My dad is in his early 60s and was reminiscing today about this really great fudge his mom used to make for him while he was in the service. He said something about how she would make it by shaving chocolate and something about marshmallows. My guess is that my grandma got the recipe from a famous brand recipe or famous cookbook back in the day.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I've googled for recipes and found some that sound similar but does anyone has any suggestions of older cookbooks I should try looking in? I'm willing to do a little legwork/research since I would love to make some for him for Christmas as a surprise. Thank you!

also, do you think it matters in taste/texture if a recipe calls for chopped/shaved chocolate vs chocolate chips?

Does anyone hav any experience with broad spectrum compact fluorescent bulbs? I’m looking at http://www.bluesbuster.com/ in particular.

I’m wondering if they’re worth the price. Is the difference in the light noticeable?

I have some compact fluorescents from Ikea that are noticeably bad, but most of the others I have are OKish. I’ve heard broad spectrum is better for folks who struggle in the northern winter months, but I don’t know if that’s fact or hokum.

Hi- this one is bad! It turns out that one of the crockpots got done this morning, but the other was never plugged in even though it was turned out (it was apparently something else w/the same color cord). AGGHHHHHH!

So, I think I know the answer to this question already- but do I need to throw it away and somehow start over and get it done by 5PM (while working until 3 at work) when I need to deliver everything? Or, can I turn on the pot now and cook it all day? I don't have time before work to shop and all that...


Panic!!

Pooket

Hello,

This is somewhat related to my other post but I'm posting it separately so it doesn't get missed. I need to get all the chicken noodle soup I'm making, to a place across town. How in the world do I do this without spilling?? My only thought right now is to duct tape the crock pots shut, don't take the freeway, and hope for the best!

I would be so grateful for any ideas!! I feel like this is the perennial question- but usually the liquid I'm transporting is mango lassi- and I end up using water jugs for that.

Thanks again- you are all so helpful and have really gotten me through several kitchen scrapes!!

Pooket

Hello,
I am making chicken soup in two crockpots for some sick and hungry friends tomorrow. The chicken is cooked and chopped- all the rest is uncooked but chopped. Can I put already-cooked chicken in the crockpot with everything else, or would the chicken be overdone by tomorrow morning?
Thanks so much,
Pooket

Hi there :)

I'm totally clueless when it comes to game systems, like playstations and Wii and Xbox. My 7 year old has asked for a Nintendo DS for christmas and there's no way that's gonna happen both for money reasons and for he's not careful enough with his stuff reasons, lol. However, is there another handheld-type game out there that might be a little bit cheaper and/or sturdier for a kid? I looked at the leapfrog handheld game, but it looked too preschoolish for him. Do those of you with game console knowledge have any suggestions? I'd also really love it if it came with games installed, so I wasn't having to buy new games all the time, but that may be too much to ask for :P

Thanks from the clueless mom :P

ETA: Thank you all SO much for this great introduction to handheld gaming devices and for your suggestions!!! I think I've decided which route I'm gonna go and I'm feeling all edumacated now, lol.

do you guys hear your neighbors play rock band through the walls? i just moved in to a new place and don't want to be a jerk- but my bf and his friends, after helping us move this whole day just want to drink beer and play rock band. i can't do much about it tonight since they're already at it. but for the future, should we just not even bother playing after 10pm? thanks =)

eta: thank you guys for the quick response... you all gave great advice. i moved to a townhouse so we only have neighbors adjacent to us. i think i'm going to try the note suggestion since i'd want to be in good terms with the neighbors since we plan on staying here for a very long time.

If you live in an apartment and had a storage unit and half an apartment full of things you'd like to sell, how would you start going about that? I'm a student so I really need the money and don't profit from all of the stuff my mom left me/I've gathered myself.

I've never really held a "stoop sale", just garage sales where I lay everything out on my lawn. I have a great deal of stuff I'd like to make money off of before I donate it because it's not worn or old items, they are just unused.

Do you think selling things from my apartment porch (I'm on the corner and could utilize some grass space) would work? Should I advertise around campus? Are yard sale signs legal? I don't know the rules on those types of things. I'm in Texas, by the by.
eBay or Craigslist? Anyone have advice on those sites or any luck?

I'd really like to map out the most efficient way to sell my housewares, clothes, books/DVDs, furniture because I'd like to do it before Christmas, ideally. So I have no time to waste!

Any help is appreciated. :)

So I arrived to work today (im a nanny) to find that my little one had accidentally smushed silly putty into the couch this long holiday weekend. His mom has tried everything so far. The problem is that the sofa has sort of a plush fabric, almost like a low pile velvet if that makes sense. So its really stuck in there good. The silly putty was sandwiched between the cushion and a pillow..he was sitting on the pillow. The sofa is a cream color..the silly putty pink. We have used ice, stain cleaner, etc. Any other magical ideas?

::edit::: Thanks for the tips..I think that link might be the key. That was the only thing we haven't tried yet. The problem is that since its a velvet-y type fabric its ground down into the fibers.

Does anyone else have a partner/spouse/SO/whatever whose tastes are wildly different than yours? How do you handle it?

My husband would *like* to do our home in a primarily... contemporary (I'm trying not to snark his aesthetics, because I do realize they're subjective) and mine are very 'farmhouse'. We're currently planning a bathroom remodel, for example, and he wants a black jacuzzi. I want a clawfoot tub. I like the original (100 year old) hardwood floors and want to just refinish them; he hates the floors and wants carpet or to have them covered with something extremely high gloss and darkly colored.

We've been married 12 years. We have weathered a lot of storms and done a lot of compromising, but I swear to god we're going to kill each other before this house is finished.

Yesterday, to my delight, my hubby started seriously looking at chest freezers. (An auxiliary freezer has been my pipe dream for quite some time now.) We seriously looked at a 7 cu ft chest freezer, a 9 cu ft chest, and -- to my complete surprise -- and 8.8 cu ft upright freezer. I hadn't even realized that those existed!

So, I'm now looking for advice. Assuming that cost/space were not an issue, which would you go for: a 7' chest, a 9' chest, or the 8.8' upright?

Everyone I know who's had an auxiliary freezer has had a chest freezer. I know that those are marginally more energy efficient, but there's also the issue of getting to the things at the bottom. I love the idea of a freezer with shelves (I have a side-by-side refrigerator, so am quite used to that format) but worry that it would be less efficient in terms of actual storage space.

Thoughts? Experiences? Any and all advice is welcome!

I've saved letters & postcards sent to me since I left for college. I'd like to pare down the physical amount of STUFF in my house & would like to do something with these. I'd like to save the contents of the letters if not the physical letters themselves. Has anyone done a project like this? I'm overwhelmed.

I am having a holiday get together and I would love to serve Hot Toddies. I had the perfect recipe but I can't find it anywhere. I found it in Bust (or Venus) magazine a few years ago..All the ones I have found online use tea and some sort of liquor like tequila or vodka. The recipe I loved used 1 cup of cider to 1 shot of rum and shimmered with spices like whole cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and something else (that something else is why I am posting) It made the house smell wonderful and it was delicious and all you really taste is warm spicy goodness. Does anyone have a recipe similar to this or know of this recipe?

I'm going to be sending out some baked goods this holiday season, and I'm looking for wax tissue paper - you know the kind that goes inside bakery boxes? I found some at Williams Sonoma here that I really like, but I can't seem to find it anywhere else. I've found it in just white, and maybe some solid colors, but so far no patterns!

Does anyone have any ideas where I could find some cute wax tissue paper like this?

Thanks!

My best friend, who lives in another state, just got her own apartment.

I will be visiting that state this upcoming weekend and I'd like to bring her a gift bag of stuff (she did the same for me when I moved to my own place 5-6 years ago).

Thing is, she does have stuff in storage but isn't sure what she actually has....and isn't sure yet what she needs. She's making this move this week so she won't know until then, and when I get up there this weekend it would be perfect if I could bring her some essentials. So I'd need to buy this week rather than waiting for her to tell me what she needs (like making a formal registry or something).

Problem is, she's extremely picky. I mean, she won't buy a shirt because she doesn't like the hem. So, anything dealing with style is out. I don't want to buy anything that she might already have, too.

So, what are some new-home essentials? I'm talking a bunch of stuff I can put in a big bag or box. This way she only has to worry about buying the big-ticket items that she has to make a decision on, and not worry about a lot of the little things.

On my list so far:

- Dish sponges and Dawn/Palmolive
- Method/Lysol all-purpose spray cleaner
- Cleaning rags
- Paper towels and/or napkins
- Reuseable plastic pitcher (for mixing iced tea or other drinks)
- Wooden long-handled spoons
- Pot holder/oven mitt
- Spoon rest
- Batteries (because....who doesn't need batteries!)

(Note: She does not have a dishwasher or washer/dryer in the apartment)

What else can I throw in there?

I have a small chest freezer which is difficult to keep straight. Suggestions?

I am putting together a basket of goodies for my boyfriend's parents for Christmas.
It'll include some cookies, candied nuts, coffee and...

The thing is, his mother is diabetic. She eats sweets and stuff just fine but I thought it might be nice to include something that isn't sugar-filled. Trouble is, I have no ideas!!

I would prefer to make it and not have it cost too much.
And I am not interested in making cookies and stuff with sugar subs - I want a savory food product to give.



Ideas?

Thanks!
(I will also probably be including a candle or some smelly soaps as well)

I'd like to mail some chocolate treats out this Xmas, but so far only have found good recipes for chocolate truffles. I was thinking maybe something like "turtles" could work too. . .all the tins I've bought to fill are going out of the country (to cold or cool places) so I don't want to send something that could go stale like cookies or cake.

Any good recipes or suggestions?

Thanks!

We're selling our house and buying another in the same general area (aiming for may 2011)... how many months before the desired sell/buy month should you contact a realtor?

any good books on selling and/or buying a home?

I have a Bissell Pet Hair Eraser that I use quite often in my apartment, it's about a year and a half old.

Today as I was vacuuming, I noticed that all-too-familiar burning smell. I immediately shut off the vacuum and layed it down, and waited for it to cool, I saw a little smoke trail coming from the head...yikes.

I pulled off the cover and cleaned out the brush head, which was full of hair (I have long hair, so yeah this needs to be done frequently). I put it all back together and ran the vacuum, but the brush head would not move. Not even if I lifted the head into the air, away from the carpet.

(I don't know if the brush head was spinning properly BEFORE I took it all apart, I hadn't looked - I just noticed the burning smell and thought that was the only problem).

I pulled it apart again and took the brush head OFF this time, looked at the belt, everything else, and it seems fine? But again, when I put it back together, the brush head would not spin. The motor is running and it sounds fine, just this stupid part won't move.

What's the deal? My manual doesn't say much other than "clean regularly". Googling around just says the belt is probably snapped, but the belt seems normal, it's intact... Should I just replace the belt anyway? What else should I inspect?