Hi Gardeng8, Signet here ......if you are handing out recipes, would you mind sending your "salsa without the corn in it " recipe my way too please. Also , many many thanks for the very many plants and the card and thoughts , I appreciate it . To all: I am literally in plant heaven . Thanks to you all . I cant believe how lucky I am to be given so many wonderful plants from everyone . I have put my babies underlights for a while ( interestingly out here in the country we are still having quite cold nights ) so for the next little while , the really tiny ones are under lights and in the house . And what a selection of plants I have !!!!!!!!! Now to find the right spots for them all . Blueiris: Cant thank you enough for the lilies and all the trades ! I am totally excited about adding these to my gardens ....I do have some (probably 2 dozen or more ) Poet's Narcissus left over that I dug up and didnt get potted up so If you still want to add more to your gardens let me know cuz they can just as easily get dropped off at your place rather than placed back in the ground here and it will give me a spot to put some of the items I got yesterday ( Please say yes!!!!!!!) I would have brought them yesterday but ran out of time to pot and room to transport. I was still potting at 10:30 yesterday and due to be at the swap for 11 a.m. Many many thanks for the tomato cages !!!!!!!! cant thank you enough ! Daldak, just so you know , I explain it this way , I am not responsible for what I leave with every year , everyone else is LOL ! All the garden webbers are plant enablers HA HA HA and yes I am a plantaholic . Thanks for the many trades we made . Just a note: I made it out to Bev's plant sale just before the swap and I would just like to say that if any of you get a chance to go visit her gardens you will enjoy them . She has many interesting and unusual plants and I enjoyed myself immensely wandering around lusting after many of the plants she has and her soil too . LOL ! Signet

Hi Lynn, I miss all y'all, too. This has been the hottest, driest summer I've ever known in my 56 years. I started out this spring buying and planting LOTS of plants to help slow soil errosion on my hillside, then spent every morning watering to keep them alive while I prayed for the well to not go dry! I'm sending up prayers for your DS and his safe return. Our DS was in for the weekend. He is supposed to head to Afganistan in Jan, if not before. We are praying he won't have to go and he is looking forward to it. Haven't bought any dishes. Haven't taken down the last tablescape because I have NOWHERE to put the dishes. We squeezed in 6 days at the beach on a packed calendar. It was the first vacation for us since Alfred's accident in '08. Just the 3 of us for 4 days before DS got bored with us old folks and DD brought the DGSs for a couple of days. Thank Goodness! There is only so much playing in the ocean with a 16 year old boy this old girl can handle before crashing! School starts here next Monday. I hate it! I haven't had enough time with my Boys this summer. I've tried a few new recipes, but no pictures. Just happy males with huge appetites. Catch ya later, Betty

How long a drive is that? I'd ask at the Recipe Exchange too. This should be fine for a side dish. I've made it lots & it's always a hit: SWEET & SOUR SQUASH (serves 8) 4 small zucchini 4 small yellow squash 1/2 cup chopped celery 1 red onion, chopped fine 1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped 1 cup sherry wine vinegar (white wine vinegar works) 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 dup olive oil 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper Slice the zucchini & yellow squash paper-thin into a large shallow bowl. Add the celery, red onion & bell pepper. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil & stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour the dressing over the vegetables while still hot. Cover & marinate at room temperature or chill overnight. Drain & serve.~~ If you've got a cooler, this would be perfect because it's best made 2 days ahead: PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE 3 cups finely ground gingersnaps 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted Two 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened 5 eggs 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 16 oz can solid-pack pumpkin 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground mace 1/4 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup brandy 2 cups sour cream 1/4 cup granulated sugar Preheat oven to 350. Combine the gingersnap crumbs, confectioners' sugar & melted butter in a bowl & mix thoroughly. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom & up the sides of an ungreased 9" springform pan. Beat the cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, the brown sugar, pumpkin, spices, vanilla & 1/4 cup of the brandy to the cream cheese & mix until smooth. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared pan & bake 40 minutes or until the edge of the cheesecake begins to pull away from the side of the pan. Remove the cheesecake from the oven & reset the temperature to 400°. Whisk together the sour cream, sugar & remaining 1/4 cup of brandy in a small bowl. Spread the sour cream mixture over the hot cheesecake, return to the oven & bake 10 minutes more. Cool to room temperature, cover & refrigerate in the pan overnight or up to 4 days. Remove sides of the pan before seriving.~~ From Savor the Brandywine Valley. It said it won a prize in Creative Cooking's cheesecake contest. FRESH AUTUMN PEAR BREAD 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh ripe pears, skin left on Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9" loaf pan. In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the eggs & vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda & nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing gently but thoroughly. Gently stir in the pears. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean.~~ Again, if you have a cooler this would work also: SUN-DRIED TOMATO BREAD 2 cloves garlic 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes 1 bunch green onions 2 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 5 oz Provolone cheese, grated 3/4 tsp dried rosemary 3/4 tsp pepper 1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted 2 TBL Crisco (room temperature) 2 TBL sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/4 cups buttermilk Preheat oven to 350°. Grease one 9" loaf pan or three 4x3x2" pans. In a small saucepan, cook the garlic in boiling water to cover for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, drain & chop the tomatoes, reserving 2 TBL of the oil. Slice the green onions thin & include 1" of the green part. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt & baking soda. Add the cheese, green onions, rosemary, pepper, sun-dried tomatoes & pine nuts. Toss the mixture until combined. In a small bowl, whisk together the shortening, reserved oil & sugar until the mixture is smooth. When teh garlic has finished cooking, drain, peele & mash it with a fork. Add to the shortening mixture along with the eggs & buttermilk. Add the shortening mixture to the flour mixture & blend until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the middle of the oven until a cake tester comes out clean, 25-30 minutes for the small loaves, 45-50 minutes for the large loaf. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn onto the rack & cool completely. The bread keeps, wrapped tightly in foil & refrigerated for up to 4 days.~~

Finished up Spook by Mary Roach, an in-depth and irreverant look at the world of mediums, ghosts etc. Very funny (as she always is) and interesting, but more of a pick-up and put-down book really so it took a while to finish. Finished The People of Privilege Hill by Jane Gardam, a book of short stories (one or two featuring old characters like Old FILTH etc.). Most of the stories were very well written, but there were a few slightly odd ones in there. I think it was a bit of a vanity project for the author... Then an ILL came in: Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai, a novel with absolutely beautiful descriptions in it of the hill station in North India where the book is located. There is a crusty grumpy old lady who lives there, glad to be alone when suddenly one of her daughters dumps her own daughter (the protag's great granddaughter) there all summer. It's how the relationship develops (or dosen't) between the two generations. Really enjoying this one bc the writing is just so good. Then, as a NF read, I have another book by Sue Hubbell, a series of essays (I think) about her country living and keeping bees. I really enjoyed her other book, so am hoping this will be similar. I also need to switch off One-Click on ama. It is absolutely far too easy to buy a book right now when I have a slow mo at work...