I can now add 7 pints of busylizzy's 10 day pickles with cinnamon and cloves. I still have several jars of last year's sweet pickle chunks, and although I love them, I have enough to last until next summer, so I tried Liz' recipe. They are very good and very sweet and very spicy, like candied cucumbers, how can that be bad? I finally got 13 pints of "sissy" salsa canned, I like it mild. Elery will be home tonight so we'll probably get in a double batch of the flaming hot stuff for him in the next couple of days. The chicken stock is still in the fridge, it wasn't as reduced as I like it when I got home so it got four more hours in the roaster, then hit the fridge about 11 pm. I'll skim the fat tonight and pressure can it. Since I had some extra time, LOL, I made two sugar free rhubarb pies, does that count? My BIL is diabetic and it's his birthday, and he loves rhubarb pie. I find that the rhubarb really overwhelms the artificial sweetener flavor and is almost unnoticeable, so that's good. I'm a little less certain about the white wheat flour that I made the crust from, but I'm trying to make it as healthy for him as I can. So after the flaming hot salsa is done, what's next? Either plain canned tomatoes or beets. One batch of pickled and the rest just plain I guess. Unless anyone has a good unique recipe for canned beets? Annie

Pick the leaves individually from the plant at any time before they start to wither and darken. Leaves dry quickly and easily, keeping their colour and perfume. Store in a damp-proof container. That's what the experts say. What I actually do is pick the leaves at any time I feel like it, but for drying, I just prune off the plant (almost to the ground) when the leaves begin to dry just before winter (the don't 'wither and darken' in my climate), then I leave the branches sitting around in shade under my pergola, or standing up against the walls, then I strip of the dried leaves some time later! If you put the dried leaves through a food processor (for AGES) you'll end up with a powder - if you're keen enough. Of course, if you follow the 'best' advice, you'd just spread the individual leaves out onto some wire racks of some sort and leave them in a shady, cool, airy place, turning the leaves from time to time. Insect screening makes a good rack - but if you use ordinary cake racks, cover them with a layer of paper towelling - makes it less messy to handle once dry, and bits don't fall through. Lavender Lemon Curd 1/2 cup butter 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 lemons, juice and rind (about 1/2 cup juice) 4 well beaten eggs pinch salt 3 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers (1 tablespoon dried) 6 lemon verbena leaves, fresh or dried Use a double boiler, water underneath at a gentle boil. Place everything in the top pot, whisk in the eggs. Cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Sieve, then bottle. Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 month. For special occasions whip 1 cup heavy cream and fold into the cooled curd. Use to ice a double-layer plain cake or sponge cake, fresh fruit optional. Use on scones, shortcake, or on toast, or as a filling for tartlets. Lemon Herb Cupcakes 4 tablespoons lemon herbs, finely chopped, including lemon balm and lemon verbena 1 cup milk 250g butter, softened 2 cups sugar 4 eggs, separated 3 cups self raising flour 1 teaspoon vanilla Put the herbs and milk into a saucepan and heat almost to boiling. Remove from heat, cover and let steep until cool. When ready to begin assembling cake, preheat oven to 180C. Grease and flour 2 dozen muffin tins, or use paper liner cups. Cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Stir in the vanilla. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, frost with Lemon-Lime Frosting. Lemon-Lime Frosting 1/4 cup milk 125g butter, softened 2 cups icing sugar 3 tablespoons chopped fresh lemon herbs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla juice of 1 lime 1 teaspoon grated fresh lime rind, green part only Cream the butter, then gradually add the powdered sugar and remaining ingredients. Beat until light and fluffy. If too thick, add a little more milk or lime juice. Add a few drops of green food coloring if desired. Spread the frosting over the tops of the cupcakes. Decorate with a whole lemon or lime scented geranium leaf, with a thin twisted half lime slice, or with a sprinkling of fresh chopped lemon balm leaves. Lemon Verbena Cheesecake Crust: 20 vanilla wafers 1 tablespoon canola oil Mix together and press into a 23cm springform pan Filling: 250g cottage cheese 250g soy cream cheese, cut into pieces 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornflour 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla pinch salt 3 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon verbena leaves Combine all ingredients. Cover, refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Just before serving, decorate with strawberries and lemon verbena leaves or lemon balm sprigs, and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Lemon Verbena Sorbet 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups water 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon rind, chopped 1/4 cup lemon verbena leaves In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water and lemon rind. Without stirring, bring to a brisk boil for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, let cool 5 minutes. Add lemon verbena leaves, and let mixture cool completely. Strain into a large mixing bowl and add lemon juice, stir well. Place bowl in freezer. Beat mixture thoroughly about once an hour until completely frozen (about 3 hours). Serve in wide champagne glasses or hollowed lemon halves. Serves 4-6. Lemon Verbena Syrup 1 cup lemon verbena leaves 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water Blanch the lemon verbena leaves in boiling water briefly, then immediately plunge into ice water to stop cooking. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, remove from heat and cool. Puree the mixture in a blender for 2 minutes. Chill overnight, then strain. Keep refrigerated. Use with ice cream, cake, desserts, or fruit.

You can use fruit/herb jellies on bread, scones or English muffins. Use them to fill cakes. Add some to a trifle (chopped, it's a pretty decoration on top of the custard) and also on top of Pavlova. You can also serve vegetables with a herb or fruit jelly as a sort of melting glaze. Mint goes with a lot of veges (carrots and peas especially), a lemon jelly would be nice on just about any vege, too. Don't be afraid to experiment with combinations - you are only limited by your imagination and personal taste! Savoury Herb Jelly 2kg tart cooking apples or crab apples, roughly chopped 900ml water 300ml wine vinegar good handful of fresh herbs 360g sugar per 600ml juice Boil the apples with the water and vinegar. Add the herbs and simmer. Cook until the apples are soft. Strain through muslin overnight. Measure the juice, return to the saucepan and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then boil until setting point is reached, taking care not to let it boil over. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and add a few leaves as decoration if desired. Store in a cool, dark cupboard. Suitable herbs are Basil, Mint, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Thyme. A sweet jelly may be made in the same way, but instead of vinegar, substitute 1 litre of water. Suitable herbs for sweet jellies are Bergamot, Calendula, Lavender flowers, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Scented Geranium leaves (Rose, Apple, Peppermint, Lemon, Lime), Violet. Apple Jelly 3kg apples, cut into quarters 1 lemon, cut up sugar Place apples in a heavy saucepan with the lemon, cover with water. Boil to a pulp. Place a piece of muslin into a colander, pour in apple mixture and leave overnight to drain into a basin. Return liquid to a saucepan, add 500g sugar for each 600ml of liquid. Boil for about 45 minutes or until the jelly will set. Pour into clean, dry, warm jars and seal. Add any of the following in the final stage of simmering; lavender flowers, rose petals, scented geranium leaves, rosemary leaves, lemon or lime leaves, lemongrass stems, a few dried cloves, slices of ginger root. Use the sweet jellies on scones or bread, and the savoury jellies with cold meats. Or replace half the apples with blackberries, mulberries, raspberries, lillipillies etc. Blackberry Jelly 4 cups blackberry juice (takes about 5 cups blackberries and 3/4 cup water) 3 cups sugar To prepare juice. Select about 1/4 under-ripe and 3/4 ripe berries. Sort and wash; remove any stems or caps. Crush the berries; add water; cover; and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Extract juice. To make jelly. Measure juice into a saucepan. Add sugar and stir well. Boil over high heat until jelly mixture sheets from a spoon. Remove from heat; skim off foam quickly. Pour jelly immediately into hot containers and seal. Elderberry Jelly As it is a juicy fruit, it will not need the addition of any more liquid than, perhaps, a squeeze of lemon. Equal quantities of Elderberry juice and apple juice, and apple juice from peeling, will require 750g of sugar to 500ml. Lavender Cake with Lavender Jelly 2 eggs, separated 1/4 cup hot water 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup brown sugar pinch salt 1 cup wholemeal pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 tablespoons lavender jelly lavender flowers for garnish Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin. Beat together the egg yolks, water and vanilla until pale. Slowly beat in 1/2 cup sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, add salt, then beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 cup of the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Spoon remaining whites into the yolk mixture and sift the flour and baking powder over. Carefully fold in the flour. Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Invert pan onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before removing the tin. Split the cake into layers and sandwich together with lavender jelly. Decorate with lavender flowers. Lavender Jelly 4 tablespoons dried lavender flowers 4 tablespoons powdered pectin 3 cups apple juice 2 tablespoon lemon juice 3 cups brown sugar Line a sieve with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Cut a circle of cheesecloth, put lavender flowers in the centre and tie up to form a small bag. In a large saucepan, combine the pectin and apple juice, stirring until the pectin is dissolved. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice and sugar and add the lavender bag. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove bag. Strain through cheesecloth into sterilised jars and seal. You might like to check out the following link, too. Here is a link that might be useful: unusual jellies

Paula, Thank you for the offer but I don't collect gobs and gobs of seeds. I just collect a few seed heads of things I think others might like to grow and a few for myself for the next year if they are annuals. I shouldn't say this here on the garden web but I toss most seeds in the trash as I am cleaning up my gardens ( take a deep breathe, stop gasping...lol). I think this year I will collect more than usual because I feel like a cheap skate when I see some of the other seed packets in swaps...lol I have added the petunias to your gift package and again, thank you for the offer. I will pass this time though. Lisa