Susan, You're welcome. I've protected plants by covering them up with sheets, blankets, etc. in past years and it works pretty good as long as the temps don't go to far below freezing. I hope you can successfully cover up yours and keep them going a while longer. I always put my winter tomatoes (the ones I plant in pots in February) on the concrete with the south-facing wall of the garage right behind them and I do think the heat helps them grow and mature tomatoes more quickly. I also think the radiant heat might help them a little at night, although I always either cover them up with blankets or drag them into the garage on cold nights. When you're trying to either keep fall tomatoes going late or get spring tomatoes going early, you have to use every trick in the book! Don't forget that often the last green tomatoes will ripen up indoors on a counter when you absolutely must pick them because the temps are going so low that covering them up won't help. I've had ripe tomatoes very late into December from those last ones coloring up indoors over time. And, yes, if you lug a couple of those 5-gallon buckets indoors, it is likely the tomatoes will continue to ripen in a sunny south window. They most likely will ripen more slowly and they may not have the same flavor as a summer tomato, but they'll still taste better than grocery store tomatoes. If you want to grow indoor tomatoes in a future year either early in spring, or late in fall, or throughout the winter, three that are absolutely perfect for indoor tomatoes are Red Robin, Yellow Canary and Orange Pixie. They can be grown in surprisingly small pots (they say as small as 4" or 8" pots for Red Robin, but I wouldn't go smaller than 1 or 2 gallons, I think, for the best yields). All 3 varieties produce a high yield for such small plants and the flavor of all three is surprisingly good---not the best tomatoes you'll ever have, but not bad, especially for indoor tomatoes. Both Red Robin and Yellow Canary get about 8-12" tall in pots (though about 6" taller than that in the ground in the summer time) and Orange Pixie gets a bit taller--maybe 15-18" in a pot indoors and sometimes a little taller in the ground in the summertime. When I have grown them, they all three had as much or more fruit than foliage. A couple of years ago I grew these three varieties as a 'border' around a bed of larger tomato plants.....just one more way of squeezing a few more tomatoes out of one bed. Dawn

I have to try this: Salty and sweet brownies 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 2 cups sugar 3 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon Maldon sea salt Directions Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-inch square metal cake pan with foil, draping the foil over the edges. Lightly butter the foil. In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Whisking them in one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, add the cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the salt into the batter. Bake the fudge brownies in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes, until the edge is set but the center is still a bit soft and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out coated with a little of the batter. Let the brownies cool at room temperature in the pan for 1 hour, then refrigerate just until they are firm, about 1 hour. Lift the brownies from the pan and peel off the foil. Cut the brownies into 16 squares. Serve at room temperature. Make Ahead The salted fudge brownies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, and frozen for up to 1 month

I don't think I've ever tasted milk chocolate brownies. I usually buy the fudge chocolate ones. I once saw dark chocolate ones, but didn't think I would like those either. Everything comes in so many varieties anymore. Gotta watch every box or can I get off the shelf to be sure it is the original which is what I'm usually looking for.

I make bon bons every year and we have always melted chocolate chips in a double broiler with a small amount of wax. I've never used melting chocolate, not even sure what exactly that is, I'm assuming it is like candy melts?