First off, I wanted to thank everyone for checking out my blog. I started it hoping that others would enjoy it, and I will definitely incorporate any feedback I receive. (I am working on the pictures...We have a digital camera but for some reason recently the pictures won't download to the computer. Haven't spent the time to figure out the problem. I'd like to post some pictures this week.) Yes, the worms are eating a lot of junk food. Interestingly, writing this blog is making me much more conscious of what I'm eating, since I'm recording what leftovers the worms get. I'm trying to do better...Of course, a lot of this is stuff that I, my wife or the boys DIDN'T eat, or didn't finish. Most of the leftovers are from eating out--we tend to do a lot better with portion control and type of food when we eat in. Excuses, excuses. If I'm not careful I'll have to buy the worms a gym membership. I certainly could use a little exercise going into the new year. The worms absolutely eat the fried stuff. (Well, I don't know if they eat it, but I do know that it breaks down in the bin). I haven't had any problems with any of it when it goes through the food processor. Interestingly, I still have some tator tots that HAVEN'T broken down from several months ago that I just threw in there. They just got really moldy. AbbeysDad - I am ABSOLUTELY overfeeding the worms. I am actually experimenting to see what their max is...I should have mentioned that in the blog. They've been doing a pretty good job keeping up with the volume, but I think this last feeding put them over the top. I started with 3 pounds of worms. I suspect I have more than that now, just based on the number of worms I've seen. The meat hasn't been a problem. For the total volume of food I put in there, the meat is a very small portion. I stayed away from it entirely for several months, but slowly introduced it after Thanksgiving after reading Kelly's response to my follow up question on the "What are worms favorite food" thread: Posted by: Jason_MacKenna Dallas TX on Sat, Nov 19, 05 at 14:24 "I'd asked this on another thread -- but if worms eat the bacteria, protozoa, mold & fungi, then why no meat or dairy products. Dairy molds up like crazy, and meat is chock full o' bacteria after a few days in a nice worm bin. It would seem that this high bacteria food would be WONDERFUL for worms." Posted by: Kelly_Slocum sw WA state on Sun, Nov 20, 05 at 1:34 "...Jason, the prohibition against meat and dairy products has nothing to do with their being problematic for worms (despite the erroneous claims one can read on the internet and in some books that worms are vegetarians), rather it is we humans who find such feedstocks potentially challenging. Because the worm cannot ingest meat or dairy until it rots, and because the smell of rotting meat and dairy is distasteful to humans but highly attractive to vermin and houseflies, the inclusion of these materials can cause problems with bins kept in or near human living spaces. While these challenges CAN be managed, and some folks do include some meat, fats and cheeses in their bins, the general statement is to avoid these materials to ensure the bin is user friendly..." Kelly, please let me know if I'm misinterpreting your statement. I definitely wouldn't want to offend the Great Worm Goddess. I generally don't add soda, I just threw that in there for the hell of it. Mickey2 - I definitely had some problems with high temperatures earlier this year. I can't remember exactly when I started, but my first, small bin was inside. They moved out to the garage about a month later on the tail end of our high temps, where the worms en masse attempted to leave the bin and return to the air conditioned comfort of my office. I'm relatively new to this, so I haven't been through an entire summer. I think I'll have to rely heavily on the advice of the great sage and eminent scholar Chuckiebtoo, who I am sure, as a fellow Texan, has dealt with the vicissitudes caused by our high temperatures, variable rainfall, and idealogues. Thanks again to everyone!

When we would grow our own, I found that the white sweet potatoes do not store well, so never grew them again. We never ever called either of them yams. However, growing up, my Grandma and Mother both called green sweet peppers, mangoes and many old recipe books also called them that. So when you know the difference you call them by their right name. Happy Thanksgiving, Sue

Don, I was especially interested in who had a birthday today and made it to one of your lists. My son Jim would have been 61 today and I wanted to know with whom he shared a birthday. Glad it was Achebe, an amazing African writer whose works I have taught. I miss my oldest child more than I can say. This was a hard day. But his daughter will deliver a beautiful boy at the end of November. We don't yet know what the baby's first name will be but his middle name will be James for the grandfather he will never know. I've been crying all day!

Yesterday I made some pie crust using a different recipe for the first time in 40 years. Previously I'd used mostly butter and a little Crisco. The butter's for flavor and I had always assumed the Crisco was what made it flaky. Not so fast... I can't remember if my flour is King Arthur, Whole Foods 365, or Gold Medal. It's in a canister and I'll just call it unbleached all-purpose flour. I've decided that 120 grams is the most common weight given for a cup of white AP flour. I fluffed and aerated the flour and gently spooned a cup measure full and leveled with a knife. It weighed 135 grams. :( Put the flour back in the canister and weighed out 120 grams. Then I gently spooned it into a 1 cup measure and it fit PERFECTLY. So I measured 300 grams (2-1/2 cups) and cut up cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Pulsed half into the flour, then the other half, so I had various sizes of butter. Pulsed in a total of 6 Tbs ice water. Formed it into a disk, wrapped it up, and stuck it in the fridge to rest and cool for 3 hours. For test purposes, I took about 1/10 off and made a tiny galette with jam on one side and cinnamon sugar on the other. I've made a LOT of pies over the years and this is the best crust I've ever made, hands down. It would win 1st place at the county fair. Beautifully golden, flaky, crisp, and tender, like pie crust heaven. Buttery beyond belief. Did a bit of research this morning and learned that shortening has 0% water, whereas butter has 20% water. It's the water that causes steam/expansion to make the flakes. This pie crust handled nice and easy. I think my flour by volume was all over the place. And I'm never putting shortening in my crust again.