I love beets. Especially ones fresh from the garden then roasted. Then there's Harvard Beets and pickled beets. I've been craving roasted brussels sprouts, but neither husband nor dd like them...dd used to, but now she's so anti-mom she's sworn off lots of stuff she used to like. Grits I learned to like when I was in Grad school in Billsburg, VA. I liked to go to the Chickahominy House to have a Virginian breakfast: eggs over easy, a slice of Virginia ham and grits, with a buttermilk biscuit. You could have redeye gravy, but I preferred to smush my eggs into the grits. Then there's egg/cheese/grits casserole. Cornbread is best slathered with butter, or drizzled with honey. I rarely do both anymore, but I used to. I brought rolls for the trip to MI to have Thanksgiving. I was up until 2:00 am on Thursday making them. I intended to make whole wheat "brown and serve" rolls, but I didn't hear the timer ding, and so in a panic, I baked them completely so I could taste test and make sure they were edible (they were, although some were big enough to be hamburger buns). For the young fry I made PIllsbury crescent rolls...as I know that dd and others prefer those. On the way home today she was munching on one and said "Oh, what is is that makes crescent rolls so yummy." "in a word," I said, "lots of fat." I have to say that driving up to Hastings, MI on Thursday morning was wonderful. A typical Michigan Thanksgiving day--misc. flurries and the sun breaking through glowering clouds over golden and russet fields which had been lightly frosted with a diamond dust. Breathtaking.

Good job! Not everybody has such good luck on their very first attempt. Did you start your Walla Walla sweets from seed? I have always purchased bunches of them in early spring (they look like tiny green onions, and come tied together in bunches of about 50). I space mine about two inches apart, but I pull every other one and use for green onions, so the main crop ends up being about 4" on center, as they can get very large. You'll know when they're mature, as the tops will fall over, but I find myself using them in all stages of growth. I like Ed Hume seeds. I've had really good luck with them, and they are reasonably priced. I used to buy Burpee, but had a couple of varieties this year that didn't do well, so I switched back to Ed Hume. They are more widely available here in E. Washington, too. Granny Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Thanks everyone! It was a great way to "break in" at least part of my kitchen! The Strawberry Festival was a great success! It was held on land that we've purchased to build our church as a "Light on the Hill". The Festival was held in celebration of making the half-way point of Phase I of our building. Another 18 months and we hope to be in our new church! Now, to your questions: What makes it my baking center? Well, a lot of thought went in to that. It's a combination of the configuration and location. First off, when everything is finished, my KA mixer will be in the far left corner (along w/functioning outlets), my baking paraphernalia will be stored in the cabinets/drawers of that same corner, and the DOs are diagonally across from it. The "center" is made up of a mini-peninsula + the area b/w the peninsula & cooktop. My vision has been that I will have my cookie pans on the mini-peninsula, I will roll out my dough on the counter to the left of the cooktop, and I will have my mixer, cookie cutters, etc. in the corner...everything right at hand w/plenty of room to do it all! Here're the best pictures I have right now... Baking Center in upper right corner... In lower left corner here... Ovens across from peninsula....but not right in it's path...next to the pantry... You can see the end of the mini-peninsula that's part of my baking center on the right. Gluten-Free Shortcake 2 1/3 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix 3/4 cup shortening mix together then add 1/2 cup milk 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 1. Heat oven to 425F. 2. Stir ingredients mix, milk, sugar and butter until soft dough forms. Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. 3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9"x13" pan ... check it frequently, I don't remember how long it took to bake...maybe 18 or 20 minutes? From: http://leaisglutenfree.blogspot.com/2007/05/shortcake.html While just about anything can be baked/roasted using convection, there are some exceptions...cakes being one. My understanding is that it has more to do with aesthetics than actual baking performance. In most cases you want a cake with a smooth top. Convection baking does not generally lead to a smooth top. Usually, when I'm making just one or two batches of brownies, I use regular (thermal) bake. However, I had 12 pans to make so I decided to use convection mode so I could bake 3 pans at one time in each oven. The temperature was reduced by 25o but they took the same amount of time to bake. So while bake time per oven load was the same, I was able to bake more at one time...instead of doing 6 "oven loads" I was able to do it all in 4.

A digression but I love rhubarb sauce, and the mention of it brought this to mind as another way to use rhubarb. This is really tasty with grilled pork or chicken. Rhubarb and Dried Cherry Chutney (Makes 1 cup) 1 cup medium-diced fresh rhubarb 1/2 cup small-diced onion 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries (or dried cranberries) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar) 1 T. honey 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest 1/4 tsp. kosher salt Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and simmer over medium to medium-low heat until onions are mostly translucent and juices are beginning to thicken, about 5 minutes. Uncover and simmer, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula, until very thick, another 6-8 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.