Why Do Cookies Fall?

That has come up a couple of times lately. I hope the person who was asking was able to find the answer. If not, I’ll tell you what I know.

Based on my limited experience, it could be a couple of different things. If you’re using an egg substitute, you may not have gotten the cookies into the oven fast enough. I’m not talking about Egg Beaters, people. Those still contain eggs and therefore don’t count. I’m talking about egg free cookies in which a leavening other than eggs is used. Non-egg leavenings work because of a chemical reaction that starts as soon as the dry ingredients are mixed with the wet, i.e. baking soda and vinegar. The reaction of a non-egg replacer spends itself fairly quickly so you need to have a plan to move fast once your ingredients are mixed.

The other thing that could make your cookies flatter than usual is the types of fat you use. It’s best to follow the recipe as closely as possible if you don’t have all kinds of time and money to throw into the trash. Unless you’re dealing with food allergies. In that case, all bets are off and you can count on throwing away some cash while you experiment, but it will be worth it if you can come up with a tasty substitute for your favorite cookies.

I think cookie flattening also happens when you grease the cookie sheet. That’s a big mistake, and one that comes from being in cake baking mode. Follow the directions. Sometimes you slick up the cookie sheet and sometimes you don’t. (If you’re baking hypoallergenically, you probably will!)

I’m so glad tomorrow is grocery day. The Nicklebee sweet teeth are a’screamin‘.

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Edited 2-14-08:  Here’s a link to a pretty good response to someone’s question about why cookies flatten.  How to bake “flat-free” cookies.

Search Engine Terms

I am appalled by some of the strings that bring people here. At the top of the list:

guinea pig, fried

How REVOLTING!!! If you have come here looking for a recipe for fried guinea pig, leave now and don’t ever come back!!!  You will never find any guinea pig recipes here, EVER.  We Nicklebees eat a lot of disgusting things, namely my cooking, but even we have our limits!!

Rest in Peace, Sarah Pig. You’re safe.

 

Ink Poisoning in Dogs and other search strings

ink poisoning in dogs

People keep coming to this blog via the search string “ink poisoning in dogs”. I went in search of a link with definitive info to post here once and for all but could find little to nothing “official” about ink and dogs.

From what I can piece together, the real danger isn’t in the minuscule amount of ink they may ingest but the shards of plastic from the pens. If your dog has chewed up a pen and you are noticing symptoms, the symptoms could be from the plastic shards. Get your dog checked out! If you’re like me, you’re only monetarily sorry when you take them in and nothing is wrong. I know, money doesn’t grow on trees, but neither do good dogs!

As far as ink poisoning is concerned, “Writing ink is generally considered non-toxic,” says healthcentral.com.

Medline Plus says the same thing and that you would have to ingest more than an ounce before you’d need to get help. This site also says that the symptoms may include eye irritation or staining of the skin and mucus membranes. This only applies to people, though, ymmv.

I want to emphasize how very important it is to keep the area that the dog spends time in cleaned up. Dogs who chew things other than their own toys are at a higher risk of poisoning and intestinal damage and/or blockage. It’s only logical. We have to be extremely careful with Noah because he will eat socks, among other things. I have pulled partially swallowed socks out of his mouth a couple of times. He is a trash raider so we have to really watch what we throw away. It isn’t uncommon to have a select pile of garbage sitting on the counter until the kitchen bag is ready to out to the dumpster. The last thing I want to do is to have him or the recently corrupted Heidi grab onto a razor blade or a shard of broken glass and swallow it.

Here’s a lengthy thread about this very thing on the Old English Sheepdog forum.

I knew there was a reason I need to keep my house clean! It might be easier to get rid of the dogs and get my CCW.

Dec. 15, ‘07 - A commenter below shared about the use of hydrogen peroxide or salt as directed by a veterinarian.  Upon researching this further, it seems that this is controversial.  At the time of the comment, I had intended to provide links either backing this up or shooting it down.  I had found links saying that these methods are safe if done correctly.   I got busy and did not do that.  So that any future readers will know that this is not an ignorant, cruel thing to do to dogs, this is what the Merck Veterinary manual says about the use of hydrogen peroxide or salt when inducing vomiting is necessary to save the dog’s life: 

Hydrogen peroxide (3%) or salt applied to the back of the pharynx stimulates vomiting via the ninth cranial nerve. Small doses (5-10 mL) of hydrogen peroxide can be administered via oral syringe until emesis occurs. It should be administered cautiously, especially in cats, because aspiration of hydrogen peroxide foam causes severe aspiration pneumonia.

  The Merck Veterinary Manual is for Veterinarians and other veterinary professionals.  If it says a thing is safe, there is the assumption that those putting the information to use are responsible professionals using sense and education, not some group of fraternity brothers or devil worshipers looking for ways to torture animals, for goodness sake. Please don’t go giving animals anything besides the food that you know is safe without the express advice and instruction of a veterinarian, preferably your own vet who has actually seen your pet.   To say that no one should give something to an animal because it is toxic in large doses is to say that a sick child shouldn’t receive antibiotics for the same reason.  That’s ridiculous.  

listen online down gilead lane

CBH Ministries’ Down Gilead Lane

Here’s their program archive on Oneplace. They haven’t always kept that current but it looks like they are now. Prior to their site being updated/upgraded once or twice, they made archived shows available right from there. Apparently now the archives are only available on Oneplace.com. I don’t care where they’re available, I’m just glad that they are.

Speaking of audio programs!!!, before I forget to mention it, there is a new set in the Jonathan Park series! Volume V, “The Explorer’s Society”, is available through The Vision Forum.

Search Engine Terms

Here are a few more search strings [okay, 2] people have used to get here:

how do you know a dog has a migraine Interesting question! I have no idea! I didn’t know dogs got migraine headaches. If it’s like any other pain on a dog, I would suspect one symptom might be biting. On the other hand, if it’s of migraine caliber, they might just lay there and wince at every little sound.

The next question may not be word for word the question that was asked, but the original question rolled off the list and I think this is the gist of it:

how does God feel about retarded people? Good question! How does God feel about people with mental disabilities, retarded or otherwise? Does He feel differently about people with mental disabilities or illnesses than He feels about people with obvious outward physical disabilities? I don’t think so. Here are several passages about people with physical issues whom Jesus had compassion on. I don’t see why a person with mental issues would be treated any different.

Matthew 8:1-4

1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy^[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured^[b] of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Matthew 14:14

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Here’s something interesting:

Psalm 41:1

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.

This reveals something about the character of God. If a person who cares about those who are weak will himself be taken care of by God, then God obviously values the weak!

When mothers brought children to see Jesus, the disciples tried to stop them, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Some mentally handicapped people definitely fit into the “such as these” category, don’t they?

If you believe in the God of the Bible, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, than you believe in a God who is infinitely more intelligent than we can ever begin to imagine. He is bigger and more powerful than anyone or anything we could dream up. And yet the God of the Bible associates with us! Someone of such greatness may not see as big of a difference as we see between people who are “normal” and people who are retarded. Just something to consider.

Good question!

More Search Strings

“Creation Crafts” - if you come back, let me know what you found!

“Can children get migranes?” - You betcha!  According to Timothy Hoban, M.D. of the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) Health System, “Migraine headaches in children are sometimes more severe than tension type, and often times children may be nauseated or vomiting during the headache. That’s why it’s extremely important to begin the treatment as early as possible.”  (”Headaches aren’t just for mom and dad, kids get them too” by Carrie Hagen)

See also Migraine4kids.com.