Oh, like the way I always laugh about the "country antiques"

I remember the estate sale my mom and I went to back in 1992 when I was working at the library (the local librarian wanted me to see if there was anything interesting for her archives). My mom had grown up on the farm right next door, so she knew that this family had always been on the edge of "dirt-poor," so she warned me to not to expect anything fabulous. She was right--the stuff was really crappy quality and not even "charmingly quaint," but it was going for quite a bit to all these yuppies looking to furnish their Naperville McMansions. The one that I remember most vividly was the plank of wood that had a checkboard painted on it--just black and white paint on a weathered board--that went for $25! I told Mom we should stop by the decrepit barn we passed down the street that I could rip some boards from and I would make a mint.

I really should just make my own yogurt. It's so much better. Of course, my Mom is probably laughing right now to hear me say that.

I kinda love that in this forum you have to specify non-consensual.

Heh. It would never have occured to me NOT to.

I've been thinking about making sour cream substitute (plain yogurt strained through cheesecloth) for recipes.

I read your LJ post this morning, and it sounds like my kind of book. I need to pick it up.

Woo! I look forward to hearing about how much you love it.

I am not sure I like this yogurt. It's very tart. It tastes more like straight-up yogurt; I need my fruity flavor! Come on, fruit, get fruity, dammit.

I've been thinking about making sour cream substitute (plain yogurt strained through cheesecloth) for recipes.

I caved and bought a special strainer for that years ago; it was cheap and works really well. You can get it pretty thick.

Everything has HFCS in it. Bread. Tomato sauce. Salad dressings, ketchup, mayo. Canned beans.

This is what I've been saying for a while. It's very annoying. Shopping at Trader Joe's cuts down on that a little bit, but reading all of the labels all of the time gets exhausting.

I have a neighbor who makes her own yogurt all the time...and this is a woman who can't be fussed to recycle. I should try it. But everytime I think to do so, I remind myself that I don't 'do that much dairy.' Then I get a huge craving and go buy the mondo-spendy stuff at the healthfood store. Speaking f which, 7 Star Farms is my absolute favorite and their maple flavor has no hfcs.

Oh Sparky, it did look like Babyfrass was giving you a workout. I can't imagine what that is like...plus the sore hip. Ugh. You were a real trooper.

Maybe extra activity in utero will translate into atheletic prowess and B'frass will end up supporting you in your dotage off of Beckham sized endorsements. Then, you'll look back and think it was all worth it...um, right? It could happen!

What's driving me crazy is how hard it is to get a salad dressing of any sort that isn't loaded down with sweetener of some sort. I dislike sweet salad dressing and I'm usually too lazy (or pressed for time) to make it from scratch.

I'm eating organic barley (99 cents a pound, bay-bee) with organic agave nectar (okay, that was a little pricier, but I don't use much) and (non-organic, Costco-purchased, cheap) cinnamon for breakfast, AIFG.

I've been thinking about making sour cream substitute (plain yogurt strained through cheesecloth) for recipes.

Worth it! (Although, okay, I strain mine through a layer of coffee filters over a mesh strainer, but same idea.)

I really need to start making my own yogurt. I have the maker from the House of Mom Kitchen Supplies Emporium (also where I got my Cuisinart, my food mill, and a lot of my canning jars--never say there's no silver lining to parent who hoard!), so it's just a matter of doing it.