Mango K - fascinating and simple article you attached - the machine of frigid winters - extra snow in Siberia from global warming's excess polar ice melt - who knew!!??? Abayomi - I'm already amazed at how mangos are surviving such frigid Florida temps even as we speak, so you might be right. Perhaps they are evolving with the cold, but that generally is a slow process and these cold streaks seem to happening a bit too much and fast for plant evolution, me thinks, at this point. Actually, I'm living on the razor's edge (I think) of being able to grow Mangos, papayas, apples, pears, peaches, macadamias, almonds, blueberris etc. due to just enough chill hours bred in to those hybridized "low chill" fruit varieties to produce and not quite enough cold to kill the mangos and papayas, etc. If enough winter lows stay between 32 and 45, as they have been the last 10 years or so that I've lived here (other than a single overnight stretch of 26 degrees back in Feb. 2007 that did some damage and maybe a dozen hits or so of right around 32)I benefit from getting enough chill hours for some fruits, and mere dormancy or slow growth for the semi-tropicals.... THe Mac Tree hasn't produced yet (only 3 years old) but everything else has.... interesting, eh? mangobiscuit

REB1136, I buy the Phyto-Fos from a local distributor that sells a lot of it to Hydroponic people. Thats the correct product (Exel LG Foliar Fert) it runs $99 for 2.5gal Heres part of the description.. PHYTOPHOS contains the bacteria Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus polymyxa & Phosphate Solublizing Microorganism (PSM). The most impotant aspect of the phosphorous cycle are microbial mineralization, solublization and mobilization, besides chemical fixation of phophorous in the soil. The mineralization of organic phophorous which is left over in the soil after harvesting or added as plant or animal residues to soil, takes place through enzymatic activity of this bacteria. PSM play an important role in converting insoluble phosphatic compound such as rock phosphate, bone meal and particularly the chemically fixed soil phosphorous into available form. Here is a link that might be useful: Palm Beach County Supplier of PhytoFos

Well, my first time posting this I had everything about done and my browser shut down for no apparent reason other than I was installing the latest Java update, which they bug me about nearly every day. I knew there was a reason I was ignoring it!! I'm really determined to post these recipes though, because they were really good and I think I mentioned that I would like to have a larger repertoire of Indian recipes. I like the idea of Indian food but am rarely pleased with my execution of it. I'm usually not crazy about the mix of spices, but these two dishes were so good I couldn't stop eating them. Easy peasy too, so give them a try if you'd like to try something Indian. However, be forewarned they are hard core vegegarian. The best BF could say about them is he didn't dislike them! Masoor Dal (Spiced Red Lentils), from an unkown blogger. Check out the link to the blog, the photos and description are what made this worthwhile. Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Serves: 6 Ingredients 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon coriander powder 1 teaspoon cumin powder 1 teaspoon paprika (can use chili power for more kick) extra virgin olive oil 5 cloves garlic, grated 1 inch piece ginger, grated 1 small onion, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced 1 14.5 ounce can Petite Cut tomatoes, liquid drained 2 cups masoor dal (red lentils), rinsed 5 cups water 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped salt and pepper to taste Directions Measure out the spices into a small bowl and set aside. In a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat, add olive oil. When the oil starts bubbling stir in spices and cook for a minute. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add onions and peppers and stir until the onions starts to soften. Add in tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes start to breakdown and get pulpy. Add in lentils and water and bring to boil. Turn heat low, cover and simmer until lentils are soft and tender, about 20 - 25 minutes. Stir in most of the chopped cilantro, reserving a little to garnish. Serve with naan or with basmati rice or both. Lpink's notes: I had to cook it more like 45 min. but I used half brown lentils since I ran out of red. Also, I didn't drain the chopped tomatoes, I used the juice as part of the liquid to cook the lentils, but added towards the end, as acids make bean skins tough. Easily cut in half but I forgot to do that at the outset. Ethiopian Cabbage Dish by stamarex. I made it Indian by adding garam masala Ingredients 1/2 cup olive oil (I only used 1/8 cup in the crockpot) 4 carrots, thinly sliced 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 head cabbage, shredded (I diced) 5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used chunks of red potatoes with the skins mostly on) I added 1/4 tsp. garam malsa to the mix. Directions Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the carrots and onion in the hot oil about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and cabbage and cook another 15 to 20 minutes. Add the potatoes; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Lpink's notes: I made this in the crockpot. I layered the veggies with the spices, except I didn't use salt and pepper I used seasoned salt, which had garlic, onion and lemon in it too. I used much less oil and mixed it with an equal amount of veg. broth at the bottom of the crockpot. I had to sprinkle a little more broth over it as it got closer to being done, so I used maybe 1/3 cup of broth overall. I put this in the crockpot initially on low, but turned it up afte a while since I only had 3-4 hours to cook it.

This morning, I made a sweet potato hash with bacon and eggs, loosely based on the recipe below. Not only did I scale the recipe down to serve 2, I used bacon instead of sausage, and I made major changes in the cooking methods. My changes: Caramelize the onions on a low-ish heat with butter. Then dice the potatoes and mix them with the ingredients called for in the original recipe. However, instead of baking in the oven, put the sweet potatoes in the skillet with the onions, cooking the sweet potatoes on medium low heat until they are soft and lightly browned. Cut the cooked bacon into 1 inch pieces and add to the skillet with the sweet potatoes and onions. Make wells in the hash. Crack an egg into each well. Bake at 350 degrees until the eggs are set to your liking (we like ours totally done, so I baked for 15 minutes). I did not add the cheese, only because I forgot. This is definitely a keeper! Sweet Potato Hash with Caramelized Onions, Sausage & Eggs serves 8 2 pounds onions, about 2 large 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Table salt 1 pound fresh Italian sausage or chorizo 3 pounds sweet potatoes, about 3 large potatoes, ideally organic 6 large garlic cloves 4 long stalks rosemary, about 1/4 cup of leaves 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste if necessary Freshly ground black pepper To serve: Large eggs Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Parmesan cheese, to serve To make the hash: Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Peel the onions and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut them into thin half-moons. Cut the half-moons in half. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it foams up add the onions and sprinkle lightly with salt. (Don't worry if they are crammed into the pan; they will rapidly cook down.) Lower the heat slightly and cook the onions for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and lowering the heat if they seem to be burning. Cook them until they are very dark brown. Meanwhile, put the sausage in another skillet and brown over medium-high heat, chopping it up into fine crumbles with a spatula. Cook the sausage for at least 15 minutes, or until it is cooked through and quite crispy. Drain away any excess fat. While the onions and sausage are cooking, chop the unpeeled sweet potatoes into cubes that are about 1/2-inch to a side. Finely mince the garlic and rosemary leaves, and toss them in a large bowl with the sweet potatoes. Toss with the olive oil, kosher salt, and a generous helping of black pepper. When the onions are dark brown and the sausage is crispy, stir these into the sweet potatoes as well. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and spread out the sweet potatoes evenly. Roast the sweet potatoes for 30 to 45 minutes (roasting time depends on the size and uniformity of the sweet potato chunks, as well as the variety of sweet potato you buy) or until they are soft and browned. Refrigerate the cooled hash for up to 5 days. To serve: Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spread a relatively thin layer of the (already cooked) sweet potato hash in a baking dish, such as a cast iron skillet or a 9x13-inch baking dish. You can also bake in individual ramekins. Make small wells in the sweet potatoes and crack in large eggs. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are hot and the eggs are baked through. (Test the eggs by prodding them with a fork to check the firmness of the white and the yolk; baked eggs are deceptive in that the white often looks much less cooked than it really is.) Serve immediately, with shavings or sprinkles of Parmesan cheese, if desired. Faith Durand December 14, 2011 05:30PM Here is a link that might be useful: The Kitchen Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage and Eggs