Thanks! I've seen different maps that put me in different zones but apparently I'm right on the line between 7b and 8a...about halfway between Atlanta and Macon. I guess Alabama is about the same as GA when it comes to the crazy variations in climate. I'm not necessarily limited to containers, but the ground in my yard is about 3 parts rock to 1 part baked GA clay. It's pretty bad when even weeds won't grow! I'm also in a rental house and the landlord isn't too keen on me plowing up the backyard to put in a garden so I started playing around with containers and it just took on a mind of its own. We have deer and wild boars (and wild boys) and who knows what else in the back so I've got my garden in the front and the neighbors are constantly complimenting me on my beautiful flowers. They're shocked to find out what they are. I actually have strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, peppers, and corn growing in pots and rubbermaid tubs around the yard. If there's anything that will grow in this ground, I'm not opposed to it, just haven't gone there yet. If I renew my lease and stay here another year, I'm going to try to talk the landlord into letting me either till a small garden or put in a couple of raised beds for next year. I'm afraid I'll need to fence them in though to keep children and other trampling pests out and then it just seems like a bigger and bigger project. Also, my kitchen opens up to the back patio so it would be convenient to put herbs in containers out there and my cousin said she has one of those portable greenhouse things that she'll give me if I want it so I might even be able to keep some stuff going all winter. Trying not to get too ambitious! :) I definitely want basil - in the garden centers I've checked they have sweet basil and cinnamon basil and thai basil but I cook a lot of Italian (and will hopefully have a lot of tomatoes this fall and next summer!) so from my reading I think Genovese is what I need...or another variety? Chives (particularly garlic chives), mint, lavender, chamomile, and echinacea are some things I've been thinking about. I use rosemary and oregano a lot. I use Cilantro some and am definitely looking forward to some homemade salsa so that would be nice. I'm also interested in learning more about herbal remedies and medicinal herbs but I've got a long way to go with that. I have the two pickiest children in the world and since my divorce, I've kind of gotten lazy about cooking. It's just not worth the effort and expense for me to cook food just to throw it away (and they are STUBBORN about it...these two will stare at it till it rots rather than take two bites just to try it!) I'm realizing now that we're in a total rut...the food we eat is at least somewhat healthy, but it's boring. Since we started growing a garden here and at Grandma's house, my oldest has been a lot more adventurous about trying the food he raises and I'm remembering how much fun it is to try out new recipes so I'm not above growing something that sounds interesting and then figuring out what to do with it. This year's garden has been such a learning experience for all of us!

It's not a dumb question. A cup is a cup. The difference is a liquid measure adds extra over the top so a full cup won't splash. (I hope that makes sense.) In a dry measure the edge of the cup is the full measurement. So use a liquid measure for the vinegar and save yourself doing the tightrope act over to the bowl! The easiest way to measure things like cabbage is to take, say a liquid quart measure, and pour in two cups of water. Then add cabbage until it reaches the quart mark. (Push down on the cabbage if necessary to see where the water reaches.) When the water reaches the quart mark, that's 2 cups of shredded cabbage. This is more accurate than other measurement methods when dealing with onions, etc. in canning. It's an old Farm Journal method. And it still works great. I hope this makes sense. Let us know if you have other questions. Thanks for the thanks. You're very welcome. It's a pleasure to help. Carol

Jasdip, eggplant is wonderful!! Especially roasted. But most Americans way undercook it. It's done when it looks like snot. Literally. If it's white, it's not cooked and likely bitter. People tell you you have to salt it to draw away the bitter but I can't tell the difference. It's sweet if it's cooked, and bitter and nasty if it isn't. If you don't want to go to the mess of charring it over a fire, you can do it under the broiler. Just wash the whole eggplant, poke it all over with a fork to break the skin and let the steam out (you do not want an exploding eggplant), and put it in a pie plate, under the broiler, until it's all sunken in and charry looking. Turn it at least once (more if there's another side that hasn't been up--depends on size and shape). You can use a casserole dish if you don't have a pie plate (I use Pyrex which is dead easy to clean), but the lower the sides the less you have to turn it. Temperature can be from 375-450 depending on your druthers, but I wouldn't go higher with a big eggplant because the outside will get totally charred before the inside is cooked. You can if they're the skinny ones, but then you have to watch them like a hawk. It could take 45-90 minutes depending on the oven, temperature, and size of eggplant. Once it's done, let it cool enough to touch, then slice open, use a spoon to pull out the heaviest groups of seeds, then just scoop the eggplant out, getting all the roasty brown parts. You can make it into a salad or paste, add tehinah for baba ganouj, or just use it straight. The fire version takes a lot more tending, but gives a smokier flavor, even when it's just your gas burner. Poke all over, and keep turning every couple of minutes before the charred spots go black. As you turn the eggplant, the hot side will cool down and can take another go over the flames. This will result in eggplant spit all over your burner, so not the thing to do right after a big, deep clean. You can also do very skinny Asian eggplants, cut into spears, oiled and seasoned (a citrusy flavor works very well, and garlic, for sure), and roast them like you would any other veg. It's a little tricky getting them good and cooked without drying out though. I use a higher sided baking dish for them. Sometimes, a dry, white outside remains when it's thoroughly cooked inside. They're best when the whole white collapses against the skin, looking flat and overdone. That's when they're just right. Can you tell I love eggplant?

In 2002 when we remodeled the kitchen (with the help of the GW Kitchen Forum) the holy grail of granite cleaner was a "homebrew" of 50/50 alcohol/water/. Some say you don't need that much alcohol but I like the smell :) Clean with a microfiber cloth and buff with a dry microfiber cloth. I clean most everything in my kitchen with this mixture. Soap will over time dull due to build up. It will take a while and depending on your granite, you might not noticed it as much as on other granites. I use Granite Gold as a polish after cleaning. The absolute BEST polish (imo) is Black Diamond's Granite Polish Preserver. I've never found it in a store. You have to order it on line. I need to order more. Love how slick it makes my counters. I put my hot pans on my granite and have never had a problem. Some say you can and some say don't.