I like to sautee some chopped garlic, onion, zucchini, broccoli, and green peppers in a bit of olive oil, then add tomato sauce (I use a brand without salt, so I can control how much salt there is). I serve it over pasta with some bread and fruit.

Tahini is expensive in my neighborhood too, but you can grind your own sesame seeds. You can also make a smaller amount of tahini in your blender, then add the rest of the ingredients for hummus if you don't eat tahini in other things. We eat fish baked in tahini, so we need lots.

I really like Take Off! for a wide range of ages. Little ones can play it and have fun, and anyone older learns world capitals and major world cities.

I second the recommendations to stay in the park at Yellowstone or to do a yurt on the Oregon Coast. Oregon has great state parks and the yurts are lots of fun. Someday I'd like to spend a couple of weeks on the coast, staying in yurts along the way. And I'd like to spend a couple of weeks in Yellowstone, sleeping near the geysers. I've been all over the West and love many places, but I don't have any other suggestions of places to stay.

Julie in Austin wrote a great post elsewhere on what she does when she has lots and lots of chicken. It's an easy way to take care of lots of chicken. 20 pounds is more than I've ever dealt with at once, but since we usually only eat about 1/3 pound of chicken at a meal, I trim and cut up the chicken into small portions, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, then stick everything in a freezer bag. It's easy to pull out what I need for a meal. I've also boiled and shredded, but the meals I make now don't need shredded chicken. My favorite meal that uses lots of chicken are these kebabs. They might sound weird, but even non-adventurous people like them: 2 pounds chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 cup plain yogurt 1 T minced garlic 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp cayenne 1 tsp salt 1/2 c mint leaves, minced (use kitchen shears) Combine everything (adding the chicken last) and refrigerate at least 3 hours. Thread onto skewers and cook in whatever manner is handy for you. I broil them on high, about 5 inches from the broiler element, for 7-10 minutes, since I don't have a grill. Grilling is better.

It wasn't worth it for us, and we had a Costco 5 minutes away. Almost anything *I* buy at Costco can be found for the same price or less at stores without a membership fee. And now that my nearest Costco is at least 30 minutes away, I can find everything cheaper and closer, even though I live in a generally expensive city to live in. But I know many, many Costco fans who think it's worth every penny. It just wasn't worth it for us.

I don't know if this is exactly what you're looking for, but it's what I've used for years for library books and also at the grocery store. It's much sturdier than anything else I've tried, and I've walked for miles with it fully loaded with books or groceries. http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/987304/Office-Depot-Brand-Mobile-Folding-File/

I hate plain vegetables and always have. So I decided it's better to eat them in a slightly-less-healthy way than to not eat them at all. I found recipes from various ethnic cuisines that prepared vegetables in a tasty way, but without cheese, or deep-frying, or other not-so-great (but delicious) ways to eat them. Now I eat vegetables all the time, happily, and don't mind that they're not perfectly healthy.

I've had 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degree tearing with my three births and am well-versed in recovering after childbirth. Honestly, I can't imagine that a C-section would be worse. However, there are so many variables that can affect how long it takes to heal. My 4th-degree tear was actually far easier to heal from than the 2nd or 3rd. Anyway, it took months for me to heal after my last baby because I ended up with vaginitis at the site of the tear. It was awful. I finally went back to the doctor and she gave me some steroid cream (that blessed cream) and a prescription for estrogen (which did not ruin my milk supply, contrary to what you might read online). I didn't really get back to normal till my period returned more than a year later. So, in addition to all the great advice here, if she's not feeling pretty much fine by 6 weeks, she should talk to her doctor. I'm not just talking about being about to sit, but also to have intercourse, put in a tampon, etc. Most of the time a woman's body will heal well, but not always.

I know what you're going through. We're happy now with two different twin-sized mattresses on a king-size frame. He tried everything until he found a system that worked for him. We couldn't afford an entire queen- or king-sized mattress that was good for his back, so this has been a great compromise. It turned out to work even better for us, because it allows his mattress to be elevated a bit. He has, I think, a memory foam mattress and uses foam wedges under his knees. Anyway, good luck. It took us a long time to figure something out.

They should both be here, but if it didn't work, I also posted the pictures on my blog. We took both of these in 2006.

We are unhappily using Rosetta Stone right now, because there really isn't much else available that's suitable for children too. We will soon be using these books instead, as much as possible. Sakha is a Turkic language spoken in Siberia, Karakalpak is closely related to Kazkah and Kyrgyz and spoken in western Uzbekistan, and Wakhi is an Iranian language spoken in the mountains of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan.

I am intermediate in Russian and Arabic (although this used to be advanced), and novice in Persian. My boys are studying Latin and Persian right now, but we will add Arabic, Russian, or Uzbek as needed (when we live in a country that uses those languages). I would like to be at an upper advanced level in Persian/Tajik and Uzbek/Uyghur, and lower advanced in Arabic and Russian. Mongolian, Kyrgyz, Sakha, Karakalpak, and Wakhi all sound neat too.

I hang it inside on clothes racks when I can't hang it outside. I don't have a big apartment, so I only have certain places I can put the racks, but I've learned that there are better places to dry than others. I always put the jeans and towels on the rack that driest the fastest. Towels are almost always dry into 24 hours, but jeans usually need to stay on the rack a second day to be completely dry. I've also experimented with the best way to hang the clothes on the racks, and bought a third one so the laundry isn't crowded and can dry faster.

I got a lot more organized when we spent a year without a dryer. And I liked it so much that I never use one anymore. I do one load every morning. If my washer is big, I can skip one or two mornings a week, but if it's small, it runs every day for a family of five. I have to wash a load every morning so there's time to get it hung and dried (I live in Seattle, so it's especially important this year). I can't do more than one load, because I don't have enough space to dry more than one load at a time. It doesn't seem like I do much laundry when I do a load a day, and we don't need as many clothes either.

I have a six-week list of dinners, and I choose from that list every day, crossing things off as we go. I've tried planning out meals more specifically, but most of the time I didn't want what was written on the menu that day. What I needed was ideas, so the list of dinners helps a lot. And I do sort of think ahead for the week, but I always know I'll change my mind on a few things. I live right by a grocery store, so it's easy for me to walk to it in the afternoon if I need something. But it's rare for me to run to the grocery store. Most of what I need for that 6-week list is in my house. I use the freezer the same way Irene Lynn does, and there's always at least a 3-month supply of everything else around. Usually the only time I go to the store is when I want to try something new.

I don't have a website for you (I'd go to allrecipes.com, but here are my two Argentine recipes: Dulce de Leche Remove the label from a can of sweetened condensed milk and puncture the lid with a can opener twice. Put the can in a pot of water, leaving about an inch of the can out of the water. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer 3-4 hours. The longer you simmer, the firmer the dulce de leche will be. You'll need to add water as you're simmering. Lift out with tongs and let cool. Open the can and mix well. You can serve it with bread or apples or between crackers or just eat it up. Empanadas (I learned this one from an Argentine woman. She used onion and garlic powder, I usually use fresh) 2 lbs ground beef Onion powder (lots) Garlic powder (lots) 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp cumin 1-2 Tbsp paprika 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes 1/2 cup sugar Olives Chopped hard-boiled eggs Raisins Salt as needed Brown the beef and add all the seasonings. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, make the dough. 5 c flour 2 tsp salt Water- at least a cup 4 oz butter, softened 4 tsp baking powder Butter for brushing Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Add butter, then add enough water to make a fairly stiff dough and knead several minutes. Roll out the dough to about 1/2-1/4 inch thickness, brush with butter, and fold in half. Continue rolling out and brushing with butter and folding till there are many buttery layers, then let the dough sit for about 15 minutes. Roll the dough out thin and cut 4-inch circles (or smaller) out of the dough. Fill with a scoop of beef, fold over and crimp the edges of the dough to seal, and deep-fry.

I studied Latin in junior high and then went on to study a variety of non-Romance languages like Arabic, Russian, Persian, and various Turkic languages. Even for me, studying Latin was useful because it helped me learn how languages work. My husband, who's learned these languages too, has struggled at times because he's only now paying attention to grammar (although he's much better at learning vocab than I am). It just is useful to know how dative works, or what second person singular means when you're learning another language. Of course these things can be learned by studying English grammar or any other language, but with Latin, you cover a lot of grammar (so helpful with Russian!) and you also don't have to worry about talking to anyone. I look at it as a basic how-languages-work course. I don't plan to have my children do more than 2 or 3 years of Latin, and they've started on Russian and Persian already, but I think Latin is well worth our time.

We're not vegetarian, but we don't eat much meat. My husband can't stand tofu so none of these call for tofu. If you like these recipes (they aren't necessarily conventional), there are lots more on my blog. Plov Saute a chopped onion and some grated carrots in a oil for a couple minutes, then add two and a half cups of rice, 1 or 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1-2 tsp salt, an entire head of garlic (peel off the outer layer) and some crushed red pepper. Stir the onions and rice till the rice is coated with oil, then add about 4 cups of boiling water. Turn the heat down a little and simmer till the water is just gone. As soon as the water is gone (the rice won't be fully cooked), use the handle of a spoon to make some holes in the rice down to the bottom of the pot. Pour a bit more olive oil over the top, cover, and turn the heat as low as it will go. If you have an electric stove, you might want to set the pot on top of a pair of tongs so the bottom doesn't burn. Let the rice steam till the garlic is cooked. If you get worried, you can add more water. The goal is to have a nice brown crunchy shell on the bottom. It'll take at least 30 minutes. Stir it all up when you're done and enjoy. Pop the garlic out of its skin to enjoy it. Dal with Coconut Milk 2 c red lentils 5 c water 1 T oil 1 T minced garlic 2 T minced shallots Lots of crushed red pepper 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp salt 1 c coconut milk Boil the lentils in a large pot in the 5 cups water till they're soft, then keep warm. Heat a pan over high heat and add the oil, then add the garlic and shallots and stir-fry for a minute. Add the rest of the spices and cook 2 more minutes, then add the salt and coconut milk, lower the heat, and cook 5 minutes. Add the spice mixture to the hot lentils and simmer a couple of minutes. This is from Mangoes and Curry Leaves. Red Lentil Soup 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 5-6 c beef broth 2 c red lentils 16 oz can crushed tomatoes 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp coriander 1 Tbsp lemon juice Salt and pepper Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40-50 minutes, adding more beef broth if needed. Serve with plain yogurt, if desired. This is nearly universally liked, even by people who are unfamiliar with Middle Eastern flavors. Serves 6. The recipe is from the first edition of The Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Gloria Greene. Chilaquiles 6-9 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces, and fried in a bit of oil till golden (set aside) 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano leaves Crushed red pepper to taste 2 cups cooked black beans 1 tsp salt Plain yogurt Heat oil in a frying pan (cast-iron is good), then add onion and saute till soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, oregano, and at least 1/2 c water (add more if needed). Simmer 3-8 minutes (longer if your tomatoes were fresh). Add beans, salt, and fried tortilla bits. Heat through and serve warm, topped with yogurt. It shouldn't be dry, so add more water as needed. Serves 4. Based on a recipe from Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Laghman Noodles (homemade or fettucini or spaghetti) Lots of oil (I use olive, I don't care what you use) 1 large onion, sliced 4 sweet peppers, sliced 4 cloves garlic, sliced 2 T tomato paste Crushed red pepper Prepare and boil the noodles, then stir-fry them over almost high heat in a wok till they start to get crispy. Put the noodles onto a plate. Add more oil to the wok and heat it almost to high again, then add the onions and cook for a few minutes, then add the peppers and the garlic. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste and some salt and crushed red pepper. Cook a minute or two more, then add the noodles and stir-fry for one more minute. Serve hot.

Yay! I'd love to get to know some Karen women.

Trying sifting the coarsest bran out of your whole wheat flour to get something like atta flour. But in reality, I usually end up using regular old homeground whole wheat and we have good chapatis. Don't use the pastry flour because it'll be difficult to work with.

I hope I'm moving to Kyrgyzstan this summer, but if not, I hope I'm in Seattle where the weather is nicer than the other places I could spend the summer. The not knowing about the move part makes planning tricky. We finished our school year a week ago and won't be starting up again till the end of June, at the earliest. I also have a little spot in a community garden, so I'll be eating bok choy and spinach and peas soon.

You'll do great! I've spent a lot of time speaking (or trying to speak) with adults who don't know much English. I'm betting that it'll go better than you think it will, given your experience with second language acquisition. Yes, do whatever you can to find out what they want to learn. Be creative. My husband and I have used lots of charades in these situations. One thing I've found useful is to bring an object familiar to them (or have them bring something) and then you work together to talk about it in English. I've also found that cooking together is helpful, or working on a traditional handicraft together. Do they have children? If they do, talking about them is always something to start with.

I was going to suggest every single one of the places Veritaserum linked to. So just read her post again. They're all great. And if you're looking for geological wonders, pick up Scott Bryan's The Geyers of Yellowstone. There are other books about geysers, but Bryan knows his stuff. You might into him at the park too, if you see more geysers than just Old Faithful.

You'll find that Muslims around the world will have every possible opinion about this and any situation. I think that the diversity with Islam is not well understood by many outside the religion. But in my experience with Muslims from many different countries, many would agree with you that faith is personal, and not legislated.