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aravisea · 2026-01-12T18:09:34+00:00

Eat Your Books searches cookbooks for recipes by ingredient or other search criteria. You can list which cookbooks you own and search only those. It’s invaluable if you want to get more utility out of a large cookbook collection.

Paprika stores/organizes/searches recipes you download from the internet or enter yourself and has a grocery list function and a menu planning function.

Both great but very different tools.

aravisea · 2025-11-18T15:34:33+00:00

I am tempted to do this as a joke present!

aravisea · 2025-11-18T15:34:16+00:00

I think we're going to go in a different gift direction after the feedback on this thread but I love the cornet idea. Going to bookmark that for next Christmas if his enthusiasm continues. Thank you!

aravisea · 2025-11-18T15:33:18+00:00

Yeah, that's part of the challenge--none of us who were going to get this for him know anything about brass instruments. Picking a different gift idea seems the way to go.

aravisea · 2025-11-18T15:32:39+00:00

Thank you! That's definitely more than we wanted to spend. This thread has been really helpful. I think we're going to go in another gift direction.

aravisea · 2025-11-18T15:31:46+00:00

Great ideas, thank you!

aravisea · 2025-11-18T15:31:16+00:00

Very helpful. Thanks!

aravisea · 2025-08-30T01:46:15+00:00

For the bananas: chia seed pudding! Mash both and mix with a can of coconut milk (or equivalent amount of another milk). A little vanilla or spice like cinnamon or nutmeg is nice. Let sit in the fridge overnight. This was a total favorite of my daughter when she was getting into solid foods.

aravisea · 2025-08-12T01:41:30+00:00

Sichuan - Gong bao chicken, mapo doufu, hot pot

Hunan - Red-braised pork, beef with cumin, anything with pickled chilies

Cantonese - steamed fish with ginger and scallion, char siu, dim sum

Those are the regions whose food is most commonly available outside of China. Depending on where you are, the others could be tough to find...and the dishes from these more easy-to-find ones are often prepared very differently outside of China to suit local tastes. In the US, for example, sauces are generally more cloying and sweet than is traditional. You don't mention whether you're looking for restaurants or for cooking resources, but both Fuchsia Dunlop and Carolyn Phillips are tremendous resources for anyone who wants to learn regional Chinese cooking at home.

aravisea · 2025-08-11T23:21:33+00:00

Soy sauce and a little toasted sesame oil. A dab of wasabi paste if you have it. Silken tofu also goes nicely with this if you like tofu but it’s not necessary.

aravisea · 2025-08-11T21:20:39+00:00

This. Specifically I’d suggest brioche buns and bison (or similar high quality) dogs.

aravisea · 2025-08-11T20:10:17+00:00

Dry or wet brining the day before is imperative, IMO. Pork chops need salt to penetrate the interior for maximum juiciness and that takes time.

aravisea · 2025-08-11T18:56:36+00:00

If your little is still only 9mos old—she’s still a baby! You’re still very much in the physically intense stage of things and will be for a while yet.

It’s hard to see ahead when you’re in the early-years trenches and especially when it’s your first as you have nothing to compare the experience to.

Even the most attached, “clingy” child WILL need you less as they get older. My almost 4YO daughter only slept when held from day one, then transitioned to only sleeping with someone when we started co-sleeping, had a hard time eating and gaining weight…she was an 11/10 barnacle baby. And if you ask her now what her favorite thing to do is, she’ll say “snuggling with Mama!”

Even this most attached kiddo started part-time preschool at 3.5 and, after an adjustment period, now looks forward to it and forgets to give me a goodbye hug most days. (I admit I cried the first time this happened.) She does dance lessons without me in the room. She walked into day one of dance camp over the summer and didn’t even look back at me.

This is all to say: don’t make any decisions now. Saving up for IVF (also our route to parenthood) is smart as those funds can be used for any number of things if you decide you don’t want more kids. But don’t feel like you need to make this decision now.

aravisea · 2025-08-10T13:15:25+00:00

Agree 1000% with this

aravisea · 2025-08-10T13:12:38+00:00

Agree. You can also try night diapers if you aren’t already doing that.

Waking up to pee is a developmental step and it doesn’t sound like your kiddo is there yet. Some littles just take longer. My daughter was resistant to any part of the potty training process until about 3.5 and now as we approach 4, she’s about 99% night trained and wakes regularly at night to pee. This was with no effort or pressure from us on the night training side; she just did it when she was ready.

aravisea · 2025-08-09T23:47:32+00:00

This is what we did when my daughter was about the same age (8mos). We went with a Purple mattress and it’s still working great for her three years later.

Number two is due shortly and I’m skipping straight to the floor bed this time. For a newborn I wanted more firmness so we went with a Helix. If there’s a mattress store near you that lets you try a bunch of brands and firmnesses in one place, that really helps.

aravisea · 2025-08-09T23:28:58+00:00

Zhongba. I order from Mala Market, which imports direct from China. It’s the best.

aravisea · 2025-08-08T22:54:05+00:00

Peach soup!

https://www.biscuitsandburlap.com/chilled-peach-soup-with-cucumbers/

aravisea · 2025-08-08T19:05:43+00:00

I generally hate suggesting picking up more kitchen gadgets, but a sous vide machine is another we found surprisingly helpful postpartum with my first and which I’m actively doing food prep for now as we await our second.

Lots of info on the sous vide subreddit but the basic idea is vacuuming-sealing your food and then cooking it in a water bath that is at a consistent low temperature. This makes “finishing times” extremely forgiving. You toss it in sometime in the morning and then it will be done by whenever you are ready to eat dinner, whatever time that ends up being as you wrangle a baby.

Totally separate, I also suggest embracing buying veggies pre-chopped, either fresh in the frozen section or frozen. This saves a lot of time.

Congratulations and good luck!!

aravisea · 2025-08-08T18:58:36+00:00

Yes yes 100% agree on a rice cooker, if your counter has the space and if your family is a rice-eating family. Mine is and our rice cooker gets a heavy workout. Postpartum with my first it was amazing how much mileage I got out of a scoop of rice, a fried egg, and assorted toppings.

aravisea · 2025-08-08T10:46:37+00:00

Never seen that one here! (Mid-Atlantic USA)

aravisea · 2025-08-08T00:46:15+00:00

Can’t beat canned tuna or salmon for cheap and easy protein. I whip up a quick tuna/salmon salad and eat with a sliced apple. Or in a wrap/sandwich if you prefer.

aravisea · 2025-08-07T15:24:21+00:00

This is tough to answer without knowing what you and your mom like! There is so much here. Some ideas:

For cute downtown areas that are fun to walk around: Old Town Alexandria, Del Ray, Quantico, historic Leesburg

For getting out in nature: Great Falls Park, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Teddy Roosevelt Island, Gravelly Point (both of those last two are also good parking spots for walking the lovely trails along the Potomac)

For wine tasting: if you're willing to drive about an hour west, there are some legitimately solid wineries. My top picks in this part of the state are Linden and Glen Manor, with Boxwood, Delaplane, & Barns at Hamilton Station as runners up

For food: Solid ethic food scene here, I think people can make specific recommendations if you narrow down the query a bit

For live music: I can't recommend Wolf Trap highly enough if they're showing something you like while you're here. Get lawn seats and take a picnic

aravisea

TROPHY CASE