Ask MetaFilter posts by libraryhead

Concentrate my limeade.

libraryhead — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:43:25 -0800

More adventures in home food processing: limeade concentrate from limeade? So I got a hankering for key lime pie after seeing a simple recipe involving frozen limeade concentrate and sweetened condensed milk. The only limeade concentrate I found at the store was made almost entirely of high fructose corn syrup, with no mention of limes, so that was a no-go. I wasn't in the mood to juice dozens of limes (they're expensive and out-of-season anyway), so I bought a jug of prepared limeade made with lime juice, water, and sugar, figuring I could just find or adapt a recipe.

Problem is, there seem to be two approaches to key lime pie: the easy, fake-it way, using the concentrate, not diluted with water; or the real way, using lime juice, again not diluted with water.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has ever made key lime pie using limeade, and, if so, how to go about it. Can I boil the limeade down, or will that leave it too "cooked" tasting? How much should it be reduced? Half? Till syrupy?

Alternatively, it doesn't have to be pie, as long as it's limey and creamy. What other desserts could I make using non-concentrated limeade?

No! Color in the coloring book, not on Mommy's manuscript!

libraryhead — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:01:16 -0800

Toddlers and copyediting do not mix. Help me figure out childcare. My husband and I have a (sweet, clever, rambunctious) 2-year-old daughter. For the past year, she went to a wonderful babysitter three days a week while I worked part time. Now I've lost my job and my babysitter (laid off from the job, and the babysitter found better-paying work--not babysitting). I'm pregnant again, due in August, and have decided not to look for a permanent job, since I plan to stay home with the new baby for a while.

Luckily, I can get freelance work in my field and work from home but, as with most freelance, it can be a little erratic. Some weeks I might not get anything. Other times I'll have a big project with a short deadline and have to work long hours to get it done. I'd love to have a steady stream of 30-hour projects coming in on a regular basis, but that's just not the way this business works.

My question is: How can I organize childcare that works with an irregular work schedule? I don't make so much per hour that I feel like I can afford to pay for too many hours of daycare when I'm not working. But when the big projects come in I'm really stuck if I don't have a babysitter booked. I just can't work for more than 15 minutes without being interrupted, and when I try I feel guilty for parking her in front of "Elmo TV". The girl *loved* going to her babysitter, where there were two other kids to play with and lots of toys and activities. I want her to have that opportunity, but I just can't see myself ferrying her around to a bunch of playdates. I'm not the kind of mom who likes nothing better than getting down in the sandbox or breaking out the finger paints, either. We'll both be happier if she has some playtime while I have some work time.

We've thought about hiring a "mother's helper" to come to the house part time. Since I'll be home, too, we could probably go with a student or someone less experienced and not have to worry so much. But mornings are my best work times, and I'd guess most students would be in class then. My concern about hiring someone directly is that the arrangement I really want -- being able to expand and contract hours at need -- doesn't seem very fair to them, and they could be in a tight spot if they're counting on a certain salary to pay the rent and only have the one client (me).

Maybe a home daycare is the way to go, but the few I've checked out via Craigslist seem kind of skeevy, to be honest. There must be good ones, but I don't know how to find places with openings, or if they would have the flexibility I need. I don't think she needs or wants the heavy structure of a big, preschool-style center, and the one place I checked out doesn't do part days anyway.

And, of course, we want someone loving and trustworthy who will care for our little girl and have fun with her. Come August, everything changes. We just need to hold it together for five months without going crazy.

Are there options I haven't thought of? Has anyone out there successfully figured out freelance-friendly childcare? Specific tips about how to go about finding the right provider and how much we should expect to pay are also welcome. We're in the northern suburbs of Boston, if it matters.

Pearls before swine

libraryhead — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:12:40 -0800

Hulled barley: how long should it take to cook? The internets have failed me. Every recipe is for pearled barley, but I've got the chewy whole grain kind. How long should it take to cook, either on the stove or in the slow cooker? Should I use broth or water? and how much liquid to 1 c barley? It's been soaking for about 5 hours now. Bonus points for a barley-mushroom soup recipe using hulled barley, though I can probably improvise that based on the Zingerman's version. Extra special double points for good websites and/or cookbooks for cooking with whole grains.

Processed food, only I'll process it myself, thank you.

libraryhead — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:12:38 -0800

My family loves fruit-filled breakfast/snack bars. How can I make my own? My husband is a big fan of Kelloggs NutriGrain bars -- unfortunately they're largely made of high fructose corn syrup. Our 2-year-old daughter gets the similar Earth's Best Snack Bars (now, with more Grover!), which are healthier but, like, a dollar a piece. I'd like a recipe to make similar bars at home. They should be: soft, fruity, not as sweet as a cookie, not too time consuming, work with a variety of fruit (ideally with options for fresh or jam/preserves), and keep well for up to a week and/or freeze well. My regular recipe sources are coming up empty.

Getting out while the getting's good

libraryhead — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:41:28 -0800

Should we try to sell our house in a down market? Nearly two years ago my husband and I bought a house in the 'burbs. It's a decent enough place, not as swank as many in the neighborhood, but in pretty good repair and the decor is "updated" (read, bland). We had little saved for a down payment, and the mortgage is enormous. We can afford the monthly payment (& the mortgage is fixed, so it's not going up), but we're not putting much in savings. He just took a new job a couple towns over, and, since I do all the driving in the family, it's increased my commute by about 50%. I hate driving this much in traffic and I don't like the size of our carbon footprint.

I want to sell the house. I'm getting increasingly anxious about the financial burden this house represents. The market is very slow in our area and now is a terrible time to sell. According to Zillow.com our house hasn't lost value from when we bought it, but based on the sales I'm seeing in the neighborhood, I'm not sure that's true. Everything seems to stay on the market for months and months and ends up selling for tens of thousands less than the initial listing. I think we're on the cusp of a real recession and the market will continue to fall, but there's no way to know for sure.

If we did sell, we could get a place (maybe buy, probably rent) closer to Mr. Libraryhead's job in a more walkable area. This area also has access to public transportation so I wouldn't have to drive him to work. Coincidentally this area is a lot cheaper than where we live now. Based on sampling Craigslist, our combined savings on the mortgage and utilities could be as much as 50%. We'd probably have less space (we have more than we need now -- just filled up with clutter) and less or no yard, which would be a loss for the kids and the dog and the garden, but we could mitigate that by looking for a place with a park within walking distance. On the down side we would be moving out of one of the best school districts in the state into one of the worst, but I suspect we'd move again before the kids start school anyway.

Other factors: We have a two-year-old girl and I'm two months' pregnant with our second. I'm working part-time now, but will likely quit my job once the baby comes. My income is a negligible contribution to the family coffers, as most of it goes to pay for childcare and commuting costs. Our friends are spread all over the metro area, maybe a little closer to the new town. Family is out of state.

So, should we try to sell? Wait till spring or list it now? Put some money into fixing it up a bit or just get out? Mr. Libraryhead believes we won't be able to sell the house so we should just stay put and deal. I look at the prospect of driving on route 3 during rush hour for several years and I want to kill myself.

seeking Santa's database

libraryhead — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:04:01 -0800

Looking for a meta gift advisory for kids. I need to select Christmas gifts for my nieces and nephews who live halfway across the country and I don't know well. I like to buy high-quality semi-educational toys that they are unlikely to have already. Searches for gift advice this time of year turn up link farms for every piece of cheap plastic crap with a cartoon character on it. Can anyone recommend a source for good generic gift recommendations for kids of different ages based on developmental readiness? For example, our 1 1/2-year-old loves puppets, pull toys, and chunky crayons, but doesn't understand puzzles yet. It would be great to have a similar list for every age from 2 to 8. Out of kindness to the parents, no extravagant, enormous play furniture or blippy bloopy battery-required items, if possible.

Every year I've bought books there have been dups, so I'll be doing BookSense gift certificates this year, but I want something for them to unwrap, as well.

Brrr...

libraryhead — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:45:10 -0800

Help me find a flattering coat. I lost 20 pounds (yay!) and last year's winter coat is too big. Help me find a new one that fits my criteria:

* warm enough for Boston winters (avg. 20s in the morning in January)
* flattering to a shortish, size-14 hourglass figure
* works for driving, walking, riding the train
* works with pants or knee-length skirts
* appropriate with office clothes, but not too dressy for casualwear (I have a parka for skiing/outdoor exercise, so it doesn't need to cover that base)
* roomy enough in the shoulder to go over a suit jacket
* has pockets that don't look completely deformed if you put gloves in them
* closes up pretty well at the neck -- no open shawl collars or the like -- for warmth. I love nice knitted scarves but always forget to wear them. I also like hoods.
* in a nice punchy color or pattern (green? orange? I'm a redhead) -- no boring black or navy. A brown might work if it has interesting details.
* budget: up to $250

My feeling is that plain cloth coats won't be warm enough, so Thinsulate or other insulation would be a plus.

I'm not sure on the length: Long would be warmest, but is that too bulky for driving? My last coat was a shortish jacket and I hated how it would ride up and expose the small of my back to the cold carseat. Yet I don't want a ton of extra material bunching up under me.

Do I need three coats to satisfy my wishlist? Or will AskMe direct me to the One True Coat?

Mobile Baby + Stairs = Dangerous Combination!

libraryhead — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 09:58:57 -0800

Our newly walking one-year-old has learned how to climb up stairs (oh, joy), but not down. Help us put in safe a baby gate. We've used the pressure-mounted type to temporary close off rooms, but the stairs seem to call for something more secure. I'm thinking we need permanently mounted swing-open gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. Where should we look? Any style or brand recommendations? I've seen the snazzy DIY versions but that would probably take me months to execute and we need something yesterday.

In a related question, at approximately what age do toddlers learn to safely climb down stairs? How long might we expect to have to have the gates up?

Candy in a glass?

libraryhead — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:41:16 -0800

I have a bottle of too-sweet Gewurztraminer. What can I mix with it to make it palatable? I'm looking for ideas for a white wine cocktail or white sangria with a sweet base. I hate to see this (admittedly cheap) bottle go to waste, but it hurts my teeth to drink it straight.

Boring Insurance Question

libraryhead — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:42:52 -0800

I think I need disability insurance. I've just been offered a job that I want to take, only, because it's part-time (a job share, actually), it comes with no benefits. I'm covered on my husbands's medical plan, but I need to buy private disability insurance for the maternity leave (I'm not pregnant yet, but plan to be within a year or two).

I'm in Massachusetts, female, age 36, healthy -- any idea of what I can expect to pay? I'm still negotiating salary and want to take this extra expense into account.

I've no idea how much coverage I need, nor which types. Specific recommendations for good companies also would be very welcome.