mimfrona

I'm confused about the instructions I'm reading everywhere for making sourdough starter. It says you need to maintain a proportion of 1:1:1 between starter, flour and water.

But if you start with 50g flour and 50g water, then on day 2 you have 100g starter. You pour off half and then add 50g flour and 50g water - now you have 150g. So if the next day you pour off half, you'll have 75g, but you are still adding 50g water and 50g flour, right? So the proportions are off. And then you'll have 175g, and if you pour off half you are left with 87.5g plus the 50g flour and 50g water - every day it will increase.

Can you please explain to me where I am going wrong (but only if you are an experienced sourdough maker!)? Thanks!

I'm making a farfel kugel - the pasta kind of farfel (little balls) not the matzah farfel.

The recipe calls for 16 ounces (500 grams or 3 cups) farfel, and says to soak the farfel in water for 20 minutes.

Does this mean that I'm supposed to cook it and then soak, or just soak the uncooked farfel?

This is the recipe: http://kosherfood.about.com/od/sidedishes/r/farfel...

I need to send this file as an actual attachment, not as a link to a file that will be downloaded. Therefore, dropbox, hightail (formerly yousendit), yahoo mail, gmail, etc. all don't work. How can I get the file to actually attach to the email?

I just upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion and Spaces is gone! I see that there's mission control and whatnot, but I just want to be able to do a side-squeeze on my mouse and get back to spaces. I seriously organized everything by spaces :(

Please get it back for me and I'll be your bff.... (yeah, I'm seriously freaking out here...)

If you live in California and there is a rabid animal (say, a coyote) on your property, are you legally allowed to shoot it? If you call animal control it will be gone by the time they get there.

My son came home from school last week with a largish goldfish (about 4 inches long including the tail). After spending a few days in a salad bowl with lots of water changes, we were able to get him an 8 gallon tank. I know that's not ideally big enough for him, but it's all we could afford. he seems generally happy in the tank, although at times rests on the bottom with his dorsal fin down; I'm assuming he's sleeping then.

I would like to start cycling the tank, but I don't have a testing kit, and getting one is not really feasible. What should I be doing?

Also, the man in the store gave me a bag of little flakey-like pellets to feed him. I told him how big the fish was and he said 3 a day. That seems like very little. It also seems that the fish will eat just about however much food I give him, so I'm not sure I can go by that. How much food does he need?

My son came home from school with a goldfish. I know they need large tanks, but I can't afford one, nor do I have room for one in our very small apartment.

I have a large plastic storage container that would be the right size. Can I keep it outside on our porch? Will it survive the winter and the rest of the hot summer? Will it need anything since there is a large surface, so it should be getting oxygen?

Also, what about cats? There are a few that come on our porch, but would they actually be able to get a fish out of a large tub of water?

How much would they pay for a painting by an established artist, and how much for a painting by a new artist who showed promise?

I know exact numbers vary, but what are some ranges? Upper and lower end?

Thanks.

I have had a terrible case of mastitis for the past three days and have been taking tylenol in addition to the antibiotics I was prescribed. I know that tylenol is safe while breastfeeding, but my baby seems unusually drowsy. I have been supplementing with formula since this started because at times it was too bad to nurse or even pump, don't know if that would make a difference.

My daughter just got a very mild case of it-- one spot on the face, and a few on the hands-- and she had the vaccine a few months ago. I'll speak to the doctor tomorrow to confirm, obviously, but just wanted to know if anyone knows the answer now.

Thanks!

Car chases are great to film, but harder to write. Which novels have the best-written car chases, the ones that make you actually feel like you're seeing it, not just reading it?

It's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I'm looking for some music that will last anywhere from 30-60 minutes (or more!), with no words, that has a quick/intense pace. It shouldn't be hard rock or anything like that, because I need to concentrate on my writing, but something that will keep me hitting the keys a good pace.

Classical music is fine, chase music or a movie soundtrack is also great.

The ones that they serve with duck sauce and mustard as appetizers.

How do you make them?

I really like the store bought frozen pie crusts, but they don't sell them in my area. I've tried a lot of different home-made pie crust recipes, and none of them come out anything like the frozen ones. What's a recipe that gives the same kind of flavor and texture as the frozen pie crusts?

Let me start off by saying that I am no stranger to being pregnant. I have four kids and have always felt kicking much earlier than most women do. I also definitely know the difference between kicking and gas pains.

About a month ago, I felt two little kicks, and about a week later, another. Now I just got another one, but this was a nice, strong thump. I did a blood test on May 1st which showed no hcg. I just got a period last week, and I've been regular for the past few months.

Is it possible that I am still pregnant?

If not, what on earth could this kicking be? It's not the butterfly type of movements that you can't tell if they're gas or not. This is exactly like there is a little foot inside of me kicking; I can feel a specific point of contact.

The one thing that I could think of is an ectopic pregnancy, because rarely those do survive outside of the uterus, but wouldn't the blood test have shown hcg if that's what it is? Or do those levels eventually go down? If I'm feeling kicking this baby would have to be several months along...

I have some graham cracker pie crusts and I'm looking for something yummy to make with them. It can be desert, a main course, or a side dish, but it has to be:

1. Simple - no more than 3 bowl, 2 or less preferred.

2. No complicated ingredients. I've got the basics: milk, eggs, flour, sugar, brown sugar, oil, margarine, butter and such, but no fancy creams or half and half or anything like that.

Thanks!

One of my husband's good friends is drunk and almost passed out in the bathroom. My husband said he didn't actually have too much to drink, he just didn't have enough water, and he's dehydrated, but we can't get him to drink much water, and when he does, he just throws up again.

What should I give him-- tea, juice? Or something else?

I am going on a trip to visit family with my boys, ages 2 and 3. They are the adventurous type and will not stay in bed on their own, especially when they are in someone else's house. And where we will be staying, the rooms will be anything but childproof.

I know that there is such a thing as a harness that will tie a child to a bed or a crib and keep them from crawling out, but I can't seem to find one. Does anyone know of such a thing?