Mantis - Last year my Symphony of Praise had very little splotchiness. This year it was splotchy about 30 percent of the time. (It definitely has a better track record than Born To Run and Wonder of It All.) But you must remember we have very heavy dew here nearly EVERY morning. Also, a lot of the times I don't take the mushies off because of hybridizing, so I either don't see new blooms (and don't know if they are splotchy) or the mushies add to the splotching. Overall, SOP is a wonderful pink - not my favorite, but in the top five. As a garden plant, I would recommend it 75%. As a hybridizing plant, I would recommend it 100% because it sets seed in extremely high temps and produces a high percentage of keeper seedlings. It just depends on what you're looking for in a pink. Debra

Scroll down at the site below & there's a cake called that. Don't know if it's the same. Here is a link that might be useful: Finger Lickin' Cake

I made fish and chips on Sunday, and I used a recipe similar to Ann's, except that it has egg in it, and I dredged the fish in seasoned flour before dipping it into the batter. It probably came out too thick for Ann's taste, but Kevin and I liked it. When making the chips, I cut the potatoes into 1/2" (or slightly smaller) strips and stored them in ice water for a couple of hours. Then I deep fried them at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes, drained them on paper towels, and left them to cool while I prepared the fish. After I was finished cooking the fish, I refried the potatoes at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes, and they came out better than any other fried potatoes I had ever made before. I had been aware of the twice cooked method for years but had never gotten around to frying any myself because I feel like I get enough fried potatoes when I go out. However, these were so much better than what I get in restaurants that I will make them again fairly soon. Also, I was suprised at how much cheaper russet potatoes were than the potatoes I usually buy. I ate the potatoes with a fork, as I did the fish, which was some kind of "rock" fish from Canada. I also made tartar sauce and a soy/mirin dipping sauce for tempura turnips that I did not get around to cooking. I plan to cook the turnips tonight and also make some crab hush puppies, which will be a new experiment for me. Lars

Stacy, good for you, I think working in a library would be a great job, if I didn't slack off and try to read everything! As for the Habanero Gold recipe, you are so much more than welcome. It's actually a Bernardin recipe, the Canadian version of Ball/Kerr, so the thanks really goes to them, but it's a good recipe. I have to make some myself soon, I've been out for a long time. I also owe a lot of thanks to people here. To Deb for the breadmachine that I use about 3 times a week, it's a workhorse. Nancy, for thinking of me when I was divorced, broke and beating everything with a wooden spoon, she was kind enough to gift me with that big red KitchenAid mixer. All the members here threw me a birthday party the year I turned 50, when my husband of 30 years had just moved out and I was no where near where I thought I'd be at 30. I use Ann T's scone recipe and Marilyn's lemon brownie recipe and Sol's molten lava cakes and Ruthanna's tomato basil butter and Jessica's Lime Chipotle marinade is so popular here that I can it when limes are cheap. I use SharonCB's pastry crust recipe and Lar's recipe for hummus and Algerian chicken and Readinglady for doubling that Habanero Gold recipe for me. There are a lot more, those are only the ones I remember right now! So, I owe a lot of thanks to members here for expanding my cooking repertoire, and helping me to find new techniques and ideas. Mostly, though, I need to thank everyone for their friendship and their willingness to help and for the fact that I know I can pick up my phone or sit at my computer and ask anyone of dozens of friends for prayers or advice or just to listen to me b*tch, and I know if I'm ever in their area, they'll be glad to give me a good meal. Now THAT'S something to be thankful for, and if I've learned anything in the last decade or so, it's how rare really good friends are and how important it is to stay close to them. Annie