UTMEBs: That's a great gardening story! One of the fun things about gardening is when you get surprised. One of my surprises this year is a Cherokee Purple tomato plant that volunteered next to my orange tree. I let it go and began trellising it up a post. It will be my first heirloom of the season that I harvest (I was later getting the rest of my transplants in the ground). It is healthy and lush and full of fruit. To answer your question, my garlic is not an elephant type but rather Polish Softneck. One of the traits of Polish Softneck is its large size. It's also the hottest (raw) garlic that I have ever tasted! I was brought to tears, runny nose and chasing down water when I tasted a small sliver of it yesterday.....and I eat habanero hot sauces and grow my own chilis so I like the heat! This stuff is wicked hot!.....at least to me it is :P

Hi Carecooks, There's lots of ways to do this. I will suggest a couple, but you will need to experiment. Metal pans will be problematic for any mode that incorporates microwaves. They are not expressly forbidden, but I prefer never to use anything that might cause arcing inside the machine. I reserve the use of metal pans for convection baking or broiling only, no mixed mode that includes microwave. I think the first thing to try is combination bake. You will probably get all the browning you want just by using that. Don't worry about preheating, dress and spice your potatoes to your liking and arrange them in a single layer in a rectangular Pyrex baking dish with some olive oil or whatever you use. Set the oven to 375 or 400 degrees in combination bake mode. Put the potatoes in and start the oven and tell it to run for 15 to 20 minutes. But set a timer for 12 minutes (The timers run independently so you can set a memory jogger without impacting the oven cycle.) Check the potatoes at 12 minutes to see how they are doing. Note, we did not preheat. No need. Just toss 'em in and see how they do. At 12 minutes, either take them out if they are done or let them continue as long as necessary to cook. If you want more browning, switch to combination broil or micro broil to finish up. The upper heater will brown the potatoes as brown as you want, lickety-split. You don't need 425 in this oven. Trust me. It will blast those potatoes with the heat it produces. I recommend that you start out with 375 or 400 and observe. If you don't like the results with the combination modes, then next batch switch to just the convection mode and adjust your temps to get optimal cooking with just the browning you like. And remember, if you need more browning at the end, turn on the broiler for just a couple minutes and things will get brown in a big hurry. Use your cook's experience and your good sense until you get a feel for what the thing can do. And don't worry about not knowing it all! These things are a whole new way to cook and it takes time to get used to them. One thing is for sure. You will not be disappointed in the amount of time it takes to cook stuff.

I make this recipe every year during the holidays - I know mashed potatoes are one of the easiest things to make, but IMHO it's also one that can be successfully made ahead, so I don't bother when we have lots of other things going on. With the meal you've described, this really would feed 12 as a side dish, so you could either double it for really generous portions and seconds, or just increase by 50% for about the right amount. Becky * Exported from MasterCook * Rich Mashed Potatoes Recipe By :Becky Chatham Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Freezer Potatoes Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 4 pounds Potatoes (12 medium) 4 cloves garlic -- pressed 1 package Cream cheese -- (8-oz.) 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 1 stick butter or margarine 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons Salt 1/2 teaspoon paprika Grease casserole dish. Cook potatoes and pressed garlic in water, drain, mash. Add butter, cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat until fluffy. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. This keeps in freezer, but thaw bake when ready to use. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Makes one 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans.

The real issues are needing separate storage areas so that you don't accidentally accelerate the ripening of the one thing or another and some are best left in the dark (think root cellars). On the herbs, some should be air dried and they are usually tied into small bundles and hung up so that air gets them from all sides. Some also dry better in a dehydrator. Don't you love being so much more involved with your food? I too loved the "California" drawer, they really work but being open to both the area below the floor and into the attic it functions like a chimney in the case of fire and are probably not permitted by code anymore.