All of my phals vary. I've seen a couple of times one leaf growing out before the previous finished. Always ended well.

Like others, I have a stack that high (and growing) of "to try" recipes. I currently have a stack of about five or six sitting by my grocery list. I intend to make all of those over the next few weeks, then replenish the pile. I keep the ones that turn out good in a binder in sheet protector sleeves to make again and I throw away the ones I didn't like, simoultaneously deleting them from my computer. The only one I can remember off the top of my head from that short stack is a chedder cheese studded meatloaf which sounds quite good. Oh! and a Greek dish where you cook the tomatoes and onions and garlic and spices, then add 5 cups of broth and then the pasta. The pasta and sauce all cook together. I can't remember what it's called but I'm looking forward to trying that. I also do want to make spanikopita, watching Sue's video made it look fairly simple. But I have to make sure there will be lots of people around who will want to eat it (think party) so that I don't gobble up the whole thing myself!

I'm in New England -- in wooded hillside with nearby streams and ponds. After dusk, the mosquitoes get wild. I don't have a screened in porch but wish I did. I would sleep there and listen to whippoorwills and frogs and later in the summer I'd enjoy the crickets. I'd breath in the fragrance of the grass and woodlands a d pond. At dawn and dusk, I'd swoon over theusical flute like call of the wood thrush. For old time sake, I'd light a kerosene or Coleman lantern and playing cards or an attic fragrant board game. No screen porch, but large windows with screen in a woodland home. If you are lucky enough to have a screened in porch (floor too), count yourself lucky and enjoy every second on it. Breath deeply. Totally relax.

Amylou, that's exactly what I meant! i didn't articulate it well. Most of what I cook on a daily basis—and even my bread recently--uses a familiar structure, but not an actual recipe. The old family ragout is that way too, like what Kate was talking about, just put in whatever needs using. Very flexible, but always with at least one green bell pepper and some Italian sausage and some beef, which along with the tomatoes and herbs give it its distinctive flavor. I'm not entirely sure what gives the new version its specific deliciousness. I can replicate the meat and cheese: Hot Italian turkey sausage from a local store, ground turkey browned with dehydrated onion, parsley and Italian herbs, salt and not-fine pepper, ricotta, hard mozz, fontina, parm and provalone. Nancyjane, I have so been there! I almost never use a recipe for soup! Structure is throw stuff in pot of water and boil, add flavor. If it needs something more, add turmeric. exception is gazpacho, Spanish style with the bread and EVOO. That needs a recipe to be balanced, but there's no boiling to make things wed. I usually can salvage experiments that go wrong by putting them into something else, but of course that takes a lot of thought, so the new thing ends up really good! And, of course, people want the ”recipe”. :)