As a student in the field of medical science, I have to say that it's totally false that modern medicine has a good grip on the way the human body works. Totally false. For some reason, we in westernized societies, America especially, tend to look at the medical establishment as some sort of golden god. We are sick, we are getting sicker by the day. Our children have more allergies, asthma and chronic health conditions than any generation EVER has. And the experts can't even begin to agree on why so many children now suffer from anaphylactic peanut or dairy allergies, why the incidence of autism has skyrocketed or why healthy children are now developing shingles, which used to be a disease of the elderly and immune compromised. Doctors still do not routinely recommend or even understand probiotics, even though many still prescribe antibiotics for every ear ache. The medical establishment is so ignorant of the function of normal flora of the upper respiratory tract that they never even saw serotype replacement coming when they began vaccinating children against certain bacteria that reside in the URT. They generally have no idea how the human body works as a whole, instead reducing each bit of it to a small part that they seem sure is unrelated to all the other small parts. Old thread, I know, but I was looking for something else and stumbled across this. I think the premise that it's always better to see an MD because cellular biologists understand cells just doesn't hold water. Yes, cellular biologists understand some things (not all!!!) about human cells. We aren't just a collection of cells, though, and your prescription drugs aren't only affecting a few cells here and there. The fact that cellular biologists understand cells in no way implies that *anyone* has a good grip on all the complex interactions that take place within a body that is ill or injured and all the additional complex interactions that take place within that body when drugs are added to the mix. Sometimes prescription drugs will be better. Sometimes they won't, cellular biologists' understanding of human cells notwithstanding.

Lpink, I thank you for the sacrifices you have made on my behalf! LOL Your cookies look much better than mine from that recipe did! Although I have not experimented more with that particular recipe, I have tried the 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening in the Tollhouse recipe, with no noticeable improvement. I do find parchment a good idea, and am using it almost always for cookies, now. But it doesn't seem to keep the cookies from spreading, it just makes it easier to remove them from the pans, and cleanup is quicker. I just finished a batch made with my sister-in-law's tried and true recipe and still....flat cookies. I do believe someone has put a cookie curse on me! Linda

Is this a simple shortened (butter) cake? A remote possibility, your oven temperature rises and falls enough not to heat evenly during baking at this low temperature. Could the oven temperature have been a typo - 350°F, instead of 300°? Try testing for doneness with an instant read thermometer, rather than a pick - layer cakes- 205°-210°F. My judging standards indicate these items as reasons for a fallen center: -Not thoroughly mixed after flour was added. -Too much fat, sugar or leavening. -Oven temperature too low. -Cake was moved during baking. -Pan too small for amount of batter. -Under baked. -Not enough liquid. From: Understanding Food - Principles & Preparation - by Amy Brown - 2nd Edition (College Text Book) *Under mixing *Too much sugar *Too much fat *Too much liquid *Under baking *Too low temperature *Too little or old leavening *Too much leavening *Oven door opened too early When cakes are nearing doneness, they start to "wrinkle" at the pan edges. They should be removed from the oven BEFORE a gap forms between the cake and the pan. ---------------------------------------- How to test your baking powder: Place 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder in a small bowl then pour 1/4 c. of hot tap water over it. The more bubbling activity there is, the fresher your baking powder. Hope there's something that helps... -Grainlady

It's not like I ALWAYS have leftover coffee or I ALWAYS reheat it instead of throwing it out, but it does happen often enough for me to wonder if there's some way I could make use of the resource instead of dumping it. That's for me the essence of frugality, not throwing out things that can be used. I probably have a lot more in common with my depression era grandparents than my more affluent parents or peers. My parents grew up never throwing anything out, so they now enjoy throwing things out on occassion. And my peers are probably better off financially than me so they never think about such things. From Renee's explanation (thanks!) it sounds like there's a limit to how long I can keep coffee for any viable cooking use. I was thinking of something like a mocha muffin or brownie. I had a french press but I broke it. I know they aren't very expensive, but I am a member of the "working poor" so even little inexpensive luxuries are just out of the question right now. Working poor means you work 14-16 hours a day but you don't make enough money to make ends meet. I am living off my savings which are about half gone, and if I don't find full time work soon I will have to sell my house to make more money to live off of. So a french press is the least of my worries, it would just end up being one of the things I sell in the yard sale when the house goes. I have two one-cup filters that will have to do. Plus you are assuming that I always have a clean kitchen and time to take care of the french press before rushing off in the morning to one of my three part-time jobs. I'm not saying a french press is a bad idea, it's a GREAT idea, it's just not the time for me to be getting one.