Oh yeah, fresh yummy tomatoes! First I'd make some fresh salsa and then I'd have a nice tomato sandwich with Miracle Whip on White Bread and maybe a couple of tomato omelettes. After that I'd scrounge up some zucchini and make this: Gratin of Zucchini & Tomatoes Contributed By: EatingWell 3 cloves Garlic, crushed 2/3 cup Fresh basil leaves 1 tsp Fresh thyme leaves 2 cups Fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs, divided 1/2 cup Finely chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia 3 Large ripe tomatoes, diced 1 tbsp Red-wine vinegar 1/4 tsp Salt, divided 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil, divided 3 Medium zucchini (about 1 3/4 pounds total), sliced on the bias about 1/4 inch thick Freshly ground pepper to taste 3/4 cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or similar gratin dish) with cooking spray. 2. Put garlic, basil and thyme on your chopping board; mince well. Spread half the breadcrumbs evenly in the prepared baking dish. Strew onion over the breadcrumbs. Distribute half the diced tomato over the onion, then sprinkle with half the garlic-herb mixture. Sprinkle with vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. 3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a third of the zucchini; you want it to saute, not stew, so do not crowd it. Saute, turning the pieces once, until golden and not quite tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. When the slices are done, use a fork to transfer them to the gratin, overlapping the slices. Cook the remaining zucchini in two batches, each time using 2 teaspoons oil. Strew remaining tomatoes and garlic-herb mixture over the zucchini. Season with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and a grinding of pepper. Toss the remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle over the gratin. 4. Bake the gratin until bubbly hot, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan. After that, I'd make tomato soup, I love KatieC's roasted tomato and garlic soup posted above or this one from Fannie Farmer: Pure Cream of Tomato Soup The Fannie Farmer Cookbook Servings: 7 cups. Ingredients 5 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup chopped onion 4 tablespoons flour 4 cups milk 1/2 bay leaf 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3 cups tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned) Preparation Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is softened but not browned. Sprinkle the flour over the butter mixture and continue to stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, bay leaf, sugar, and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the milk, and bring just to a simmer. Remove from the heat and put through a strainer. Taste and correct seasonings. Reheat before serving. While I was at it, I'd make Sol's tomato tart. Geez, I wish I could post a picture of that, it's a think of beauty, but here's the recipe anyway. My favorite isn't really quiche, but it is. It's Sol's Tomato Pie, which is actually just a quiche with that mustard layer on the bottom crust. TOMATO TART Crust This makes two 9-inch tart shells. 2 1/2 cups AP flour 3 tablespoons semolina flour 1 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons [1 1/2 sticks] cold, unsalted butter 3 tablespoons cold solid shortening Ice water Preheat oven to 400°F. Put the flours and salt in food processor. Pulse a couple of times, just enough to integrate the ingredients. Add the butter and shortening all at once and pulse until the mixture looks like moist crumbs and no chunks of butter or shortening remain. Sprinkle ice water over the surface of the dough. Repeat with 3 more tablespoonsful. Pulse to just bring the dough together. The dough should be past crumbly, but holding together. Cut the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Press each half to form a disk. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Then roll out one disk to 1/4" thick. Fit into your tart pan, and chill 30 minutes. Dock the bottom of the tart. Line it with parchment or foil, and weigh it down with pie weights or dried beans. Place tart shell on center rack in the oven and bake 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights from the pan. Return it to the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes or until the tart is a light-golden brown. Remove from the oven and set on wire rack to cool. Filling 12-15 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4"-thick rounds 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard * 1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence 2 large eggs 1/4 cup light cream 1 teaspoon salt A few turns of freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 375°F. Put the tomato slices in a colander and place in the sink. Let them sit for 15 minutes to drain off any excess liquid. Spread the mustard evenly over the tart shell. Sprinkle the cheese over the mustard and sprinkle the Herbes de Provence over the gruyere cheese. Working from the outside in, lay the drained tomato slices in overlapping, concentric circles, covering the crust completely. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, whisk in the cream, salt and pepper. Pour this custard evenly over the tomatoes until it comes to about 1/4 inch from the top edge of the crust. Bake for 1 hour, to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the custard is set. Annie

We use whole and 2%, both organic. I use whole in my coffee and tea and 2% on my cereal. I use both in cooking and baking. When eating cookies or cakes, it's whole for me. I grew up drinking raw milk and loved it. It's probably one of the reasons I still drink whole milk.

I have a problem with saying teachers and other state employees' pensions are what's making the states drown. How about all the government waste and fraud. How about welfare, food stamps, housing, heating, healthcare, etc. etc. etc. for so many people that refuse to work. Go ahead, slam me. But it's true. I can absolutely tell you that all those things are totally abused in the area where I live. So very many of them just don't want to work, and why should they? I know there are people that truly need help. But it should not be generational. My husband is a retired state worker, a prison guard in a maximum security prison, don't tell me he doesn't deserve the pension he earned, and which, by the way, he contributed to all his working years. Do you know how kids act in these schools now? Do you know there's not a damn thing a teacher can do to them? Do you know teachers are not allowed to fail any students? My sister is a teacher in MD, has been teaching for 17 years, she's never failed a student. Her principal goes in and changes the failing grades. If they have too many kids fail, they lose state funding. I have 2 nieces that just starting teaching this year. One first grade, one sixth grade. The sixth graders are horrendous! They are too cool for school already. The parents have been called, repeatedly. Where there's not family structure, no one at home to teach these kids right from wrong, and that there are consequences for their actions. When there's no one at home to make sure they eat properly, get enough sleep, take a bath, and let them know they are safe and loved, they aren't going to give a d@mn about school.

I just received the two recipes below in my email. Think they sound interesting. Sara Lee Pound Cake Author: CopyKat Recipes Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Serves: 10 Sara Lee Pound cake was one of my first recipes at CopyKat.com, after reading the ingredients on the package; I set out to re-create this famous pound cake just like the original. 1/4 pound or 1stick unsalted butter 3/4 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 cup cake flour 2 tablespoons dry powdered milk 1 tablespoon corn syrup Juice of half a small lemon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon mace (optional) Allow butter to reach room temperature, if you can try to use unsalted butter. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and corn syrup. Beat each in well. Add juice of half a lemon, salt, vanilla, nutmeg, and mace. Make sure everything is well blended, and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick and seeing if it comes out clean. You almost want to under bake this. Triple Coconut Pound Cake 2 cups flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup evaporated milk or coconut milk 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp coconut extract 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut plus more for garnish for the glaze 1 heaping cup confectioner's sugar milk, cream or coconut milk to thin 1/2 tsp coconut extract Set oven to 350F Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix the evaporated milk with the extracts, and add alternately to the bowl with the dry ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry. Don't over mix the batter. Stir in the shredded coconut and turn into a greased and floured loaf pan. Smooth out the top and bake for about 55 minutes until risen, golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. (Moist crumbs are ok) Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack. let cool completely before glazing. Make the glaze by mixing the confectioner's sugar and extract with enough liquid to make a spreadable glaze. Top the glazed cake with more shredded coconut.