olychick, that's kind of confusing, I know. It's actually a recipe I got from Carol/Readinglady, and it's definitely worth the trouble. Measure the fruit and add a cup to the cooking pot. Add a cup of sugar, stir to dissolve, then add more fruit, stir, add more sugar, stir, keep alternating until it's all in the pot. That way the sugar will dissolve and not clump up or stay grainy. Happy Canning! Annie

Joanna, you may want to ask the butcher about those bones... Years ago my Mother would buy soup bones from a local butcher who bought whole animals from the local stock yards... On one visit to the butchers shop she noticed a sign for Free dog bones and asked for a few pounds of beef dog bones... The man behind the counter told her they were NOT for human consumption for various reasons, most weren't properly refrigerated, they were all dumped in one container ( beef, pork, lamb, veal... ) some had fallen on the floor or fished out of the trash... Granted most stores today wouldn't take the chance of selling contaminated bones but... Better safe than sorry, ask if they ARE fit for human consumption. Rita

Ilana, this is the recipe I've been using, I like the addition of honey. I don't do this by hand, I put the wet ingredients into the bread machine, add the dry ones and set it on "dough". I normally start with 3 cups of white and 3 of wheat, and adjust by adding more flour if the dough is too wet. HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD · 3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour · 2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour · 2 pkg. active dry yeast · 2 tsp. salt · 1 cup milk · 1 cup water · 1/2 cup honey · 3 Tbsp. oil · 1 egg In large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, the yeast, and salt and mix well. In saucepan, heat milk, water, honey, and oil until a thermometer reads 120-130 degrees F (warm) Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Beat this batter for 3 minutes. Then, gradually stir in rest of whole wheat flour and enough remaining all-purpose four to form a firm dough. Sprinkle work surface with flour and knead dough, adding more flour if necessary, for 5-8 minutes until smooth and satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, until double in bulk. Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll or press each piece of dough to a 14x7" rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges and ends to seal and place dough, seam-side down, into greased 9x5" bread pans, making sure short ends of bread are snugly fitted against the sides of the pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough fills the corners of the pans and is double in bulk, 30-40 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. I like to brush the bread with butter when it's still hot from the oven for a softer crust. This has become my "go to" wheat bread recipe, even the grandkids like it. Annie

Ewww. Jackie, I'm sorry. I haven't experienced a rotten egg in a long, long time. Actually, eggs left out or getting old seldom get rotten, they mostly dry up, according to my extension service. To get rotten requires bacterial or fungal contamination. So that egg may have had a tiny pinhole or crack in it which allowed bacteria in. Eggs are laid with a protective film which keeps bacteria out. Eggs shouldn't really be washed until they are to be used, although any residue can be wiped off. Commercial egg producers do wash the eggs and some egg companies spray or oil the shells after washing to "refresh" that barrier. So, how long is an egg "fresh"? The eggs you buy at the store are already a couple of weeks old, probably more, because they are graded, packed, shipped and stored before someone picks them up off the shelf. My own somewhat arbitrary requirement was that they should be used within a month. Refrigeration does allow you to keep eggs longer, but even then I maybe push 6 weeks. The extension service says 3 months! Most European countries do not allow the washing of eggs which are sold commercially, and most don't allow refrigeration of those eggs either. Now, we're talking raw eggs, not cooked eggs. So your rotten egg could be the result of an egg being stepped in when a couple of hens were arguing over a nest, or being dropped a bit too hard into the basket/bucket when it was gathered, or knocked against another one while cleaning. I doubt it was rotten because it was too old, because, as said, they mostly dry up. The egg solids get smaller and the air pockets in the shell get bigger, which is why a stale egg will float and a fresh one will sink in a bowl of water. You have to have the introduction of that bacteria or fungus, etc., to have a rotten egg. I am very careful with handling and storage and don't wash fresh eggs until I'm ready to crack them, and I haven't had a rotten egg in at least 20 years. I've had a few where the white runs all over the pan, clearly not quite so fresh, but still not rotten. Darn, that stinks about the zucchini bread, in the most literal sense. Ugh is right. Annie