I haven't followed many of these recipe threads, inquiring minds want to know: What kind of chowdah can we hope C will bring? HINT noted, thus I'm not hijacking, much ;-) I'm talking a single combo jelly to be used as a condiment. Annette, You & I may well be the only 2 on this thread who have access to quince (I grow 'cuz it's a lovely shrub with forceable branches in late spring), the fruit has a high pectin content, so gels readily, but we will admit it's inedible on its own, too sour? Tart apples are also good. --Pepper Jelly-- Take your Paradise Jelly recipe & method, omit cranberries, add 2+ Tbsp minced jalapenos. (That's mild, I go 4 Tablespoons, a confessed hot-a-holic) Needless to say, but I will: wash hands thoroughly with soap after handling hot peppers, before rubbing eyes. Reduce sugar to 2-1/2 -3 cups (to taste, it's a savory). Some folks add 2 drops of green or red food coloring right before bottling, but I'm a purist. Expect only 4 cups; I do in 4 oz. jars. Good as a chicken baste. For cracker spread maybe 1 part jelly to 2 parts cream cheese. Variation: forget peppers, use lots of mint instead. Good on lamb. You've found me out: I'm a seat-of-the-pants cook when it comes to exact recipes except baking. I season to taste, keeping in mind that both sweet and hot flavors are more pronounced when made than when served cooler. Great tip about the string in paraffin, Annette: I now use the self-sealing lids, but used to wash the wax and reuse. Ana

"I'm curious since the topic has come up - could those who have eaten fresh Mangosteen share their experience of the taste? I ate one I bought in a grocery store in the NE (US) a few years ago - it cost $4 which I thought was ludicrous at the time, but I bought it anyway because I had never tried one before and I make it a habit to try every new fruit I come across. This was before my forays into tropical fruit growing, so I had never heard of the hype at the time. I thought it tasted like Lychee - good but I was not that impressed. I could buy a whole bunch of lychees for $4! However, it may not have been in very good shape considering what it went through to get to that store and wait for someone adventurous to buy it, so maybe that assessment is not a fair one. A few years later and here I am growing one that I bought for some $150 including shipping - it's 3ft tall, and thus far healthy, but it's early yet. I feel a little foolish, chasing after this dream for something that maybe isn't even that amazing, and is expensive to try to keep alive. I know, that's blasphemous to say! But can anyone here actually confirm that they think this is the best-tasting fruit in the world, worth all this trouble to try to fruit successfully? Or is this just the impossible dream, a crazed hobby for those like myself with some ego to feed? I adore so many other fruits - is Mangosteen really worth the work outside of its natural habitat? Does it live up to the hype? Or is the joy all in the chase?..." ok, I had ate many, fresh in Saigon, Vietnam. I must say I agreed to the name Queen of Fruit. It's far from similar to Lychee taste at its best. It's the queen both for its taste and it's not an easy plant to grow and have fruit, even in the tropic. Even in Vietnam only a certain area in the south grow them and no other places in the same county could grow them successfully. I can't describe the taste; I think one just have to try it fresh -- in VN or Thai or Malaysia.

The funny thing about the microwave - that is the third stand in the third location (each one had to be made to fit). Originally the MW was to go where the wall oven ended up. This all happened because I fell in love with a tile mural I wanted behind the stove (bought it too, back in 2004) and it would not work with my current range (high back). So I started looking at slide-in electric ranges. That is when I stumbled on this site and learned about Induction. The options for slide-in induction ranges is some what limited - but I was set on an induction cooktop by this time, so I started considering a seperate wall oven. The more I thought about it the more I felt two ovens would be great (and I know I will use them both). Then I had to move things around to fit the wall oven in, and decided the best place (where it would not stick out in the way) was next to the fridge where the MW was going. . . Then we needed to find a new place for the MW and it's been moved around quite a bit in the last four months. The MW works great where it is now, but it totally messes up the upper cabinets that were suppose to go along that wall with the range hood. I'm still not sure how I'm going to change things to make it work - I have not even wanted to think about that for some time. DH is dead set against a MW under the counter. And now, since I've totally changed things from what I thought I wanted several years ago, I may not even use that tile I bought that started the whole thing! We've been at this so long, the cabinets are the originals from the old kitchen- we moved the kitchen into the old dining room, the dining room into the den and the den/main bath to where the kitchen was, after builing an addition on that end of the house. We started back in 2004 . . . As to the oven next to the fridge, the cabinet is oversized to allow for more circulation and all the research I did said this should be fine. If it makes that particular fridge die sooner, that might not be a bad thing . . . Psychologically, getting the wall oven installed was a huge step for me. I feel like we are now on the downward slope of getting the kitchen finished. Cathy

One of our fine ladies pointed me here from the conversation page when I asked what I missed while I was away. I think it is a great Idea. This week I WILL! 1) Get caught up on Birthday Blocks (other forum) and start on August blocks. 2) Finish July BOM, start extra block, and start piecing top! 3) Wash new BOM fabric so it is ready for the next round. 4) Start baby quilts for Hannah(due October) and Sarah (Born June 26) 5) Buy/find a rubbermaid to store project linus quilts in between drop off/pickup - call pickup lady and get more labels - also ask her if it is ok to put up pics of blankets as some are beautiful!