Ether Binge

Newspaper Headline Reads: Murder Weapons found: empty ether bottle and pestle to blame.

Seriously, I'm not sure what I did in my previous life to deserve my current co-workers, but it must have been really bad. There is one in particular, whose name shall remain secret, not to protect the innocent but because just the mention of his/her name sends a rush of anger through my veins.

Today he/she was using ether (keeping in mind I work in a lab and the use of ether is common) out in the open air. Not in the hood where it belongs but out on his/her bench top where it was free to taint the air in the entire lab. I don't know if I am unique in my extreme sensitivity to ether or not, but within minutes I had a raging headache and mood to match. Not only does ether smell bad and give me a headache, but it is a known carcinogen. After being told to take the ether in the hood where it belongs, he/she continued to use it on his/her bench top which is where it is currently sitting.

Prior to the bench top use of said chemical, my co-worker threw one empty bottle into the garbage without, I repeat WITHOUT, letting it air out in the hood. For all of the non-science people who are reading this, and I'm sure there are thousands since it is so popular, a hood is an area that has airflow that carries the dangerous fumes out of the building without them circulating around the lab.

Me: "hey (insert name here) you need to let the ether bottle dry out completely in the hood before you throw it away."
He/She: "it's just ether"
Me: "it needs to dry out first."
He/She: "it's just ether"
Me: "I'm well aware of that. Are you aware that it is explosive and if it were to be crushed in the garbage truck it could explode?"
He/She: "It's just ether"

Say ether one more time.

Perhaps he/she had already huffed too much of said ether and was already too woozy to function properly. By this logic though, he/she needs to be huffing it every day.

How many cookbooks is too many?

Hello, my name is Amity and I am a cookbook addict.

Specifically, vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. I'm sure there are people out there with far more cookbooks than I have in my collection but I'd say my collection is pretty large. The cookbook (and education) section is the first I visit when I go to the library or the bookstore. Luckily, my local library has a fairly large vegetarian cooking section and what they don't have, I can browse at my local bookstore.

I would have to say that the most used cookbook in my collection is one that my sister gifted me about 15 years ago. It is 1000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles.





It contains recipes that are simple, straight forward and delicious. I don't think that I have had a recipe come out poorly. Of course I have pretty simple tastes and don't need anything overly sophisticated to please my palate. The ingredients required are not "exotic" and are easily found at most well-stocked supermarkets. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who is a long-time vegetarian, new vegetarian, transistioning from an omnivourous diet or simply wants a change from your Betty Crocker cookbook.

I made the Current Scones a couple of days ago and they came out beautifully moist and delicious. Check back tomorrow for the recipe.