In Fort Worth the figs never froze, but here they often freeze back to the ground. They need well-drained soil, which I have precious little of, so that's the big issue. It often is persistently wet and cold soil that gets them in winter, not the winter temps alone. I'm building a raised berm where I hope to plant some more figs next spring, and it will be on the south side of the house to protect them from the worst of the north winds. There is no plant I want to grow badly enough that I'd trench it like that but people in colder climates than ours probably do trench them in some locations. A fig like Chicago Hardy is supposed to be winter hardy to zone 5, so I know it is possible to grow them pretty far north. I'm not sure how much extra work it takes or if they do freeze back to the ground in zone 5 no matter what you do. Jo, If the only fig I'd ever tasted was fig newtons, I wouldn't think figs were so special, and I like fig newtons, but how they take the wonderful flavor of figs and turn them into fig newtons is beyond me. I don't taste a similarity. I suppose is it similar to the difference between the flavor of fresh tomatoes versus processed tomatoes. Figs are Mediterranean so don't need a lot of water. They love heat too, up to a point. Are y'all back home? Dawn

I was unable to respond to this last week because of problems with logging in. When I tried to submit a response to this, it said I needed to log in even though I was already logged in! Anyway, I'm glad you received the leaves okay and am impressed that you are already using them. I had my implant surgery on Friday and have been making a lot of soups, including a somewhat mild Thai soup with lime leaves and lemongrass. I start that by simmering the crushed lemongrass with the lime leaves (sometimes I crush those also) to make a sort of broth, and then I strain the broth and throw out the lemongrass and lime leaves. If I am using dried chilies in the recipe, I simmer those also and throw them out as well, but the doctor told me not to have spicy food for a few days. That was difficult for me to manage, and so I just made my food a bit less spicy. I also made hummus, but Kevin ate most of that, which is okay because I will just make something else. I'll be watching for your soup recipes - I want to make the Tom Yum soup when my mouth is completely healed. I'll have to try the lime leaves in rice also. Lars

Had lunch with my Chinese friends (in a pizza joint LOL) Got another lesson in dim sum culture: 1. Dim Sum does not really mean âÂÂa little bit of heartâÂÂ, âÂÂsmall heartâÂÂ, etc. it is a common misinterpretation of the essence of the concept. Dim means to point, or to focus. In other words, itâÂÂs all about the heart. 2. Dim sum is not about eating originally. Even today, a Chinese will not invite you to eat dim sum, instead, he/she will say,â LetâÂÂs go sip teaâÂÂ. 3. WiKi is inacurate in saying that: â At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so teahouse owners began adding various snacksâÂÂ. It was a common greeting in China, â Hey, congratulations, looks like you have gained a few pounds.â Fat was considered a very good thing, because you would be looking like Buddha. 4. Not too long ago in China, dim sum eating was a different thing. In the morning thatâÂÂs where scholars would meet, with their pet canary birds in exquisitely crafted bamboo cages to compete to see whose bird could sing better and they would exchange poetry and artwork. Commoners would bring their pet cricks in highly decorated boxes to have cricket fights with each other. Much like dog fights elsewhere, a lot of money would be involved, and the well known lineage of crickets could be very expensive. Little kids would bring their per spiders in match boxes, a special kind of spiders known as âÂÂGolden hair catsâÂÂ. They would have spider fights also. House wives and concubines would walk around the room to chat with relatives and friends they knew. Matchmakers would also be around to drum up business in arranged marriages. Cricket fights Such picturesque imagery. I asked him to recommend a few movies which would depict China in the old days. Hopefully with subtitles of course. dcarch

DD's latest favorite breakfast is me making her a PB grilled sandwich. Butter one side each of 2 slices of bread (we like honey wheat) Stick the 2 buttered sides together so you can spread PB on the exposed plain side of one slice. Put that slice on the griddle butter side down and sprinkle chocolate chips on the PB which is facing up. Add the other slice on top butter side up and grill like a grilled cheese. DD doesn't like bananas but I bet it would be great to add banana slices!!