Mellen.....box got there quick! the one thing i wanted to include i could not find. I wanted to send paula deens bbq sauce or marinade BUT it was no where around here to be found. will have to track some down to stock up. last time i bought it i got the last 2 jars. now i cant find any! the envie should be arriving soon also Woot I got a box from IOWA it arrived Saturday! I got the plants in the ground yesterday. and for life of me cannot remember what they were! Read your lovely note to kiddo. She said wow mom she knows all about her state. We know nothing about ours like that! as i was reading it i showed her the goodies! I had 2 cookbooks - now i have a total of 6 in my collection! (see what you guys got started? lol) nah cant blame it on yall. although ive gotten 3 total from obf trades-my grandmother had like a gazillion when she died but my aunt took them all!)One from Iowas sesquicentennial anniversary. one from the church mellen grew up in - full of her family recipes! ( your note is in the cookbook now so i can remember which are family of yours!) I will quote some from the note maryellen wrote. and tell ya what i got! besides 2 cookbooks. Iowa is one of the top hog producing states - i got a box of ready to eat bacon - heat in the microwave and its ready@! Iowa is one of the top cattle producing states - i got beef sausage made in IA. ( while reading this kiddo said oooo do we get a calf? lol some reason she wants a baby calf. i said NONONO!) lol IA also known for corn - so we got some popcorn grown in IA. Great for movie night next weekend. BBQ sauce made in IA. some new hersheys chocolate truffles! were a little melted but but them in fridge and they are good! OOOOOOo i love a box with food! ty so much mellen!!!

Cheryl, the link appears to work. Here is the recipe. Trust me it is an awesome tasting bread and oh so easy. Have made this for meals for folks who are in need of a meal from our church. They think I have slaved over this bread...NOT! Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think. Barbara Bakes, also has some other great recipes that I havent tired but hope too! Cinnamon Swirl Brioche adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Cook's Illustrated Brioche dough (makes about 3 large loaves) 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets) 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt 8 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup honey 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I only used 6 1/2 cups) Mix the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey and melted butter in a 5-quart bowl, or lidded (not airtight) food container. Mix in the flour, using a spoon until all of the flour is incorporated. Cover (not airtight), and allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours until the dough rises and collapses. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container overnight and use over the next 5 days. Filling 1 cup confectioners sugar 3 tablespoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt Assembling the Cinnamon Swirl Brioche Grease three 9 x 4 inch loaf pans.* Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and divide dough in three equal pieces. On a well floured board, pat each piece into a 7 by 18 inch rectangle. (If necessary, use a bench scraper to loosen dough and add more flour underneath the dough so it doesn't stick.) Use a spray bottle, lightly spray the top of the dough with water. Sprinkle a third of the filling mixture over the dough leaving a 1/4 inch border on the sides and a 3/4 inch border on top and bottom. Spray filling lightly with water so the filling is speckled with water. Starting on the short side, roll the dough up into a cylinder and seal seam. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Use your bench scraper to cut the loaf in half lengthwise; turn halves so cut sides are facing up. Gently stretch each half into a 14 inch length. Pinch the two ends of the dough together and braid dough by laying the left piece over the right keeping the cut side up, until pieces of dough are tightly twisted. Pinch ends together. Transfer loaf, cut side up, to prepared loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size. Top of the loaves should rise about 1 inch over the lip of the pan. (Mine took 3 hours, but the Cook's recipe says 1 1/2 hours.) Preheat oven to 350*. Bake approximately 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Reduce oven temperature to 325*, ten loaves with foil and continue baking until internal temperature registers 200*, 15 to 25 minutes longer. (I just got a new wireless thermometer thanks Tiff! and it took my bread exactly 15 minutes longer.) Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove loaves from pans and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, about 2 hours. *You can bake all three loaves at once, leave the dough in the fridge for up to five days, or freeze the dough.

I apologise if I've offended anybody, but it's difficult to escape generalisations when you see so many recipes for things like sweet muffins and pancakes intended for breakfast eating. A few people I know have visited America, and they come back with some amazing stories about the food over there. It does make me wonder at times, whether these Aussie visitors have had their IMPRESSIONS of America's food preferences catered for! I mean, if Americans think that Aussies eat kangaroo all the time, then is that the reason certain places actually serve kangaroo to American visitors? I don't know any Aussies who actually eat the stuff! Not humans, anyway - quite a few dogs have to eat it, and not many of them like it either!!

Well, I am very late (don't know how I missed this earlier in the week) but I want to say that if you are not considerably better now, then you need to go back to the doctor. I can't tell you how many times I have cared for people at death's door who were told they didn't have pneumonia, except they did. And your story (sick with virus, better, then much worse) is so typical of the onset. Lavender Lass, Chicken and Dumplings made by my grandma was my favorite birthday treat! but I never make it now, for some reason. Anyway, right now my favorite soup is a chicken vegetable based concoction that I came up with a few years ago. Essentially, I started out to make basic chicken vegetable from a roast carcass -- after making the stock, added mushrooms, greens, corn, broccoli etc. I had some pumpkin (from my supply of frozen that I put up every fall) so I threw that in. Then I added some diced cooked bacon. Decided that I wanted more protein but didn't have more chicken so I tossed in a codfish filet. Lastly, on a whim, I added jerk seasoning. Sound bizarre, doesn't it? But it is so good! I think that it is the pumpkin and jerk seasoning that takes it to the next level. I made it after Thanksgiving with the turkey remains. My other favorite soups are my "walk down the vegetable aisle and get one of everything" vegetable soup -- don't skip the tomatillos! -- Cincinnati-style Chili, and a multi-bean soup that DD's kindergarten teacher helped them make in class: Thanksgiving Soup 2 cups mixed beans, washed, soaked overnight and drained 2 quarts water 1 ham bone bring to boil & simmer 2-3 hours Add: 1 large onion, chopped, 1 large can tomatoes chopped, 1 teaspoon chili powder, juice of 1 lemon, and salt/pepper to taste Simmer about 20 min. I think that I will make the chili today, come to think of it. Happy New Year to all! (and Get Well Soon!)