And here's the real problem-the shows come on in the middle of the day on the weekend-when normally I would be out in my garden. OR they come on so late in the evening-again on the weekend-when I am already alseep, exhausted from another productive day of gardening-with any luck at all. I loved Gardeners Journal and Secret Gardens that came on at 5am, I had to get up very early to go to work anyway, and what a pleasure to wake up to those shows. Instead now they have some insipid show about painting coffee cans to make them into spatula holders and twenty ways to wear a red silk scarf-a show custom made for 20-something junior leaguers. Gag me. It's hard enough to drag my lazy butt out of bed in the morning knowing that I have to go to work, it's even harder knowing that while I drink my coffee, instead of a pleasant half hour looking at beautiful gardens, if I even bother to turn on the tube, all I'm going to see on HGTV is that kinda garbage. And as long as I'm ranting, I really hate any so-called-garden-makeover where they tear up a yard, lay down 30K worth of paving stone, build a fake "hill" so they can install a "realistic-looking" waterfall that comes out of nowhere and goes nowhere, and then stuff low maintainance shrublets in pinpoint-precision rows throughout the rest of the yard. In some of them, not one blade of grass remains. Excuse me, someone please explain which part of those shows is about a garden? Yep, the quality of HGTV has gone down the drain. It's as if they now cater to totally uninitiated, brain-dead couch potatoes who just happen to have 60K-80K of pesky cash just laying around gathering dust and getting underfoot. I just hate it when I have that problem, don't you? Cheryl

I get frustrated when I watch "Yard Crashers" and they just plop the plants in without loosening up root balls, plant too many shrubs/trees too close and that grow too large for the small yards and don't give the owners tips on feeding, watering and trimming the plants. Well, maybe they do off camera. The other thing that gets me is all the outdoor "rooms" with drapes, tablecloths, cushions, pillows and quilts. They look gorgeous and I would love to have one. But, what they don't show is how you either drag all that fabric inside every evening or leave it outside in the Florida sun and humidity to fade and mildew.

how about i give you the stupidest answer ... dig a freakin hole and find out ... jeez ... water your hosta.. and water a clear spot to the side ... when you think you are all done ... get the shovel.. and dig the clear spot ... AND FIND OUT HOW THE WATER MOVED IN YOUR SOIL ... if your 5 minutes.. gave water down to a depth sufficient for a happy hosta.. you win ... if you come to find out.. you barely got one inch deep.. you need to apply more water ... makes sense??? it took me 2 years with my drip iriigation.. to figure out.. that NO ONE could tell me.. on my soil.. in my yard.. how water moves thru MY soil ... in my irritation.. as i was sulking back to the house cursing.. i seem to recall hitting myself in the head with my shovel .. when it dawned on me.. and i will yell? ONLY I CAN DIG A HOLE IN MY GARDEN AND FIND OUT WHERE THE WATER IS GOING ... thereafter.. it was pretty simple to figure out how long to water ... to get it deep enough for the hosta to appreciate it ... there!!!.. thats your glittering jewel of wisdom for the weekend.. lol ken ps: the only dumb or stupid question.. is the UNasked question.. i for one.. appreciate a quest for learning ... shows you are thinking.. and thats what keep you going ... dont you think ... now go dig a hole ...

If Indiana is right in the heart of the Midwest, then I must be living on the west coast. Better start learning the language. "Gag me with a spoon"? And why go crazy because someone uses more salt that you want? Don't you think you could, let's see. hmmm, maybe use less?? Recipes are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Recipes will often vary, even when followed to the letter depending on a number of variables. I seldom follow a recipe to the letter since I might not happen to have the free range grapes, cage free milk or organic Vanilla Wafers that Marco Pierre White's recipe might call for. I often will add spice I like and tone down or eliminate what I don't like. Amish/Mennonite, etc cooking has a lot of crossover with what some people term "Midwest" cooking. If you consider Indiana "midwest" then I exempt this from consideration. However the midwest of the United States are generally or at least were, big farming areas and Amish/Mennonite, etc were also big farmers. Meat, potatoes, bread, coffee, milk, dessert was your typical farm fare. The midwest didn't use much in the way of rice however certain areas, including the upper midwest would have wild rice available and that could be included in the later menus. Native Americans of course used wild rice much more heavily than many others until others found out how great it is. Actually you'll find a lot of crossover in German, even Russian and certain other ethnic types of foods when they're living in a colder climate and doing a lot of hard work, but then again considering the number of Scandinavians. Germans, etc who populated the area, it shouldn't be a surprise. But the food changed to adapt to what's around. You won't go to Norway, Sweden, Germany, Russia, etc and find the same things. Just as "cajun" or "creole" won't be found in France, and probably not much in the French areas of Canada. As Annie said, hearty meals were needed for the heavy workload on a typical farm. You'd rise early and work late and burn a lot of calories. Actually what many people term "comfort foods" is quite common among both the A/M/etc and midwest farmers. You won't find finger sandwiches, consumme or sushi on these menus. You will find hearty soup, stew, roast, meatloaf, pasta and much much more. You'll also find a lot of pies, cakes, cookies and rolls. You'll find great breads, rolls, etc. Around here, mac & cheese is essentially baby food. A blue box and a package of Corn King hotdogs fed many a toddler by a new mother. Never could stomach mac & cheese. No meat, why bother. Watching Cookin' Cheap is different. Two gay guys doing their "cooking" and then dressing in drag to show a gadget of some sort. A pickle slicer, nut cracker or whatever. The "Cook Sisters". Initially it was to show people you could cook cheap. They'd figure out the cost of something and figure per portion. Although if they had a leftover from something before, they didn't include it in the price and would come out with 58¢ per person "meals". One thought he knew how to cook and the other admitted he knew nothing but would try anything. They both fancied themselves far better standup comedians that I would. Watch it sometime, it's, well, different. I wouldn't say it's funny very often, but entertaining usually. Actually hotdish for the food, (and go ahead and debate "food" if you're a Miracle Whip snob) and "hot dish" describes the ladies cooking or the temperature of the plate. Scalloped potatoes and ham is a type of hotdish. Marilyn's Party Potatoes, sometimes called "funeral potatoes" is a hotdish, etc. People stick out their tongues and stick their noses in the air over foods. Yes, some will be a can of cream soup with a can of something and a package of onion soup mix. But then again, people buy "blue box", TV dinners and produce from Walmart for cryin out loud! LOL Contrary to what a couple of you believe, not one of the terms hotdishes, A/M/etc or midwest cooking mean all from a can or a pouch. It can and often is made from scratch. The shortcuts are more publicized since it's a timesaver and many people who hit the net want to save time. I would defy most anyone to have tasted and claim they didn't like the scalloped potatoes and ham that was served at my aunt's funeral, or for that matter the roast beef and mashed potatoes served at my cousin's funeral or any of my mother's holiday meals, all made from scratch. I'll take that any day over foo-foo food! Or for that matter the Tex-Mex you get at Taco Bell, or the seafood from Long John Silver, or should I continue... Back to topic, a couple other shows I enjoyed watching included the Galloping drunk, er, Gourmet though never really learned much from his shows. When Andrew Zimmern was a local cook he was interesting to see on the local channels before he decided to concentrate on bugs and exotic roadkill.