Count me in also as a vote for the mini-swap. As much as I have loved our swaps, they can get very expensive. I also like the idea of including homemade items, but I for one have more than enough cookbooks - lol! But I would follow the rules of the swap if a cookbook was to be included. We have had as many as 50 people in past swaps and even then that seemed like a lot to me. I agree with Ann's opinion that a person is not allowed in the swap if she/he did not follow through in a previous swap. BTW, we have had some problems in Quilting with mailing our swap blocks to Canada. I just hope this isn't a sign of more trouble to come. We had a small swap on the Quilting forum where we sent some fabric, new kitchen towels and potholders, a recipe and candy. That swap was probably under $25 and was a lot of fun. When you are limited by what you send, it really makes you think about what you want to send. Maybe we could so something similar: one homemade item (food or not), a spice, blend or dry seasoning and a recipe that would use the spice, a not expensive gadget and candy/chocolate - or something on this order. Thanks to all who participate in the swaps! Teresa

Yes, there are regional differences. Vive la difference! Otherwise we'd be eating a diet as predictable as McDonald's. If anyone would like to try an authentic Southern (i.e., non-sweet) version of cornbread, this recipe I posted a while back is my favorite version. I will grant a point to those who use 'adulterants' (grin) like sugar and flour: unless the quality of the corn meal is very good, cornbread made with just corn meal can be bitter. Meal can go rancid and stale pretty quickly. But cornbread made with fresh cornmeal, preferably stone-ground locally, is plenty sweet on its own. I generally only buy small quantities of cornmeal--just enough to make whatever recipe I'm making, and I buy it at a store that seems to have a good turnover of product. (That means not buying it at a gourmet store. No telling how long that stuff has been on the shelf.) Fortunately in my area of South Carolina there are a few grist mills not too far away that supply the local stores. Bernard Clayton's 'New Complete Book of Breads' actually has a listing for 2 different breads. One he calls "Yankee Corn Bread" (sugar, flour, yellow corn meal) and the other is Southern Corn Bread (white corn meal, no sugar or flour.) I find, though, that the freshness of the meal is more important than whether it's white or yellow. For those with access to good fresh meal I recommend this recipe from Clayton: Southern Corn Bread 2 eggs, room temp 2 cups buttermilk, room temp 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups white cornmeal (but yellow is okay, too) 1 1/2 tsp salt Preheat oven and baking utensil (skillet or 9 x 9 pan) to 450 while mixing batter. In a small bowl beat the eggs and mix in the buttermilk. In a mixer bowl, mix the baking soda, cornmeal and salt. Pour in the egg-buttermilk mixture and mix well until smooth. Pour batter into the preheated pan, return to oven for 20 to 25 minutes. It's done when a knife inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean & dry. I use this recipe when I make cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving; a quadruple recipe just barely fits into a 5 quart KitchenAid mixer bowl, and into an 11 x 14 pan. Absolutely delicious. This is what you use to soak up the pot juices from cooking black-eyed peas or greens. I always called those juices 'pot liquor' but my wife wondered what the heck I was talking about when I used that term. I guess that's southern as well.

Ann, how do you think this recipe would be if I used reconstituted powdered milk for the milk? I bought powdered milk for recipes that use milk because we never have milk on hand (other than coconut milk), but I generally use it in pancakes or other recipes with stronger flavors. Should I use coconut milk instead? I think I would like the coconut flavor. Or should I just buy a pint of milk? Lars

The dish I call Chicken and Sliders is a favourite recipe amongst the large French Canadian population living in the Southwestern area of Ontario, specifically around Chatham. Amongst themselves it was usually called "Putzin" but the English, who adopted the recipe, called it "Chicken and Sliders". Interesting the different names we have for the same dish, bet there are lots more!