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Jean Blanchard

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Posts posted by Jean Blanchard

  1. So far - Eggplant, Jalapenos, Red Peppers, Cherry Cluster Tomatoes, Yellow Heirloom tomatoes(can't remember the name), Early Girls and my pride and joy - Italian Gnarly looking tomatoes that I grow from seeds that I brought back from a farmers tomatoes in Italy 4 years ago. I call them Guido's (the farmers name).

    Herbs: Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Marjoram, Basil (two kinds), Parsley, Cilantro, Dill, Lemon Verbena, Tarragon, Lemon Mint, Spearmint, Chamomile, Chervil, Savory, Salad Burnett.

    Salad: 4 kinds, can't remember their names and Swiss Chard.

  2. I can second Tra Vigne. It's also very pretty and a great place to sit in the courtyard and have a glass of wine before dinner. Don't forget about Mustards Grill. Not as prettty but the food was good two years ago. Heading out to Napa/Sonoma again in the fall so it's nice to get more restaurant ideas here.

  3. Can you specify what area you'll be visiting? Lisbon, Algarve, Oporto, etc... ?

    At this point, we're flexible. Flying into Lisbon and moving on from there. We have about 9 days and we're trying to figure out if we should pick two areas to stay in (eliminating packing and unpacking constantly) and just see what's reasonable to see from each point. That's what we did in Tuscany and since we had a kitchen, we were also able to visit markets and cook. Is that a reasonable thing to do in Portugal? I love to go to the markets and hate it when I can't cook!

    jb

  4. You can get the tiles cut to the size of your oven rack at your local tile store. Once in a while they break when cleaning but they're so cheap that it's no big deal. I've used the Julia Child method for baking bread for years and it's the best. I find that even if I don't always create the steam, having the tiles and spraying bread with a fine mist of water several times at the beginning of the baking gives you a great product. If you do that, you won't need the expensive hearth oven.

    jb

  5. Definitely plant lemon verbena. The smell alone is worth it. Last year, I made lemon verbena ice cream, liquore, chicken and the list goes on. Rosemary, planted in a container, always survives for me all winter. Basil should be pinched back often and frozen if you can't use what you pinch so you'll have it all winter. You can make pesto and freeze in ice cube trays to use small amounts.

  6. Chicken and Dumplings. Cookie smells are ok and everthing, but chicken and dumplings, well...I would think pretty hard about buying a house trailer with a broken washing machine in the front yard and an old car seat from a 70 Nova on the front porch if they had a good batch of chicken and dumplings going on the stove.

    :laugh: Mayhaw Man, I just found out that they are moving here from Lafayette, Louisiana. Maybe you're on to something?

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