I helped someone clean out some kitchen cabinets of long-expired food last year and composted all of it, about 2 boxfuls: plant-protein powders, boxed soups and soymilks, unidentified grains, etc. I mixed it a little with browns (mulch) as I added it, but it was still a pretty disgusting process. And then, a couple months later, I moved all my compost bins AND the compost. That bin was the stinkiest compost ever! As I moved it, I distributed the stinkiest glop to different bins and made sure to put lots of normal compostables and mulch between layers of glop. And when the compost was done, I couldn't tell the difference between the bins that had the pantry glop and the bins that didn't. It was all great compost!

We may be way over cautious but I'd rather err on the side of caution especially with children. Your local County Extension Service can give you FDA guidelines for food safety. Travel became an issue for me. Years ago while in Madrid I was violently sick to my stomach the first few nights after dinner. Our host practiced, as many Europeans, not refrigerating items which are commonly refrigerated here in the U.S. For the remainder of the trip I ate only saltine crackers and gingerale, I was already drinking bottled water only as was DD. My dear friend made a lovely fritata (eggs, potatoes, onions, etc.) which she served hot upon our arrival. It then sat on the counter unrefrigerated for the next few days while they snacked on it. When we returned home I visited my MD. He told me that I became ill due to bacteria introduced that my body was not equipped to handle. I am not at all immune compromised Our hosts have always lived this way so their bodies treat that bacteria differently. I found the refrigeration issue to be the same in France, Germany, Norway, Sweeden, Iceland. They just don't refrigerate commonly refrigerated food items as we do here in the States. Have been to many underdeveloped countries and DH has never had a problem? He is of the "when in Rome" mindset. I've seen him drink from the tap in places that just scream "you're gonna have an issue". He must have some superhuman immune system. Me, I drink only bottled water/drinks and always travel with a stash of pre-packaged foods items, as I want to be able to enjoy the entire trip wherever the destination. Over the years, I've discovered that four star doesn't mean the same thing once you leave the States. In fact, four star in some odd out of the way places means 1/2 a star by U.S. standards. As for meds, I was under the impression (with the exception of vitamins) that at most they can lose their effectiveness, not make you sick. Thanks for linking the article terriks.

Chocolate is a little bit like wine. If it is good to start with and if you store it well, for some period it will actually improve. People don't age it, and with good reason, but if you get to try a perfectly aged bar, it's actually pretty good. If you don't store it well, the fat will start to separate and as posted above, it will "bloom", which ruins it as far as I'm concerned. The difference between chocolate and wine however, is that chocolate contains fat and wine doesn't. Fat will go rancid. So while you can age chocolate if you keep it in the right conditions, your cupboard is NOT the correct condition for it! That's OK tho - you can probably bake something with it. I don't know what Trader Joe's is selling though, so if it's like their wine, I'm not sure I'd bet on keeping it.

Ah, sugar. It also affects moistness, texture, adds volume and contributes to browning. Conventional baking literature says you can cut by 1/4 without seriously compromising the final product. However, I think you could cut it even more, for a couple of reasons. First, you are adding banana for moistness and sweetness, and the banana and the brown sugar are going to add the color so you won't need to worry as much about browning. The chocolate is also going to add sweetness. A tablespoon of baking powder is quite a lot, so it shouldn't be impossibly dense. If it is too dense and you want to try to "lighten it up" a bit , you could try whipping the egg whites and folding them in at the end. I wouldn't adjust the baking time differently, I think you'll be OK, and if you don't like very sweet things, cutting the sugar in half is probably going to make it still plenty sweet. I'd also probably take the "easy" way out and taste a bit of the batter to see if it was sweet enough at half the sugar. Yeah, yeah, I know, those raw eggs, and some people are uncomfortable with that, so it's your decision as to whether that's an option. The recipe sounds really good, but quite sweet. I don't care for bananas, but I was thinking it would probably be good with applesauce too, or maybe pears. Annie