Author name: Karyl F. Stein

New York Trip

I had never used airline miles and really did not have a firm understanding of what I could do with them. I had a notion that you could use them to purchase airplane tickets, but various commercials that I had seen left me with the impression that there were various restrictions on how the miles […]

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Parking in Belgium

When I picked up my rental car in Brussels the clerk asked where I was heading. I told him Liege and he said, “Oh, you’re going to the French part of Belgium. How’s your French?” I told him that it had been a while, which, as I would soon learn, meant that I had pretty

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Subconscious vs Conscience

(After spending a couple weeks on UK time) 2AMSUBCONSCIOUS: Wake up! Time for work!CONSCIENCE: Um, it’s 2AM, we’ve only had 3 and a half hours of sleep and we’re on vacation… 3AMSUBCONSCIOUS: WAKE UP! We’re going to be late for work!!!CONSCIENCE: Look, it’s 3AM, it’s dark outside, we’re tired and ON VACATION!! 4:20AMSUBCONSCIOUS: AHHHH! ALERT!

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Cheers

Cheers! After spending a bit of time in the UK recently, mostly in the Midlands, it became apparent that I just did not understand the proper use of the word “cheers”. You hear it so much around here that I would find myself just about to say it myself now on several occasions for reasons

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Crème Fraîche

This can be replaced by sour cream, but it mixes better under heat and I think tastes better. It does take a couple days of preparation before use, though, so some forethought is needed. Timings Prep: 5 minutesWait: 3 days Ingredients Steps References

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Beef Strognaoff

This is a favorite recipe for the cold winter months. Served over egg noodles, it is a great choice for when you want some “comfort food”. The recipe uses crème fraîche, which, if you make at home, requires a few days advanced preparation (see the recipe). While sour cream may be substituted, crème fraîche is

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Finished cheese sauce topping broccoli, grilled chicken, and egg noodles served on a white plate.

Cheese Sauce

This is a generic cheese sauce. It can be made with various types of cheese. While the original recipe has a focus on it being a sauce for vegetables, I use it for things like macaroni and cheese, cheesy potatoes, and cheesy chicken pasta. See the notes below for cautions about certain types of cheese

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Basic Pancakes

This is a basic pancake recipe that, after many iterations, was what the kids decided were their favorite at the time. They may be easily expanded by adding different things such as blueberries or chocolate chips. My son likes thick pancakes with a gooey center, which could be achieved by adding more flour to get

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