Croc

See, I agree with much of what you're saying, but not on this woman epitomizing everything that's wrong with CA. I think a much larger issue that needs to be tackled is immigration reform, because CA only grew in population this past year when nonlegal new residents were factored in. That's not right. Unfortunately, there's very little CA can actually do on that because immigration is a federal issue.

HAHA! I was worried Lancia had gotten the axe or something, but no, just Yugo. Good riddance.

Religious reasons, clearly.

And again, no one has any right to stand here wagging fingers. A generation ago larger families were perfectly normal. As long as her children get what they need, more power to her. And whether or not their needs are met is between the woman and CPS, not any of us.

Take responsiblility for your own views. I went to Catholic school, too, and I'm sitting over here scratching my head checking the calendar to verify it's 2009.

I know, right? Gai lan is sooooooo good. This beef and broccoli recipe blows any American facsimile thereof out of the water with an atomic bomb. I know stir-frying sliced flank steak with a cornstarch mixture gives the beef that semi-gelatinous texture that is so ubiquitous to an Americanized-Chinese palate, but it really isn't essential flavor-wise, and just stir-fried flank steak without it added isn't really too much different, honestly. Dude, are you still out in LA? As often as we talk restaurants and good food on here, we should meet up sometime.

Dude, lay off. I've been to Canada several times, and it isn't like everyone up there is as thin as the Europeans generally are, either.

I own one, but I haven't made enough use of it. It just takes so damn long to make things that way. I'd love to have some solid, healthful recipes where I can prep and throw everything into the Crock Pot, then come back from class 3 hours later and have a wonderful meal. But I'm leary of leaving the apartment with something cooking, and I just don't have any great, must-eat recipes for the damn thing.

HAHAHA I love the side salad.

Shoot, my mother's meatloaf would be the perfect low-carb recipe, but I don't have it. I'll have to ask for it...but it's like ground beef, egg, bacon, chopped red and green peppers, tomatoes, and some ketchup I think? She may or may not have crushed Ritz crackers in it, but that isn't low-carb, and I guarantee she won't be making it that way anymore what with the High-Fructose Corn Syrup mercury scandal (Ritz crackers contain HFCS). Give me a cuisine and I can do more to help you out. Chinese can be pretty low-carb. I have an authentic beef with broccoli recipe I've made that is fantastic: Ingredients : 1 1/2 lb Chinese broccoli (gai lan) 1 lb Flank steak 3 tbl Vegetable oil 1 x Garlic clove minced 1 tsp Minced fresh ginger 1 bunch Scallion, green and white parts minced 1 tbl Dark soy sauce 1/4 cup Unsalted or low-sodium chicken stock or water 1 tbl Brandy 1/2 tsp Sugar 2 tsp Roasted sesame oil 1 can Bamboo 1 pkg Mung bean sprouts MARINADE 1 tbl Dark soy sauce 1 tbl Cornstarch 2 tsp Dry white wine Directions: • Wash the broccoli well in cold water, separating the leaves and tender hearts and the stalks. Peel the thicker stalks, if necessary. Set aside. • Make the marinade: Mix the soy sauce, cornstarch, and wine in a bowl. Slice the beef across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches long. Combine with the marinade and let stand at least 10 minutes. • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok and stir-fry the broccoli stalks, sprouts and bamboo, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then add the broccoli leaves and hearts and stir-fry another 30 seconds, tossing frequently. Remove to a bowl and set aside. • Return wok to the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Over medium-high heat, stir-fry the garlic, ginger, and scallion for 30 seconds, or until aromatic. Add the beef and stir-fry until browned, tossing frequently. Add the soy sauce, stock, brandy, and sugar, then the broccoli, tossing to blend and heating the broccoli. Turn off heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve. • This recipe yields 2 to 4 servings. • Comments: Although beef with broccoli appears on most North American Chinese restaurant menus, very few customers have tasted the authentic dish. You must use Chinese broccoli (gai lan). Chinese broccoli has tiny white flowers on the central stalk, so the dish does not even look like the run-of-the-mill take-out beef with broccoli ! To make this more low-carb, eliminate the cornstarch. I really don't see its necessity in the recipe, especially since everything gets stir-fried together in the end and the little amount of liquid can be evaporated/reduced by minimal additional stir-frying.

Won't have any from me...I try to avoid pasta. Low carb thing.

No no no..."scalding" means to put the cream/milk/what have you over a slow fire (low heat), stirring as often as necessary to prevent a skin from forming, and then removing from heat when it is just about to boil (little bubbles form around the edges). http://baking.about.com/library/info/bltermsp.htm It's a fairly common term to encounter when making custards.

So...you're saying a woman needs a husband/boyfriend/significant other in order to be able to raise a family? Really, it is none of our business WHY she wanted to have one more girl. It isn't even relevant. But the fertility clinic is under fire out here for irresponsibly using fertility treatments with her, allowing her to have such a high-risk pregnancy, and not even determining the proper number of babies. Such negligence.

...why? You drawn to this or something?

Get a grip. Seriously.

Moral of the story: the North American public is collectively dumb as $h!.

Email response from Coca-Cola: Emphasis added. So basically, the study sucks and sholuldn't be credible because the mercury levels detected are at the fringe of detectability, and at that range false positives are common...yet Coca-Cola has some amazing sophisticated method of their own and can say that there isn't that problem for them? They did not address the fact that the HFCS plants USED MERCURY TO MAKE THE $h!. But the Corn Refiners Association (read: lobby) says it's safe. Cool. Throwing out my Coca-Cola, and selling my stock.

You guys are pretty judgmental for not even knowing some of the basic information in the case. The woman wanted one last child, a little girl. It isn't her fault her janked-up fertility clinic used unethical medical procedures to make her pregnant with 8--especially since the 8th wasn't even known to exist until it slid out. This woman is a victim of bad medical ethics, bad medical decision-making, and gross negligence.

I resent your decision to play games with us. You want advice? Give information. PS: You set up the poll wrong.

Sorry to hear about the autism. If you want Mexican Coca-Cola, check the label. Not all of it from Mexico is made with sugar.

For sure. Also, I just found this article posted on one of my urban planning blogs I regularly read; Indianapolis is, once again, the most affordable metropolitan housing market: http://www.newgeography.com/content/00554-...-still-a-way-go

Detecting mercury is detecting mercury, buddy. Even the plants admitted to manufacturing the stuff with mercury.

The switch to sugar should be made for taste alone. My great-grandmother had a delicious pecan pie recipe that was beloved by my father's side of the family. It called for corn syrup. I did some research, and found out that outside of North America, corn syrup is virtually nonexistant. Lyle's Golden Syrup, made from cane sugar, is what is used instead, and the substitution ratio is 1:1. So, my experiment: I made two pecan pies, with one having corn syrup, and the other having golden syrup. Not only was the golden syrup pie preferred taste-wise, but the two cooked exactly the same. The golden syrup pie was much more flavorful because the taste of cane sugar and cane sugar products really brought out the nutty flavor of the pecans, whereas the corn syrup just tasted sweet while adding nothing in terms of flavor. If you try soda made in other countries with cane sugar, the flavors are much more pronounced and mellow compared to the "too sweet" taste of the HFCS iterations sold in North America. The best comparison is to order Dublin Dr. Pepper (Dublin is the plant in TX that never switched away from sugar) and try it side-by-side with the standard HFCS version. Another opportunity that is coming up is to try side-by-side Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite and possibly Sierra Mist with their Passover versions, which use cane sugar because HFCS is not Kosher for Passover.

In LA they go in the $3-6 range depending on quality.