wow! What a great thread! And I only came on the organic forum today because I finally made that compost bin and felt like gathering a little knowledge from fellow gardeners. Boy! Have you guys educated me! Along with the often unreliable words of 'organic' and 'sustainable' to describe gardening practices, where precisely does 'permaculture' fit in? I have had the opportunity to brush the surface of this topic, but haven't put it in perspective completely with the terms 'organic' and 'sustainable' yet. I know there is a permaculture formum on gardenweb, but this thread seems to be on the track of discussing such things, particularly how to "tread lightly on the earth" and how to feed individuals, families, villages and the world effectively. Organic farming is from the heart. It's such a long thread, I've already forgotten who said it. and I've mutilated the text, though hopefully not the meaning. That said, I'm in complete agreement with the sentiment. What we aspire to, ie producing nutritious food from the earth without damaging the earth, can not be regulated in any meaningful way until the whole of community changes thought patterns. The ideas of "nutritious food" and "not damaging the earth" need to be of higher priority than the profits that come of this coaxing life from dirt. Of course, many might counter that statement with thoughts on money efficiency. But here, I say again, these ideals can't be accomplished unless the individual, family, community and world changes thought patterns, especially as related to money and commerce. Well, I suppose that went off on a side-track..but I'd still like to know where you think 'permaculture' relates to the discussion of catchwords in agriculture and what the true wave of the future will be. Organic might be happening now, but how do you think these slacking regulations will affect the future of raising food? Trish

I just had some of the tart with some friends at work - they loved it, but I think it needs some revision. First of all, the lemon curd was too sweet, but I think this is because I used Meyer lemons, and I will adjust for that in the future. The other problem was that the edge crust was a bit hard - still tasty and good to eat, but a bit difficult to cut. I think the problem here is that I started the crust at 425 degrees for 11 minutes with the aluminum foil and pie weights and then returned it to the oven for 17 minutes with the oven turned down to 350 degrees. The recipe that called for a 425 oven expected me to put the curd in the crust for the second baking, but I decided not to do that because I knew it was not going to fit, and I had already adjusted the curd recipe so that it would not require baking after being cooked on the stovetop. Also, I took the shortcut of not chilling the dough as long as the recipe called for, but I don't think this would have caused the crust to come out hard. Anyway, no one complained about the crust being hard, and so maybe I just need to serve it with a knife in addition to a fork - the forks were plastic, which didn't help. I pretty much followed Anne Burrell's recipe, except that I used four eggs plus one egg white in the curd plus one tablespoon of cornstarch to help it set without baking. I did refer to Ina's recipe as well, especially the part about pricking the inside of the shell after removing the pie weights. Actually, I forgot to do that before the second baking, but I pricked it after baking to deflate it. One tip of my own that I added was to add the lemon zest to the curd just before cooking it, and I stirred it in with a spoon instead of a whisk. Let me know what suggestions you have regarding the crust. Thanks! Lars

Granny Smith hands down for me. Here on the east coast, Cortlands and Empire. Also can use Golden Delicious, and Jonagold which is what they are selling around here by the bushelful. I guess they're a late apple. You don't want Honeycrisp. A FANTASTIC eating apple, becomes totally bland when cooked. Just the opposite actually of Granny Smith. Same with Fuji. But that is just my opinion and experience. I see on the Web that others love both Fuji and Honeycrisp for baking. Hey, put enough brown sugar and cinnamon on an apple and they all taste yummy. Most people bake what they like to eat raw. All apples are pretty good baked IMHO. If you're a Honeycrips or Fuji fan, I'm just sharing my tastes. Your mileage may vary. Supposedly Rome and Johnathan are good for pies but since I don't like eating them I don't buy them much. Also some people like Macs for their tart flavor. I go for my all around fave apple Empire, which has the flavor of a Mac but the crispness of a Delicious. Braeburn is another all round good eating apple that may be OK baked. I am such a fan of Granny Smith, Cortland and Empire that I buy them all the time for pies so haven't had much experience with the Braeburns. Actually I hardly ever make pies, what I make is cobbler and baked apples and apple cake. But pies too. I plan to be making a lot more apple stuff with my new toy, an apple peeler!

Cowpeas, or Southern Peas, are not peas, but are actually a bean crop that originated in India in prehistoric times, found their way to Africa, and were brought to the U.S. during colonial times. It is doubtful that this specific bean can be grown anywhere in the U.K., unless it were grown in the WARMEST area, there, since it prefers hot Summer weather. Nevertheless, surely the canned version Cowpeas is available to anyone who has the inclination to give them a try; they are quite healthy. Most varieties of Cowpeas fix Nitrogen in the soil as they are grown, so they also improve the soil; some in the U.S. grow them specifically as a cover crop. In many areas of the southern U.S., I find Cowpeas combined (and served and eaten) with stewed Tomatoes; the taste of each seems to compliment the other. There is a small area in and around Charlottesville, Virginia, where Cowpeas are baked into a pie, and served, by the slice, at dinner or supper; nowhere else in the U.S., or any other country, have I ever seem them cooked and served in this manner. (Canned Cowpeas can be substituted for fresh, for anyone adventurous enough to try them--they are quite tasty and very healthy, and worthy of a taste-test). They are cooked and served as follows: A kilo, or so, of fresh, shelled Cowpeas (of one's choice) are cooked in water to cover them, until tender, (approximately 30 minutes) in a sauce pan that will accomodate them. When done, ALL water is poured off, and the beans are coarsely mashed in their pan with a potato masher. (The idea is not to sieve them with a fine masher, but to mash them coarsely). Into a 24cm-30cm (10"-12") frying pan, 3 slices of raw bacon are fried until done and set aside, and the coarsely-mashed beans (cowpeas) are spooned into the hot bacon grease, (hopefully) to nearly fill the frying pan all around, to the depth of the pan (5cm, or 2" deep). The coarsely-mashed beans (Cowpeas) are either cooked (on medium heat) in the frying pan on a burner atop the stove, or placed in a medium oven to bake. (As stated earlier, 2 or 3 cans of (already cooked) Cowpeas may be coarsely mashed and substituted for the fresh, cooked cowpeas). The pan should be monitored until a brown crust has formed on the bottom of the mashed Cowpeas--with experience, this will take only about 8-10 minutes on medium heat, since the beans (Cowpeas) are already cooked, and ONLY being heated and browned on the bottom. When a nice brown crust has formed on the bottom of the mashed Cowpea "pie", the pan is removed from the heat, a (slightly) larger platter placed on top the pan, and the pan "turned over" onto the platter. If properly executed, one will now have a Cowpea "pie" with a nice, brown crust on top, on a platter. The "pie" is then sliced (like any other pie) and equal portions served to diners. The fact that all water was removed from the cooked beans (Cowpeas), and they were heated for 8-10 minutes longer, means that the Cowpea...