Couch 202: The Grande Unicorn Frappuccino couch.

I haven't had such good luck with other dried beans. I've tried all the tricks and soaking methods, but they always seem under cooked. My friend said he gets the best results with a pressure cooker, but I don't have one. Lentils are great because they don't need prepping and cook quickly.

I only recently got the canned. I used to get the frozen. Theyre different, but i like them both.

My refrigerator doesnt refrigerate, and i have to do some dehoarding to get it replaced. I keep saying next week...

Next week for sure...

Try roasting them (maybe once summer is over)--I got my mother-in-law to like turnips from that! (She was like, "Thank God you didn't include any turnips in this roasted root vegetables," and I was like, "actually..."). If you prefer something sweeter (just guessing, if you generally don't like veggies), roasted carrots or sweet potatoes could be good.

Oh, in that case, the canned veggies make total sense! Hope you can get it fixed soon.

Not according to my dietitian.

I remember once in grad school I hosted Thanksgiving for the students stuck in town. Being a grad student on a budget, I served canned vegetables. One guest told me he was so glad I'd served fresh vegetables because canned vegetables were awful. As he sat there eating canned vegetables. (I'd seasoned them heavily.)

I loathe lima beans. When I bite into them, it's like I bite into a vacuum.

I'll admit the hoarding thing is something I can't really understand. I get why it can reach the point of feeling overwhelming to change, for sure. It's the supposed safety motivation I don't get. I have a good friend who hoards, and it's very much an emotional connection to the past that keeps her holding onto things, but it's also the safety feeling she gets from being kind of barricaded in her house that keeps it going. But I worry about her because she's severely disabled, and if there were an emergency, she'd be very at risk. But her refrigerator died, too, and she hasn't replaced it for maybe the same reason. But her disability prevents her from cooking safely, so she eats only prepped food, so it feels like more of an inconvenience than a burden.

Well, I won’t be boring the Couch with economics problems anymore. That course is done. (Unless I decide to take the optional final, which I’m thinking about doing on a lark without studying to see how much I retained.)

I only use dried beans and have had no problem with them getting soft enough. Sometimes if they are really old it takes awhile but eventually they succumb.
I often do this
Salty Soak for Beans | Cook'''s Illustrated

If I don't have much time to soak, I use adzuki beans because they don't need soaking.
And chick peas don't take all that long to soak.

A friend from the past, who was a hoarder said it filled voids for her. She couldn’t let go of all her stuff-it made her feel fulfilled. That same friend, ironically...also had Anorexia. And back in May her disease took her life. She went into kidney failure from her ED and passed away.

Yeah ive been messy since i was a kid and had my own room. Its a weird combination of messy / organized. I never figured out how to feed myself either. I never saw my mother eat breakfast until i was 50 years old. Im not complaining - im just saying thats weird. I should say, enjoy breakfast. The few times my father made her eat with us, she had a poached egg and a burnt piece of toast.

My friend has a hoarding problem and her refrigerator broke. At least 3 places showed up with a fridge but refused to deliver it when they saw the conditions. Not sure who she finally got to deliver it, but after six months she has a new fridge. There are serious issues with the house aside from the hoarding problem. Another friend lives nearby and vows to call Adult Protective Services if it gets too bad (the person with the hoarding problem is in her 70s) so I don't worry about her too much. It must be a difficult problem to have.

Well it helped me quit dairy!

Seriously, it has helped me make more conscious food decisions. Like when did i ever have a supper of 4 veg, and call it delicious?

But today im having jimmy johns roast beef sammiches, extra lettuce tomatoes onions and sprouts. So i do get my fresh veg in.

I feel nauseous again. I haven’t really been eating much at all the past 2 days then today I did and now I’m really sick in my stomach. When will I ever learn that balance
Is key. I’m starting a new family in Sept and I need all my energy. They have 3 kids ages 4 and under and my days are going to be challenging because not one of them is on a nap schedule. Not even the infant.

Holy carp! Im on a nap schedule! But im making up for when i was a kid and i wasnt.

Una ... if something good came out of not having a fridge, then that’s great.

We don’t have a Jimmy Johns in this area, but I sure wish we did. I drool when the commercials come on. Take a bite for me!

I second the roasting thing! I hated brussels sprouts my whole life until I had them roasted at a restaurant. Totally different flavor/texture and now I roast them all the time myself. Yum!!

I love turnips too. Id rather have mashed turnip instead of mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato, IYKWIM!

I enjoyed reading the economics questions even though I had no clue how to answer them. You can share the test with the couch.

Try shaved brussell sprout salad (or slaw) or in a stir fry - they are delicious.

Ugh, hope you feel better soon. And wow, that sounds challenging with the nanny situation. Maybe you can get them on a nap schedule? At least the two youngest. (If one is 4, probably hopeless.) Or a "rest" schedule at least for the middle one.

I’m going to try a rest schedule for the 2 oldest and a nap schedule for the infant. The 2 oldest will be in a program for 2.5 hours 2-3 times a week but at different times-so the oldest will go to the program 2-3 afternoons a week and the middle one will go 2-3 mornings a week for 2.5 hours each. (I don’t know why it was set up that way). But since the toddler will be going to the program in the AM-then I’m going to make it mandatory for her that she rests when she gets home for at least 1 hour. That rest time can include sitting on her bed quietly looking at a book-but she must rest for 1 hour. Not sure what to do with the oldest yet. I will lay the baby in his pack and play at the same time everyday so that he starts to know that will be his nap time.

Geez, Jersey, that sounds like a household that's been pretty chaotic to walk into. Were they not napping the infant in the hopes of sleeping through the night? Good luck--I'll bet the kids will be a lot calmer once you get them trained!

So I'm doing this extra credit exercise for my medical roots class in which students get an English term for a medical condition and must turn it into a medical term using Latin or Greek roots.

Yesterday's term was earache. For some reason 70% of them decided "earache" was already Latin or Greek and spent their time defining "ear" and "ache" and then redefining "earache" as "pain in the ear." 30% managed to produce otalgia.

This isn't the first time we've done this. Read the directions. Use common sense. Sheesh.

I seriously fear for the future of medical care in America. More than I already did.

I have uranusalgia.

So whats the right answer?!

Im beautyful but dumb.