CKatCook

I have the same situation in my yard up the road from you. You are on a good track. A lot of people see clay soil as a curse, but it does ha(all be it, few... ) This year I simply amended with manure /humus, and put down some 12-10-10, and some pine bark mulch and we will see what happens. So far my peas are very, very happy. (we will see about everything else soon) I realize the pine is a risk on the nitrogen, but I figure I am adding it back in with the fertilizer. Getting that stuff tilled in was a night mare!

This has been an interesting thread. I have been thinking of going on a very modified version of low carb for quite a while now, just never got up the "gumption" to give up bread and other high carb stuff. I did low carb a long time ago and I felt really good on it until I found it mess with my cycle. (I won't go into other details) so clearly my body didn't like the carbs going *that* low (I really went very low), but the rest of the time I felt wonderful! So something not as radical would be a nice alternative. Keeping the carbs on the high end of the count maybe the answer, I think. Around 100-125 a day. I hate to count calories with a passion, so maybe I can get some where only counting the carbs, or maybe it is just a trade off, I don't know.

I built my cold frame this weekend. I am excited because this is going to make hardening off them seeds so much easier! Swiss chard, lettuce, peas are already in...

Interesting, so the containers restrict the roots, which restrict the growth? I am thinking of going to get a peach and a pear since they are in the stores now.

That is because wine keeps you from running to the chocolate because of stress. LOL and it helps make a person want to shop, so you get the exercise in at the same time.

WOOOOHOOO! I love the list! I am not at all surprised some of them want to come back. It didn't seem like a one of them didn't have a good time.

Are these dwarf trees? I have been wanting to pot up some dwarf varieties in containers.

A couple kinds really. I have a patch for mesclun greens and two different kinds of leaf, a green and red. It's a Burpee mix pack of Black seeded simpson, lolla rossa, red salad bowl, royal oak leaf, salad bowl. I have to get the other raised bed in this soon, but snow is in the forecast for Saturday, so looks like that will wait. So I will bake bread.

I got my seeds going for my eggplant, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, chard. I am getting my lettuce and spinach sowed outdoors this weekend. I will start my herbs early next month, I like to wait till last frost on those.

I always watch the cupcake, bake @ 375. Take them out when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Should they be left slightly under cooked? The recipes I use are the ones listed in the King Arthur Baking Companion. Now I hunted down some of the cupcake shop "sprinkles" recipes, they have a lot more fat I noticed....Just an observation..

I have been experimenting with cupcakes lately and using just a cake recipe (various ones, not any one in particular), baked in cupcake pan. But they always turn out a little dry for some reason. So I am wondering this, formula wise, how is a cupcake different than a cake? Can the baker's percentage apply like in bread? (so I can do the math on several recipes and then see if the fat content is higher, which is my first guess...) Is it the foil paper cups I use, I used white paper last time and the same thing happened. A bit on the dry side. thanks!

oh me too, I have never had mac and cheese that way, but now it is a must try! This thread is making me look at things I have not touched in years in a new light as well. thought of another one, coffee mate creamers that come in liquid form, and are all different flavors, I think international coffees makes some as well...love them.

Ok, here is the list: I grew up eating boiled chicken skin. Yep, I eat boiled chicken skin, heavily salted. To this day I will snatch it off the chicken before shredding it into something I am making. It was the only way my mother knew to cook chicken, so that is how we ate it. I like underwood deviled ham, and spam - chopped up in kraft mac & cheese. Prefer veleeta, which makes the best queso..if you add sausage and rotel tomatos. We like pizza rolls, frozen pizzas (dipped in ranch dressing) whoppers, big macs, spagetti o's in the can, manwhich. lunchables sometimes. I don't see the fasination with truffles, the oil, the truffle, I just don't get it...I tried the oil once, and my throat locked up and refused to let me swallow the taste was awful. I don't feel much shame about it, really the only thing on the list I cringe at is the chicken skin.

I am sorry I don't have any pictures, but I made jalapeno chedder bread. Turned out like heaven!

Broccoli rabe, homemade sausage, home smoked bacon, homemade black pepper pasta, beef bourgion, homemade bolognase, homemade puff pastry. All basic stuff, but was new to me!

I saw this last night. What beautiful work!! Amazing!

I am getting tired, but having too much fun to stop now. Yesterday after work it was chocolate chip cookies and egg nogg cupcakes. Today it is candy to send to a friend, snicker doodles. My hubby came home yesterday and commented that he is tired of the sweet smell in the house. LOL.

I am an asian, southern, tex-mex, with fanstatic deserts cook, who loves nothing more than losing myself experimenting with food. (now that I have a new tagine, this may change )

Oh man, am I guilty of this! Multiple cooking projects. The long slow meat braise, the complicated dessert that will not wait. The sudden craving for homemade brioche. Yep, do this all the time, mostly to avoid housework.

I have been watching this thread carefully, then much to my happy surprise my wonderful dear hubby bought me a tagine for christmas! Now I have to figure out how to use it and learn a whole new style of cooking. I am so stoked....

Wow, there is so many directions you could go with this, but one thing I always like to do is samosas, carmel popcorn, hot cocoa, bread sticks that I have made and wraped a thin strip of prosciutto around before baking, various olives, or an olive tapenade with chips to dip, spiced nuts. If you wanted more sweets, what is better than classic iced sugar cookies.

My fingers ache from all the stiring and rolling I am several days down in my 12 cookies of Christmas and I got a head start by making doughs to freeze. I made some peppermint bark, peanut butter chocolate shortbread, chocolate chip, brownie pops, snickerdoodle, peanut brittle, white chocolate oatmeal cranberry cookies. This week I have egg nogg cupcakes, and gingerbread to make. Then one more week to go! .....everything looks so beautiful that everyone has made! I have one of those books! The recipes are simply "oldies but goodies".

I am sending my best friend somethings that she requested. She requested sweet and chocolate, so...chocolate brioche, fudge, brownie pops, homemade chocolate marshmellows. She wanted a sugar buzz, she got one comming.

Homemade marshmellows, shortbread, I also like the fruit pie, fruit tart idea. Heck, fruit tart with marshmellow fluff (hehehe)You could match the fluff with some fruit that is dominate in the tart. Then put it on a shortbread crust. Ok, it's early....

I always just put mine on a silpat. I will have to try parchment, it will keep from tying up my silpat.