s been probably 20 years or more since I regularly kept an aquarium, and while I thought it would just all come back to me, I seem to have forgotten that it can take weeks rather [...]

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Saturday Dessert

For lack of ingredients, this had to be postponed twice. But here it is, finally, after tonight’s triumph.
Bananas Fosco

2 ripe bananas
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. butter (half a stick)
one shot of bourbon
vanilla ice cream

Cut the bananas in half and slice lengthwise. Melt the butter over medium-high heat then add the brown sugar, stirring occasionally [...]

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