gottahosta~Hope you liked your SS package, sorry no brugs this year but hopefully I will have some to share next year.Wow I could not belive Almond Joys were your favorite too. LOL Hope the seeds and plants bring you much joy to your home and garden;0) Lucy~You know my seed packaging don't ya LOL :0)By the way your castor bean seedling you sent me for Halloween is growing just fine in his new home in the backyard garden. Kylie & SJN send me an email on the ric rac I have 2 others cuttings I can spare for you. Rigo

After the curds, I was expecting some whey - I thought it was a Miss Muffet theme. Love Cutco knives. I have a couple of them that my sister gave me one year, and I ended up using them a lot more than I had expected. You should get lots of use out of it! The quiche looks lovely, especially in the red pan. Too bad it's off limits for me, or else I would love it. Nice to see that you made quick use of your curds. Lars

Robin, I am so sorry about your Dad and Julian, hope they are both better. Sounds like you have not had a very good day. When I tore into my package the first thing I saw was the colander, it is beautiful and will sit on my counter until needed and I will use it. You couldn't know how many times I have thought about ordering the ramekins, those are just perfect gifts for me! I love the microplane, just makes the one I bought look like, well what it is, a hand held grater. You know how much I will use the ladle, I am really excited about it, how handy and canning season is getting close! I said I would let DH claim the strawberry jam, well it is already almost gone, it is so good. I don't make strawberry jam, strawberries don't grow to well here. Vermont Maple grade B syrup, if you haven't tried it then you don't know what you are missing. I don't think I have ever tasted anything like it. I thought I had bought Vermont maple syrup, but it didn't taste anything like this. It is wonderful, I think I could drink it out of the can. Thank you again, Robin!

There aren't many recipes in the book. It's mainly how to organize and what to serve during a tasting party. Here are some samples out of the book: This is for a chocolate tasting party: Cheney recommends you start your chocolate tasting with a glass of sparkling wine, such as Prosecco or Cava, and sweet and salty appetizers, such as this one: Croutes with Blue Cheese, Toasted Walnuts and a Port Reduction Makes 8 servings 1 ciabatta, cut on the bias into 16 slices, each about 1/2 inch thick 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts 3/4 cup soft blue cheese such as Gorgonzola Dolce or Saga Blue Port wine reduction (see below) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread slices on one baking sheet and nuts on another, and bake in preheated oven until both are golden brown and aromatic, about 10 minutes. (Start checking nuts after 5 minutes to prevent them from burning.) Meanwhile, prepare port wine reduction. Remove both trays from oven. Spread cheese evenly over each piece of bread and return toasts to the oven until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Remove cheese toasts from oven and sprinkle evenly with the walnuts. Drizzle with 4 teaspoons of the port reduction and serve immediately. Port wine reduction: Pour 2 cups inexpensive port into small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium- low heat. Keep watching pot, as port can burn. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes (less for a thinner reduction, more for a syrup). May be made one week in advance. Here's a recipe for a tea tasting party: Begin the tasting with a cup of tea preferably the one you will taste first. Serve with tea sandwiches (crust removed), sharp cheddar, turkey and mango chutney on raisin-nut bread. When tasting the teas themselves, offer butter cookies, shortbread, biscuits, or scones. Source: "Tasting Club" by Dina Cheney Shortbread is a delicious accompaniment for all teas, especially Asian-style teas. These bright green cookies both taste good and contain tea. Almond-Scented Green Tea Shortbread with Cardamom Sugar Makes about 24 2 cups flour 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons matcha (powdered Gyokuro green tea) (see note) Advertisement 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, plus a heaping 1/2 teaspoon for dusting (divided) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing baking sheets 1 teaspoon almond extract 3 tablespoons granulated sugar In medium bowl, mix flour, powdered sugar, matcha, cardamom and salt until well combined. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in another bowl on high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add extract and beat until combined. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture in four additions on low speed until well combined. Transfer dough to flat surface. Divide in half, forming each half into a 6-inch-long log. Then form each log into a 2-by-1-by-6-inch rectangle. Cover in plastic; refrigerate 2 hours. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two large baking sheets with butter. Remove dough from refrigerator and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices on baking sheets, making sure cookies are at least 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven. After 10 minutes, switch sheets so that the one on the bottom rack is now on the top (and vice versa). Bake until cookies are lightly golden on edges, about 25 minutes total. Let cool about 5 minutes. In small bowl, mix the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar with remaining 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom. One by one, carefully toss each cookie in the mixture, coating both sides in sugar. Let cool. Note: If you can't find matcha, substitute another type of Japanese green tea. Grind into a powder with a spice grinder.