dcarch, that's fantastic...but i'm such a 'permy' i suppose that i like being out in the weather... using wood for fuel. Smoking mozzarella on the 4th will be a challenge at 80 temp, but the ice block worked last summer. mustangs, got ya beat on the temp collection...just mowed on over, then another i stuck in the smoker with the plastic sleeve still on, lol. (i should just buy the whole display rack of the cheap ones) I probably could win the 'useless-junk-kitchen-crap' contest...i just spring cleaned out the kitchen drawers and filled a box to go downstairs with all the previous years boxes... I did toy and play with the rubber lid things recently in a cooks supply...the texture is a bit creepy like my silpats and don't care for the microfiber cloths...DH wore one to work stuck on the inside back of his shirt...wiggled down to the, fortunately tucked-in, waistband like a muffin top. Find them inside folded sheets... Not many new purchases recently. Like that thermopop but i treated us to a thermopen for valentines day during their sale and bought red. It has a special spot and is not allowed outside for the grill unless with special care... So i would have to say my maple tree that nature took down over the winter... Many future cooking tools and fuel coming soon. This is just the top 1/3rd and is now safely on the ground-ish. The base 20 ft is still standing. Not at all sad as we have a large herd of them...would have cost a small fortune to have it pro cut so nature did the hard costly work. Designed a dining table a few years ago and now see it may be built finally.

Oh Goodie!! Today's the big day!!! This week in our local paper they were featuring pizzelles.....now I know. They can be waffle-like cones filled with cream. Yum. Sitting in anticipation of receiving a gift in the mail! LOL Have fun Lou, and Good luck to everyone, and kudos to the lucky recipient.

Lemon chiffon pudding Categories: Desserts Yield: 6 Servings 1 cup Sugar 3 tablespoon Butter 4 tablespoon Flour ¼ teaspoon Salt ¼ cup Lemon juice ½ Lemon grated rind of 1 cup Milk 3 Eggs, separated Servings: 6 DIRECTIONS: Combine sugar, flour, salt and butter. Add lemon juice and rind and beaten egg yolks. Beat until ingredients are thoroughly blended. Add milk and blend into mixture. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into a greased baking dish and set in a pan of hot water. Bake at 350-F for 45 minutes. Serve warm. Mrs. C. D. Kauffman, Hesston, Ks. Source: Mennonite Community Cookbook, by Mary Emma Showalter, 1957. Recipes from old Mennonite cookbooks, brought up to date with standard measures and directions

There was a joint fox hunt this morning with guests from several other hunts from various places on the east coast, including one couple that had come from New Jersey. After the hunt we hosted a tailgate brunch. Since the weather was predicted to be cold and wet, I decided to make a squash soup, to use up some of the Long Island Cheese Squashes shown above. Since some of the members are vegan, I decided to (mostly) follow gardengrlz's Thai Coconut Curry Squash Soup recipe from above. The soup was a great success! Thanks GardenGrlz! My as-made version of the soup was: Thai Curry and Coconut Cheese Squash Soup Recipe source: GardenGrlz 1 large Long Island Cheese Squash (like 20 lbs large) 1 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 tsp red curry powder 1 large sweet onion (chopped) 1 large red onion (chopped) 2 red jalapeno peppers (chopped fine) 1 Tbsp ground ginger paste 1 1/2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste 4 cups water 2 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable base 1/2 tsp salt ground black pepper ground white pepper 2 cans unsweetened coconut milk Cut squash into wedges, scoop out seeds and cut off tough outer shell. Cut into 1" cubes. Place in large baking pan, lightly coat with olive oil, and curry powder, and bake in a convection oven at 400 deg F for 45 min to 1 hour In large stock pot, saute onions and jalapenos in little olive oil until tender. Add ginger paste and continue to stir and cook for another minute or two. Add cooked squash, coconut milk, red curry paste, vegetable base and water. Puree carefully in pot with an immersion blender, and bring to a simmer. Simmer soup for about 15-20 minutes. Add salt, black pepper and white pepper to taste. The amount made nearly filled a 6 quart crock pot.