Photo: Nigel CoxStovetop
Put ½ cup popcorn kernels and 2 Tbsp. canola, vegetable, or coconut oil into a large, deep pot. Cover tightly and cook over medium-high heat until kernels just begin to pop, 3 to 4 minutes. Give pot a firm up-and-down shake every 30 seconds or so. When popping has almost subsided, remove pot from heat and transfer popcorn to a bowl. Makes about 10 cups.
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Microwave
Place ¼ cup popcorn kernels and ½ Tbsp. oil (optional) in a paper lunch bag. Fold over top edge to secure; microwave on high for about 2 minutes, or until kernels have mostly stopped popping. Makes about 5 cups; do 2 bags' worth for the recipes here.
Popcorn Popper
Some poppers require oil, others use only hot air. Follow the manufacturer's instructions; for the recipes here, pop ½ cup popcorn kernels total. You may have to work in batches.
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What the Hospital Room of the Future Looks Like
By Oprah.com | Healthy Living – Fri, Sep 2, 2011 6:52 PM EDTBy Lauren Dzubow
Read More »from What the Hospital Room of the Future Looks Like
If you've ever spent time in the hospital, you know it can be a grim and dreary place-not exactly what you'd call a healing atmosphere. But that may soon change. Gathering evidence from more than 1,200 studies, a team of researchers, architects, and healthcare experts has drafted blueprints for an ideal facility, dubbed Fable Hospital 2.0, intended to improve and streamline patient care. The logic: Speedier recoveries translate to lower expenses. (The facility's features would increase construction costs by around $29 million but save about $10 million annually-paying for themselves within three years.) Hospitals around the world have already adopted some of the Fable Hospital's elements, with impressive results. Here's a sneak peek; visiting hours start now.
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Illustration: Lobulo Design
1. Hand-Sanitizer Pump
Three years after the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C., installed alcohol-based hand-rub dispensers, there was a 21 percent drop3 Things Every Mom Should Do at the Start of the School Year
By Oprah.com | Back To School – Thu, Sep 1, 2011 9:03 PM EDT
Read More »from 3 Things Every Mom Should Do at the Start of the School Year
Photo: ThinkstockCreate Your Own Supply Closet
Late August and early September are the best times to find bargains on school supplies, like name-brand marker sets for a dollar and boxes of crayons for 25 cents. Gabrielle Blair, a designer and mother of six whose blog, Design Mom, has chronicled her family's moves from New York to Colorado to France, knows how crucial it is to have a well-stocked art bin no matter where she is.
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Blair likes to buy a year's supply of colored pencils and glue at the very end of summer. "You'll be so glad to pull out a fresh set of markers when February rolls around and you're making Valentines," she says. Art supplies make handy last-minute stocking stuffers and birthday gifts, too. Pick out something new for yourself while you're at it, like a fresh notebook or pen. Blair loves Michael Roger Decomposition Books, an updated-and 100% recycled-take on the classic black and white marbled composition notebooks.
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Read More »from Never Done That: Roasted GrapesPhoto: Armstrong Pitts StudiosBy Lynn Andriani
You tuck them in your lunch box or stash them in the freezer (like O's creative director Adam Glassman), but there's another delicious way to enjoy grapes, aside from in a glass at the end of a long day: roast them.
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A little sweet, a little sour, roasted grapes are an easy addition to many foods and dishes you're probably already making. Holly Smith, the chef at Cafe Juanita outside Seattle, folds them into risotto with hazelnuts and cheese.
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Brad Farmerie, of the restaurant Public in New York, spreads creme fraiche on a toasted scone and drizzles it with roasted grapes for a sweet-savory breakfast. Farmerie also spoons the grapes over ice cream, uses them as a finish to grilled chicken or pork, or tosses them with baby spinach, olive oil and crispy pancetta.
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And the recipe could not be simpler...
Holly Smith's Recipe for Roasted Grapes4 Signs You Should Rent Instead of Buy a Home
By Oprah.com | Financially Fit – Thu, Sep 1, 2011 5:44 PM EDT
Read More »from 4 Signs You Should Rent Instead of Buy a Home
Photo: ThinkstockBy Suze Orman
Just because you can buy a home or condo doesn't mean you should. Here are some instances in which renting makes more sense.
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1. You have credit card debt or you have yet to save 10 to 20 percent for a down payment. I know FHA-insured loans allow down payments of just 3.5 percent. But I have a higher bar for you to clear: If you have credit card debt and haven't saved for a sizable down payment, you are not yet ready to own.
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2. You envision moving within five to seven years. When you buy a home, you owe the real estate agent nothing. When you sell, however, you pay the full agent's fee, which is typically 6 percent. Add in the other costs of closing a sale and the cost of moving, and it's very possible that leaving your home too soon could eat up close to 10 percent of its sale price. Here's something else to consider: Depending on where you live, it could still be a year or two before home
Read More »from Physical Therapy for Your Lady Parts
Photo: ThinkstockBy Corrie Pikul
When something's not right "down there," it affects how we feel everywhere else. Fortunately, there's a growing field of medicine devoted to treating these unique complications. Practitioners of women's health physical therapy help women (and some men) who have problems with sexual intercourse, urination, fertility, pregnancy preparedness, postpartum recovery and cancer recovery. They deal with the stuff we're too embarrassed to talk about, and because they've seen it all, they can reassure patients that their issues are at least treatable, if not always curable.
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This specialty started in 1995, when a group of orthopedic physical therapists recognized that their clinics were filling up with women whose concerns weren't being addressed. Women's heath physical therapists (WHPT) are often the problem solvers that gynecologists, obstetricians, urologists and other doctors call when confronted with a gender-specific medical mystery,5 Ways to Make Fights with Your Partner Work For, Not Against You
By Oprah.com | Love + Sex – Wed, Aug 31, 2011 6:04 PM EDT
Read More »from 5 Ways to Make Fights with Your Partner Work For, Not Against You
Photo: Thinkstock1. Consider your most recent argument. At what point did you sense yourself getting "hooked"-caught up in emotions that might have felt very familiar? What was the situation? What did your partner say or do that sent you over the edge?
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2. Now try to remember the first argument you had in this relationship. (Because it was a milestone, most couples can remember. If you can't, pick any early argument. And if you're one of those couples who "never" argue, then work with your first disappointment.) Without focusing on the surface issues, look for the pattern. Do you see any similarities in the feelings that came up?
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3. Realize that your recurrent argument is telling you something about your deep past. It may take a while to tap into this "something." Be patient. Stay with the feelings. Write in your journal. Talk to close friends or family members. Look at old photographs. BeforeThere Will Be Tears: The Three Minute Movie Bawl
By Oprah.com | Work + Money – Wed, Aug 31, 2011 5:08 PM EDT
Read More »from There Will Be Tears: The Three Minute Movie BawlPhoto: ThinkstockBy Leigh Newman
My toddler has a blue fabric banner that hangs on the wall at home. On the banner is a little bear with a blank face. Below him are little pockets, containing all the different faces you can stick on the blank one: the sad face, the happy face, the silly face, the sick face, the angry face. This is supposed to teach my son about emotions (as if life doesn't do that already). However, one face is missing: the movie-sad face.
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A good movie-sad, as we all know, is totally different than a regular sad-in that you get all that sorrow and grief without having to actually lose or break up with anybody. Movie-sadness will stay with you over time,too, causing you to cry openly, should you remember a certain scene while spacing out a work or should you hear the theme song by accident (The Way We Were? Love Story? Anybody? Everybody?)
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A few weeks ago, Scientific American reported on the film clip most
Photo: Gregor HalendaNars Nail Polish in Galion
A deep smoky gray.
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$17; Narscosmetics.com
Photo: Gregor Halenda
Sonia Kashuk Nail Colour in Mauving on Up
A classic dusty mauve.
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$5; Target.com
Photo: Gregor Halenda
Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Brick House
A subtly shimmering rust.
$16; DeborahLippmann.com
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Photo: Gregor Halenda
L'oréal Paris Pro Manicure Nail Polish in Mystery
A very pretty putty (really!).
Note: For each polish sold, L'oréal will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
$5; drugstoresRELATED: How to Stretch Your Summer Wardrobe
Photo: Gregor Halenda
Sparitual Nail Lacquer in Running with Wolves
A rich shiny copper.
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$10; Sparitual.com
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Read More »from At Last: A Map of HappinessPhoto: Kelly Johnston, Scholars' Lab, UVA LibraryBy Leigh Newman
Earlier this month, the New York Times profiled a project being run by the Scholar's Lab at the University of Virginia. Kelly Johnston, a geographic information systems specialist, created a series of maps that used Census Data to calculate the Jeffersonian ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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The "life" map was made by color-coding areas of the country according to their life expectancy at birth statistics (the south, unfortunately, faired poorly in this area). The "liberty" map was made by color-coding areas according to their incarceration rates (not so free: Nevada, Texas, the panhandle of Florida and Colorado) The "pursuit of happiness" map, however, was based on "the ratio of arts, entertainment, and recreation establishments to the total population."
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