I don't have any of the varieties that you are looking for... I inherited a few trees when I moved in to my home & planted a few since. We have: Apple - inherited NoID: insanely sweet mottled red & green Pear - inherited NoID but I would guess that it is Comice. Peach - Reliance Cherry - Rainier Plum - NoID yellowish red coloured Black Currant - inherited NoID, roots easily, doesn't have to be grafted, just planted. Blueberry - Bluecrop (very limited quantity) Grape - Concord (very limited quantity) Grape - Himrod(very limited quantity) It isn't the best list... but its a start (: The last 3 plants are still quite small, so the scions would be less than pencil sized (which I believe is ideal for grafting). Good luck with your scion hunt Zestfest. If there is anything that you are interested in, just let me know. Cheers, Nicky Here is a link that might be useful: nicky's garden

faeridust, Many people have no choice and only have gas ovens, and they can bake things just fine, so don't sweat it. As weissman says, most pro bakers have gas ovens (the electric demands for large commercial ovens are hard to meet in some locations). In fact, for things with a crust, like breads, croissants, cornbread, etc. gas is preferred, because the oven is moister. Most bakeries that bake French or similar crusty breads even have water injection systems in the oven to provide even more moisture. The only place pro bakers prefer a dryer oven is for things that should not have a crust, like cakes, breakfast pastries, and souffles. For things like cookies, they are generally in the oven for such a short period of time that the heat source makes little or no difference. Lastly, keep in mind that we are talking small differences here, so don't sweat it. One final note: for some reason, biscuits never rise as well in a convection oven, regardless of heat source, so leave the fan off for them.

Wow, it's already Thanksgiving time! Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Although I like the main meal, I never gave it too much thought. The problem is I like poultry to be more on the dry side rather than drippy wet from grease that keeps the gravy from adhering. For me, gravy should be the main moisture. So I guess that's why I like the aftereffect. And I like to just grab a hunk of turkey from the frig and snack while I watch TV or something. Cube it up, in gravy of course, over mashed potatoes. One of the few school lunches I really liked. In the last decade or so I've become a fan of dressing too. Covered with gravy of course. I would prefer if America would have Thanksgiving earlier on. I don't do Black Friday, though I occasionally like to do the Fish House Parade and lighting of the Luminaries. Like I said in another thread most people don't understand or appreciate the meaning of the holiday. Just another reason to pack our faces with food, put on airs and act like you like the relatives.

I've been working all day. Would you believe I still haven't completely switched my closets around so I did a little of that today. Also did two loads of wash and then started cooking. So far I made the corn bread for the stuffing. I just used Jiffy since it seemed like such a waste to make it from scratch when you're going to add all that other stuff to it. I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce so I wouldn't have to spend all day in the kitchen when DS is here. I will bag that up and put in the freezer. He can take a bag home with him (I think it's called a bribe....that's why he loves to come and visit). I also prepped the green beans for Thursday, made some wheat rolls and par baked them. Will freeze and finish baking what I need on Thursday. Tonight I will make the cranberry sauce, butternut squash soup and a small butternut squash casserole since I'm the only one that likes it. Tomorrow is cleaning day for me and will do the stuffing and apple pie tomorrow night. We won't eat till 6:00 on Thanksgiving day because DS will be driving here from Pittsburgh. That gives me plenty of time to finish of the cooking. Tonight we're just having meatloaf sandwiches. Oh, and you wanted my twice baked potatoes recipe which is very similar to yours: Sour Cream Stuffed Potatoes 3 large baking potatoes 3/4 C. sour cream 1 T. grated onion 1 tsp. salt 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese Bake potatoes one hour at 400. Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out potato leaving a little in the shell for body. In large mixing bowl, Mix scooped out potato with remaining ingredients. Restuff shells and place on baking sheet. Freeze and then put frozen potatoes in zip-loc bag for later use. (I usually double recipe. I also put a pat of butter on top of potato when rebaking. Bake frozen potatoes at 400 45 - 55 min.