I love beets. Especially ones fresh from the garden then roasted. Then there's Harvard Beets and pickled beets. I've been craving roasted brussels sprouts, but neither husband nor dd like them...dd used to, but now she's so anti-mom she's sworn off lots of stuff she used to like. Grits I learned to like when I was in Grad school in Billsburg, VA. I liked to go to the Chickahominy House to have a Virginian breakfast: eggs over easy, a slice of Virginia ham and grits, with a buttermilk biscuit. You could have redeye gravy, but I preferred to smush my eggs into the grits. Then there's egg/cheese/grits casserole. Cornbread is best slathered with butter, or drizzled with honey. I rarely do both anymore, but I used to. I brought rolls for the trip to MI to have Thanksgiving. I was up until 2:00 am on Thursday making them. I intended to make whole wheat "brown and serve" rolls, but I didn't hear the timer ding, and so in a panic, I baked them completely so I could taste test and make sure they were edible (they were, although some were big enough to be hamburger buns). For the young fry I made PIllsbury crescent rolls...as I know that dd and others prefer those. On the way home today she was munching on one and said "Oh, what is is that makes crescent rolls so yummy." "in a word," I said, "lots of fat." I have to say that driving up to Hastings, MI on Thursday morning was wonderful. A typical Michigan Thanksgiving day--misc. flurries and the sun breaking through glowering clouds over golden and russet fields which had been lightly frosted with a diamond dust. Breathtaking.

There are different types of journeys. The Martha's Vineyard Cook Book by King and Wexler gives this recipe used on whaling trips and long sea voyages as published in the Vineyard Gazette in an issue dated August 28, 1857. SEA VOYAGE GINGERBREAD "Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and cut up in it a pound and a quarter of fresh butter; rub the butter well into the flour and then mix in a pint of West Indian molasses and a pound of best brown sugar. Beat eight eggs until very light. Stir in the eggs two glasses or a gill of brandy; add also to the egg a teacup of ground ginger and a tablespoon of powdered cinnamon, with a teaspoon of soda melted in a little warm water. Wet the flour, etc. with this mixture till it becomes a soft dough. Sprinkle a little flour on your paste board, and with a broad knife spread portions of the mixture thickly and smoothly upon it. The thickness must be equal all through; therefor spread it carefully and evenly, as the dough will be too soft to roll out. Then with the edge of a tumbler dipped in flour, cut it into round cakes. Have ready square pans, slightly buttered; lay the cakes in them sufficiently far apart to prevent their running into each other when baked. Set the pans into a brisk oven and bake the cakes well, seeing that they do not burn. These cakes will keep during a long voyage and are frequently carried to sea. Many persons find highly spiced gingerbread a preventative to seasickness."

Tomato Cake Ingredients 1 c brown sugar 1/2 c shortening 2 large eggs 3 c all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp salt 2 c ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1/2 c nuts chopped 1/2 c dates chopped 1/2 c raisins chopped Mix cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs. Add sifted dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in tomatoes, nuts, dates, and raisins. Put into greased and floured 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350'F oven for 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

I would not ask a bakery to share a recipe either; I consider that a trade secret. It's how they make money and stay in business. If I owned a bakery, I would never share recipes of my products and I live in the lower 48. As a private individual with no business interest in the the things that I cook, I have no qualms whatsoever about sharing the recipes that I use.