Beginning Saturday, when off-peak round-trip rail discounts are discontinued and NJ Transit fare hikes go into effect system-wide, an off-peak round trip from Long Branch to New York Penn Station goes from $20.50 to $30.
A quicker way to soften brown sugar is to put a moist paper towel in a plastic bag with the sugar and microwave it for 20 seconds. If you are leery about microwaving plastic, you could also put the sugar in a glass or ceramic bowl with a moist paper towel and cover it with a lid or plate.
Measure the brown sugar, pack it down, allow it to dry and harden and it's almost indistinguishable from a block of palm sugar. To use it, grate it into your recipe or melt it with a liquid. Or you could check an Indonesian or Thai grocery for coconut sugar (the sap from the coconut palm, not because it tastes like coconut). Reply. No need to email me as additional answers are added to this question.