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.
These sugars may not be as soft and moist as more refined brown sugars. Refined brown sugar is made by adding molasses back to refined white sugar. This is the commercial brown sugar that is soft and moist and what is commonly thought of as brown sugar, so we'll focus in on this type and how it's used.