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My favorite mug is an Easter mug. I bought it just before I moved to my present place in Queens during Eastertide, and I drank from it while everything seemed fresh and new. It's decorated with Easter colors on a white background, and the words "He Is Risen!" in gold. It goes into hiding during Lent.

The only problem is that its metallic trim makes it unusable in the microwave. My current two favorite microwave-safe mugs are these:

1. A mug from the Museum of Modern Art's temporary exhibit space in Queens. It has the word "cup" on the outside and "beverage" on the inside.

2. A mug from my church; it has a line drawing of the church on one side and the names of its first eight pastors on the other.

Actually no, Lisa, I didn't take chemistry in high school ;)

Thank you, dbcurrie. Not only is your comment thoughtful, it's right on target.

One of my favorite baking recipes calls for a certain commercial applesauce, but when I make it I use my own homemade, unsweetened applesauce, which is different every time because the apples I use are different every time.

I have pretty high standards for saying that something is my own recipe; usually I'll just say that I found this recipe in such-and-such a place but I made a change or two. But having read some of what's been written on the intellectual-property issue, I think this issue of recipes as intellectual property is just one aspect of the commodification of culture and the shrinking public domain. And I'm sure that corporations--many of them--would like to change the public's thought patterns so that people think of who legally owns what as naturally as they speak or breathe.

Something similar happened in a Buzzflash story early in the GWB years, in which the author repeated a Rumsfeld joke (very funny IMO) and asked almost plaintively who wrote the joke. That's the wrong question to ask; jokes are folklore.

And so, in a way, are recipes. At least they used to be, as folksongs used to be.

Do you mean evaporated milk? If not, what's the difference?

I live in Queens, New York, as you can probably guess from my username. Western Queens.

You can also try Mark Bittman's minimalist brownies. They're a hit whenever I take them to a party.

If you're cleaning for Pesach, that's a powerful motive for debugging. At least you kill two birds with one stone.

I detest sweetened coffee, so you won't see me putting sweetened condensed milk in my coffee. But sweetened condensed milk in making desserts--that's another thing. My favorite pumpkin pie recipe is the one from Eagle Brand; it was also on the Comstock pumpkin can when that product existed, and it's even better than the Libby's recipe. And this is a pretty good brownie recipe; not my favorite because there's no way to reduce the sugar, except maybe by using less-sweet chocolate. But it is a good recipe.

Oh, I feel your pain! JerzeeTomato's advice sounds good. Here are some survival tips until your debugging is complete:

Get some food-storage containers with tight-fitting lids, and transfer your food to them asap, unless it already comes in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

When you buy the containers, check for places where a bug can position itself at the ready to dive in. Tiny hiding places near the top may be unavoidable, but don't buy a container with any jumping-off place large enough for an adult cockroach. And keep examining and wiping off the top edges. Tupperware is a good source for well-designed plastic canisters. And don't forget those metal spaghetti tins; they protect pasta from light as well as bugs.

To store bread at room temperature, don't depend on the wrap the bread came in, or on thin food and bread bags. Bugs can gnaw their way through them. Use reclosable zip-lock bags; they're thicker.

And if you see bugs in your refrigerator, the fridge is on the fritz. Call the repairman asap. Insects hate the near-freezing temperature of a properly working fridge.

And chisai, thanks for the link.