i take it you do this because it is more cost effective? ~ a bale of peatmoss & a huge bag (which i have)of perlite is a better buy than a large, compressed bag of potting mix? ~ i can never *think* that through, cuz it's like comparing apples & oranges ~ sortof ~ for instance, i bought a *compressed* bale of pro-mix bx for $27 at a feed store ~ i dunno ~ is that a good deal? how the heck do i compare a *compressed* bale to a non-compressed bale? ~ and, boy o boy, it is really compressed ~ i almost have to cut out a chunk with a butcher knife! thanks for any insight ~ phyl

Cookie8, I almost always end up rewriting recipes, so I can make them in the order I need to. (Starting with preheat the oven to...) The way some recipes are written, reading ahead is necessary, although not always an option. I find it makes the instructions much longer, which makes the recipe look more intimidating. The truth is, if I can follow it easily to the letter, I find my results are more successful. Sometimes, I'll rewrite a recipe several times before it's where I need it to be. You didn't really ask, but I always get out every ingredient, bowl, spatula measuring cup/spoons and mixer that I'm going to need before I even start. I measure it all, and set everything on a tray, so all I have to do is mix everything together. (If a recipe has multiple parts, I set up different trays.) That way, when you read through the recipe, it's all set up and easy to ''check off'' while you're baking. I hope you try again. Determination is a fine quality to possess! I have an easy one bowl chocolate cake recipe, if you need something to go to, that's tasty, easy and worthy of a birthday cake. I usually make it with a Cinnamon Buttercream Icing, and get requests for it often. Just let me know if you'd like the recipe. Deanna, I always use the recipe on the back of a bar of Bakers Sweet German Chocolate. It's no secret, but rather more time consuming to make as a cake, than anything else. It's our favorite as the buttermilk always makes it so moist, and it's a cake that only gets better with time. We always make it the day before, so the flavors have time to meld. It's also fun to anticipate eating it, when it looks so good sitting under a glass cake cover.

We use DSIL's dry rub recipe. DRY RUB: 8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning 1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Linda

Here's my basic recipe, which you can vary as to the amount of spiciness desired: Guinness Beef Jerky Marinade (This amount of marinade is sufficient for about 5 to 6 pounds of beef, which I find fill my Nesco dehydrator's eight trays fairly full) 5 to 6 lbs lean beef, sliced thinly--see Note 1 2 bottles (12-14 oz each) Guinness Stout 2 tablespoons kosher salt OR 3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce--see Note 2 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2-4 tablespoons hot stuff --see Note 3 optional: liquid smoke, 1 to 2 tbsp In a large bowl pour stout and add salt, whisking to dissolve salt and decarbonate the stout. Add the garlic powder and hot stuff and mix well. Put the beef strips in the marinade by handfuls, swirling around to make sure all surfaces have come in contact with the marinade. Place the beef in a nonreactive container (a stainless stockpot works fine), pour the remaining marinade over the beef, mix well and refrigerate for at least an hour (more is better--overnight is fine). If you have time, mix up the beef strips every so often in the marinade. Place the strips flat on the trays and dry to your desired amount of dryness. I prefer crisp to leathery, but do it however you want. Note 1: Before slicing the beef, trim all extra fat off the surface of the meat. I like to use round roast because it's very lean; whenever possible, slice the strips across the grain. Slicing it with the grain results in a stringy final product. Eye of round costs a little more, but is very lean and also is very easy to slice across the grain, and that yields a less stringy product. Don't use a fatty cut of meat because it won't dry as thoroughly and won't have the storage properties of a leaner cut. (The fat can turn rancid.) Note 2: I have found mushroom flavored soy sauce at an Asian market. It works great in this recipe. Note 3: For the hot stuff, cayenne works well; you have to judge for yourself how hot your particular cayenne pepper is. (Mass market cayenne from brands like McCormick is relatively mild; powdered chili peppers from a Mexican or Indian market will be much hotter.) If you’re unsure, go easy with the hot stuff. You can always sprinkle a little more hot stuff on the finished product if you wish. I have used chipotle powder with good results; 4 tablespoons in this recipe makes a quite hot product, and 2 tbsp makes a pleasantly zingy one. If you want something quite mild, use sweet Hungarian paprika which would make a product not at all hot but would still have a good flavor. You can also use smoked Spanish paprika (‘pimenton’) which comes in three degrees of hotness (sweet, bittersweet & hot). If you use that, though, or chipotle powder, don’t use any additional smoke flavor. --Don't use a hot sauce that's vinegar based (like Tabasco or Sriracha)--the vinegar taste will be concentrated in the finished product. The finished product can be stored in plastic ziplock bags in the freezer, and can be moved to the fridge when you open one. I find that a quart ziplock bag holds one Nesco tray's worth of dried jerky. Note that this recipe does not contain any curing agents like nitrates or nitrites, so I can't vouch for what would happen if you left this jerky at room temperature for several days. Storing it this way, though, I've never had any of it go bad. That's partly because it tastes so good, a bag never lasts that long once I open one.