Eliza G.'s Profile
Good - not great - Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
When I made this mix, I used oil and eggs exactly as suggested on the box. The only thing tricky was trying to determine when it was done, it's a very dense, sticky mixture that I didn't want to overbake.
Now for the important question - how did it taste? When you consider that I served it to people who had no idea they were eating something that was gluten free, it got reasonably high marks. No one called it a bad cake, neither did anyone rave about it. "On the sweet side" was one remark, along with a few comments about a different texture, but mostly people noticed really good chocolate.
I'll probably try other gluten free cake mixes, but I might end up back at Namaste.
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Hang up and drive!
Yesterday afternoon I was trying to merge onto a freeway loop and found myself doing a dangerous dance with a metallic green Prius. I signaled, I sped up, I slowed down, I couldn't figure out what this car was about to do. Having just gotten off the freeway, it didn't seem likely that it was heading back onto it in the opposite direction, but people do turn around... I was running out of space and about to miss the entrance when the driver suddenly pulled out of the lane, fortunately leaving me my bumper, and allowing me to move over.
When the car passed I saw something that explained it all. The driver wasn't in the car. He was talking on a cell phone and clearly a zillion miles away.
I would have loved to be able to signal to this jerk (I'm feeling polite) to hang up and drive, but had no idea what to do. I'm ruling out the obvious - it's not about making people angry or letting them know that you are, it's about sending a message. A clear, calm message: Drive the car. Put the cell phone down and pay attention to what you're doing before you cause an accident.
States are passing hands-free laws, but I don't think that's much of a solution. The driver I saw yesterday could have dialed using cosmic rays, he was still totally out of it when it came to operating the car.
How to do it? All I can think of is an exaggerated 'hanging it up' gesture, an arm moving down.
Can we take our roads back?
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A Squirrel Too Far?
When spring started to become official, I began to think about supporting the local flock of acorn woodpeckers. I love to watch them at the birdbath, and a woodpecker moving around a tree trunk is a cross between a dancer and a magician.
The best thing to feed woodpeckers seems to be black oil sunflower seeds, and since the hulls can really build up, I decided that the shelled version would be the way to go. That gets expensive, fast, though, and the neighborhood is also full of squirrels. High-energy squirrels, I imagine they have quite an appetite. So I went shopping for a squirrel-proof bird feeder.
Enter the Twirl-A-Squirrel. The name says it all. YouTube is full of videos - check it out. (The weight of the squirrel on the feeder causes it to spin until the squirrel falls off.)
No, I didn't buy one. For one thing, I'm not sure it would be appropriate for woodpeckers. But the idea, the concept - isn't this maybe going just a little too far? Then again, the frustration of someone who is trying to help maintain a local bird population and ends up feeding squirrels instead is hard to overstate. I'm not sure.
There's something else called a "Yankee Flipper" - I'm afraid to look...
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User Comments:
Jenn A. says:
I saw this - I wonder if it works - I have lots of squirrels who go after my feeder. Squirrels v. finches, ad infinitum. more »
Eliza G. says:
Some bird enthusiasts were totally outraged at the concept, but I don't think it's a coincidence that none of them complained about squirrels emptying their feeders. I talked to someone who owns a Twirl-etc., and he... more »
Good Ingredients, No Flavor
When I read the label, I was sure I was going to like Cascadian Farms Strawberry Fruit Spread. It's made with organic strawberries, which is a must for me since I've learned more about strawberries and pesticides. The other ingredients look great - sugar, pectin, lemon juice, reads like the real deal.
There's one problem, though - it tastes sweet, very sweet, and that's it. It doesn't taste at all like strawberries. People who hadn't seen the jar thought it was apricot, because it doesn't look like it contains strawberries.
When a company is doing it right, i.e., using organic ingredients and skipping the chemicals, then I really want to like their products. But when something says strawberry, I want to taste strawberries!
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Can't wait to hear -
Here's hoping that Rob keeps us posted on his experiences with Kinoki Detox Foot Pads. I haven't tried them myself - all I did was to read the website. Nothing I found there convinced me that a pad soaked with bamboo vinegar can pull cellulite and parasites out of my system - not even when the vinegar is double-distilled.
With all due respect, this sounds like more oil than I thought anyone could get from a snake...
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Where you find it?
The friend who bought this duffle-style bag discovered Stewart-Brown - the company that makes it - when she was browsing on the Martha Stewart website.
Yes, I was surprised at the source, but I love the bag. It has a hemp-cotton shell, a lot of pockets inside, and you can carry it with the handles or attach a strap.
I don't spend enough time looking at Martha Stewart to have found this for myself, but there's more environmental awareness on the website than I expected to find. I think every little bit has to help.
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Beautiful Pieces (bad web site)
If you can get past an overly-innovative web site, VikiDesign has some beautiful jewelry. Using Brazilian Indian forms as a guide, the rings, bracelets, and earrings feature natural seeds, woods, grasses, and semi-precious stones.
VikiDesign lets you have it both ways - sustainable materials made into jewelry that anyone would love to wear.
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New Bracelets from Old
The pieces at K. Talis are made from assorted bits of of vintage jewelry, but they're assembled in surprising and creative ways. This is "found" design at its best.
There's no one style, you could wear everything with just about anything. The collection changes all the time. You can find necklaces, pins, rings, and bracelets on the website, and there's a shopping site, too.
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Gemstones and silver
Jewelry from Lucina is delicate but complex - there are some beautiful pieces here.
My favorites are the bracelets, especially the one made from Columbian choclo seeds. It's a big, bright red cuff, perfect for the holidays, but you'll love it even more in gloomy January.
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Earthy-looking rings
Kirsten Muenster's jewelry designs are on the chunky side, and she uses stones like Montana agate that look great in big polished pieces. Her website shows a broad array of rings, necklaces, and cuff links, and you can design your own, too.
If you love jewelry but want it to be sustainable, this is a good place to start.
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User Comments:
Jenn A. says:
I hear ya - in California, we are cracking down on this behavior. Starting in June or July, law enforcement will be writing tickets for people talking on their phones without a headset! Such legislation has been in... more »
Eliza G. says:
The intended point of this review was to collect ideas about a way to ask drivers who are using cell phones to hang up. Law enforcement isn't going to cut it. The fine in California will start at $20. I can't call... more »
Jenn A. says:
Yeah, if you do that in California, someone will pull a gun on you. I've seen some pretty astonishing things on the road -- I remember watching a woman read a paperback novel on her steering wheel while driving 45 mph... more »