Katie, I'm glad to see you again, you stay away too long and I miss you. Like you, I like LOTS of crystallized ginger in them, nice and "bite-y". Arlene, the imposters are the ones that they pick green, spray red and ship a couple thousand miles. When they get here they are still hard, plus they are dry, not juicy and they are white all the way through when you bite them. Fresh and local are something else, but if you tried to ship berries that perfectly ripe to Michigan, by the time they got packed and loaded on trucks and driven here and unpacked and on the shelves to sell them, they'd be a big moldy lump. Plus the varieties of berries they've developed to be sturdy enough to withstand shipping have not been developed for flavor, that's for sure.... Strawberries here will have to wait until June, everything in their own season, or I can eat styrofoam imposters but they sure aren't worth it. Those are beautiful, though, I'm sure glad you learned to post pictures! Annie

I like beer by itself :-), but also use it to make beer bread and in chili and a French Dip sandwich recipe. Beer is good for you! From the link below: Over the years, scientists have uncovered a number of health benefits in beer. The beverage contains folate, for example, which helps prevent cancer and reduces the risk of birth defects. Beer can also limit kidney stones and gallstones. And it can lower the risk of late-onset diabetes. "The list," Bamforth said, "goes on and on." Scientists have long known that beer also contains silicon, which strengthens bones in animal studies and has been linked with higher bone-mineral density in people. Cheers!!! Here is a link that might be useful: Discovery.com: Beer and healthy bones

Ellendi6161, the recipe I use is the way my mother made banana cream pie, and it is simple yet so good. I use a store bought frozen deep dish pie crust just to make it easy on me. Mom had no such short cut available and made her own crust. Bake the shell empty according to directions after pricking it well. Cool. To make the filling, use one large Jello brand Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding mix or two small boxes and whole milk to cook the pudding.(Be sure it is the Cook and Serve pudding and NOT instant.) Let the pudding cool in the pan 5 minutes after it has come to a boil and is done. Slice a large ripe banana thinly and line the bottom of the pie crust with a layer of the slices. Stir the pudding and spoon a thin layer of pudding over the slices. Add another layer of thinly sliced banana, and then pour the rest of the pudding into the crust, mounding as much into the crust as it will hold. Chill in the refrigerator several hours. At serving time, beat 1 cup of whipping cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar. Cover the entire top of the pie with all of the whipped cream. Cut and serve.

Our holiday ham is NewYears day so very easy as a brunch menu...black-eyed peas, biscuits, horseradish cream sauce, collards. DH makes omelets to order. I usually make potato/onion/apple fritters similar to a latke. Very casual. If for a more formal event as a sit down meal i would make roasted root veggies. From the past couple weeks and Thanksgiving. I even left the skin on the winter squash. My family loves to try new things or just chose what they want. Pleases everyone. Makes a pretty centerpiece platter. This one i found i've bookmarked for DH's family. In muffin tins i can make some savory ones for us and then add some brown sugar and a marshmallow half for the kids that want that sort of thing. 375 for half hour covered with foil, uncover and add more cheese (or sweet topping) then toast the tops.