This is a variation of a recipe posted at all recipes by Star Pooley. The changes are mostly in cooking the broth for 2+ hours instead of 30 minutes. Level 1 - Pro/Fat 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 onions chopped 2 cloves of garlic - minced - more if you like about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley - originally called for an entire bunch of parsley 1 large can of diced tomatoes - originally called for stewed tomatoes * optional(if you like a thicker soup you can include a large can of tomato puree or 1 small can of tomato paste) 1/2 cups dry white wine 2 bottles of clam juice - origanally called for water instead of clam juice 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon of dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dired oregano *optional - 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes - if you like a little kick 1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp 1 1/2 lbs bay scallops 2+ dozen clams 2+ dozen mussels - cleaned and debearded 1 1/2 cups of crabmeat - I used lump crabmeat 1 1/2 pounds of cod cubed - I used tilapia Over medium-low heat melt butter and add evoo in large stockpot, add onions, garlic and parsley. Stir and cook until onions are tender. Add tomatoes to the onions, then add chicken broth, wine, clam broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme and oregano. Mix well, cover and simmer at least 2 hours. Stir in shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, crabmeat and fish. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer about 7 minutes or until clams open. Serve in bowls and enjoy!

Yep, you can definitely do it the way you did it. Some people do it in their ovens as well. I just like having the ensured consistency of my yogurt maker, and the fact that it only takes up a foot of space on my counter (versus an entire cooler, or taking up the oven). But anyway you can do it that works is the way to go! I've never tried using Dannon as a starter -- I've always used organic brands, and they tend to give somewhat tart results, at least in my experience. Also, the first batch I make is always fairly bland -- further batches that use that yogurt as the starter tend to be much tarter progressively. I actually prefer mine a little bland versus tart, but the fun thing about doing this is you get to play around and figure out what works for you. I've been planning to try using Greek yogurt at some point as a starter -- some people say it's really awesome. If you have a Whole Foods or other health food store near you, go take a gander at all the different kinds of yogurt you can use as a starter -- it's kind of exciting. (I've always found that using actual yogurt as a starter works better than "starter kits", although other people are happy with those. YMMV.)

I agree with eating more to lose at times. I try to start the day with some protein, a bread and some fruit. If I don't eat some protein I seem to get hungry sooner. A convenient breakfast for me would be a frozen pancake or waffle, lite sausage links or a piece of ham and a piece of fruit. Sometimes an egg, two strips of bacon and toast. Many times I eat lunch for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Lunch is a tuna sandwich on a roll with a salad's worth of greens on top, Sometimes a roast beef or turkey sandwich or a small burger or a Lean Cuisine meal. I don't care for processed meats. Fruits and veggies as needed for hunger. Dinner is standard meat,veggie and starch but portion controlled. If I eat potatoes, pasta or rice I skip the bread. If I don't, I have bread. Snacks are usually chewy granola bars, fruit and grain bars, fig newtons or occasionally a "good" cookie like oatmeal. I eat ice cream almost every day, but measure out 1/2 cup. For crunch I measure out dry cereal or pretzels. I use sugarfree jello sometimes and clear veggie based soups to fill up when I'm on a "can't stop eating binge". I "trick" my sweet tooth by using healthy choices. For example I will slice a banana on a hot pancake or waffle, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and add a dollop of whipped cream...banana cream pie thats good for me. For apple crisp I nuke a sliced apple sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon and sugar and top it with crushed honey nut chex cereal. I don't get enough dairy since I'm not a milk or yogurt person, so I take calcium. I do eat cottage cheese and cheese though. The little Babybell cheeses are a good snack at 70 calories each. That's pretty much how I eat and as long as I don't get carried away with restaurant portions or eating too much fat at one meal it seems to work for me. Anyway thats what I eat. Hope it helps.

I made the pecan tart on Ann's blog. I sent it to the grandparent's house yesterday while still warm. Alice took it with her when she went for a visit yesterday. The recipe as given: Double Chocolate Pecan Pie ========================== For the filling: 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar ½ tsp. salt 2 large eggs ½ cup corn syrup (I used half maple syrup, half corn syrup) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped into small pieces 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped Butter-Lard Pastry ================== Edited: May/20092 cups all purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup lard (or shortening- Crisco) 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water For sweet pies add 1 to 2 teaspoons white sugar. Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard. An easy way to cut in the fat is to use a food Processor. Cut the butter and lard into cubes add to the flour and pulse. Butter/lard should be the size of peas. Pour mixture into a bowl and add the icewater, mixing quickly with a fork, just until the dough come stogether. Turn out on to floured board and form into a ball. Cut into two pieces, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour. Another way to cut into the butter is to use a box grater. Makes the perfect size pieces of butter. Just make sure that the butter is very cold. NOTE: This crust is also perfect made with all butter. On a lightly-floured work surface, roll the pie dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the round to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pie pan. Trim the edges as necessary and create a fluted pattern using a finger to make the indentations. Freeze the dough-lined pie plate until firm and very cold, about 30 minutes. Adjust an oven rack to lower middle position and heat the oven to 375° F. Remove the dough-lined plate from the freezer, press a sheet of foil inside the pie shell and fill with ceramic baking beads. Bake about 30 minutes, until the dough looks dry and light in color. Carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue baking the crust 5-6 minutes more, until light golden brown. While the pie crust is baking, make the filling. Melt the butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove the bowl from the double boiler but maintain the simmering water. Stir in the sugar and salt with a wooden spoon until the butter is absorbed. Beat in the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Return the bowl to the double boiler and heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is shiny and hot to the touch, about 130° F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans. As soon as the pie shell comes out of the oven, lower the oven temperature to 275° F. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Scatter the chopped chocolate pieces over the filling and press into the filling with the back of a spoon. Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 50-60 minutes, until the pie looks set but slightly soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed with the back of a spoon. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 4 hours. _________________________________________________________ With apologies to Ann, I got lazy! I also wanted all pecan, no chocolate. I omitted the chocolate and added another cup of pecans. I left the pecans as whole halves, I didn't chop, nor did I toast. I also didn't prebake the crust. I put the two cups of pecans in the chilled crust in the tart pan and poured the egg/sugar/butter/maple syrup mix (which I heated in the double boiler until the sugar was dissolved) over the pecans. I baked it at 350 until it was set and the crust was golden brown. About 45 minutes. The report from all who had a piece was that it was absolutely wonderful. Thank you Ann! Here is a link that might be useful: Pecan Tart