I like to go by a tested recipe first to get a baseline reference. After that, I'll tweak it or radically change it to suit my taste. Oooo Smokemaster, yes, Jerk! If anyone's game, I've found this recipe comes as close to authentic Jamaican Jerk than any other I've tried. I always end up doing two versions; one with two Scotch Bonnets for the GF and one with 12 for me ;-) The recipe is from a... wait for it... Weight Watchers recipe book. Here's a copy of the original recipe. I use it without any changes, it's perfect as is IMHO. Works for pork or chicken. Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin This fiery barbecue was invented by the Maroons, or runaway slaves, as a means of preserving meats without refrigeration. The more Scotch bonnet peppers you use, the more authentic the flavor. Use one pepper for a mildly spicy dish and four for a very spicy dish. (To approximate the heat of the authentic jerk marinade, you would have to use 12 Scotch bonnet peppers.) Here, we butterfly the pork to increase the surface area for the marinade to penetrate. This recipe will also work with pork loin and chicken breasts, wings and thighs. 2 cups coarsely chopped green onions 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 2 teaspoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground allspice 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 - 12 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero peppers, seeded and chopped 1 (1 1/2 pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed Cooking spray 1. Place first 15 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Pour into a large zip-top plastic bag. 2. Slice pork lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open halves, laying each side flat. Slice each half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side; open flat. 3. Add pork to marinade in bag; seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 3 to 24 hours. Remove pork from bag; discard marinade. 4. Prepare grill. 5. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer registers 160F (slightly pink). Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork).

Oh really? That's good to know. Another thing I thought was kind of the norm. I'd like to get something setup with ideally an LED light to get plants off to a good start in winter. After that there's not much I can do though -- just have a small area with limited sun exposure to grow in. I mean, I guess there are some things people do like mulch with reflective plastic to make the most of the sunlight? Do you think the same about pinching off other kinds of plants? Like I'm also growing some fuchsias and the conventional wisdom seems to be to pinch them off.

Well, my first "adventure with meat" was pretty discouraging. I went to the farm market and did not see ANY lamb OR turkey OR fish, and even the all beef sausages were $5.49/lb. One stall had about 15 different kinds of sausages, but they were all expensive and also they all sounded like they were pork based. I also saw at the same place about 10 different kinds of hamburger patties, which gave me inspiration for maybe trying to make a Mediterannean style patty using the recipes above, maybe with feta cheese. I think the market must have been low on meat because I went late in the day on the last day. That's when you can get the good deals but apparently that's when they are out of meats, lol! I did score some pita and some hard rolls for a song. Then, I found out the fish market in my neighborhood closed at the end of last year, but there is still that other one that Ruthanna recommended to check out. Good thing I have two weeks to prepare. There's also a kosher meat market in my neighborhood. Boy, am I ever finding out a lot about meat! Here's a link to the recipe for the cake. I like the idea of cupcakes, because I can make one batch ahead and freeze them. I made ricotta cupcakes before and they were fab. Only thing is, I think I am going to change the menu a bit depending on what meat I do and maybe not do this cake since I will probably do corn chips for the appetizer. Now I'm thinking six layer dip, (no beans since that's an entree), corn chips, mint lemonade, kofta or shwarma with pita and tzatsiki and tahini dressing, potato salad, calico baked beans, (maybe some grilled marinated Mediterranean veggies too) and coleslaw or tossed salad. For dessert, baklava, smores, and pineapple or some other fruit thing. Kind of ecclectic but that's my taste. Here is a link that might be useful: Cranberry orange cornmeal cake

I've copied your recipe, San, sounds good! I've never used ground turkey except for this recipe which I've made a number of times.It's very easy and tastes great! Rosecmd, can you please post that recipe? Thanks! Turkey Meatloaf with Cranberry Glaze 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup mashed jellied cranberry sauce(canned) 2 pounds ground turkey 3/4 cup milk 3/4 cup bread crumbs 3 eggs -- lightly beaten 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup diced red onions about 1/2 cup chicken broth -- (just enough to moisten) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the glaze, spread the brown sugar over the bottom of a greased loaf pan and spread the cranberry sauce over the sugar. In a large bowl mix all the remaining ingredients until well incorporated. Form the meat mixture into the loaf pan, laying out over the cranberry glaze. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Cooking Live - FoodTV