With the crazy cold weather we've had this spring more often than not (its cold rain again today), I doubt the evening primrose have come into bloom yet Edna. The Brassicaceae would be up in bloom well before the Onagraceae on the Mojave. The two most common yellow species around here are O. primiveris and C. californica. The californica could be called weedy looking, but not the primiveris. BTW, the main reason I used to pay attention to this group of plants had nothing to do with Lepidoptera. When I lived in St. George, Utah I was a member of the Utah Dept of Ag team that did the spring Gopherus agassizii counts. The desert tortoise in that area fairly reliably timed their emergence from their winter burrows in the spring to the blooming of two specific species of sand primroses that grew in that area. They rely on the blooms for a substantial feast at that time of year with the grasses just starting to come up. Anyway, that was the best time to get fairly accurate counts of an areas total DT population. I also did raptor and lepidopteran studies for several years for the UDA for a new wildlife preserve they were designating in that area mainly to protect critical habitat for DT's, Golden Eagles and two particular species of Lepidoptera. Lots of fun... miss those days.

Thanks for the tip, Greg. =) I like Queen palms, I've just heard that they can be high maintenance when fully mature, and also I'm looking for something more challenging to grow as well (such as cocos in Orlando). I don't want what the guy next door and all the way down the block have...gotta try some unique and fun stuff as well. =) I had a blast this past winter in Chicagoland trying to keep a washie alive in the ground---it made it just fine with protection until late Jan/early Feb when we hit minus 10F a couple nights straight. A coconut in zone 9b Orlando is really just 1 zone (if even that) out of its recommended growing environment, so it should be relatively easy with only minor protection required on the rarest of occasions. Last year they didn't even drop below 34F, which lasted just one night from what I've heard.

My husband and I just returned from a weekend getaway with just such a situation as you describe..."fully equipped" kitchen and with us in the mode of hanging out watching the sun set over the ocean rather than driving into town to eat etc. We do this twice a year, for a long weekend, and I've gotten quite expert. The accouterments of the "fully equipped" kitchen tend to change, so I always bring some basics. The important thing is to remember is kitchen items can play double roles in situations like this. A frypan can double as a lid for a large pot, a mixing bowl can serve as a serving dish or a soup tureen. Ziplock bags are your friends. And a roll of saran wrap and foil can save you in any number of problem situations. I find it helpful to write out a menu listing for all meals. Saturday breakfast, Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner...etc. Once this is accomplished, it is much easier to think about what special utensils or seasonings you might need to bring. The menu, once written, is not chiseled into stone by any means, but it gives you a framework for packing. When you visualize making any given meal, you will find yourself suddenly remembering that you would need this or that which you hadn't thought of. I have also found it a good idea to pack a few food items to cover, "just in case." Tins of smoked oysters, sardines, pate, Vienna sausages, crackers, a can or two of fruit, olives, pickles,some cheese, a few Top Ramens or Cup O'Noodles, cans of Campbell's soup, chili or pork and beans. Whatever quickie foods your family would eat without mutiny. These come in handy for the unexpected incident or the instance where the one whom everyone depends on to cook gets a bad headache or something.

Thanksgiving is the only day we eat turkey. The rest of the time, give me a roast capon or a duck prepared almost any way at all. DH and I are just not turkey lovers. My niece makes a very fine brined and roasted turkey, but once a year is enough for us. We're sauce and gravy people. Stews, braises, casseroles - we love them. I do a fair amount of cooking and a lot of dining out, and we hold that a fine sauce is a work of art. Even though we eat a lot of steaks and roasts, a great sauce is always to be admired. There are too many bad ones around to not acknowledge when something is done correctly. One of our favorite restaurants does a great poached monkfish. This is the fish known as "the poor man's lobster" for both its taste and texture. It's a great little fish, with wonderful flavor. But nap it with Amoricaine sauce, and it rises to a whole 'nother level. This is a Bretonnese classic, and for good reason. Red wine and marrow Bordelaise on a rib-eye? Absolutely! Black truffle cream sauce on a filet? Yum! Mop that goodness up with a well made starch - roasted fingerling potatoes, barley risotto, fresh pasta, freshly baked bread rolls. Gravy and sauce was the way to extend meat to feed a lot of people. Most of the world still loves sauced dishes as treasured childhood memories. Like soup, they are warmth and comfort, soothing and homey. Chicken strips that are velveted and steamed with lop cheong sausage (classic Chinese technique) are stunningly tender, almost as soft as sous vide but we like the flavor and texture better. Perfect with a roasted garlic-oyster sauce gravy over lots of rice! Far better than stir-frying or roasting. As Charles Phan of The Slanted Door restaurant in SF points out in today's WSJournal, steaming is considered the ultimate test of a professional chef in Asia. Getting back to the NY Times' and Pepin's suggestions for steaming, one of the greatest dishes in Chinese cuisine is steamed sliced chicken breast with thin slices of Hunan ham. My mother introduced me to this dish (she took classes from one of the leading Chinese restaurateurs in San Francisco) and it still ranks with DH and me as one of the three finest poultry dishes we've had in our 45 yrs of dining. A glaze should always be light. Heavy-handedness is the mark of a bad cook. Peking Duck would not be the same without the glaze applied, for example.