Wow! GW removed some posts! The carpet cleaning spam, I understand but David's comment about making a mess on the Mrs. digit's carpet also was deleted! Anyway (& at the risk of attracting more spam), used the last of the soy cakes yesterday and with lots more soybeans, went right ahead and began making more today. In an effort to cut down a bit on the "crunchiness" of the cakes, I went thru the beans after soaking to remove the hard immature ones. Discouraging . . . must be about 10%. Aaaannd, they are too large for my pea-shooter so they're wasted! (Yes, I tried.) I think that they would have been just fine if I'd harvested them while still green and froze the beans after blanching! Then, I may have been able to make them into Veggie Burgers, anyway! Steve (they'll still be used for little breakfast cakes to be broken up and served with hot milk . . . the burgers are still something to be planned for the future ;o)

You should be okay with a mild cleanser. The great thing about microfiber is that it cleans up wonderfully. If you use resolve, do test a hidden area first. Allow it to dry before continuing to see how it does. Here is a link that might be useful: carpet and upholstery cleaning

Here's one from bon appetit, that I haven't tried yet. PORCINI-GORGONZOLA BURGERS WITH VEAL DEMI-GLACE (not my pic) A true demi-glace the luscious sauce made by reducing homemade stock and red wine to a rich concentration needs to simmer for several hours, making it the perfect activity for a lazy winter Sunday. Demi-glace 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 1/2 pounds meaty veal bones (such as shank knuckle bones or neck bones) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 celery stalk with leaves, chopped 12 cups cold water, divided 2 teaspoons tomato paste 3 fresh parsley sprigs 2 fresh thyme sprigs 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 cups dry red wine Burgers 2 cups water 1 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms,* broken into 1/2-inch pieces 3 pounds ground sirloin 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter 6 4-inch square or round sourdough rolls, halved horizontally Fresh arugula Olive oil 6 1/4-inch-thick slices Gorgonzola cheese For demi-glace: Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add veal bones and sauté until deep brown on all sides, about 12 minutes. Transfer bones to bowl. Add onion, carrot, and celery to pot. Sauté until browned, about 6 minutes. Add 2 cups cold water, tomato paste, herbs, and peppercorns; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add bones with any accumulated juices, then remaining 10 cups water to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until stock is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 4 hours. Strain into 4-cup glass measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Refrigerate stock uncovered 1 hour. Spoon off fat from surface of stock. Place stock in heavy medium saucepan; add wine and simmer until reduced to 1 cup demi-glace, about 25 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.) For burgers: Bring 2 cups water and mushrooms to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand until mushrooms soften, about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to medium skillet. Slowly pour soaking liquid into skillet, leaving any sediment behind. Boil over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced to glaze, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Cool mushrooms. Transfer to work surface; chop mushrooms coarsely. Transfer mushrooms and any juices to large bowl. Add meat, salt, and pepper; mix gently. Shape mixture into six 1-inch-thick patties. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Preheat broiler. Rewarm demi-glace over medium-low heat; add butter and whisk until melted. Remove from heat. Place rolls, cut side up, on baking sheet. Broil until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove rolls; maintain broiler setting. Arrange roll bottoms on plates. Top with arugula. Heat 2 large broilerproof skillets over medium-high heat; brush with oil. Add 3 burgers to each skillet. Cook to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Top each burger with slice of cheese. Broil burgers until cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute. Place burgers on roll bottoms; spoon some demi-glace over. Cover with roll tops. Serve, passing remaining demi-glace separately. *Dried porcini mushrooms are available at Italian markets, specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets. Makes 6 servings. Bon Appétit January 2004 Great ideas at this site, too, - I will possibly make 2 kinds - one for kids one for grownups.

What a bummer, Seagrass. I sure hope you get to feeling better. Well, I experimented last weekend with making my own veggie burger out of black beans, tomatoes, tofu, some cumin and cilantro, and an egg to hold it together, but not surprisingly it didn't work out. The mixture turned out way too wet to form into burgers. They were more like sloppy joes. The flavor was good, but the mouth feel, uh-uh. Anyway, I'm going to follow a recipe this weekend, and hopefully come up with something much better. If I come up with something photographic enough to post pictures, I'll need to email them to someone, cause I don't know how to put them in a post yet. I don't know if I'll have time before then to learn how to do it. Happy cook-off, everyone! Sally