Dinadirections

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

This flourless chocolate souffle cake is so creamy-chocolatey, it's practically a mousse in cake form.

Notes: When served at room temperature, the texture of this cake is soft and creamy. Served chilled, the texture is more firm. Use a hot, wet, knife to cut slices of cake. Be sure to use a high quality bittersweet chocolate here.

About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of the new cookbook One Bowl Baking: Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts (Running Press, October 2013), and available at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell's, The Book Depository. Watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. Follow her Chocoholic, Chicken Dinners, Singapore Stories and Let Them Eat Cake columns on Serious Eats. Follow Yvonne on Twitter as she explores Singapore.

Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Ingredients

serves makes one 9-inch cake, active time 30 minutes, total time 5 hours

• Cocoa to dust pan and over top of cake
• 14 tablespoons (7 ounces) unsalted butter
• 16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 10 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

Procedures

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan and dust with cocoa. Set pan on baking sheet.

2. Place butter, chocolate, and salt in very large heatproof bowl. Heat over saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

3. In mixer fitted with whip attachment, beat whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until whites have turned opaque. While whites are beating, slowly add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat to stiff but not dry peak. Transfer beaten whites to a bowl.

4. Using same unwashed mixing bowl and whip, beat yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light lemon color, 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Gently whisk yolks into chocolate mixture until combined (trying not to deflate yolks). Gently fold whites into chocolate mixture in three batches, until just combined and no streaks of white remain.

6. Pour batter into pan and bake until cake is puffed, edges feel set, center is jiggly set, and temperature in center reads 150°F, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool 1 hour. Chill until set, about 3 hours. Run knife along inside edge of pan to release cake. Let cake come to almost room temperature before serving, about 30 minutes (see note).

“Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~Rumi

Do you want to let go and live life fully?

If you feel that you are missing out on fulfillment and happiness, but cannot put your finger on why, perhaps there is something deeper going on.

Believe it or not, anyone can develop an unconscious habit of self-deprivation. Usually this habit begins in childhood.

Here’s how mine developed.

When I was younger, if anyone approached and tried to attend to my needs, I’d make sure they understood that I was just fine without their help.

Interestingly, I was also accident-prone. I was always managing to take a spill, as if in hot pursuit of another skinned knee or broken bone. Yet, I cannot remember one instance when I welcomed sympathy or caring or intervention from anyone.

I guess thought I was pretty tough. Looking back, I also wonder how much I wanted to prove that I didn’t need other people. I am fine! Now, kindly leave me alone. This was my attitude.

Why? There could be many reasons.

You could call it genetics—just look at the other men in my family. Enough said!

You could say I had a somewhat cold and distant mother. I was proving to her that I didn’t need her anyway.

You could even blame the primal backlash that occurs when we exit the womb. When we make the transition from the oblivious comfort and security of the womb into a world where, by comparison, we feel deprived, controlled, and rejected, we are bound suffer some maladaptive consequences.

We could find lots of things to blame, but the point is, I developed this pattern. And I marched right into adulthood with it firmly in place.

The unintended outcome was that I rarely felt loved (imagine that). It was hard to be close to anyone and I felt disconnected, empty, and alone. I didn’t want to feel this way, but that’s what happens as you refuse to connect when people reach out.

I couldn’t have been more successful if my unconscious mind had an actual goal to keep me in a state of emptiness and deprivation.

The big AHA moment came when I realized I was attached to being emotionally deprived. Attachments are not a conscious choice, but an unwitting set up that lands us in that old, familiar place where we do not get what we want.

Amazingly, over the years we learn to tolerate it, come to expect it, and even prefer the deprivation in some strange, familiar way. It is critical to recognize when this is happening.

Here are nine signs you have developed an attachment to deprivation, unwittingly setting yourself up to feel unfulfilled:

1. You don’t express your needs.

Refusing to express your needs virtually guarantees deprivation. Millions of people allow others to ignore, take advantage, and take them for granted because they will not speak up.

2. You are overly focused on the needs of others.

Focusing solely on the needs of others at the expense of your own is actually a disservice to yourself and others. It typically leads to resentment and emotional martyrdom. 

3. You feel guilty when you do something for yourself. 

Guilt or “selfish” feelings when you meet your own needs is a sign that you don’t believe you deserve to have them met, as if it were wrong. 

4. You can’t take compliments.

Not accepting compliments graciously (inside and out) is a way to deflect them, depriving yourself of the need to be appreciated. 

5. You are attracted to emotionally unavailable or self-centered people. 

A sure way to not to get your needs met is to attract emotionally unavailable or narcissistic people into your life. When you commit to these kinds of people, you set yourself up for a lifetime of emotional deprivation.

6. You expect disappointment. 

Expecting disappointment keeps fulfillment at a distance. Going into situations anticipating disappointment becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

7. You don’t know what you want or cannot define your purpose in life.

This is so common! People usually don’t think of it this way, but not knowing what you want or even trying to figure it out is a way to avoid your purpose. Living with a sense of purpose is a huge need that brings meaning and fulfillment.

8. You shy away from intimacy. 

When you avoid close relationships or shy away from deeper connections with people, you miss out on this fundamental contribution to happiness and fulfillment.

9. You cannot enjoy the moment.

Letting go and having fun in the here and now is an important way to experience fulfillment and reduce stress. It is a huge need! Staying in your head, remaining preoccupied or self-conscious robs you of the opportunity to enjoy your now.

Each of the above examples leads us straight into deprivation, even though we did not consciously choose to go there. It is important to shine the healing light of awareness on this issue and begin to question whether or not it is appropriate to continue doing this at this point in life.

My self-deprivation tendency, to act too tough to accept help and love, is much softer these days. I’ve been working on it. In the process, I have discovered a whole new world of support—people who are willing to love and be loved, to support and be supported.

This new world has always been available; it was just hidden behind my attachment.

Look for the signs of a deprivation attachment in your life. You may be surprised at what you find!

Photo by Renee Fazio

The post 9 Ways You May Unwittingly Deprive Yourself of Love and Fulfillment appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

Do you have issues with your sink getting clogged from time to time? The PermaFlo No Clog Drain can help you eliminate those pesky calls to the expensive plumber. Instead of calling the plumber or going to your local hardware store to get a bottle of Drano, just turn the dial and magically all your troubles will be swept down the pipe, literally.



You can get your Permaflow No Clog Drain on Amazon or purchase at http://www.permaflow.com

The worldwide leg of The Bachelorette has begun as Desiree Hartsock and her group of guys head across the Atlantic to Munich, Germany.

Just think of all the sausage! And beer! 

Who will continue on to the next leg of their whirlwind adventure and who will Des tell to pack his bags? (James Case, perhaps? Or maybe The Bachelorette spoilers can help!)

Find out now in our THG +/- recap!

The guys are all excited to be in Munich. Ben's never been across the Atlantic and Desiree Hartsock has never been in Europe.

What are the chances that this first they're sharing will be their last? We can hope, right?

Back in the suite, the first date card is waiting. But the guys are too busy checking out their digs to look for it. Look! A sauna! So they can gym, tan, laundry without leaving their hotel! Minus 4.

Chris gets the one on one date. He and Des tour the city with a map and a phrase book as their guides. Plus 3 for the spirit of adventure.

Back in the hotel, Bryden says that he's feeling worse and worse the longer he stays. He doesn't think the feelings are progressing as they should. He questions the process and who could be the type of person who could let feelings grow only for the people involved to get hurt.

He wants to go home, so he's going to interrupt her date with Chris to tell her. Minus 10.

After eating some sausage, Chris and Des try on some leiderhosen. Which is definitely as ridiculous as it sounds. Chris says he doesn't think anything could possibly go wrong on their date but doesn't know, obviously, that Bryden is coming to find them.

He walks around the street asking random bystanders if they've seen television cameras until he finds Chris and Des, who are dancing in the square and having a merry old time. 

This is going to be such a buzzkill. Minus 12

Since he's caught up to them now, he asks Chris if he can have a minute with Des to talk and Chris is the gentlemen. He should've punched Bryden in the nose. THAT would've been good television.

• 
• 

Chris gets to sit on a step alone while he's supposed to be having a good time with Desiree. 

Bryden tells Desiree she's a fantastic person and he considers her a friend, but this isn't the right thing for him. They part ways with a simple "Bye, Bryden" and she heads back to Chris. So that's that. Plus 4 for not dragging it out.

Bryden heads to a one-on-one and says he feels like he made the right decision. Desiree heads to a one-on-one and says she questions all the guys who are here and wonders if they're all just going to pack up and leave on her.

No, Des. Probably not. 

Chris asks her if she wants to talk about it and she doesn't really but she sort of does talk about it and good gracious, how awkward. So. Awkward. 

She's essentially dating, what, 14 guys at the same time, and she's having a conversation about a break-up with one guy with another guy she's dating. Plus 15 to Chris for actually having that conversation and handling it.

She says Bryden leaving broke her heart and I my eyes rolled so far back in my face they're probably stuck there. They barely knew each other.

The guys get the group date card and find out that Michael and Ben get the two-on-one date. So that's definitely going to be fun.

Michael calls himself a gladiator ready to murder Ben. CAT FIGHT! Plus 7

Still on their date, Chris and Des head to dinner in a palace. She says she feels like a princess. I'm surprised she doesn't say she's living a fairy tale.

Chris compliments her on how well she handled the Bryden thing and she calls him sincere and genuine and says she can just tell. Then he says something about not having to worry about going to bed or brushing his teeth and it feels like he's 12.

He's ready to be in a relationship and start a family. His last girlfriend wasn't ready for that. Des wants someone who is good at paying compliments and expressing himself.

And Chris has another poem ready for her. Plus 12.

She cries. They kiss. I blame the wine. Or the cheese.

He lists the characteristics he's looking for in a girl: versatile, witty, etc. and never mentions anything about looks. Plus 15. Looks are important, but not everything, and there's inevitably a dude in this group who puts looks at the top of the list.

It's the summer concert series on ABC as Matt White just happens to show up at the palace in Munich to serenade them with a private show.

The guys suit up for the group date and meet Desiree on the top of a mountain. They'll be doing snow-y things. Like sledding. Down the highest peak in Germany.

Brooks better watch out. He and the extreme sports don't get along so well. 

Seeing the snow on the TV when it's 90 outside is great because I almost feel cooler. Plus 2

On the observation deck at the top of this mountain, they can see Germany and Austria. And they can hear a yodeler. 

The guys take turns attempting to yodel for Desiree. By this point, they know that the way to her heart is to make giant fools of themselves. 

After yodeling lessons, they head to the sleds. Kasey crashes into Des and she takes it in stride. Then there's a giant snowball fight that takes Desiree back to her childhood. Plus 4

This, Germany, is apparently the happiest place on Earth. Euro Disney probably disagrees.

Back at the suite, Chris mediates a very awkward tension between Michael and Ben and Michael thinks Desiree has chosen him to go on the date with Ben because she "trusts him to expose Ben for the fraud he is."

Something tells me the producers made this call and not Des, but go on with that thought, Michael.

People. There's an ice hotel. AN ICE HOTEL. It's basically awesome! Plus 10.

She tells the seven guys on the group date that if they don't think they feel it, they need to tell her and not waste her time. Brooks knows this isn't a waste of his time.

He snags her for the first private chat and does a lot of talking with his hands and then she just mauls him with her face. Plus 7.

Mikey grabs her for the next mini-date and suggests they make miniature snowmen. They're talking about where they would settle down if they were together and what relationships are like and some other rambly something-or-other and Zak date-bombs them with some faux-yodeling.

Ten years ago, he made a huge life decision in Germany, so he feels like his life is coming full circle. In college, he thought he was going to be a priest, but after college, he went to Europe to discover himself. 

Desiree is on a similar mission now and Zak is positively giddy. It's cute. Plus 2.

James Case's confidence is spiking and the other guys think he was faking his low self-esteem. Brooks especially isn't a fan of James and the fact that he's a different way around her than he is with the guys.

Apparently he's vulgar and crass instead of charming and caring. Brooks sneaks down the ice hotel to watch them making out which is just kind of creepy and painful. Minus 8.

Desiree gives the group date rose to Brooks. Good call, Des. Great call, even. Plus 10.

Ben and Michael prepare for their two-on-one date. Ben plans to pretend the date is just a date with he and Des and Michael's an awkward spectator. Then he says he's going to be a good Christian man about whatever Michael has to say that day.

Michael calls the day Armageddon. Because she wants to expose Ben and she wants Michael there to help her. 

Ratings totally have nothing to do with this. 

Ben and Michael climb into a limo together where they don't speak, obviously, and Ben smirks while Michael chews his jaws. 

Michael is putting Ben on trial and plans to find him guilty of fraud for impersonating a southern gentlemen. I can't even make this up. 

Des brought the guys thermoses of coffee. Michael drops some Deutsch on her "You look beautiful." Plus 3

Ben says "yeah, it is beautiful here."

Michael starts out with the confrontation and says that he occasionally likes confrontation, isn't that right Ben?

Des knows these two don't get along and plans to break the tension by telling them they're going to do the Polar Bear Plunge. But really she has a "hot tug" rented for the three of them. 

A "hot tug," in case you thought that was something way dirtier than it actually is, is a hot tub heated by a wood fire and tugged around a freezing lake behind a boat.

Sign me up.

Ben doesn't answer questions straight and plays both sides of the fence. He never talks about his son unless it suits his purpose, so Michael just asks the questions that make him have to talk about his son.

Then Michael drops the "I grew up with an absentee father" card and Des gets uncomfortable because she knows she's stuck in the middle of their sword fight. 

Michael's tactics might be backfiring. Minus 9.

Drew, Chris, Kasey, and Brooks have a pow-wow back at the suite. One of them overheard a conversation between Mikey and James.

It seems Ben's not the only one pretending to be there for all the right reasons.

James sees this as a stepping stone in his life and sees fame and not Des as the ultimate prize. Minus 25​.

Brooks suggests that there's a chance there will be zero guys left at the final rose ceremony and that scares him.

At dinner, Michael just point-blank asks Ben why he seems to have so much trouble with the other guys in the house. Ben tells Desiree that he's not here for the guys in the house. He's there for her.

Des squashes the conversation and then asks what traditions the guys would like to start with their own families. Ben wants every Sunday to be family day. They'll go to church together and just spend the day together.

Apparently, they were in Germany over Easter and Ben is the only guy of a very religiously diverse group of guys who didn't attend a service. Because the service was Catholic and in German.

Ben uses his son as the reason he didn't go. He couldn't go with his family or his son and didn't even try to talk to his son on Easter and when Michael calls him out on that, he has to excuse himself. 

Michael has quite the smug look on his face and Des tells him he didn't have to do that here. That he made her uncomfortable and didn't have to question Ben that aggressively.

Come on, Des. He's doing you a favor here. Minus 4

She doesn't see the qualities in either of them that she wants in the person she spends the rest of her life with.

Ben is still collecting himself while Des and Michael eat. Michael knows he screwed up and Des goes to check on Ben. He says he's never had someone question his faith or his role as a father before and that's what got him upset.

They have a private conversation and she thinks he's a sweet guy who doesn't know how to express himself. So basically she's blind. Minus 23

Desiree questions Michael about Ben and about why Michael is so anti-Ben. He tells her how Ben is in the house and the things he says about publicity and his bar and not about his son and Michael still thinks there's a chance she'll choose Ben over him.

She thinks Ben is a good person and a good father. Conversation comes naturally with Michael, but maybe he's a little too outspoken.

And she sees a potential future with Michael and gives him the rose. Ben's going home. Plus 42.

He excuses himself from the table and she goes after him. He says she's making the wrong decision but he respects it. Then he gets in a limo and says he won't sit there and look unhappy because he's not. 

Michael apologizes for making things so awkward.

All of the guys are waiting to see who returns from the date and they see the concierge roll Ben's bags out of the suite. Plus 8.

His limo ride is crazy. He wants to go ahead and start dating. He wants to get drunk in Munich. He drops a lot of F bombs. Ben's cracked.

It's time for another cocktail party. Desiree's hair looks really great. She calls this, the fifth rose ceremony, a pivotal week and teases that she might do something different.

She and Chris Harrison have a sit-down where she talks about how beautiful Europe is and how cold it was. She thinks things are going great with the guys.

Chris asks which of the guy is the best kisser and she says she won't kiss and tell. So Chris asks which of the guys she'd like to kiss at that moment. Her first answer is Brooks. Then Zak. Plus 8.

Ultimately, she hopes she can trust the guys. And some of them have a bombshell to drop on her tonight.

For all future episodes, every time anyone says "for all the right reasons" everybody needs to take a drink. Immediately.

Des tells Chris that she doesn't feel the need to have a cocktail party at all. She wants to go straight to the rose ceremony.

She announces that they're skipping straight to the ceremony and Drew is visibly shaken by not getting to talk to her first. Someone needs to get him a barf bag.

Joining Michael, Chris, and Brooks on the safety couch, Des gives roses to:

• Zak
• Kasey
• Juan Pablo
• Drew
• James

She's sending Mikey T. back to Chicago. Drew is still flapping his gums about the fact that James is still there when what he doesn't realize is that he's also still there. Dude. There's always next week. Talk to her then.

Mikey thinks Des will regret sending him home. But no, she probably won't.

EPISODE TOTAL: +53! SEASON TOTAL: +260!

There's an Encyclopedia Brown movie in the works!

And if that bums you out, just be glad there's not an Encyclopedia Britannica movie in the works.

Warner Bros. is currently finalizing negotiations for the film rights to the iconic children's book series.

The series follows the son of a Police Chief, named Leroy Brown, who solves petty crimes with his best friend Sally from his family's garage.

The Lego Movie producer Roy Lee will produce the film along with Howard Davis Deutsch.

There is no word yet on plot, schedule, or casting. Stay tuned for more details as pre-production starts.

If you are the creative type, you are going to get a kick out of this. Now you can print in 3D at home. Available to the general public is the Cubify 3D printer. Let your imagination soar to unimaginable heights. Build a bracelet, a car, an airplane or a set of dentures for your grandpa, only you are the limit of what you can create with a 3D printer. Also there are glow in the dark plastics so you can make a glow in the dark key chain or case for your iPhone or android phone. The Cubify 3D printer can be purchased on Amazon and retails for about $1,399.00.

The Details
- Print size: 5.5" x 5.5“ x 5.5" or 140 x 140 x 140mm but if you need a printer that can print something larger, take a look at the CubeX 3D Printer that can print 10.8" x 10.45" x 9.5" or 275mm x 265mm x 240mm

- The second generation version prints in both BLA and ABS plastic, the print resolution is 200 microns (0.2mm) while the Cube X print resolution is 100 microns (0.1mm), 250 microns (0.25mm), and 500 micron (0.5mm) .

Here are some bonus videos for you to get a better idea of what the Cube 3D printer can do.

Cubify Cube 3D Printer



What is Cubify



Purchase your Cubify Cube on Amazon.

Another American is set to invade Downton Abbey.

In a surprising/exciting bit of casting news, TV Line confirms that Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti has been cast on the British sensation as Harold Levinson, the maverick, brother of Elizabeth McGovern's Cora.

Look for the actor - currently filming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - to appear on the Downton Abbey Season 4 finale.

Giamatti is best known for big screen roles such as Sideways and Cinderella Man, but earned an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the title character in HBO’s miniseries John Adams.

He also stopped by for a memorable guest-starring stint on 30 Rock in 2010.

Downton Abbey, meanwhile, returns to PBS on January 5.

All the parenting news you probably didn't have time to read this week.- Turns out the widely cited statistic that claims a women's fertility drops steeply at 35 years old is based on data from French birth records from 1670-1830 (!). The few studies...

A racy black negligee that once belonged to Monica Lewinsky is among 32 items of hers that are up for auction in Los Angeles this week for some reason.

Other items up for bids include a letter from then-President Bill Clinton to Lewinsky's other lover at the time, her former high school teacher Andy Bleiler.

Also, there's a second signed letter, from Lewinsky to Bleiler, a drama instructor, that includes the line "am I good at lying through my teeth or what."

A rare chance to own a piece of history from Clinton's piece on the side.

The letter from Clinton to Bleiler was written on White House stationery and, at Lewinsky's request, wished Bleiler a happy birthday in February 1996.

The collection of items was submitted by Bleiler to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr at the time of the investigation into the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

Her affair with the married Bleiler came to light during that same investigation, which led to Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives.

Clinton was impeached in 1998 perjury and obstruction of justice charges, but acquitted by the Senate. He completed his second term as president in 2001.

Bidding for the collection is currently underway on the Nate D. Sanders website until 5 p.m. PDT on Thursday. It was at least two bids, with the highest at $2,750.

Money. Well. Spent.

We all know Justin Bieber is a risk taker.

He drives very quickly. He skydives inside (and refuses to pay). He thinks he can find someone better than Selena Gomez.

But a new report in Life & Style claims Bieber takes precautions in at least one aspect of his life: SEX!

An insider tells the tabloid that every time Bieber stays in a certain New York City hotel, he calls the front desk and asks for "intimacy kits with condoms."

And a second source adds that Bieber has made this appeal more than once - but it isn't always his sexual appetite with which Justin is concerned.

Sometimes it's his regular one.

“He always requests condoms," the magazine alleges. "And jelly beans!”

Well, sure. There's nothing better after a safe snog than to down some serious sugar.

While Dominique Ansel has trademarked the Cronut™, he cannot stop people from making their own cronut-like pastries, slapping a $5 pricetag on them, and calling them something else. Mille-Feuille Bakery (located near Washington Square Park just blocks from Ansel himself) isn't the first, and they're certainly not the last to do this... but they are and always will be the first place the Gothamist staff ever tasted a cronut-esque thing. We tried their Vanilla Bean and Raspberry "french donuts" this afternoon—they were good, in the way that both croissants and doughnuts are enjoyable things to eat sometimes. Here are some staff reactions: [ more › ]

Ireland Baldwin has a message for Hailey Baldwin: Take this!

As she battles her cousin for title of Family Hottie, the 17-year old daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger poses in a bikini for the latest issue of Modern Luxury's Beach.

And she looks mighty fine while doing so!

• 
• 

Aside from her svelte body, Baldwin shared a number of tidbits about herself with the publication:

To which fictional character does she relate? “I lived in Africa for a little while so I was a real-life Cady Heron [from Mean Girls]."

What is her life mantra? "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes,’ by Mahatma Gandhi.”

What is her favorite social media platform? “Vine.”

What is her favorite snack? “Almond butter on apple slices.”

Waiting for baby!

Due to give birth any day now, Busy Philipps was spotted in West Hollywood, Calif. on Tuesday (June 18). The heavily pregnant Cougar Town star, 33, wore a blue maxi maternity dress and flip flops while running some errands.

The Dawson’s Creek alum recently opened up about her second pregnancy.

“It’s been good! But I do I feel like I was even happier when I was pregnant with my daughter, Birdie,” Busy admitted.

The actress and her husband Marc Silverstein are already parents to nearly 5-year-old daughter Birdie.

View Slideshow »»

View All Photos »»

Have you noticed your milk getting frosty? Meat spoiling quickly? It’s likely your refrigerator is set to the wrong temperature. The FDA recommends keeping your refrigerator at or below 40° F (4° C), and your freezer at 0° F (-18° C) to keep your food fresh for longer and to prevent the growth of bacteria that could cause food-borne illnesses. Here are some more tips to help you ensure your perishables don’t perish.

The best temperature for a refrigerator

Avoid the "danger zone." If you want to ensure your food isn’t developing harmful bacteria that may make you sick, keep it out of the cold-but-not-cold-enough “danger zone” in which bacteria thrive. According to Good Housekeeping, the ideal fridge temp is between 35° F (1.6° C) and 38° F (3.3° C).

How to monitor your fridge's temperature

Get a thermometer for your fridge. “I never trust an appliance’s self-reporting temperature; I’ve had enough ovens with hot spots to always be wary,” advises a user on the food safety forum at Stack Exchange. “With our fridge, our crisper drawer regularly frosts and partially freezes our veggies, and with a thermometer I was able to determine why: it’s significantly colder down there than the 35° F the rest of the fridge is set on. By at least 5-8 degrees.” Move the thermometer around to check for cold and warm spots, and arrange your food accordingly.

Bulb thermometers, the kind with red liquid that moves up and down, are easy to read, reliable, and you don't need to change their batteries. If you don't have one, you can still check if your fridge is too cold. Place a container of water in the back of the fridge on a low shelf (usually the coldest part) for about 24 hours. If it freezes, then that's a sign you may want to raise the temperature a couple degrees.

Keep your refrigerator full

If you’re opening your refrigerator and freezer regularly, then keeping them stocked may help keep the temperature consistent. “With an empty fridge, every time you open and close the door you cycle most of the air in it, replacing the cooled air with warmer air, which has then to be cooled again,” say fridge enthusiasts on The Naked Scientists. “With a full fridge, there’s not only less air to be cycled and re-cooled, all the other items that have been cooled stay in the fridge. The presence of many items in the fridge may also reduce the airflow, meaning even less air is exchanged each time the door is opened and then closed.”

But don’t overstuff it

Keeping the fridge and freezer full is more efficient, yes—but packing it too tightly will restrict circulation and air flow, ultimately forcing it to work harder to keep things at the right temperature, according to Hunker. Another risk: jamming too much in the fridge can block air vents, leading to a host of temperature and moisture issues, and potentially causing some foods to spoil more quickly.

Check the air vents

To expand upon that last point: Air needs to pass unimpeded between the freezer and refrigerator in order to keep the temperature steady. If you’re seeing frost in your fridge, make sure there isn’t a wayward loaf of bread stuffed up against the air vent, preventing circulation. You should be able to find a guide for your particular refrigerator model online.

Know your fridge’s naturally coldest areas

“The temperature within your fridge can vary rather significantly with normal usage,” says Stack Exchange’s hobodave. “The coldest parts of your refrigerator are the back, and the bottom. The back because the cooling element is there, and the bottom because warm air rises. If items you don’t want frosty are getting frosty, then move them away from the back of the fridge.”

Don’t put spoil-prone items in the door

The fridge door is likely to be one of the warmest areas of the fridge, and a spot where the temperature fluctuates the most—so don’t store anything likely to spoil there. “The items in the door of your fridge can easily get as high as 59° F (15° C), and do so often,” says hobodave. “Putting milk and eggs in your door will significantly decrease their shelf life.” In fact, speaking to Well and Good, dietitian Lisa DeFazio recommends never storing milk, eggs, dairy or meat in the door. Instead, keep those items toward the rear of the fridge, where temperates are colder and more stable.

Libraries have changed a lot in the last few years, offering more up-to-date options and local community services than ever before. When's the last time you paid a visit to yours?

Not that there's a thing wrong with borrowing free books, but libraries are about so much more than that. We've shown you some of the best uses for your local library and how you can get a lot of those services online. You can check out Kindle books (and sometimes ebooks in other formats, as well) and even partake of local community offerings. So, tell us:

This summer Dunkin' Donuts unveiled two seasonal doughnut varieties: Lemonade and Key Lime. While I am not much of a doughnut person, the journalist in me screamed for Truth, and I tried the 99-cent Lemonade version so you wouldn't have to. [ more › ]

On Saturday, June 8th, a series of loud noises down the street led an upstate man to discover that his father-in-law's nearby home in Clyde, New York had been seriously vandalized—and the four pint-sized culprits were still inside. Jesse Daniels, 53, took the hammer-wielding boys, who were "two sets of brothers and cousins, ages 8 and 10," and locked them in a closet while his wife called the police. Now Daniels is facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child. [ more › ]

When you think of a humidifier, you probably picture a fairly large device filled with water that you plug in and keep in a corner. Those traditional options don't work so well when you need to move them around and require a bit of effort to clean. The Satechi Portable USB Humidifier just attaches to any water bottle and gets power from any USB port of charger.

If you need to add humidity to a large space, you'll need something a little more powerful than a portable option. If you just need a little humidity in your part of the room, however, you can set a water bottle by your bedside or wherever you are. If you move, you can take it with you. If you can't be tethered to an outlet or a computer's USB port, get a portable battery. (Ideally, we'd like to see a version of this device that contains its own battery to operate on the go for a few hours, but generally speaking you won't need that.) Most humidifiers cost at least $30, but this portable version only runs you $23. While it might not provide as much power, it gains versatility and convenience. If you need a simple humidifier—especially if you travel often—give this one a look.

Satechi USB Portable Humidifier ($23) | Amazon

1/2 cup almond butter ($.50)
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast ($.05)
2 tablespoons agave ($.40)
pinch salt

1/2 cup cacao butter or coconut oil ($3.00)
3/4 cup cacao powder ($2.50)
6 tablespoons agave ($1.20)
pinch salt

This is a very basic version of the nut butter cup. Mix together the almond butter, nutritional yeast, agave, and salt. Form into round disks that will fit inside your chosen mold (I used a cupcake pan with paper liners) and place on waxed or parchment paper. Stick in the fridge for about a half hour, until the mix is chilled well and firm.





In a double boiler, melt the cacao butter or coconut oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Into your mold, pour a thin layer of chocolate and then put in the freezer to chill to harden. Put the nut butter disk on top in the center and pour on another layer of chocolate. Freeze this for about a half hour and unmold.







nutritional information:      calories: 290      fat: 24 gr      carbs: 21 gr      protein: 4 gr

It all seems so obvious after you look at the photo. We've already descended into an etiquette-less society underground, hellbent on disturbing one another with our bare feet, our nail clippings, our banana peels and our hanging brains. We already treat the subway like our personal toilet—so we can all learn something from this young woman, who re-contextualized her toilet plunger and put it to far better use in a Tokyo subway car. Her epiphany can be our salvation from pole huggers. [ more › ]

The so-called Soup Nazi—aka original SoupMan Al Yeganeh—is a NYC legend thanks in part to the depiction of him in a classic Seinfeld episode. But considering the fact that Yeganeh became famous for his totalitarian views on soup distribution, we're somewhat surprised to learn that he has given approval to roll out a fleet of franchised Original SoupMan food trucks that will literally bring the soup to you, no questions asked. [ more › ]

Ever since Kim Kardashian's first child came into the world through her vagina - known from this day forward as the North West passage - we have wondered:

What will the spawn of Kim and Kanye West look like?

Even before Thursday's Kim Kardashian baby name reveal, insiders were reporting that she “looks just like Kim,” so that’s a good thing, probably. Maybe.

It may be awhile until North West makes her public debut. Her arrival five weeks before Kim's due date no doubt threw a wrench into the Kards' PR machine.

When the celebrity couple will release the first official pics of their bundle of joy, and how many millions they will collect for doing so, we can not say.

What we can do is speculate ... and compile a hilarious collection of projected images of what the Internet envisions little North West will look like.

Follow the jump for UNofficial photos galore!!

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

Which of the above projected Kimye baby pictures is your favorite?

And all kidding aside, what do you think of the name North West?

It seems they really do make everything in China. And by everything we mean "hair stockings." Which aren't actually stockings for your hair as the name implies. 

Oh no. No, hair stockings are much, much more...European.

See?

Who needs pepper spray when women could just wear hair stockings to ward off would-be attackers? shudder.

The latest in anti-rape wear, the hosiery is billed as "super sexy, summertime anti-pervert full-leg-of-hair stockings essential for all young girls going out" by Sina Weibo user @HappyZhangJiang.

Well, sure, if by "super sexy" the women wearing these plan to attract Bigfoot at the bar.

And hosiery? In the summertime? Nope. 

So, are these a joke or are they serious? A little of both? We're not sure.

Rape is often about power and not desire or attraction, so will a rapist really care about a woman who has the legs of an incredibly hairy man? Maybe. But probably not.

And the idea that a woman should have to make herself appear less attractive to ward off would-be rapists is part of the culture of victim blaming, so surely that's not the statement these hair stockings are trying to make.

Hopefully, these are meant as one seriously bizarre Asian fashion trend. And like any bad trend, these will probably die hard. Probably. We hope.

Fingers crossed that hair stockings don't end up on the runways at the next Fashion Week, amiright? Not even Gucci could make these work.

My girlfriend says I have a thing for books. I probably spend more money on books than any other expense, aside from food. Walking into a bookstore with a good selection makes me want to rent a truck and haul their entire stock away to pile in my house so that I can read every single one of them.

If your goal is to read a lot–like mine is–there are a few obstacles to overcome:

• Keeping track of the books you want to read
• Refining the list down to ones you’re going to read in the near feature
• Actually reading them
• Retaining the important parts

Keeping Track of What You Want to Read

Nothing is worse than wanting to get a new book and facing the empty Amazon search bar, their shallow recommendations staring back at you, KNOWING that there’s something better out there for you, but not being able to remember the 10+ books that you really wanted to read but never wrote down.

I have a two pronged solution for this:

1. Evernote
2. Pinboard.in

I have one Evernote note (started in 2010) with almost every book that has caught my eye in the last three years. It’s pretty huge. Evernote is great for this purpose because it also has a mobile version, so wherever you are you can pull out your phone and type the book in for later.

I also use Pinboard.in which is a really simple bookmarking service to collect books. Typically these are ones that I find on Amazon that I want to save for later. Both of these options are good for maintaining your list–though if you have to choose one, Evernote is probably the best because it works on mobile.

The biggest problem with this is that it gets really unwieldy after a while. It’s hard to keep track of which books you’ve already read, and it’s hard to find the books that you have top of mind in a list that’s 100s of lines long.

Refining the List

To refine my list I use Trello. For example, when this summer began I took a bunch of the books from my Evernote list that I felt like I wanted to read and put them into a Trello Board called Books. On this board I categorize them into two lists: “To Read” and “Backlog.”

Above: My "Books" Trello board

“To Read” is composed of things that I want to read immediately. “Backlog” is composed of things that I want to read some time this summer. Whenever I’m in a bookstore or I get a book recommendation that I’m really excited about I put the book into my “To Read” list.

What I find often is that when I first hear about a book it will get me excited and I’ll want to read it immediately. But after a few days or weeks it will excite me less. If that happens I’ll move the book from “To Read” to “Backlog.” And after a while if it stays in “Backlog” I’ll move it back to my Evernote list.

The advantage of using Trello is a few-fold:

• It keeps everything much more organized than Evernote
• It allows you to keep track of what you want to read, what you’re reading, and what you’ve already read in a pleasing way
• By putting books that you’re excited about into the list and letting them sit there for a few days or weeks, it allows you to separate the books that you actually want to read from the books that lose their appeal quickly

Actually Doing the Reading

I have a rule for myself: I never read more than one book at a time, and I always finish every book I start.

I started doing this because I had a tendency to read five books at once. When you get into the habit of doing that, you end up never actually finishing anything. You’ll read a book for a few chapters, and then put it down for another one. This is annoying and doesn’t get you the satisfaction of reading a book from start to finish. By limiting myself to one book at a time and committing to finish it, I actually end up reading more books than if I read a bunch of them in parallel.

Retaining What You Read

I have a couple of techniques for this depending on the book. For every (important) physical book that I’ve read since I high school I do exactly the same thing: I take a blank sheet of paper and fold it four ways into a square. I put the title of the book at the top and the date. Then as I’m reading I take notes on important themes or messages on the piece of paper, and write the page number that it shows up in. If I see the theme pop up in another section of the book I’ll go back to the original note and add the new page number.

Pictured at left: my notes from the last book I read, Fooled By Randomness

By the time I’m finished with the book I have a list of all the things I found interesting / insightful about it, and a list of all the page numbers where those things were discussed. This makes it really easy to pick up a book a few years after you first read and it figure out exactly what I thought was important about it. It also makes it easier to write about the books because I can usually pull out good quotes really quickly.

The other thing I’ve started to do recently is to write up my notes in Evernote. Having a piece of paper stuck inside the physical book is great (and doubles as a nice bookmark) but if you’re somewhere other than your house, it’s frustrating to not be able to access the information wherever you want. Typing the notes into Evernote on the other hand gives you access any time, from anywhere.

The other good thing about writing things out (whether by hand or by computer) is that you tend to remember them better. I’ve always been bothered by not remembering the things I read, and this seems to be a nice way to get the most out of the time you spend reading.

Now you know how I read. What do you do?

How to read a lot of books | Dan Shipper

---

Is Steven Seagal the single worst person alive on this planet?

According to one hilarious analysis, he very well might be.

This is not just a figure of speech here. Vice insists that it is being completely and totally literal when it says Steven Seagal is the lamest man imaginable.

Why? For reasons including, but not limited to ...

1. He makes insane music (above)
2. He's a compulsive liar
3. He shat himself at least once
4. He runs like Phoebe from Friends
5. He once killed a dog and 115 chickens on his reality show
6. He may or may not have employed two Russian sex slaves
7. He takes himself very, very seriously
8. He "designed" a terrible energy drink
9. His hair is really weird and freaky
10. He has a bulletproof Kimono (seriously)

What do you think? Can you come up with anyone worse?!

The gorgeous Kate Upton topless on a horse as part of a recent photo shoot?

Yeah. That apparently happened. Further comment rendered unnecessary.

A video of this groundbreaking event, unearthed by TMZ, begins with Kate attempting to keep her breasts covered by her hand ... while balancing on the horse.

She's a woman of many talents, but this is clearly not going to happen at all.

Her loss, our gain, as one of our new favorite Kate Upton pics above shows.

The girls come out to say hello, A LOT, and if you're as big a fan of the supermodel as we think you are, well, you really need to head over to see the TMZ video.

Photo by Heather Baird

“X” marks the spot on treasure maps, but you won’t have to search far for this trove. Enjoy your own stash of riches by making a candy treasure chest! Crisp wafer candy bars are used to build this entirely edible crate, then it’s filled with all kinds of sweet treasures, like gold chocolate coins, sugar pearls and candy gemstones. It makes a cute centerpiece for a beach-themed party, or it can be used as a cake topper for pirate-themed birthdays.

If you can’t find the crispy wafer bars used in this recipe, you may use other break-apart candy bars or chocolate tablets trimmed to 4 x 4 1/2 inches. Chocolate coins can be found at bulk candy shops and online, and several Etsy shops carry edible jewels.

You will need:
10-inch round cake board, plate or other display
Small artists’ brush
Small soft-bristled pastry brush
Non-stick paper (parchment or wax)
1 1/2-2 cups light brown sugar
6 (1.5 oz each) crisp wafer chocolate bars (I used KitKat Crisp Wafers)
3 oz chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 black licorice lace
2 wooden ice pop sticks or skewers
Gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins
Sugar pearls
Hard candy jewels
Metallic dragées
Your choice of candy

Cover the 10-inch display with 1 cup of light brown sugar. This will be the “sand” on which the treasure box sits. Reserve the rest for later use. Tip: Make sure the brown sugar you use is fresh. It should be soft and pack easily. You can test it by squeezing a handful tight in your fist. It should hold its shape after opening your hand.

Unwrap the candy bars and set aside. Melt the 3 oz of chocolate at 30 second intervals in the microwave until it can be stirred smooth. You can also warm the chocolate over low heat in a small saucepan.

Press a candy bar turned horizontal and standing upright into the brown sugar to one side of the display board. Press the sugar around the bottom of the candy bar so that it is secure and can stand on its own.

Paint chocolate on the short ends of another chocolate bar using the artists’ brush.

Place the short end of the wafer bar brushed with chocolate against the short end of the standing chocolate bar. Press down into the sugar. Apply a third candy bar onto the other end of the wafer bar brushed with chocolate, forming three quarters of the box. Repeat with a fourth chocolate wafer bar and fit it between the two open short ends to close the box.

To make the lid, use one whole candy bar and 3/4 of another bar, broken at a perforation. Lay the bars on a piece of non-stick paper and brush the broken end of the 3/4 bar with melted chocolate.

Press the two bars together so they line up evenly on all sides. Place the unsweetened cocoa in a small cup. Load a dry pastry brush with the cocoa powder and brush over the surface of the box top. Transfer the box top on the non-stick paper to the refrigerator and chill until firm.

For the box handles, cut the licorice lace into two 4-inch pieces. Shape the pieces into a slight curve by bending them with your fingers to make the ends touch. Dip each end of the licorice piece into the chocolate.

Press the ends of a licorice piece into a break-apart perforation (at a short end of the box) and hold until the chocolate adheres. Repeat process on the other side of the box with the remaining licorice piece. Dust the box with the cocoa using the pastry brush as before. This gives the box a dusty, aged look and also obscures any branding that may be pressed into the surface of the chocolate bar.

Use some or all of the remaining brown sugar to fill the box, depending on the amount of candy you are using. Place two ice pop sticks at the front corners inside the box. Press them down into the sugar.

Paint the top back edge of the box with melted chocolate (reheating the chocolate may be necessary if your chocolate starts to set).

Remove the box top from the refrigerator and peel it away from the non-stick paper. Press a long end of the box top onto the melted chocolate so the box edges meet up evenly. Allow the front of the box top to rest on the ice pop sticks, so that the treasure box lid is slightly open.

Choose your treasure! I used foil-wrapped chocolate coins, sugar pearls, edible jewels and dragees in this box, but you could also use colorful rock sugar, candy necklaces and other foil-wrapped candies.

Place the treasure into the chocolate box, filling it full so that it will partially support the box lid.

When the chocolate on the box top has set, gently tilt the ice pop sticks backward and remove them. The box lid will stand open on its own.

Inspiration for this project was found in the Dessert Designer book by Dana Meachen Rau. All photographs by Heather Baird.

Heather Baird is an accomplished painter and photographer, but her passion is creating eye-popping, mouthwatering desserts. She writes about her adventures in the world of creative dessert-making on her award-winning blog, SprinkleBakes. She is the author of the new baking book, SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire your Inner Artist. Heather lives in Knoxville, Tennesee, with her husband Mark and two mischievous pugs, Biscuit and Churro.