Hi Annie and everyone else that attended the swap today.

I"m sorry that I left without saying goodbye. I went outside and it was raining pretty hard, hubby was taking down the easy up. I had made a deal that if he took me to the swap, I would leave at 12:30 so he could watch the patriots game. I was late....hahaha. We left at 1 which is a heck of a lot earlier than he thought he'd get out of there. He's happily watching his game now and I'm headed outside to find homes for my new plants.

Thanks for a great lunch

Lisa

It was another great swap, as always, Annie. Thank you!!

I always love just coming to share, so whenever anyone's at a swap with me, and you see something you like, just take it, and don't worry about an 'even trade' because I'm just glad to share what I have.

Food was awesome! Thank you to everyone who shares their culinary skills, since I have none. Hey, who brought those scone-like thingies? Those were wonderful...and the chili, and the onion soup, and the wine, and the tomato salad and and...

Sheila- it's chili for dinner at my house!

I hope everyone enjoys the seeds; THANKS for taking a huge bunch of them off my hands! Lord knows I'll never use them all.
Kathy- I found another whole bag of seeds when I got home that didn't make it to the swap, so if you want those creamsicle nasturtiums before the next swap, I can certainly mail them to you sometime during the winter so you'll have them early enough to get them started in the spring. You can email me privately and we can work that out.

Deanna- it was so nice to meet you, and as soon as I'm done typing here, I'm going over to Swallowtail to see what I want with our order. I have a list from the bulk section, but haven't googled them all yet. We won't have to worry about additional shipping at all then if you are frequently passing through on your way to Barrington. Excellent!

Lisa- a gal after my own heart...you crack me up with the whole 'can't pass up a sale' thing- LOL. I think we should start a support group.

Thank you to everyone for giving my plants new homes, and I hope they all do well for you! See you all in the spring!

What a great time. Thank you, Annie, and everyone who participated. I came home with some wonderful plants, enjoyed putting some faces to screen names, and enjoyed the terrific lunch.

I made a slight detour afterward to visit Mt Uncanoonuc Perennials to get a Cayuga vibrunum for my new shrub bed. I had never visited so late in the year so I was amazed at how beautiful their display gardens are in September. I also fell in love with a second shrub, a spirea with beautiful fall foliage that I might have walked by in the spring. Did I mention their 40% off sale and the $5 off coupon in the newsletter Annie forwarded. Both shrubs were the last of their lots. The nursery closes Oct 4.

Hi Everybody,

Annie, thank you for a wonderful swap. I got plenty of plants to give to my friend Pam, and one or two for myself. The food was excellent as usual and I'm hoping that you will post the onion soup recipe here on gardenweb. Also, the lovely lady who made the thai soup --please post that recipe also. That one was delish even though it has fish sauce in it.....ewe. Your home and barn are delightful -- beautiful in the mist. I'm so glad your primroses are getting larger. See you in the spring.

Hello Gardeners!

Annie, thank you for organzing and hosting this fall swap. I had a wonderful time and the rain didn't seem to slow things done a bit. I will be trying to plant everything over the next few days as I came home with a car load of plants just like in the spring!

The pot luck was scrumpious. And what a relaxing time with so many hearty laughs, and interesting conversations. So nice to put faces with email names!

Thank you again, Annie. And don't forget to let me know if you find yourself in my neck of the woods.

Debra, does that mean you made it home stomach intact? I hope so!

The swap was FANTASTIC!! I'm so excited about my garden, and now I have so many lovely things to start me off. I look forward to being a big contributor in the future rather than a big taker. Thanks to everybody for their generosity.

Tina, will wait to hear from you on the seeds. Thanks so much for heading all that up.

Recipe for those who want it:

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Notes: If you make the soup ahead of time, be sure to wait to add the coconut milk until just before you serve it, and don't overheat it with the cm in it. This tip is only because the cm will not be creamy, but will break into smaller cm curdles in the soup if overheated. Has absolutely NO affect on the taste, but it looks weird for company. ( I add the cm, chicken, and mushroom just before serving.) The red curry paste is the source of the heat. I put only a scant 3 T in the soup I brought, so beware of the amount you add! If you decide to make this soup often, or you make Asian food often, you'll save significant cash by getting the ingredients at an Asian food store in your area. Some things are 1/4 the price!

Heat over med heat till shimmering:
        1 T veg oil
Add, cook for 1 minute:
    2 T grated ginger
    3-6 T Thai red curry paste
Add 1/2 c. chicken broth and stir to dissolve curry paste, then add
    5 1/2 c more chicken broth (total of 6 c chicken broth)
    3 T fish sauce (Eeeeeewwwwwww!)
    1 T light brown sugar
and cook for 15 more minutes.
Add and cook for 3 minutes longer
    1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into thin 1" strips
    1/2 lb. sliced white mushrooms
    2 14 oz. cans coconut milk
Just before serving add
    3 T lime juice
    salt to taste

Serve with 1/2 c fresh cilantro for sprinkling.

That's it. Very easy, very fast.

Thanks again to everybody!

Deanna

It was a super time in spite of the weather.Thank you all for coming. You are such a SUPER GROUP.Thought you might enjoy these pictures. I'll get the recipe on for onion soup later

I forgot to mention that Deanna and Courtney stayed and took all the left over plants off my hands. Thank goodness. I can't stand to see a plant die. Their cars were chuck full, barely enough room for them to get into the cars and drive. Courtney told me she was going to plant hers at Bear Brook State Park.
I'm off now to plant all my treasures that I received from swap.

Hi All!!! heres the recipe for the blueberry crumb bars.
CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon ( I added a little more)
1 cup (2 sticks butter)cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup sliced almonds
FILLING
3 cups fresh(about 15 ounces) or one 12 ounce bag frozen blueberries do not thaw plus 1 cup blueberry preserve
1 tbs flour
1 tsp finely grated lemon peel
CRUST
preheat oven to 375F Butter bottom of 13x9x2 inch metal baking dish. Whisk flour,oats,sugar,salt and cinnamon in large bowl. Add 1 cup butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture sticks together in small clumps. Transfer 2 cups to medium bowl, mix in almonds and reserve for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture evenly in bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden and just firm to touch about 22 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes
FILLING
mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Spread evenly over crust in pan then sprinkle reserved topping over.
Bake bars until filling bubbles thickly at edges and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes

Thanks Sinbadsmom! I was hoping you wouldn't forget to share that recipe with us! I shall be baking that this weekend! Could you please also send the dip recipe too?

Here is the onion soup recipe
1and 1/2 pounds dry onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons salad or olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 quarts beef bouillon
1/2 cup dry white wine

1.Peel and cut onions in very thin slices. Melt butter and oil in heavy dutch oven. Add onions and simmer over low heat about 15 minutes.
2. sprinkle salt and sugar over onions. Raise heat to moderate and cook about 30 minutes stirring occasionally until onions are tender and have turned an even golden brown.
3. Sprinkle flour over top of onions and stir and cook for 2 minutes.
4 Stir in beef bouillon and wine.simmer for 30 or 40 minutes.
5 Serve piping hot with slices of toasted French bread and grated cheese
To make croutons slice the French bread, sprinkle olive oil on it and toast it in the oven for about 30 minutes until it is dry.
I make the soup a day ahead of time as it is better the second day.

Hope everyone got the recipes. I think this thread will fade away. See you all next Spring.
Annie

The holidays are coming and I bet someone would like these recipes if they didn't copy them the first time. I think Deanna's curry soup would be a good way to use up some forthcoming leftover turkey. And Annie's onion soup would make a nice change from too much turkey.
Everything was wonderful that day - food, company and plants.