As unlikely as it is, I truly hope that they find the black boxes and what not so that all of the conspiracy theories are put to rest and to give closure to the families. Whatever happened, I hope it was swift and painless for those on board, and that if possible, most were unaware.

I just saw that there were 108 missing person reports regarding this. That is so frightening.

dp On a side note, baking should kill salmonella and listeria.

Kirkland brand chocolate chips are so good…plus I can feel almost righteous as they have higher cocoa content than Nestle, plus are fair trade. :)

Congratulations! I'm sure you know this having already survived medical school, but residency can be extremely hard on a marriage. There might be some spouse support groups associated with your DH's program. If so, I highly recommend joining one. This book might help http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Residency-Medical-Embracing-Training/dp/0615781489 (Haven't read it…nothing existed back when DH was a resident.) Also, as you have kids, you can usually get some good rates for life insurance policies as a resident/fellow. Something to look into.

No…I had no idea. Good trivia! I thought Christina was totally out of the picture. Didn't Walker's wife get rid of her? It would be good if the three of them banded together as heroes. Also, what about Stanford girl who is now, I think, running Claire's Non Profit? Do you think she'll show up again? From what I remember about the original, though, there were no heroes. Mind is a bit fuzzy, though, because it's been, what, maybe 20+ years?? :) I highly highly recommend watching it, though. It's on Netflix too. :)

My problem is that years ago I watched the original on Masterpiece, so now I wonder if what I saw there is going to happen here. (Don't want to do a spoiler) I was sad for Freddy. I wanted him to be successful. I like your theory about Meechum becoming the new Doug. I also thought there was a chance that Remy may come back into the fold. What about boyfriend of journalist who is in jail….and the guy with the guinea pig. I gotta believe guinea pig guy (it's been awhile since I watched it) might access journalist girl's phone records and then…I don't know…. blackmail FU? Can you blackmail the President?

I like Jay Robb egg white protein powder.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi Inna llillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un. (From God we come and to God we return.) I'm so sorry for your loss and that you lost your Mom and Dad so young and so close together. May your Mom and Dad both be granted jannah firdaus (the highest levels of heaven.) I wish you and your family a safe journey to the funeral. Lots of prayers/du'as are headed your way in the next few days ISA.

I started going to sleep away camp at 7 or 8. I was suppose to go for 2 weeks, but liked it so much I stayed all 8. The camp I went to had a special cabin that had an elderly Grandma type who lived with the youngest girls, cooked up separate meals, etc. I ended up spending most of my summers at camp until I was 12 or 13. I was extremely shy and it didn't affect my enjoyment/comfort with being away from home. My son is 10 and is hoping to go for 3 weeks this summer if we can swing it financially.

My understanding is that TT can be a savior, but it misses things and can be behind grade level. So if your DD was doing well with her grade level of TT (let's say 5th grade), she may have been working at a 3rd grade or 4th grade level. If she likes it perhaps consider accelerating it a bit so that you are ahead one or two levels? MM is very traditional, but if you don't like it, you may like something like CLE. Good thing is you can try one light unit for only $3. Whatever math program you use, though, use a placement test.

I'm sorry you have to deal with those allergies. If you can do another nut butter, I would suggest trying that…but I'm not sure how it would work. Can you do pine nuts? Maybe adding in some pine nuts would help. Since it's oily, another option would be to try adding in more olive oil for the mouth feel. If you can do white beans, I know there are some good white bean dips made with cannelini beans, that don't use tahini.

Yes, it will get all black on the outside kind of like when you roast peppers. If there's space, I'll put it on the grill when I'm grilling whatever…but if not, when I'm done, I just put it on and let it cook while the fire dies. For breakfast fuul, here are two versions… Basic: take a can of fuul beans (buy them in an Arabic or Halal store)…. and put them in a frying pan…. then you want to mash some of the beans with a fork (at least half), add in some chopped garlic, salt , pepper, maybe a little cumin…and some olive oil… could also add a spoonful of tahini. Take off the heat, serve with pita, possibly hard boiled eggs, and put some chopped flat leaf parsley on top to garnish. Version two: Start by sautéing some chopped onions in olive oil until clear…then add in some chopped tomatoes… cook for a few minutes…then add the fuul, mash it, and follow directions above. Almost any bread can be pita-fied…rolling it flat and the temperature is key. Baking stones help, but sometimes you'll get a pocket, not always. Here's one recipe: http://breakurfast.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/egyptian-pita-aish-baladi/ Here's another: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/pitabreadrecipe.htm I've made it using the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes basic dough too. (I usually do 1/2 whole wheat 1/2 all purpose flour.) It can be really good to sprinkle on za'atar or sesame seeds on the bread before it bakes. Turkish people also like to use nigella seeds. I buy my zaatar at http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/herbsspices/zaatar.html You can also make old pita taste better by brushing with olive oil, adding some zaatar and heating in the oven. But…I've made a basic homemade version using dried oregano, sesame seeds, and kosher salt. (equal portions) Ideally you could add in some sumac or dried thyme too….

Fuul we eat as a hot breakfast dish, but for the dip, it's basically the same as for hummus. Just a different bean, and I don't think you need the tahini. (BTW, I think Alton Brown tells you that one can use peanut butter in place of tahini. DON"T DO IT. It is not the same at all. Better to omit it all together. On a side note, best place to buy tahini IMHO is Amazon.) If you're ever barbecuing, take an eggplant, prick it with a fork, and throw it on the grill at the end until it's black all over. It will collapse. Take the skin off (comes off easily…might not all come off, no big deal), puree it and add in 2-3 cloves of garlic, couple of spoonfuls of tahini, salt, a little lemon juice, maybe a glug or two of olive oil, and some chopped Italian parsley… blend it again…et voila, baba ghanoush. :)

Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea. So falafel w/hummus I'm assuming means falafel made with chickpeas. I make hummus…by throwing a can of chickpeas into the food processor, 4 cloves of garlic, a few big tablespoons of tahini, 1-2 lemons squeezed, some salt, a little cumin, whir it together….add in some cold water and olive oil. (I like mine lemony, not everybody does, so you could even use as juice from 1/2 a lemon.) You could also blend in some Greek yogurt at the end which would be nontraditional, but still good. :)

Egyptians traditionally use fava beans (also called fuul) or a fava/chickpea combo. Everybody else uses chickpeas. If you do buy fuul, buy the skinless dried kind. This was my favorite recipe. It came from a cookbook called "The New York Cookbook" by Molly O'Neill. My husband loves tahini, but I'm more of a tzatziki girl. (Luckily, I found this online so I didn't have to retype. :)) Moshe's Falafel -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 pound dried chick peas -- soaked overnight 3 cloves garlic -- crushed 1 large onion -- finely chopped 1/3 cup fresh parsley -- chopped 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda, disolved in 1/2 cup water vegetable oil for deep frying To serve as a sandwich: Place 4 falafel balls in the pocket of one pita. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the sesame sauce and 1 tablespoon hot sauce (to taste) over the falafel. Add some of the lettuce and tomato, a drizzle more of the two sauces, and top with a pickle. Continue assembling the remaining falafel To serve as hors d'oeuvre: Make a dipping sauce of 2 parts sesame sauce and 1 part hot sauce. Place a bowl of the sauce in the center of a platter lined with lettuce leaves. Fry and drain the falafel, skewer each with a toothpick, arrange around the dipping sauce and serve. In a food processor or blender, grind the soaked chick peas. Add the garlic, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, salt, and baking soda mixture. Process until smooth. In a large, wide pot, heat oil to a depth of 3 inches until very hot, but not smoking. With a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, form the falafel mixture into balls the size of golf balls, using a flat knife or spatula to smooth out the scoop. Carefully slide the falafel into the oil. Continue shaping falafel and adding them to the oil, but do not crowd the pot. Cook the falafel until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes more. Remove the falafel from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or paper bags. Keep warm while continuing to fry the falafel until all the mixture is used. - Sesame Sauce: 1 c. tahini paste 1 clove garlic, crushed juice of 1 lemon 1/4 c. cold water 1/4 tsp. salt dash of black pepper Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 1 1/2 cups - Hot Sauce 1 1/2 c. tomato sauce 1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp. salt dash of black pepper Combine all the ingredients in a non-reactive small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces slightly and thickly coats the back of a spoon, 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. Serve. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Falafel can be tricky, in my experience, to get just right. Sometimes the balls fall apart in the oil, but they're still good. There are baked recipes, but I haven't had much success with them. You can sometimes find them frozen in Middle Eastern grocery stores. I like them with salad made with onion, tomato, cucumber, parsley, and lemon....and tzatziki. I made mine using greek yogurt, one chopped fine English cucumber (the long skinny kind), 2-3 tablespoons of garlic minced or put through a garlic press, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a few glugs of olive oil. For gyro/doner kebab, it's hard to do at home. Alton Brown has a recipe, but to me, it just isn't the same. A lot of Middle Eastern/Halal stores do serve food (just like Indian grocery stores). This is the current chicken dish that we make all the time. http://julienjulia.blogspot.com/2013/08/chicken-shawarma-fatta.html

Found this interesting: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/must-every-ya-action-heroine-be-petite/284568/ We're not quite to the YA genre yet, but I was wondering what the exceptions were. I'd like my DD to see a wide variety of body types as potential heroines.

Elizabeth Smart has actually spoken a lot about how the whole "used goods" philosophy to "virginity above all" harmed her and made her feel worthless when she was abducted and raped. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/05/06/elizabeth_smart_abstinence_only_sex_education_hurts_victims_of_rape_and.html "When Smart spoke at a Johns Hopkins University panel last week, she explained one of the factors deterring her from escaping her attacker: She felt so worthless after being raped that she felt unfit to return to her society, which had communicated some hard and fast rules about premarital sexual contact. “I remember in school one time, I had a teacher who was talking about abstinence,†Smart told the panel. “And she said, ‘Imagine you’re a stick of gum. When you engage in sex, that’s like getting chewed. And if you do that lots of times, you’re going to become an old piece of gum, and who is going to want you after that?’ Well, that’s terrible. No one should ever say that. But for me, I thought, ‘I’m that chewed-up piece of gum.’ Nobody re-chews a piece of gum. You throw it away. And that’s how easy it is to feel you no longer have worth. Your life no longer has value.â€"

My parents are both over 80 and they use email and Google a lot. Not much more than that…and they're prone to getting viruses from all of the forwards from their friends… but still. I don't think there should be an age limitation.

:laugh: Those are great. Thank you. :hurray:

Yes, but hopefully they are cooking up a storm in heaven. :)

I remember watching her back in the 90s, and thought she was quite an eccentric, fun type. I knew nothing about her history…quite fascinating. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarissa_Dickson_Wright I also feel that I haven't nearly enough names. Her full name was Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright. Should DH and I have another kid and can't decide, perhaps we can just use them all? :) RIP Clarissa.

Honestly, all three look great. You must be a great teacher. I have to say that including pie baking in your education plans is one way to make the world a better place. :) I voted for the Coconut, but I wanted to eat all three. The lattice is probably a lot more challenging, so maybe I should have voted for that?

Mine is all almond flour, and pretty much like a regular chocolate chip cookie, although I do the one from Elena's Pantry too. I've tried coconut flour recipes, but because they usually take so many eggs or butter, I don't like them as much. THis is really really good and has some coconut flour in it...http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2013/05/chocolate-brownie-mug-cake-low-carb-gluten-free.html