David52 Good point. I agree that if the juice is cooked in some sort of container with a large surface area, the reduction time would be less than in a deep narrow container, probably a great deal less. digdirt Is it a good rule of thumb that liquids are likely to be at least half of the tomato substance if juice and solids are separated? At least for some tomatoes, maybe average? I know that a lot of people try to grow tomatoes that aren't so juicy for sauce-making (aiming for "meatiness" and few seeds), but I believe you've said you use all that you grow, and don't particularly aim for paste tomatoes but rather taste. Neither do I, and neither do most tomato lovers!

Hi Sandi, you're welcome. I like the Acai a lot (I've only had the frozen fruit cups of it but it comes in a lot of forms). I was 160 at the beginning of summer, and I'm now 135. I love trying clothes on and having them be too big!!! But I really drastically altered my diet and got moving a lot. I eat a lot of beans and brown rice and vegis!!! It's really difficult, and boring! but I follow the 6 days on, 1 day off diet too (eat only healthy for 6, on the 7th eat what ever you want. It throws the system into shock and revs up the metabolism). So I got Pizza on Sunday!!!!!!! Wahoo! With pepperoni, but i picked a lot of it off. No sauces, no butter, very little salt on my food. I use Braggs liquid aminos for my salt (can get it at health food store, it's like a very light soy sauce, but very very good for you and with no added salt). Also, this is gross, but I've been drinking salt water in the mornings. Gag! I get a glass of hot water and pour a little bit over a teaspoon of salt. then I drink the salty nastiness, followed by the whole cup of hot water, and then 1 liter of water. It's really awful. I drink hot water or cold water throughout the day. Hot is really good for digestion and the lungs, and cold shocks the system and takes more calories to take it in. There's an ad for Acai berry diet pills on the garden web sponsored links below the "post a follow up" box. I don't know anything about this pill, but I know that it's all the rave right now and the berry is very good for the body. It says it was "...featured on Oprah and the Rachel Ray show and with good reason. Acai Berry Power 500 had the best results of any of the products we tested. In our trials women that took Pure Acai Berry showed a dramatic loss in weight and reported that they had never felt better in their life. The powerful affect of antioxidants had increased their engery and for some ever their sex drive. Pure Acai Berry is with out a doubt the best Acai Berry porduct on the market."

I've never used a recipe for meatloaf and wonder if anyone else makes it ad hoc every time. I start with 2 eggs, beaten, and crumbled end pieces of bread that I've saved in the freezer. I add some milk and a large squirt of ketchup. Then I put in adobo and dried oregano, basil, and thyme (sometimes I add other herb combos). I mix that up well and then add about 2 1/2 lbs. of 80 percent lean ground beef and diced onions and green bell pepper that I've sauteed in olive oil and cooled. I salt and pepper the meat, add some extra olive oil and mix it all together. I form it into a large loaf, cover it with tomato sauce and cook it in a baking dish at 375 for about an hour or slightly more. It has a lot of liquid it it when it comes out of the oven and is juicy and delicious. Sometimes I get a better do than other times but it's always very good.

Hi, hope you feel better now. I am not sure if I have diverticulitis. A month ago I had some raw garlic and for a week felt awful in my stomach. I then took some medication I have taken many times over the years and again it seemed to hurt my stomach a lot despite never having hurt it before. My stomach is in constant agony. Like a severel period pain that never lessens or goes. Same whether I eat or drink lay down stand up or sit. I sit and cry. I am at my wit's end with it. Cannot work or go out or anything. I saw three doctors - uk - first one said ulcer and gave me the usual for that - for a few days it helped but then was far worse and had to stop taking them. Second doctor said it was a urine infection - which seemed to ignore that I had no other symptoms at all (?) and said to take antibacterial tablets,. Third one said it is gerd and very minor (!).. He said to take the tablets for ulcers that make me feel worse. I have insisted on a urine, stool and blood test which will all take about three weeks. I am petrified of what this is and coping in meantime. Painkillers make no difference. I have read that with some people who have diverticular flaxseed oil can help, as can fish oil and fibre. But this is just from looking through google past few days in an effort to get to grips with things. Would be good to hear from others with similar thoughts and experiences.