By any chance can you tell me how to GET RID OF queen anne's lace? My neighbor (actually, it's my neighbor- behind-me 's neighbor) has this stuff and it's spreading into my yard. I pull, I've sprayed, it just won't go away.

Chocolate's not one of my favorite flavors, but even I love a good rich brownie. Or a chocolate cake with port sauce. The recipe is from Ficklin Cellars website. Um...*whistles*...I've never used Ficklin port in it. We usually buy other brands. Guess I shouldn't admit that, huh? Eh, maybe I'll buy a bottle one day to see how theirs is. The cake is good, though. FICKLIN PORT CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE This is a confection of chocolate sauce on dense-chocolate brownie-like wedges. It is a delicious and exotic dessert, with intense chocolate flavors in harmony with the spirit and vibrancy of Ficklin's port wine. Serves 12. 2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened baking chocolate 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Port chocolate sauce (recipe below) Coarsely chop chocolate squares. Heat butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until half melted. Add chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until chocolate and butter are melted and blended. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat with spoon after each addition until mixture is thoroughly combined and shiny. Stir in vanilla and salt. Stir in flour. Turn into a buttered 9-inch round layer cake pan and spread smooth. Bake in a 350 F. oven until slightly firm to touch and toothpick inserted in center shows mixture is a little moist, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack. To serve: Cut into wedges and top each with warm sauce. FICKLIN PORT CHOCOLATE SAUCE Combine in top part of double boiler over hot (not boiling) water 1 package (4 ounces) sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped, and 1/2 cup Ficklin Tinta Port. Heat and whisk until smooth. Makes about 1 cup, or topping for 6 to 8 dessert servings. Note: The sauce is the consistency of syrup. It is an excellent topping for vanilla ice cream, egg-white butter cake or pound cake.

My DH has been craving Cal-Mex food, so we've been hitting our fav taqueria a whole lot: shrimp quesadillas, carne asada nachos (lighter than most with queso fresco rather than melted Jack or Cheddar), chile verde plates. So it was my turn to pick, and since I was tired of Cal-Mex, I chose Eritrean (similar to Ethiopian). We started with beef samosas, lovely little deep-fried wraps with a super-spicy chile sauce that could blow the top of your head off! Gommen (braised collards), zigne (spicy beef cubes in red gravy), bamiya (stewed sliced okra--yum!), alitcha dinish (potatoes & carrots in turmeric gravy), birsin yemisir wot (stewed red lentils), doro alicha (chicken yellow curry) -- colorful little piles atop freshly-made injera; the spongy, sourdough-like pancake that serves as both bread and flatware. All of this is "eat with your fingers", fun and messy. With it we had two of their banana-fruit juice smoothies, a popular accompaniment to this cuisine.

Hot Cocoa? Peanut Butter cookies? Glendas recipe only needs 3 ingredients. Pixistixs cake? Hot Milk Cake - Pixistix Old fashioned, simple, melts in your mouth! 4 eggs 2 cups sugar 2 1/4 cups flour 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla 1 1/4 cups milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter Beat eggs and sugar well. Combine flour with bk. powder and add to egg mixture along with vanilla. Heat milk and butter together until butter melts; gradually add to batter, beating until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. I'm not sure where the recipe for the topping came from, but this is what Tara used: Brown Sugar Topping 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 T unsalted butter 3/4 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup chopped pecans Combine the brown sugar, whipping cream & butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until of spreading consistency. Stir in the pecans. Spread over the brownies or cake. Let stand 1 hour or until set. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes enough for an 8x8 pan.