It was fun reading all of this, especially since it goes back to '06. That first post of Lars with the cherry cream soda...yummmy. I only consume coffee if it's ice cream, Kahlua or some other dessert. I like tea, black, green, but not any spiced teas. Really dislike mint too. Mostly I drink flavored unsweetened seltzer, iced tea or lemonade. Occasionally I'll have a fruit soda, but I find them too sweet these days so I mix them with my seltzer. Alcohol? Not really. Don't like wine as a rule. I can deal with a little champagne or Asti. Will drink vodka, that Kahlua making it a Black Russian. Smiles. I can go several years or more without having any alcohol. Last year I turned my current [at the time] vodka into vanilla. This fall an old friend from high school came to visit and brought a bottle of vodka. I had 2 light Cape Cods and when he left I turned the Svedka into vanilla. LOL. In winter in the evening we either have hot tea or hot cocoa often. I do love hot chocolate made with cocoa or even a nice chocolate bar.

Snookums, interesting find. But the abstract just says the researchers found small amounts of formaldehyde in commercially brewed and instant coffees in aqueous forms. It doesn't explicitly say anything about decaf coffee, and it certainly doesn't prove that formaldehyde is used to decaffeinate coffee (or rather, we can't discern that from the abstract.) As this report is 27 years old, I wonder why there has been no follow up or more extensive research if there is a formaldehyde issue. Too bad we can't read what's in the report to know if the coffees sampled were a broad spectrum of brands or even if it's an American study (brands readily available to us in our markets). I'd like to know if the study team postulated how the formaldehyde got into the coffee. Perhaps it occurs naturally? I found this in article via library online databases: "Natural carcinogenic and DNA damaging chemicals present in a cup of certified organic coffee (4) Aectaldehyde, benzaldehyde, benzene, benzo (a) pyrene, benzofuran, caffeic acid, catechol, 1,2,5,6-dibenz (a) anthracene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, furan, furfural, hydroquinone, d-limonene, 4-methylcatechol, styrene, toluene." ( Gold LS, Slone TH, Stern BR, Manley NB, Ames BN. Rodent Carcinogens: Setting Priorities. Science 258, 261-265, 1992., cited in "Organic Food Sales Increasing 20% Annually Last 20 Years," Hale, Jamie. McClatchy - Tribune Business News [Washington] 05 Nov 2009.) In researching, I thought this was interesting: "Another argument raised against formaldehyde as a human leukemogen [cause of leukemia] has been the presence of potentially significant amounts of formaldehyde or formaldehyde precursors in food. However, food is a complex mixture of chemicals. For example, coffee contains caffeine that would be metabolized to formaldehyde, but among the close to a thousand other chemicals components identified in coffee, some are antioxidants that might well have anticarcinogenic activities. It is difficult to predict the toxicological effects of simple mixtures, let alone mixtures that have thousands of chemicals nor can the possibility be ruled out that formaldehyde derived from food intake plays a role in the existing background incidence of leukemia." (Hematological and toxicological evaluation of formaldehyde as a potential cause of human leukemia Goldstein, Bernard D. Human and Experimental Toxicology30.7 (Jul 2011): 725-35. )

Got anybody handy you can pull a Tom Sawyer on? "Oh come, now, you don't mean to let on that you like it?" The brush continued to move. "Like it? Well I don't see why I oughtn't to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth - stepped back to note the effect - added a touch here and there - criticized the effect again. Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said: "Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little." I've been waiting for the vacuum to magically appear in my hand! :)

Oldwomanhobby, This is the recipe for rum balls that I ahve been using for over 25 years. I made them the other day but in stead of rum this time I added a shot of real espresso to the mix along with some real vanilla. I rolled most of them in and the rest in toasted . These keep in the fridge or freezer and the recipe makes about 100, depending on the size. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Magic Chocolate Balls ===================== 3 (175G) packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract (or rum) Finely chopped nuts, Flaked Coconut Chcolate Sprinkles, Unsweetened Cocoa or Icing Sugar . In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips with condensed milk. Remove from hat, stir in vanilla. Chill for 2 hours or until firm. Shape into 3/4 inch balls; roll in one of the optional coatings. Chill until firm. These can also be frozen.