Received and opened today a cute card for eggs-ceptional luck that says Happy St. Patrick's Day inside My eggs-ceptional ladies a pink egg a blue egg a green egg First lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), the U.S. president from 1933 to 1945, was a leader in her own right and involved in numerous humanitarian causes throughout her life. The niece of President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), Eleanor was born into a wealthy New York family. She married Franklin Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. By the 1920s, Roosevelt, who raised five children, was involved in Democratic Party politics and numerous social reform organizations. In the White House, she was one of the most active first ladies in history and worked for political, racial and social justice. After President Roosevelt’s death, Eleanor was a delegate to the United Nations and continued to serve as an advocate for a wide range of human rights issues. She remained active in Democratic causes and was a prolific writer until her death at age 78. Unwin’s Striped Sweet pea seeds inside Born on Feb. 15, 1820, in Adams, Mass., Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States and president (1892-1900) of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Her work helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote. Scarlet Runner Bean seeds inside Pocahontas contributed significantly to the early survival of the Jamestown colony and played a brief but dramatic role in English imperial propaganda. Her untimely death in 1617 cut short her successful mediation between the Powhatan Indians and the colony. Both before her intercession and long after her death, Jamestown--the first permanent English outpost in North America--was precarious, largely because of Indian hostility to the colony and its expansion. Mini Red Turban squash seeds inside 4 packs of extra seeds Queen mix cleome convolvulus Enchantment Mix Buttercrunch lettuce Nantes carrots and a sweet treat - Russell stover chocolate mini bunnies Thank you so much JayeAnne for a sweet and thoughtful package

Thanks again everyone. I successfully cooked six hard boiled eggs this morning !! I hear the applause. smile. I brought them to a boil and then simmered for 15 min. I will have to experiment a little more with bringing the heat down from the boil. I lowered it immediately to 3 and of course it quit boiling so I had to go back to 9 and bring it down two levels at a time...I will experiment next time to make that easier. Pllog I never heard of steaming until reading about it here (where have I been? not to the cooking forum for a while :-) ) and I definetly want to try that. And, I looked at Henrietta and I must say that I really like that...I have never owned an electric egg cooker but that is sure cute. Might have to spring for one. And, Cheril thanks for letting me know about the Williams Sonoma item. I have seen those before and will keep it in mind. I think once I do this a couple times, I will have the exact schedule...or I will get Henrietta. So cute. Thanks for all the fun reading. You guys are great.

Maureen, Saveur just had a note about peeling pearl onions this month. Here it is... Pearls of Wisdom by Liz Pearson Pearl onionsÂalso known as creamers in the United StatesÂhave long been prized for their sweet flavor and dainty teardrop shape. Along with lardons and mushrooms, these onions belong to the French trinity of ingredients that garnishes such classics as Coq Au Vin, the sumptuous braise of chicken in red wine. They aren't exactly the friendliest onions to work with, though: because they are the most appealing when their shape is preserved, they shouldn't be randomly tossed into the pot, where they inevitably fall apart, but rather sautéed to the proper degree of doneness and then added to dishes right before serving. They also have stubborn skins that are hard to remove without damage to the onions themselves. Some cooks advise making an X mark at their tip with a knife, boiling them, then peeling away their skins before cooking them further. But we prefer the easier method that James Peterson advocates in Essentials of Cooking (Artisan, 1999). Place the onions in a bowl and add enough boiling water to cover them. Set them aside for a minute, then drain the onions and rinse them in cold water. Trim the root ends. Starting from the onions' tops, simply peel away their skins with your fingers. It's as easy as that." PS... I'd make coq au vin with them

This is a toughy, for me, anyway! My tendency is to just skip them. Are they a big part of the recipe? If so, what about using extra firm (not silken) tofu, maybe with a sprinkle of herbs like you use for fake egg salad (there are many recipes) or something like Fantastic's Tofu Scrambler (I use it to make too-lazy-to-pull-out-herbs fake egg salad). Or what about going another direction - like chopped mushrooms? I think those would be good in empanadas. Maybe some more creative minds will have some better ideas. Good luck, and happy eating!