I've never had much luck with growing good tasting eggplant Rachel, but I am going to keep trying! I am in charge of a children's garden and one of the beds is a "Farm Animals" theme. I have chickens and hens and cockscomb planted in it, and eggplant. Last year I grew an Italian variety and i got ONE eggplant from my plant. Next year I am going to try growing the little white ones, for the looks. But I might be able to sneak some long ones into the rainbow bed in the indigo row! Melissa I LOVE spinach pie. I make a version called "Albanian Spinach Pie" that I got from someone on CF. I think it was from Linda in Tennessee but that was way back in the day before I was fastidious about writing down the source. I don't make it too often though, since spinach pie gets soggy languishing in the fridge and with just me it would take forever to eat it up. I sometimes make it for parties if I have the time. My SO loves spinach pie which is a plus for him! OK, here's the molasses cookie recipe. There are two versions. One is mine which cuts the quantity down by a third, and the other is the original from Grandma. Pretty sure she used Crisco for the cookies but I use a mix of butter and margarine or all butter. Tillie Grieve's Molasses Cookies Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 8-10 minutes. 2 eggs 1 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup dark molasses 2 tsp. vinegar 2/3 tsp. ginger. My notes say you can add 3/4 if you want them spicier. 1/2 - 2/3 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking soda in 1 cup flour Add gradually 2 1/3 more cups flour Chill and roll into balls. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. No notes on how many this makes. I also have instructions for making MORE, which may be the authentic recipe and the other is my cutting it down. 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups shortening 2 1/4 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups dark molasses 1 TBLSP vinegar 1 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. salt 1 TBLSP soda in 2 cups flour Add gradually 3 more cups flour. Follow directions above.

JESS: Thank you for the pics. & neat info. about Badger .. I really enjoy learning about the animals in South Africa. One cup of chicken manure per bush is TOO MUCH. In a British rose forum, a lady burnt her roses by using chicken manure once a month. In my cold zone, I use chicken manure VERY SMALL amount when the temp is cool & rainy. Folks use Rose-Tone (has chicken manure) once a month for roses in pots. But that has only 1/6 chicken manure. I would use only 1/2 cup, 1 cup would be too salty. I killed a rose by mixing 1/2 cup of chicken manure in the planting hole. When chicken manure touches the root, it kills the root, best to dilute ONLY 1/2 cup with soil before spreading around the bush. I started a new thread, "10/30/15: Bad habits, good habits, rose & health tips, recipes." http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3473294/m=3/10-30-15-bad-habits-good-habits-rose-and-health-tips-recipes

Jess: Remember the puzzle over what cause our cravings for sweets ?? I still take Brewer's yeast (high in chromium, B vitamins, selenium) for my sweets-craving. I consumed Brewer's yeast for my immune when I was sick with flu-shot reaction, it took away my craving for sugar (despite drinking just lemons, no sugar). Now I cut down to 1/4 dose (only twice a week), just to supply chromium to stabilize my blood sugar. It does help with craving for sweets, see below excerpt: http://www.livestrong.com/article/101523-herbs-lose-weight/ "Chromium: This trace mineral helps metabolize carbohydrates. Some diabetics take it to help stabilize their blood sugar. It also can be used to curb cravings for sweets. Susan Brown, a certified clinical nutritionist in East Syracuse, New York. She recommended 200 micrograms of chromium four times per day to a woman who craved sweets. The woman was amazed at how quickly her cravings were tamed." *** From Straw: Months ago, I reported that eating eggs daily helped with my craving for sweets ... found that eggs are good sources of chromium: Foods High in Natural Chromium Beef Brewer’s Yeast Dark Chocolate Chicken Eggs Oysters Potatoes with the skin on Whole Grains Apples Read more: http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/sugar-cravings-how-to-control/#ixzz44hqTBlAK WebMD also reported that chromium helps with craving for sweets, see below: " June 3, 2004 -- A popular nutritional supplement may reduce serious carb cravings in people with depression. The supplement is chromium picolinate. John P. Docherty, MD, president of Comprehensive Neuroscience Inc., White Plains, N.Y., and adjunct professor of psychiatry at Cornell University, penned the report. Docherty's study enrolled 113 people with atypical depression. Two-thirds took chromium picolinate supplements for eight weeks, and one-third got a placebo. Researchers found that atypical depression patients who also had carb cravings improved with chromium compared to placebo. "In that group with high carb craving -- a third of the patients -- we had a very significant benefit from chromium picolinate," Docherty says. "Compared with placebo, it had a 2-to-1 advantage in reducing depression overall." http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20040603/chromium-may-cut-carb-craving-in-depression?page=2 **** From Straw: I used to buy chromium supplement but threw that away, after studies linked that to liver-damage. Brewer's yeast is much better, since it has all B vitamins, along with chromium and selenium. Will have to find the amount of chromium and selenium in the dosage.

I don't grow Autumn Damask, but folks report nasty thorns. I love Comte de Chambord since it's small & compact & fast rebloom, and the thorns are NOT BAD. It has tiny prickles ...the ones that poke me badly are the big roses with large thorns like Lady of Shallot. Both Carol and I have roses that die through our harsh winter. My winter got down to -14 F last week with -20 F windchill factor. Today we have a snow storm with 6 inch. of snow. Firefighter, Wise Portia, and Cloudert Soupert died multiple times in my zone 5 winter, but they are worth growing for amazing scents. Cloudert Soupert is thornless & tiny for the pot, and I like its scent better than Sharifa Asma. Below bouquet: Large pink is Evelyn, tiny light pinks are Cloudert Soupert, Upper pink is Louis Estes (bi-color). Below is Comte de Chambord Below is Duchess de Rohan (dark pinks, the scent rivals Comte but it has poor repeat). I like Comte way better than Duchess de Rohan: Below is Wise Portia in only 4 hrs. of morning sun Below Wise Portia turns purplish in cold weather, and the scent is best in cold weather. Its scent is WAY BETTER than Twilight Zone: Below is Firefighter, the leaves are very pretty, and upper 1/2 of bush is thornless. In below bouquet, red Firefighter has the best scent (fruity damask), next is orange Versigny (like an apricot pie), and least is Liv Tyler (mothball and sour apricot). One bloom of Firefighter can perfume the entire room .. I can smell it 10 feet away. Firefighter is stronger scent than Mr. Lincoln, and Firefighter gives more blooms.