Jennifer, I LOVE, lovelovelovelovelove Stouffers spinach souffle! I can make a whole meal out of just thatand eat the whole thing. Oh, my, its rich! But its SO good. When theyre on sale I buy a whole bunch of them, and I think the cashiers must think Im nuts sometimes! Something I used to make (invented, like most of the things I make) was kind of like a soufflebut not as collapsible. I beat up a bunch of eggs with a tiny bit of milk, poured some in a glass breadpan (to cover the bottom), put in a layer of cream cheese and cheddar cheese and topped that with spinach (frozen, squeezed dry), put in more egg, another layer of the cheeses and spinach, poured the last of the egg over the top and topped it with a nice layer of the cheddar. Then I baked itdont remember how hot or how longprobably about 300 and just until the cheese was brown and toasty on top. Yum! Hadnt thought about it in a long time. Might need to make it again. Bet it would work with wilted fresh spinach too. BTW, if youre gonna grow chard, you really should put in some spinach too. My friend who lives out there grows Bloomsdale Long Standing and says she has really good luck with it. And consider peas, lettuce, radishes, and kohlrabis, they should all work well for you. And I think maybe you could at least try beets and parsnips and carrots since they can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked and since they can stay in until its getting really cold again (I had freezing temps a few times before I finally got them covered with leaves). And they may not get as big as they would somewhere with a longer growing season, but theres no "lower limit" on size for eating the root crops, so however big they get is the size you eat them! And you should be able to grow other cole crops besides the kohlrabis, too. I dont grown any of them, partly because of space, but also because theyre so inclined to get aphids. Maybe that wouldnt be such a problem at a cooler higher altitude. Check out the last page of the chart Ive linked below for more info on planting times for veggies. Digit, I totally agree with you about radicchio! I dont quite understand why its considered edible! Tried red orach last year, and dont like that eitheror endive! Just dont like bitter! And Ive never even tried some of the less-than-usual veggies youre all talking about above, like salsify, chicory, sorrel, fennel. Actually I have a couple bronze fennels, but Im growing them for the feathery, bronzy ornamental valuenot to eat. (Tho I have one of them growing at the back of the tomato patch, and may be tempted to dig up a root from that one just to check it out!) And none of that was about SOUPso heres my soup connection! Bonnie, I made Ham Bone soup last weekso Id have something easy when Im coming and going over the holidaysyet something with "body!" I call it ham BONE soup, cause back right after I got married we were poor (not that Im rich now!) and when I made it, it was made with a bone with virtually no meat left on it! That was the only way we could afford it! Now when I have a ham I save the bonewith LOTS of meat, to make soup. And this time I made it with Anasazi beans. Much better than the great northern or navy beans I used to use. Thats the only way Ill make it from now on. Oh, and since you were talking about parsnips, when I made it I had just gone out to dig some carrots (for the soup), and while I had the leaves pulled back I dug some beets and parsnips too, so when I was making the soup I decided to put in a few parsnips too to see if it workedand theyre great in ham bone soup. They need to be the very last thing put in, because they cook very quickly. I just cut them up pretty small. Ill add more next time. When it comes to soup, I pretty much stick to the old standbys, chicken noodle, ham bone, and vegetable beef barley. And when I make them, the WAY I make themjust keep adding a "little" bit more of this and that and this and thatI usually wind up with TWO big soup pots full, and freeze most of it in 1-gallon plastic "sherbet" containers so I can get "a gallon" of it out whenever I dont have time for anything else or am just to brain dead to even try to think of something else to make. Its fast, and easy, and always there! And sometimes I make ones that are a little less common for melentil, potato, leek, and a few others. When I was looking up the leek recipes recently I found a parsnip soup recipe that I printed out to try sometimeif sometime ever comes! I have SO many recipes Im gonna have to have them buried with me so I can bring them back next time around! I dont collect cook books anymore! I had a whole bunch I sold at my garage sale before I moved to this house. I still use my 1962 Better Homes & Gardens looseleaf cookbook that I got right after I got out of high school! Its (needless to say) getting REALLY beat up by now, so I bought a new onebut I dont use it! I like the recipes in the old one better! When it comes to eating, I do believe in moderation, but whats the point of eating it/anything if it doesnt taste good! Besides that I still have thealso very beat up3 x 5 cards my mother wrote her recipes on for me that I use over and over and............ And besides that I just stick to the web! Its so easy to look up a whole bunch of recipes for the same thing, and then pick out the best ingredients from eachto create your own version of whatever it is youre making. Computers rock, Skybird P.S. Jennifer, Im glad to know I can become a vegetarian just by "switching" meats! That sure makes it easy! Here is a link that might be useful: Veggie Planting Guide - pdf

QOD: Raeanne, make that TWO of us who have never tasted that green bean thingy! I love all kinds of veggies, but will not touch dark turkey meat....too much string or whatever in that leg and thigh! lol!!! When I was a kid, we had antipasti, lasagna w/ all the Italian meats, 3 hours later the turkey and trimmings were presented, and 3 hours after that we had nuts, fruit, and pie w/ coffee. An entire day of eating...no lie. The Alka Seltzer would fly back and forth that next day. We had a wonderful time in Smithville...got some things in the small shops and had a leisurely dinner in the Inn. My sister's DFIL and DMIL joined us too. Friday morning, my sis and I took DN and her friend to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (they had a college art assignment). I loved it, as there was a large gallery of impressionists displayed and lots of Asian items from B.C.!!!! I could have stayed all day. MENU (for Saturday---Thurs and Fri are too painful..lol!) B old-fashioned oatmeal and a handful of globe grapes before walking 3 miles around the lake whooo hooo to me! S 20 dry-roasted peanuts and cup of fat-free, sugar-free Swiss Miss L large salad with 2 oz ham and slice of ww bread S starting picking at leftovers from my sister, so I moved away from the kitchen! D I'm making a low-fat version of baked ziti with salad (topped with Good Seasons' fat free dressing) Amy, Jen, Besh---good to see you all posting here this weekend. Make it count! Take care, eat healthy, and NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP! DeeMarie

The other day I ended up throwing out a pie pumpkin because I could barely cut it. It was like cutting rocks. I've never used one before so I don't know if that was typical or if mine was old. Maybe it is normally that hard and that's why most people buy canned pumpkin? I even sharpened by knife but still it was almost impossible. The acorn & butternut squash both cut like butter in comparison, so I don't think it was my knife. It was nothing like carving a Halloween pumpkin. I decide to quit before I ended up having an accident with the knife. Does anyone know if my experience was normal or if I had an old pumpkin? At this point, I will never attempt to use a pie pumpkin again. They're dead to me.

amck..my oldest DS , the chef, is the one that told me that years ago. Even a vegetable stock will affect the flavors of the soup you are making. I do make his " chicken wonderfulness" as he calls it. Making stock from the skin and bones and then using it as the starter every time you make more chicken stock rather than starting with plain water each time. It concentrates the chicken stock to the point that you only need a teaspoon for a dish. But DH uses it in his stir fry for extra flavor and only in chicken dishes. Thank you ! I hope you will post pics ! c