I never thought of tofu as a meat replacement until I moved to a majority white community — I grew up in Asian communities in the same state, not 50 miles away. Asian dishes are all about the sauces/soups, so things that can soak up all that goodness — rice, noodles, tofu — are key. I still have a goal of learning how…

You would have been very happy at the last Thanksgiving dinner at my house. We steamed crab, grilled tilapia and steak, and made sides like roasted artichokes and green beans and Costco scalloped potatoes and Hawaiian bread. I wouldn’t mind doing the same this year, but I have to work, so I might be steaming the crab…

I’m on a quixotic quest to discourage tech company encroachment into everyday life, so I almost always cancel all tip requests from Square-type transactions, and try to drop a dollar or two in tip jars instead. I have a strong suspicion that tech companies love to set those tip defaults high because they are taking a…

Zoom loves to install all sorts of junk on your computer, so, maybe don’t do the automatic updates. It works perfectly well from a browser. 

Hate to say it, but sometimes I buy fruit at Walmart Neighborhood Market, which is much more like a normal grocery store, than your typical Walmart. They usually have cheaper strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and papaya. But selection can sometimes be thin — as in I almost never see raw spinach there. Their sparkling…

I understand. Court procedure is mind-numbingly slow. I was once a reporter, I remember falling dozing off even during testimony in a rather juicy sexual harassment trial.

I once was a juror in a ridiculous civil trial between friends over a fall at one of their homes. I remember that experience very fondly however —…

I don’t know why people hate jury duty so much, yet crime shows and true crime podcasts are all the rage. Where do you think all those stories come from?

Getting an OLED would’ve have been nice but with the oldest of my 3 kids about to hit 12, they won’t care if they’re getting the older-generation Switch. I bought one the week the OLED came out.

I remember being shocked to the point of tears after seeing my mom after a few months of being estranged, right before she died of stomach cancer. Same after seeing a really good friend/coworker after a few months of working opposite shifts, and I may have overreacted by insisting on leaving food for him in the work…

Your description of microblading sounds horrifying to me. I don’t know if that’s what was intended. Like, spending $8,000 on an eyebrow transplant sounds better than what you describe, and I am notoriously cheap. So...good job? You may have a future in beauty horror movies?

I was a former Coffee Bean barista in Santa Monica, about two blocks from the beach. I was paid minimum wage, which at the time was $7.25 I believe?, and can confirm tips pumped my hourly wage to about...$10 an hour.

The store I worked in was crazy busy, and was surrounded by very entitled, wealthy people. I…

I was a former Coffee Bean barista in Santa Monica, about two blocks from the beach. I was paid minimum wage, which at the time was $7.25 I believe?, and can confirm tips pumped my hourly wage to about...$10 an hour.

The store I worked in was crazy busy, and was surrounded by very entitled, wealthy people. I…

If you have a toaster big enough for a bagel, it will fit one of these biscuits. My oldest kid is crazy for them and will happily eat four in one sitting if he were allowed to.

Freezing the garlic will soften it, but this is only an issue if you like to eat your garlic in raw, crisp slices (and most people don’t).

Completely agree. One article I’d love to see is a comparison between memory foam vs. shredded memory foam vs. traditional pillows. I grew up sleeping on rock hard pillows (thanks Mom), so I scoff at the “firm” pillows I see in all the stores. I really need something where the part of the pillow where my neck hits…

I’ve been making Filipino garlic peanuts -- adobong mani -- that I have been giving away in cleaned Talenti jars or glass salsa/jam jars. The Talenti jars were particularly helpful when I sent peanuts in the mail -- I screwed them on tight and reinforced them with clear packing tape before putting them in a box to…

My husband and I are fortunate in that we have opposite schedules. He probably would not say its fortunate, since I work in the mornings so he has the bulk of online learning duty. We have 3 boys, and while the oldest seems to be able to navigate remote learning pretty well, we also have two restless younger boys, 9…

I just popped one of these out the other day.

I have been doing this for years. Before the remake of A Wrinkle In Time, I reread all the books in that series and discovered (rediscovered?) that Many Waters is my favorite in the entire series. The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Julie of the Wolves. The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Indian in the…

I have been doing this for years. Before the remake of A Wrinkle In Time, I reread all the books in that series and discovered (rediscovered?) that Many Waters is my favorite in the entire series. The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Julie of the Wolves. The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Indian in the…