Alison, they are soft and made of cotton. I should have spread them out for all to see. I got lucky when I posted the pictures because I had a new computer and it has a different operating system than my old one. This one has windows Vista. Anyway they downloaded totally different from my old system. Now I'm trying to download and post a picture of the towels and I'm having all kinds of problems.

Hi David - I have these two - both saved together...I think it's the same...:-) just different "tips" on each one... Herb Crusted Rack of Pork -Chase 3 TBSP olive oil 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary 1 TBSP coarse ground pepper 1/4 cup butter cut up 1/3 cup flour 2 cups chicken broth (more or less) 1 TBSP tomato paste 2 TBSP chopped fresh sage salt and pepper to taste fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs for garnish . Rub pork with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Combine the garlic and next 4 ingredients and press into the pork. Place pork on a rack in a roaster or broiler pan , cover the bone tips with foil so they don't burn. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 1 hour and 115 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees...don't over cook. Transfer pork to a serving dish. Pour pan drippings into a skillet. Add butter and cook over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook whisking constantly until it is a rich carmel colour. Gradually add the broth and next three ingredients, cook over medium heat until for 2 or 3 minutes until thick and bubbly. Slice the pork between the bones and serve with the sauce. Use the thyme or rosemary sprigs for garnish. NOTE: original recipe called for cooking to 160, I think that is too much. I cook to 150 and then let the temp rise as it sits. Herb Crusted Rack of Pork 2, 3 to 4 pound racks of pork ( or enough for one rib per person and then a few extra) 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 tsp salt 7 garlic cloves,minced 1/3 c fresh basil,chopped 1/3 c fresh thyme,chopped 1/3 c fresh parsley,chopped 2 TBSP pepper,coarsely ground 1 1/4 c butter (or margarine),cut up 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 cans chicken broth 1 TBSP tomato paste 2 TBSP fresh sage,chopped 1/4 tsp pepper [Note: Serve with Garlic Parmesan mashed potatoes and green beans] Rub pork with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Stir together garlic and next 4 ingredients; press onto pork. Place pork on a rack in a lightly greased broiler pan; cover bone tips with aluminum foil to prevent burning. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 140 to 145. Transfer pork to a serving tray. Pour pan drippings into a skillet. Add butter to drippings; cook over medium heat until butter melts . Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, until caramel colored. Gradually whisk in broth and next 3 ingredients; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Serve with 'pork. Garnish with herbs, if desired. Yield: 8 servings Note 1: I often don't make the sauce but it is a nice elegant touch and very yummy! Note 2: Ask your butcher to French the bones and remove the chine bone. Makes for a lovely presentation and easy carving.

The classic paella is rabbit, snails, and green beans. Peasant food. The hoity toity seafood paellas came later. But, like sangria, paella is at heart at improvisational dish, I think. The poor Spanish peasants wouldn't have turned their noses up at chicken or mutton if they could have gotten it, and there were probably times when the bunnies were scarce. Here is what I usually do. Make a hot wood fire - or a heap of really hot coals. Heat the paella (the word actually refers to the pan itself) to really, really hot. When you squirt a bit of oil on it, the oil should instantly smoke and even flame up. Throw on your rabbit or chicken. The pieces should be cut into serving-size (rabbit quarters, or chicken thighs), tossed in salt and lots of oil. The oil on the meat will help it not-stick and the cold meat will cool the pan enough that you can squirt more oil on it without igniting a fire. Using long tongs and gloves (the fire and pan are still really hot), flip the pieces to get all sides browned. Don't try to cook them through, you're just browning. Remove the meat and set aside. Dump a bunch of chopped garlic, onion, celery, a bit of tomato, a couple of seeded not-too-hot peppers, and whatever else you like in a soffrito, in the paella. Move it around to cook it without burning, add oil if there isn't enough left from the meat. As soon as the aromatics are soft, remove them. Add more oil and your green beans - you can use another vegetable, but beans stand up to the whole cooking process without getting mushy, which is more than you can say for the lesser veggies. The fire or coals are cooling and the pan, while still very hot, is not the smelter that it initially was, and you won't have to work so frenetically or wince at the heat. Remove beans when softened. Then cook the snails, of course canned snails don't really have to be cooked but they want to be kissed with the paella anyway. If you're going to wuss out and substitute prawns, then they get a kiss too. Now add oil and chorizo. No, that's not in the purist's paella, but if those Spanish peasants had had chorizo I'm sure they would have used it. Cook the chorizo for awhile, it is a wet sloppy Joe sort of stuff so it takes some time. Remove the chorizo, leaving its oils and residue in the paella. Pour the arborio rice into the paella, fry it just a little, and then pour in some hot chicken stock, just enough to barely cover the rice. I'm assuming you don't have any rabbit stock handy. Add the saffron and the soffrito, and stir. Smooth out the the rice in a flat layer, as the stock bubbles and starts to get absorbed into the grains. Take all the stuff you set aside - the rabbit, snails, beans - and nestle the pieces into the rice in a pretty design. As the stock gets absorbed by the rice, add some more. Taste the rice occasionally to make sure you don't get it too soggy. The fire is mellowed out now, it is content to simmer the stock and gently cook the rice and all the yummy stuff in it. When the rice is cooked, stop adding stock but keep the paella on the fire. Have a drink. After 10 minutes, use a chopstick or fork to feel the bottom of the rice, where it touches the paella (pan). Is it crusted and part-burned? No? Then keep cooking until it is. Sometimes you can tell that the desired crust has formed, by smelling a wafting toastiness. But feeling is more reliable. Don't skimp on this step. The crust is important, some think it is the best part of the paella. When you get crust, as confirmed by sone excavation, move paella to table and dive in. The whole process takes around two hours. More or less. Maybe more. I'm usually a bit drunk by the end. A cheap thin steel paella - carbon steel with red plastic wrapped loop handles - costs maybe $25 and you need it, but you don't need or want an expensive, pretty paella. Because you're going to get that pan freaky hot, maybe over a wood fire, it will turn black, the plastic will burn off, your hands will burn off if you don't have gloves, and if you bought a $250 polished copper paella, you'd just cry. The cheap steel pan just needs to be oiled and hung up for next time. This post was edited by johnliu on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 22:52

GREEK PASTA SALAD 1 lb. medium-size shell or other short pasta (4 cups) Salt 2/3 cup olive oil 2 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice (1 lemon) 2 small cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press 1 tsp. dried oregano Freshly ground black pepper 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half 1-1/2 cups chopped cucumber (2 medium-size or 1 large cucumber) 1 cup chopped red onion (1 medium-size onion) 1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or parsley Pickled banana or cherry peppers or steamed shrimp (optional), for garnish Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the pasta and 1 tsp. of salt, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook the pasta, uncovered, according to the package directions until just done, 8 to 9 minutes. Meanwhile, place the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Set the salad dressing aside. Drain the pasta well in a colander, shaking it to remove the excess water. Transfer the pasta to the large mixing bowl with the dressing. Stir to coat and let the pasta come to room temperature, about 20 minutes. When the pasta is cool, fold in the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, olives, and mint or parsley. Stir to combine well. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or black pepper if needed. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and serve at once garnished with the banana peppers or shrimp, if desired, or cover and refrigerate the salad until serving time. Serves 8. Big Batch: This salad is easy to double or triple, but cook the pasta a pound at a time, and mix the salad one batch at a time. Tote Notes: Tote this salad right in its serving bowl and bring the optional garnish of peppers or shrimp in a separate container, if you like. Cover the serving bowl with plastic wrap that sticks securely to the rim of the bowl to make traveling less messy. If possible, let the salad come to room temperature before serving. Then stir the salad again and top it with the garnish, if using. From What Can I Bring by Anne Byrn.