Hi, I am going to be out of town, so I will miss the swap, which I have not missed in many years. However, I need your HELP, or I should say that the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association needs your help. Who is the worst polluter of our streams in NC? Durham County. Ellerbe Creek is a mess. Here is the important part: ELLERBE CREEK CONTRIBUTES POLLUTION TO FALLS LAKE, RALEIGH'S WATER RESERVOIR! Lots of folks are helping, including Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association. ECWA is planning more residential rain garden installations this spring. NATIVE PLANTS ARE NEEDED. If you have extra native plants, potted up, please consider contributing them. I can send you a list of plants most needed if you want. The plants can be picked up from your home, or maybe someone will collect them for me at the swap. This is a great cause, and it impacts most of us directly. Also join the ECWA list serve to stay informed of improvements! Here is a link that might be useful: ECWA

I have a a 3yo Kitchenaid combination thermal/convection oven and I will say that convection does a good job of bread and cookies. However, cakes don't rise well in convection ovens (probably because the top sets too soon), and I've found that casseroles are often a bit dried out on top. With my Kitchenaid, in thermal mode, the top element (the broil element) comes on intermittently while baking, to maintain the temperature, causing everything to overbrown on top. Cakes don't rise well at all, and the only solution I've found for baking things that need high heat, like pizza, is to put a cookie sheet on an upper rack to prevent over-browning. This is not recommended by Kitchenaid, but it's the only thing that works. I wouldn't be able to bake cakes at all if I didn't have an extra oven in my guest house that I can use. So if you like to bake, choose carefully. Ovens are not all the same. I miss my old Thermador! Nov

Hi there, from a fellow Minnesotan! I like the idea of three bean salad, and you could easily put that together in a hotel room and the day before! How about picking up a cold shrimp cocktail from the supermarket deli? Or a pound cake and some strawberries for dessert? Here ae a couple more ideas to add to your list of considerations: White Corn Salad 2c frozen shoepeg white corn 3/4c chopped roma tomato 1/2 c chopped cucumber 2T chopped green bell pepper 3T white wine vinegar 1-1/2 tsp olive oil 1 tsp Dijon mustard tsp salt 1/8 tsp ground black pepper 1 clove garlic, minced Combine vegetables in bowl, toss. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Pour over corn mixture and toss well. Serves 4 From Cooking Light magazine, date unknown Make the orzo for this one before leaving home and just kkep it chilled in a zip lock bag. Greek Orzo Salad 1c uncooked orzo 2c chopped cucumber 1\-1/2c cherry tomatoes, quartered 1c feta cheese,crumbled 1/2c chopped onion 1/2c chopped fresh parsley 1/2c chopped black olives 2tsp salt 1/4tsp pepper Dressing: 1/3c extra virgin olive oil 1/3c lemon juice 1tsp minced garlic ½ tsp salt 1/4tsp pepper Cook orzo, cool, place in bowl with prepared vegetables. Toss with dressing and chill If you can keep the fruit cold, you could make this in your hotel room, too. Super easy! Sunny Fruit Fiesta 1 cantaloupe, halved and seeded ½ honeydew, seeded 1/4c sugar 1/4c fresh lime juice 2T fresh lemon juice 1T orange-flavored liqueur (optional) 1-1/2 tsp grated lime zest 1c fresh sliced strawberries 1c black or red seedless grapes Using a melon ballr scoop cantaloupe and honeydew into balls, set aside. or just cut fruit into bite size chunks In large glass or ceramic bowl, combine sugar, lime juice, lemon juice liqueur and lime zest. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Add fruit and toss gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour to blend flavors, stirring once or twice. Spoon the fruit mixture into serving bowls or hollowed out melon halves, dividing evenly. Serves 6. **For a tropical version, substitute kiwi slices, papaya or pineapple chunks, or mango cubes. Add a little grated fresh ginger, and maybe a dash of coconut extract. Linda

Try going out at night with a light, it looks a bit like weevil damage, give the tree a shake and see what falls out.