My favorite veggies? For beauty my first thought was purple beans. Mine are just barely beginning to bloom and they are so lovely you could put them into a flower garden. There's a variety of snow pea that's almost as gorgeous. And, come fall, a heap of winter squash has often been deemed worthy to be immortalized in art. For flavor there is absolutely no substitute for a vine-ripened tomato eaten while still warm from the sun. I prefer the older varieties that have proper flavor and that necessary acid bite over the modern ones that are too candy-sweet. For reliability, ease of growth, yield for the space required, and versatility of use in the kitchen the many varieties of beans -- bush, pole, green, yellow, purple, snap, and dry -- can't be beaten.

I use 1/2 gallon orange juice paper cartons. The nice ladies at church save them for me. They like to help and recycle with things they usually throw away. (they also save shopping bags for me to bag my sales in!)Throw away the plastic lid, cut them in half lengthwise to make two long trays from each carton. 5 halved cartons will fit in a no holes flat, covered with a clear germination dome. So you can do 5 different kinds of seeds in there, and take them out as each one germinates. I dip all the cartons and flats and domes in 1 T Physan 20 to one gallon of water. Then fill with a good seedstarter mix that's sterile-like my favorite Promix PGX with biofungicide. If using promix with biofungicide, fill containers with soil and water in the kitchen sink with warm water until moist. Don't use Physan or it'll also kill the biofungicide built in. If using other mix, fill with soil and water in using 1t Physan 20 to 1 gallon warm water. Then plant seeds. As a tip, don't put seeds in there too thickly or no matter how much light you put them in,they will be spindly when they are overcrowded. 50-75 tomato seeds, banana seeds, or other large plants is max. You can sometimes put up to a seed packet of small seeds like snapdragons that grow slowly as seedlings. If you're doing tropicals that take a long time to germinate, presoak them for 15-20 minutes in 1 t Physan to 1 gal water to sterilize the outside of the seeds to give them a better chance not to mold before they come up. Then cover with the dipped cover and here's the cool part, put them on your FREE heat mat! My FREE heat mat is my forced air central furnace with floor ducts. You take a empty web flat, the ones that look like mesh on the bottom, turn it over and sit it on top of the heat vent. Then you sit your germination dome covered flat on top of it. The heat will heat your flat and also your room because it can go through the mesh flat. Check your seeds every day, and get them in bright light asap and uncovered asap. I put them out into my greenhouse. You can use bright fluorscent lights etc as an alternative. When you're growing on your plants, you can carefully take a sharp knife and cut slits in the bottom of the cartons for drainage if you want to, or just water carefully. Then when you're done, throw them away. Save the flats and domes for next year after cleaning them up.

My spinner (the larger model) is getting used also for the blanched and frozen waxed beans too. Its nice to fill a gallon bag, freeze, and then one 'whack' they are all loose inside gain. Sometimes my spinner gets 'out of track', and will sieze up while I push, but its ony if its heavy with stuff, like lots of blanched broccoli. I cut about 6 inches back from the head bases of the stems below the heads and slice these into 1/2 inch disks. They get an extra 30 second blanch and are all seperated flowerettes get bagged together. Right now, I picked a few tiny flowerettes and added them to my leaf lettuce along with some pickling cukes and a few radishes. All was enjoyed with my fat free, calorie free salad dressing. I had to tone the dressing down a little as the vinegar was a bit much. I jus added some more dried tomato powder and a dash of Splenda and that brought it up to a decent French type dressing. Have enough lettuce greens for about 6 whole meals of just salads alone. Where's those tomatoes??

Most hilarious discussion in a long time. Who'd a thunk you could laugh at a salad spinner! Thanks so much for the humor, folks. I like Romaine the best, because I use long buns, hoagies or subs you know. One piece of Romaine covers the whole thing, and it never falls out. When I do wash lettuce of any kind, I like to do the whole thing, and then I leave it in a bag with a wet piece of paper towel. I know I read somewhere that this kept it from going limp or whatever. I also TEAR lettuce and not cut it with a knife. Supposedly, this keeps the edges from RUSTING? Now on to book cases. I like adjustable shelves. I line up my book cases against the wall and then like to put the sofa in front of it. Then I bring the sofa out a little bit and let it "breathe." I like to remove a shelf and then instead of all uniform spacing, there is a taller spot so I can set a small lamp or a painting or photograph. IKEA has a lot of options, even those you can hang/suspend on your walls, to leave the floor area open. Then they also have the BILLY whatever which has been popular for about 20 years or so, and they just celebrated its birthday. I am having IKEA withdrawals, seriously, need my IKEA modular FIX. Most of the things I buy tend to be modular in style, so they function in many places. My DH thinks I like to move things for the joy of changing it up. And he could be right. My mind always is looking at options, at "what ifs." Give me another day and I believe this congestion in my head and throat will be beat down. All the humidity is about to kill me...and it never used to bother me at all. But oh my I am sleeping so soundly in our new bed. :)