Q: You can purchase octopus at seafood markets or specialty Asian stores.   First, you will need to poach the octopus. This means you will submerge the octopus in a poaching liquid such as water or stock. Poach for about 13 minutes per pound. Let the octopus cool in the poaching liquid. Once cool, remove the skin by rubbing it with a paper towel. It should come away easily. Sear the outside of the skinned octopus in a skillet or grill for about 8 minutes per side. If sliced thin, only sear the octopus for 2 minutes per side. You will need to do this with a sharp knife on a cutting board. This recipe calls for 3.5-5 ounces of cooked octopus but this amount may vary according to your tastes.  Cut the octopus into small pieces. Most recipes call for 1/2 inch cubes of octopus.   The chunks of octopus need to be small so several can fit into each piece of takoyaki. Set aside in a large bowl. They will need to be ground into a fine consistency. This recipe uses about 1/4 cup of the flakes.   You can do this using a mortar and pestle. Place the flakes into the mortar and grind them with the pestle by scraping and pushing against the mortar. Alternatively, you can use an electric spice grinder. These include: 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of kombucha, and 1 tsp baking powder.  Put all of these in a medium sized glass bowl. Whisk together the dry ingredients to make sure they are evenly mixed. If you do not adequately mix the dry ingredients you can get clumps of baking powder in the batter. This can cause parts of your batter to have an unpleasant taste. Make sure this is evenly whisked.  Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Use a whisk to stir the mixture. Whisk until the egg is evenly mixed into the dry ingredients. Whisk as you do so to make a smooth batter.   The batter should be about the thickness and consistency of pancake batter. If the batter appears too thin, add a small amount of flour and whisk thoroughly. If the batter appears too thick, add a small amount of dashi stock and mix.
A: Prepare your octopus if you have purchased it fresh rather than cooked. Chop up the cooked octopus. Grind some katsuobushi flakes. Combine the dry ingredients of the recipe. Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. Add the dashi stock slowly, a little at a time.

Q: If your veterinarian diagnoses your dog with roundworms, he or she will prescribe a medication to kill the roundworms. There are many available deworming agents (e.g., fenbendazole, piperazine, ivermectin), so your veterinarian will choose the medication and dosage that will work best for your dog. If you have a very young puppy, he will need to be treated every two weeks until he is two months old, and then monthly until he is six months old.  Although unpleasant, you may see dead or dying roundworms in your puppy’s feces. If you have the puppy’s mom at home, she will need to be treated at the same time as the puppy. This will kill any larvae that may migrate to her milk and cause the puppy to be re-infected. Follow the prescribing instructions carefully to ensure effective treatment. After your dog finishes the treatment, your veterinarian will probably want to test his feces several more times to confirm successful treatment. Your veterinarian will determine when those follow up appointments should take place. During the complicated life cycle of roundworms, the eggs will develop into larvae that essentially entomb themselves into different body tissues. After a while, they emerge, migrate through the body, and develop into adult roundworms. The deworming agent will kill the adult roundworms. However, since the larvae will be emerging and developing at different times, the medication needs to be given every few weeks to kill all of the adult roundworms.
A: Treat your dog with a deworming agent. Schedule follow up appointments with your veterinarian. Understand how a deworming agent works.

Q: This method requires adult supervision because working with the knife can be dangerous. Because you are working with a hard-boiled egg, you do not need a sharp knife. It needs to be slender enough to fit through the mouth of the bottle.  Make sure the knife is long enough to reach into the bottle and cut the egg. This method does not keep the egg intact after removal. Reach into the bottle with the knife and cut the egg into pieces that will be small enough to fit through the mouth of the bottle. The smaller the pieces, the easier it will be to remove them from the bottle. If you don’t have a knife, you can also use a spoon to break up the egg into pieces. Turn the bottle upside down and shake out the pieces. Hit the bottom of the bottle to get as much out as possible. Hold the bottle over a garbage can during this process to make clean-up easier. You may not be able to get every little bit out, but this will get the larger pieces out. You can get the rest out by washing the bottle. If you want to use this bottle for anything in the future, you will need to rinse it out. There will likely be residue from the egg stuck to the sides of the bottle. Fill the bottle with warm water and swirl it around to remove the remaining egg. Add some dish soap to really get the bottle clean.
A: Obtain a knife. Cut the egg into small pieces. Remove the egg pieces from the bottle. Rinse out the bottle to reuse.

Q: Take your potatoes to the sink and rinse them under cold water, rubbing them as they rinse to clean them. If you want the potatoes to cook with the skin on, leave it. If you want skin off, hold the potato with your nondominant hand underneath. Stick the 2 blades on your potato peeler at the top of the potato and drag it down at a 45-degree angle to peel a length of skin. Repeat this process for each section of each potato.  You can use a clean produce brush to scrub your potatoes if you’d like. This will leave them really clean, although this is usually unnecessary. Boiling potatoes in the microwave is not the preferred method, since the microwave tends to heat items unevenly. The major benefit of this method is that you free up a burner if you’re making a particularly big meal. Glass is always going to be a safe bet, and unpainted ceramic will usually work as well. Check the bottom of a bowl or dish to see if it says “microwave safe.” Any microwavable container will work with your potatoes. Stick your potatoes in the bowl or container and fill it with room-temperature water until the potatoes are fully submerged.  If a dish doesn’t say “microwave safe,” look for 3 squiggly lines, usually accompanied by 2-3 circles on the right. This is the symbol indicating that a dish is microwavable. You can add a pinch of salt if you’d like, but the results won’t be very noticeable when compared to stove-top boiling. Refold the plastic wrap over the bowl and put your oven mitts back on if you took them off to stir. Carefully lift the bowl back into the center of your microwave and close the door. Heat the bowl on high for an additional 5 minutes. If you’re cooking smaller potatoes and they feel relatively soft when you were stirring them, try heating them on low for 4 minutes and then test them with your fork. Place a colander in your sink and lift the bowl while wearing a pair of oven mitts. Slowly pour the bowl into the colander to drain your potatoes. Let the potatoes cool or use tongs to put them into the pot or pan that you’re going to use to continue cooking them.
A:
Clean your potatoes and peel them if you want the skin off. Place your potatoes in a large, microwave-safe bowl and fill it with water. Return your potatoes to the microwave for an additional 5 minutes. Drain your potatoes in a colander and let them cool.