One day, as i was leaving Simonian Farms (where 5 out of 4 Fresnans shop), I stopped to talk to a lady just going in. She was hoping they still had Boysenberries... she just wanted to bake a pie in the worst way. She gave me her recipe right there on the spot and it is a good one: Boysenberry Pie Faye Tolbert, Corcoran, CA 1 unbaked pie shell 1 to 1-1/2 pounds fresh or frozen Boysenberries 1/2 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1/2 to 1 cup water Use enough berries to generously fill the pie shell. Mix flour and sugar together; pour over berries. Add enough water to come up to 1/3rd the inside of the pie shell. Add top crust, crimping all around. Make vent in top crust. Bake at 350-375 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour - until juice appears thick.

We don't have a large family (yet), but we recently catered our own wedding, with 70 people, so I learned a few things! The smartest thing we did, was to shop at a wholesale, discount place. We went to Costco's (others: "BJ's" and "Sam's"). I noticed a lot of people with large families there. Not only is it cheaper, but the large sizes really inspire you to do batch-cooking. Here was one recipe we loved, which freezes well, is easy to reheat, and was well tailored to the portions at Costco...Quesadillas (similar to fajitas): 1 large bag of grated cheese (about 5 lbs for $11!) 20-30 tortillas any combo of pre-cooked veggies or meat We went vegetarian, using onions, mushrooms and peppers--but try spinach, zucchini, chicken, anything that's on sale! Even just plain cheese works. Fill the tortillas with the stuff. Fold them in half (omelette-style). Then, stack them and put them in a bag and freeze (I put saran wrap between each one to keep them from sticking together, but it may not have been necessary). To cook, just grill, fry, or toaster-oven them (I like to thaw them, then toaster-oven for 10-15 minutes). Microwave probably works too. We bought a big-sized container of salsa to go with it, and some sour cream. These are soooooo yummy, I promise your kids will love them. Total servings: 20-30 Total cost (at Costco's): $20-$30, including veggies & salsa

I have never had a subscription to a cooking magazine - the only subscription I did have was to Illuminatrice, an Italian lighting magazine, and that was at work. The only magazines that I buy at the newsstand are Italian design magazines, some of which are quite expensive (I used to buy men's Italian fashion magazines, when I was more fashionable), and I have saved every one of them. I also buy Architectural Digest, Interiors, Veranda, etc. when they publish photos of my furniture designs, and I keep these also. My old magazine collection takes up one shelf in my garage, and I do refer to the Italian magazines from time to time for inspiration. I do collect clutter, but books and magazines are not part of that. I have one shelf of cookbooks in the hall next to the kitchen. I once bought a magazine on Feng Shui, but I decided that the magazine was clutter and got rid of it. I spent last week-end trying to declutter my bedroom because I also bought a new mattress that will be delivered tomorrow, and I want my room to look nice. Yesterday I made a runner with the fabric left over from making new drapes for my bedroom (to be able to block out light) and put it on the wide dresser beside my bed. The dresser on the other side of my bed has a runner I made from fabric left over from when I made my bedspread. I find that decorating or trying to coordinate rooms helps me get rid of clutter. However, I did put a bunch of books on the wide dresser using bookends. I don't have room for another bookcase. If I need to get more books, I will get rid of old ones that I have. Lately I have been buying and reading books on Anthropology and early human evolution. I read them at night to help me get to sleep, and so it takes a while to get through them. I cannot stand to watch Hoarders, but I will watch Clean House if I need inspiration to declutter. Making my house and yards look as beautiful as possible is one of my top priorities, and this helps me let go of clutter. I haven't gotten rid of it altogether, however, and so I think it is an on-going process. I have a hard time getting rid of old clothes that no longer fit, and I am convinced that sometime in the near future, they will fit again. Anyway, that is my goal. They may be terribly out of style or inappropriate by that time, however. Getting rid of old clothes is my biggest problem. One of the things I came across yesterday while decluttering was a printout from a Cooking Forum thread from 2005 that I started asking what was in everyone's freezer. It included a post by Ann_T on pitahaya (I happened to have some in my freezer at the time) that she had copied and pasted, bad Google translation and all. The translation was hysterically funny. Lars

My metal rolling pin is longer and specially for fondant. There are goods and bads for metal. It is VERY slick. Some doughs won't stick to it, especially if it's chilled. It's terrible for things like shortbread, because even flour won't stick...until you get a bit of vacuum and the whole thing sticks. The answer to that is a "sock". It's like stretchy cheesecloth and holds the flour. A sock can be a good thing if you're having sticking issues no matter what kind of rolling pin you're using. Thin rolling pins, like 1" in diameter, are useful for things like when you have small dough balls you're rolling into individual rounds, and when you're doing weird decorative stuff, but I wouldn't like to roll out a standard 9" pie with one. The more surface, the easier it is to keep it from sticking, and the better grasp you have. For pies, I usually use a wood dowel style, about 2.75' in diameter. For cookies, I like my old fashioned 3" or more textured man made one with ball bearings, and I've been known to use it for pies as well, but it's really too much. It depends on the stiffness of the dough. Pie pastry is more tender. Heavy wood grain holds flour really well. The textured doesn't as much as the real old ones did. You can chill any rolling pin not just metal and it will help. I'm surprised Anna's husband didn't like the Stella crust because it's very flaky and crisp. That one does have to be made exactly as written, though. It's the method, not the ingredients that makes the difference. It's also too big for the pie rings. You can use the method with other recipes.