To preserve the taste even better, freeze in water rather than oil. Works better in things like soup, where you might not want an oily taste or appearance. Kissingfrogs - using lemon balm: Honey and Lemon Balm Biscuits 1 cup butter 1 cup honey 3 eggs 3 cups self-raising flour 1 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons lemon juice 4 springs lemon balm, chopped Cream the butter with the honey, add eggs, beat well. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes at 190�C. Lemon Balm and Mushroom Salad 2 apples, chopped and sprinkled with lemon juice 100g mushrooms, sliced 4 stalks celery, chopped 1/2 onion, chopped lettuce, dandelion leaves, sorrel, purslane or other greens grated cheese chopped capsicum 2 tablespoons chopped lemon balm leaves Combine apples, mushrooms, celery and onion. Make a bed with the greens, cheese and capsicum, place the mushroom mixture on top, sprinkle with lemon balm leaves. Lemon Balm Berry Tart 1 2/3 cups plain flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup unsalted butter 2 teaspoons iced water 1 cup icing sugar 4 cups mixed strawberries and raspberries 1 cup unsalted butter 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon finely chopped lemon balm leaves Preheat oven to 190�C. In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water and process until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and press into a 22cm tart pan. Prick the base evenly with a fork. Bake blind until edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 160C. Arrange the berries in the tart shell. Whisk together the icing sugar and butter until well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and lemon balm. Pour the mixture over the berries and bake for 25-30 minutes until set. Cool before serving. Lemon Balm Butter for Seafood and Vegetables 6 tablespoons butter, softened 2 tablespoons lemon balm, finely chopped 2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped Combine the butter lemon balm and chives. Using a piece of waxed paper to help mould, shape into a log. Cover and refrigerate overnight to blend the flavours. May be frozen. Use on seafood or vegetables. Lemon Balm Cheesecake Pastry: 125g plain flour pinch salt 60g margarine Preheat oven to 200�C. Sift the flour and salt, rub in margarine until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough water to make a soft dough. Roll out to fit a 18cm flan dish. Bake blind for 15 minutes. Filling: 60g margarine 2 tablespoons honey 360g cream cheese 2 eggs, beaten 6 tablespoons finely chopped lemon balm Cream margarine, honey and cream cheese together, beat in eggs, fold in lemon balm. Reduce oven temperature to 180�C. Pour filling into prepared pastry case, bake for 45 minutes until filling is golden and set. Serve with whipped cream or yoghurt. Lemon Balm Salad Dressing 1/4 cup oil 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon chopped lemon balm Put all ingredients through a blender, refrigerate. Lemon Balm Spread Combine 1/4 cup finely chopped lemon balm leaves, 1 teaspoon lemon rind and 250g cream cheese. Use on crackers or to stuff celery sticks. Add Lemon Balm to stewed fruit of all kinds, and use instead of lemon when making squash or rhubarb jam. Add a few lemon balm leaves to summer drinks, or to fruit salads. Use Lemon Balm in stuffings for lamb or pork. Cover a chicken with the leaves before roasting. Culinary Uses: Use fresh leaves in salads and as a garnish for fish and other dishes. When candied, the leaves make attractive cake decorations. Chopped leaves can be added to egg, fish and chicken dishes and sprinkled over fresh vegetables. Goes well with corn, broccoli, asparagus, lamb, shellfish, ground black pepper, olives and beans. Add the leaves to cooked dishes in the last few minutes. They can also be added to summer drinks and fruit salads, soups, sauces and ice cream, and make a good substitute for lemon peel in recipes. An ingredient of Benedictine and Chartreuse. The flower tips and young leaves are floated in wine or fruit cups as a flavouring and garnish. Substitute for lemon rind in jam making and add to marmalades. Makes a delicious tea, alone or added to ordinary tea. Medicinal Uses: It helps relieve anxiety attacks, palpitations with nausea, mild insomnia and phobias and when used as a sedative it is good for children. It combines well with peppermint to stimulate circulation and can also be used for colds and flu and is most effective in the early stages of a cold. The tea is used to treat headaches and tiredness, mild depression, eczema, laryngitis, colic and dizziness and is reputed to enhance the memory. It calms a nervous stomach, controls high blood pressure, relieves menstrual cramps, promotes menstruation and treats insomnia. Useful for liver, spleen, kidney, bladder and bowel troubles. Helps if suffering from tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Fresh juice is used to treat goitre and Grave�s Disease. It is especially suitable for children and makes a good substitute for chamomile. A crushed fresh leaf applied to insect bites eases discomfort. As a poultice, it treats sores and tumours. In ointment, it is good for cold sores. Other Uses: Attracts bees to the garden. Potpourri. An infusion of leaves makes a refreshing skin toner and can be used in rinse water for clothes. A stronger infusion makes a good rinse for oily hair. Use as a facial steam for dry skin and to treat acne. Use in furniture polishes. The leaves rubbed onto wooden furniture make a fine furniture polish. Rub on a fresh leaf to soothe insect bites. Use in sleep pillows and add to soaps. Used to bathe discharging eyes in puppies. Used to bring down retained afterbirth in farm animals. Also used for farm animals for eye ailments, nervous and brain disorders, heart abnormalities, uterine disorders, to increase milk yield and to prevent miscarriage. Warning: Avoid medicinal doses when pregnant or if suffering from night sweats. People with either Grave's disease or other thyroid-related illness should not use this herb except under medical supervision. Prolonged contact with balm plants or leaves may cause contact dermatitis (itching, sting, burning, reddened or blistered skin) or it may sensitise you to other allergens.

*choke* *cough* *choke down* *wiping eyes* I just got your email Liz. *gulping for air* I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire. *choking some more* lllllllori

Appleseed, I knew a guy once who buried a 1000# hay bale side ways to improve the soil. He would also add bone meal, magnesium, nitrogen etc at the same time. He was 75 years old at the time and used several methods of gardening in his life. He passed away in his late 80's. Every time I walk by that spot there is a walnut tree about 30' that now produced 3x the crop. At the time I said what a waste I can get you some cow manure and he said I want the good stuff not what's left after the cow takes what it wants. He read lots of gardening books and followed advice from authors such as Louis braumfield , the Robisons "how to make a living on 5 acres", Ruth Stout etc. Braumfield mentioned dark green circles in the fields being large burn piles from when the forests were cleared in this country. Interesting those circles were from more than a hundred years earlier which leads me to believe the concept of biochar is simple and valid. Ruth Stout believed in continual grass mulching with lawn clippings and old hay etc which was the only fertilizer she used. When I was a little boy I learned my gardening methods from him and my parents / grand parents and many other old timers. Some of them poored soy beans in a hole and after several months of smelling hundreds of pounds of stinking soy beans I saw the soil improvements. Tilling in clover or alfalfa we grow is really no different. I know exactly what you mean when you say that a about alfalfa pellets because it does seem wrong but all assets are valuable. I use wood chips, leaves, cow manure etc. Because I don't want any of them to wind up in the land fill and they are valuable resources. Dropping Alfalfa pellets in a hole is a good idea on an organic farm without other materials readily available. The cost is low and the benefit is high. It seems wrong but so did dumping all kitchen scraps in a hole the first time I saw that. Lawn clippings etc is the way to go if you get it from an organic lawn but an organic farmer likely does not want to take the chance on getting chemicals with the clippings used to make the yard beautiful.

Susan, what a pretty girl! I think you're hairstyle is very becoming on you. It would be easy to wear in different ways, too, and to jazz it up for an occasion. I like it very much. HERE is my haircut, not me in the picture, but my style. My wonderful stylist has helped me discover my quite curly hair and to take advantage of it. I can wear it curly, or sweep it back or blow it out to be poufy or sleek......anything. She has convinced me to not color my hair and I am loving the S&P and streaks at the temple. I used to think that I was a drip-dry kind of gal, but it's really not true! I have several products that I use religiously and a couple that I've only recently been introduced to. Another Dove soap user here, for as long as I can remember. I also use two products by UNICURE, an odd ball brand but I'll cry if they stop making it. My mother sent me my first bottle when I was in college. I use their blue shampoo but it is their conditioner that I purchase by the gallon. Seriously. I use it after the shower all over, absolutely on my wet hair as a leave in conditioner/volumizer/bodifier. I wash my face with it at night and apply it to my face after my shower and before makeup. The stuff is a magic elixer for my hair, especially! Limp, thin, and fine textured hair by nature but not what I end up with with a little bit of the Unicure. If I don't use it, my hair ends up flat. My hair stylist introduced me to Paul Mitchell's Conditioning Sculpting Foam with Flexible Hold. It has a red top, if you look for it. Applied to towel dried hair in a small amount, it turns my thinning hair to what appears to be very thick. I use it when I'm going to let my hair air dry or style it. After a brushing, my hair is left bouncy, full, shiny, and soft. I had no idea that a styling foam could do that. My night time moisturizer is coconut oil, sometimes day and night in the winter. Susan, do you have the eyebrow product on in the picture? If so, I don't think it would be dark enough for me. Your brows have the perfect shape, by the way.