I will try to condense this because I could pontificate for hours on this! My love for gardening came from my father. He was the ultimate green thumb-he didn't have formal training that i know of, but he was a street tree gardener for two of the communities we grew up in, and always had a vegetable garden as a way to supplement our large family's food budget.(Six kids) He was a school music teacher and when summer vacation began he was always found out back tending the garden for pretty much the whole summer. Of all six children I seemed to be the most interested in what he did-and my first memory of my own interest was when he gladly allowed me to plant marigolds around the border of his garden to keep pests away(this was a fairly large plot and now I know why he jumped at my offer to help him!)I was in elementary school at the time. Also eating a tomato whole and sprinkled with salt always brings dad's tomatoes to mind. And asparagus and homemade pickles.... That was my first taste of working in a garden. It wasn't until I was a first-time homeowner that I knew I was going to be a gardener but I chose to go the route of flowers instead of vegetables. The saddest thing, though was that the year before I moved into my new home, my dad developed Alzheimer's disease and everything I needed to ask him for gardening advice about trees and organic gardening was completely gone-he was just a shell of my father-quite sad. Not a day goes by when I'm in my yard and garden that I don't think of Dad and the gift he gave me. I just wanted to share it with him. He passed away two months ago. Just an interesting note; Our family surname has it's origin from Poland and it means 'gardener of an estate' I find that kind of neat. Maybe it's in our bloodline to be gardeners! * Posted by: pkock Zone 6 (My Page) on Tue, May 28, 02 at 2:44 So glad to find this thread - hope it lasts, because it's fun! Honestly, I am not sure what got me hooked. I think it's my tendency to love "scientific" stuff - I never pursued it professionally, but I'll make anything into a science experiment. I got through two pregnancies with that attitude. ;-) My grandma was the gardener in our family. She lived with us, and each year we had to have a veggie garden. My dad wasn't into yard work much, but was "forced" into the labor required, turning over the clay soil with a spade and protesting the entire time. Always basic stuff - tomatoes, peppers, pole beans, but they sure tasted good. We had strawberries for a couple of years, and there was a big apple tree in our yard that grew "cooking" apples. Grandma made lots of pies and applesauce. Then there was Girl Scouts - one year we had a hike with a knowledgeable person who pointed out all the fantastic wild plants along the trail. I absorbed it all like a sponge. This is rare, this is edible, this is a cure for poison ivy, etc. I still remember most of it, teach my daughter, and soon will teach her scout troop too. I was voted "Miss Outdoorswoman" in high school. Isn't that neat? Some things never change. :) --Pam * Posted by: Lucy2 Z7Atlanta (My Page) on Wed, May 29, 02 at 8:23 I love reading these. I remember going to visit my grandparents in Texas every summer. We lived in New Hampshire and would fly down and my grandparents would meet us at the airport. The first thing we would do when we got to Grandma's house was run to her garden. Every year she planted a watermelon JUST FOR US! Oh, how special that was. We would walk into the garden and she would "double check that it was ripe and time to pick it and she would let us watch as she "ever so gently" plucked the watermelon from the garden and we would sit on her front porch all afternoon eating the best watermelon we had ever tasted and spitting seeds as far as we could. Sadly, my Aunt burst my childhood memory bubble (when I was in my 40's but it still hurt!) by telling me that my Grandparents would go to the grocery store the night before we flew in, buy a watermelon and lay it in the garden "just for us", pretending they planted it and grew it all along...I guess I'm in denial because I still tell my children about those fond memories! * Posted by: becki3 z5 IN (My Page) on Tue, Jul 23, 02 at 20:34 Can I still step in here? This is such a wonderful thread, brought back some great memories. But now I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes and a big lump in my throat. One of my first garden memories is of my next-door neighbor when I was very small. She had a gigantic (to me) gooseberry bush that she would make pies for us from, if I would pick the berries. And she also had a thick grape vine that she would sit down with me in the middle of the yard and eat grapes from right off the vine. We always sat on the other side of it so my mom couldn't see us from the window. I don't think she would have minded, but my neighbor made it fun, thinking we were being secretive. She also had about a million plants in her house that she would show me all the time. Thinking back on it now, I realize they were mostly African violets. She was in her late 80's, early 90's, and I thought she was the best neighbor a girl could ever have. (still do) :) Then there was my grandpa. When he was a teen in the service, he had come home to visit his mom just before being shipped overseas. He took ONE little segment from her Christmas cactus, which had been a wedding present 25 years before that, and put it in his wallet. He then drove all the way across the country (took a few days), all the while sitting on this wallet. Just before being shipped out, he stuck this one little smashed, dried up piece of Christmas cactus and stuck it in a little pot of dirt from the ground outside his barracks. I'm not sure what happened to it (where it was, who took care of it) while he was in the war. But I do know that when he died in 1994, that Christmas cactus was not only alive, but very, very, VERY big. He had built a planter for it on wheels so he could move it outside in the summer and back inside for the winter. He also had a ramp leading up to his patio door, which he had to remove to get it through. This "planter" was 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. Filled all the way with soil and thick, long roots. And the plant filled every inch of the top of the soil and hung down to the floor all around. He had to give it a "haircut" every time he moved it in or out so he wouldn't run over it with the wheels. I now have a pretty good size pot of this same plant in my husband's office, where it sits in front of a huge window all year long and blooms from Oct to around May every year. I ask about or stop by to check on this plant about once a week. I'm always terrified I might lose this plant, I feel like somehow I would be losing my grandpa all over again. Or that he might be disappointed in me for letting his precious plant die after having survived 4 generations in our family. But my all-time favorite childhood memories (of any kind) come from my Aunt Julia and Uncle Bill. They had a big farm in Missouri with a couple horses, a coop full of chickens, and about 300 head of dairy and beef cows at any given time. Along with the usual couple of dogs and a barn full of cats. And I remember one time my Aunt sent me out with the horse to get a few apples from the big tree out in the east pasture to make a pie for dinner. She told me to get a sack out of the barn to carry them in. Well, being about 8 or 9 at the time, I had no idea how many apples it took to make a pie. So I took 2 big gunny sacks, and me and Ginger (the horse) set out to find that big tree. Ginger was so patient with me as I stood on her back on the blanket that I rode with (never used a saddle) to pick all the apples that I could reach. I tied these two gunny sacks across her back and filled them up full. (poor horse!) When I got back, I didn't think my Aunt and Uncle would ever stop laughing. Instead of a few apples for a pie, I had just picked enough apples for an entire week of non-stop canning, freezing, and baking everything we could think of that contained apples. Then there were the times that Aunt Julia and I would pack a picnic basket to take out to my Uncle Bill when he was working the fields. We would sit under a big tree and just watch him disking the field, or baling the hay until he noticed us in the distance. Then he would come get me and let me drive the big tractors for a while before we ate. But one of my most vivid and comforting memories is of me and Aunt Julia sitting on the porch swing snapping beans or shelling peas. I can't remember who picked those beans and peas, or what she did with them afterwards. But just sitting there snapping and shelling, not even having to speak, but feeling like the most loved person in the world. I just started to garden seriously for myself last year, and this year I had to have those green beans and peas. And I think of my Aunt Julia and Uncle Bill every time I go out to the garden. I almost started crying when my daughter (5yo) asked me the first time if she could help me shell the peas. She had so much fun with them I didn't even mind the ones that kept flying across the kitchen to land under the cabinets or off in a corner with the dust bunnies. And I can just see my Aunt and Uncle smiling now (more like giggling probably). Right now I think I need to call them (they live in Arizona now) and tell them how much I love and miss them, and maybe thank you for teaching me about all the things I love the most. Then I think I will sit down and start crocheting an afghan for Aunt Julia (she taught me how to do that when I was 6). Luckily I learned to crochet a lot better than I learned how to milk a cow (sorry Uncle Bill)! Thanks for letting me take this stroll! Becki :) * Posted by: Mirri 5 (Finland) (My Page) on Fri, Jul 26, 02 at 3:06 My first attempt to garden vegetables was when I was 9. I loved peas, so I wanted to grow them. My father formed me a lot saying it would be too hard for me, turning the thick soil. Then I sow the peas and watered them for about 2 weeks. Then my first dog - who died of old age a few years back at 13- had a friend over. They were just puppies back then, running and playing. My daddy warned me, but I wanted to let them play on our rather tiny lot. They run over my pea-lot several times, breaking all those tender 15cm pea shoots. Oh, how I cried. Then I took little sticks and tied the shoots back up. Most of them recovered. Then the dogs, Roope and Olga, run the pea shoots down again after a week or so. And I gave up. I quit gardening for about 10 years. I only had a few cacti which I killed and bought new ones. But now I am a horticulturist. Working, ironically, in a greenhouse that produces pea shoots! I think that the wonder of growing, seeing the shoots come up from earth was a positive thing in the end. Even though I didn`t get to harvest the peas. This year I have a tiny pea-lot again, the first time after I was 9. I have harvested some, but my dog keeps steeling the pods before I find them. When I was 17 I found gardening again, in the form of houseplants. I was living in a tiny oneroom flat without balcony. The houseplant hobby lead me into studying horticulture. Now I have a son and 2 dogs. If Pyry wants to be a little gardener, I will build a fence around his lot. * Posted by: prairie_rose southalta (My Page) on Tue, Aug 20, 02 at 23:56 my earliest memories. being sat in the potato patch with a coffee can with some kerosene in the bottom and picking potato bugs and putting them in the can. i think that was the way my mom and grandma kept us out of their hair on wash day ( the old wringer washer, rinse tub, mangler days.) i remember the smell of the compost heap, and i never thought it was nasty. my grandpa and i spent lots of time there, spreading things out, turning it over occasionally. i think i must have got compost in my veins, replaced all the blood, cause i still don't find the compost heap all that nasty. (compost tea, well that is a different story. lol) i remember i hated bringing kids to our house in the fall cause you could smell the crocks of sauerkraut brewing. we lived on the edge of town, and i swear my mom was the only one who canned. but i couldn't wait for it to be ready and eating the stuff till i was sure i would burst. i remember we were the "poor kids" but we ate better than any of my friends, and were healthier than most of my friends. the garden was a way of life, and everyone was expected to pitch in. and when harvest happened, everyone was expected to come home to can. my mom would pick the weekend and as young adults, we all showed up. 5 women in a kitchen!!!!! lots of hard work, but lots of laughs, too. and when it was over we all got our share to take home. now, i am a single mom with two kids, and all those lessons are paying huge dividends. my two are the "poor kids" but they eat better than most of their friends and are healthier than most, too. what i save at the supermarket because of the garden pays the morgage and the extras for the kids. and this year, my daughter is taking an active part in the canning. i just wish my grandma, mom and sisters were here, too. * Posted by: lynne_s z5ny (My Page) on Mon, Sep 9, 02 at 22:23 I remember planting potatoes on my grandfather's farm in the early spring when i was about 4 years old. We weren't just planting a little garden patch...I swear this field must have been at least an acre. I remember the fun we had, laughing and running around in the dirt...getting dirty, but it was ok..we were doing something productive. I remember Grampa explaining the different types...we even planted purple potatoes from Russia. Later in our visit to his farm my brothers and sisters and I helped plant the seeds that would become carrots, corn and beans. I remember trudging through the brambles in search of the elusive blueberry bushes...after a morning of picking berries, we'd stop and have lunch...Grampa would take a fishing line and hook out of his pocket and catch small trout from a nearby stream and we'd roast them on a stick over a fire...just like a hot dog. He amazed me...the man could survive in the wilderness with nothing, and probably live better than most of us do today. lol The outdoors was his church; where he prayed, pondered and planned his life. My grandfather, retired by this time still loved gardening and sold his veggies every summer from his down-sized farm. We spent the entire spring and summer there. Everything we ate and drank came from that farm. I still remember how wonderful everything tasted...the taste of fresh food was foreign to me then. I went back to Grampa's farm many times until he passed...there, I worked hard, enjoyed the freedom of being in the outdoors and learned how important it was to treat our planet with respect, for it is what feeds us. It seems I forgot a lot of his wisdom until quite recently. Now that I'm a Mom of 5 boys, with many mouths to feed as well as many personalities and value systems to help develop, the things he taught me are returning. My husband and I have purchased a home out in the country trying to create an environment for our boys that my Grampa created for us...one of fresh air, sun, fun and respect for all things living...an I'm proud to say, we are well on our way! * Posted by: KCtomato1 z5/6 KC, Mo (My Page) on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 0:36 My grandfathers both got me started. My first memory is of dark purple tulips and tulips that were taller than I. I recall what a joy it was grandpa let me pick one. Somewhere in the family, someone has a picture of it. I was 2-3. Both gardened but it was my paternal grandfather that let me try everything. He introduced me to raw veggies. I still prefer them over cooked. He would also let me in the berry patch - which is what really got me growing. He made a deal with me - if I picked 2 I could eat one. He'd go in and I would pick 'em clean of course taking the best for myself. We both walked away thinking we got the better deal. My maternal Grandfather taught me more on the "how's" rather than the "whats". He grew to sell and was not keen on kids picking things he could potentially sell. When I was small I would go out to the garden where he was working just to be with him and I'd watch. I would have worked but he wouldn?t let me. He thought I was nuts for wanting to work. He told me there were snakes in the berry patch in an "effort" to keep me out. Most the time he ran me off I was just looking for the snake. Him teaching me things came at a much older age. Im grateful for the time I did spend with them and the gift they passed on. Keith * Posted by: bizmhamama CA z10 (My Page) on Tue, Oct 8, 02 at 15:09 This answers your interest in childhood memories in a roundabout way. My parents and I immigrated to the United States when I was four years old and I never really knew my expanded family. My mother, who grew up on a sugar plantation, cared absolutely nothing for getting her hands dirty. Our back yard was concrete! Her only gardening interest was roses. I became interested in indoor plants as a teenager and then became obsessed with succulents once I moved out of the house & had a patch of dirt of my own. I even wondered what it would take to go back to school for a landscaping degree, and daydreamed about owning a nursery. My maternal grandmother came to America only a few years ago. I was fairly shocked to learn that she loves gardening! She grows guava trees from seed. In her 80s, she still derives incredible enjoyment from simply watching living things grow. I realize now my passion for gardening would have been sparked much earlier in life if geography (& politics!) hadn't intervened.

Posted by sheshebop (My Page) on Fri, Mar 12, 10 at 9:12 Wow! I clipped and saved so many of these recipes, and still wasn't even half way through. I ended up printing the entire thread. As one who loves very tart tastes, this thread was perfect for me. I love the tartness of a cranberry. Whoever picked cranberries, good choice! o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by lpinkmountain (My Page) on Fri, Mar 19, 10 at 20:13 I just finished off my last slice of cranberry apple pie. I still have about a cup of cranberries left, which I think I will use to make those Empire muffins. I've got the carrots, walnuts AND the applesauce. o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Mar 22, 10 at 9:20 Really good recipes! I'm sure I'll be checking these over next fall when cranberries are plentiful again. Time for a new topic! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~drawing a name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK...got it........................ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pat T <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Pat, please give us an ingredient focus ASAP! Just post it below, I'll watch for it and then start the new thread. Thanks to everyone for the cranberry recipes. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by annie1992 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 22, 10 at 9:25 I should have posted yesterday, I made 12 half pints of Gina's cranberry citrus marmalade! OK, Pat T, I'll wait for your selection now... Annie o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by pat_t (My Page) on Mon, Mar 22, 10 at 9:39 OK Nancy - Let's go with PASTA as the new focus. I'm looking forward to some new recipes & ideas! PS: Thanks for picking me. I feel so special! LOL o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by stacy3 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 22, 10 at 9:56 as usual I am a day late and a dollar short but in since these threads get saved I'm going to add two of my favorite recipes - I love cranberries. And I love Alexa's crustless cranberry pie. I like it in the freezer cut into little bite sized pieces to grab a little piece every once in awhile...yum. thanks everyone for sharing all these great recipe! Drenched Cranberry Cake - Lorijean 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted 2/3 cup milk 1 egg 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries Sauce: 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch round pan. Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the shortening, milk, and egg. Beat for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Stir in the cranberries. Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack. While the cake is baking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water (I just put a small saucepan over an extremely low flame and dispensed with the double-boiler!) Add the sugar, cream, and vanilla bean. Stir to mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean. Serve the cake with each individual slice generously with the warmed sauce. Serves 8 Source: Very Cranberry, copyright 2003 posted by lorijean Cranberry Lemon Cookies -Jenn A wonderful cookie I discovered at Gail's Recipe Swap. They freeze well, but thaw them before adding icing. I posted this last year and got quite a few comments from people who said everyone loved them. * 1/2 C butter * 1/2 C sugar * 1/3 C brown sugar * 1/2 tsp. lemon zest * 1 egg * 2 tsp. vanilla * 1 C flour * 1 tsp. baking powder * 1/2 tsp. cinnamon * 1-1/2 C chopped pecans (I use walnuts) * 1-1/2 C chopped fresh cranberries Cream butter, sugars, and lemon zest. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in nuts and cranberries. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Let cool slightly before removing to cooling racks. Frost when cool. ICING: Whisk together 1 C confectioner's sugar, 2 Tbsp milk, and 1/4 tsp. lemon zest. ============================================================ NOTES: * Though our oven tends to run hot, these cookies seem to take 13-14 minutes to bake. Check after 12 minutes and add an extra minute or two if needed; they should just be golden brown. * Icing is best when made at least a day ahead of time. This gives the sugar time to absorb the milk, and lets the lemon zest impart a strong lemon flavor. * The original recipe did not give the amount of vanilla, so I guessed at 2 tsp. o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Mar 22, 10 at 10:12 Great choice Pat! I'm getting another idea to go along with it. Thanks! Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong #24-------PASTA! o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 22, 10 at 12:48 I was half way through the day yesterday, and had already made 2 loaves of bread and a pan of dark ginger bread (since we had 5 inches of snow !!! it seemed like a good day for baking, especially gingerbread) when I remembered about the cranberry cookalong. I'm going to copy and paste this thread, though. There's lots of good ideas for cranberries. Thanks for all the recipes. Sally o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by jessyf (My Page) on Wed, Mar 24, 10 at 11:45 I can't believe no one has posted Cranberry Jezebel. Cranberry Jezebel Sauce Recipe 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 (12 oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries 3 tblsps prepared horseradish 1 tblsp Dijon mustard Garnish: fresh mint sprigs Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Add cranberries, and return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool to room temp. Stir in horseradish and mustard; cover and chill. Garnish, if desired. o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by jimster (My Page) on Thu, Apr 1, 10 at 19:35 Better late than never, right? I finally got around to developing and testing this recipe and making the photos. My goal was a zippy cranberry chutney. Cranberry chutney is not such an original idea as I first thought. Malna posted one early in this thread and it turns out there are many recipes for it on the Internet. Anyway, here is mine. Chutney Ingredients Chutney Appetizer CRANBERRY CHUTNEY 12 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries 1 orange, chopped 1 apple, chopped 2 Tablespoons finely minced shallots 1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger root 3/4 Cup white vinegar 3/4 Cup white wine 1 Cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil in a covered pot. Simmer covered for 5 minutes. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes. Note: Prior to cooking, it may appear that there is not enough liquid. Check the consistency after the first five minutes of cooking. Add wine or water if necessary. The final product should be thick. Jim o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by chase (My Page) on Thu, Apr 1, 10 at 22:03 Jim, I'll go back and check the recipe in a minute but those pictures are amazing. Especially the first one! Gorgeous. You been hiding your talent boy! o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by lpinkmountain (My Page) on Fri, Apr 2, 10 at 8:58 So was it any good? I've been looking for a good cranberry chutney recipe, the one I have calls for sage and I've been skeptical so haven't made it. o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by jimster (My Page) on Fri, Apr 2, 10 at 12:00 Thanks for the nice words, Sharon. You made my day. LPM, this chutney was pretty much what I expected it to be. It's based on a review of many other recipes so I couldn't go too far wrong. My main innovations were to use shallots, ginger root and wine, nothing especially daring but fitting to the concept of a chutney I thought. I was tempted to use balsamic vinegar but went with white vinegar for the sharpness I wanted. I figured the other ingredients would provide enough fruitiness. Since it is the only cranberry chutney I ever tasted, I have no basis for comparison. I can only say it tastes good to me. I agree about that recipe which called for sage. I would not use green herbs. IMO, it's sweet spices you want with the fruitiness of chutney and that is consistent with most of the recipes I looked at. I just looked at Malna's recipe again and it looks like she also used ginger root, not ground ginger. Check her recipe and look at a few of the other on-line recipes and see what you think. Let us know if you make chutney. Jim o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by lpinkmountain (My Page) on Fri, Apr 2, 10 at 16:55 Right now I have the ingredients for Gina's Cranberry Citrus Marmelade languishing in my fridge, so if I do make preserves, that will be it. Most likely I will make the chutney to give as Christmas gifts next year, so I'll have to save this thread. I liked Malna's recipe too, but somehow I can't get my brain around curried cranberries! There is no total reason for this, other than I've never tried it. But also, I am not a big curry fan, and I don't really know why, because I liked seasoned food. There must be some particular ingredient in curry I don't like, and I think it may be fenugreek. Maybe that's not in Balti seasoning. o RE: Cookalong #23 ------CRANBERRIES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by malna (My Page) on Fri, Apr 2, 10 at 18:58 I thought I heard my name being bantered around here LOL. Here's my take on the chutney issue - I much prefer the sweet one. As a matter of fact, I can just eat it right out of the jar. On a turkey sandwich? To die for. The curried one - DH loves it. I liked it right after I canned it but, as I said above, I think the curry part got too strong after a few months on the shelf. BTW, the ingredients in Balti are coriander, garlic, ginger, cumin, dundicut chilies, Ceylon cinnamon, mustard, cardamom, cloves, fennel, fenugreek (sorry, LPM), charnushka, star anise, ajwain, black cardamom, cilantro, anise seed and bay leaf. Whew, long list to type!

I make Apple Crostata more often that a 2-crust pie. It's so easy. It's Ina's recipe Apple Crostata For the pastry: 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced 2 tablespoons ice water For the filling: 1 1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large) 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced Directions For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet. For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle. Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. I also like Mom's Apple Cake from SmittenKitchen Mom’s Apple Cake (Smitten Kitchen) For the apples 6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples, I use a mix of whatever looks good 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 5 tablespoons (65 grams) granulated sugar For the cake 2 3/4 cups (360 grams) flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt 1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil (safflower, sunflower, olive and coconut oil also work, as does melted butter) 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar 1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice 2 1/2 (13 ml) teaspoons vanilla extract 4 large eggs 1 cup (130 grams) walnuts, chopped (optional and to be honest, we never use them) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. (I use this one.) Peel, core and chop apples into 1-inch chunks.Toss with cinnamon and 5 tablespoons sugar and set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones; scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.* Cool completely before running knife between cake and pan, and unmolding onto a platter. Do ahead: This cake is awesome on the first day but absolutely glorious and pudding-like on the days that follow, so feel free to get an early start on it. I keep it at room temperature covered with foil. * Tip: The apples love to hide uncooked pockets of batter, especially near the top. Make sure your testing skewer or toothpick goes not just all the way down to the bottom, but does a shallow dip below the top layer of apples to make sure it comes out batter-free. Should your cake be browning too fast, before the center is baked through, cover it with foil for all but the last few minutes in the oven.

Maybe try these: Apple Cider Caramels recipe from: http://sugarpunk.wordpress.com/ 2 c apple cider Reduce to 1/3 cup, set aside. [I used apple cider from Hickory Nut Gap Farm, which we found last weekend when we were in Asheville. It's a cider made from a variety of apples, but the primary flavor seems to be winesap, which gives it a nice bite.] 2/3 c cream [I used local cream here, from Maple View Farms. The best!] 6 tbsp butter Heat to boil, then set aside. [Again, I re-heated this just before adding it later. Also, when I make this next time, I'm going to infuse the cream with a cinnamon stick, as these caramels really love having cinnamon with them] 1 1/2 c sugar 1/4 c corn syrup 1/4 water Cook to light brown [I have found that my idea of "light brown" and what works with caramel aren't at all the same - I generally heat it to something more like medium-dark amber] Add cream, butter and reduced apple cider all at once, stirring constantly (it will foam up – use a good size pot). ]Oh boy, they’re not kidding! I always, always scald myself when doing this step. ] Cook to 250 degrees, using fairly low heat – you want to take about 10-15 minutes to get it up to temperature. [Now this, I just find to be incorrect. The sooner you can get it up to the mid-range of soft-ball, the better. I do use medium heat, but it has never taken longer than 5 minutes to get to temperature.] Pour it into a 8 inch square baking pan that’s been lined with two pieces of oiled parchment paper, one in each direction – this creates a “sling” to pull the caramel out of the pan. [This has always resulted in a layer of caramel approximately 1/2 inch thick. If you want thicker caramels (and I usually do), you can use a smaller pan, or I've made a spacer from cardboard that turns my pan into approx an 8x6 pan.] [I also sprinkled a little fleur de sel over the caramels at this point, as I find them far too sweet if they don't have a hint of saltiness about them] [My final step: Cover the pan with plastic wrap, not touching the caramel (it'll melt)]. Wait until entirely cooled. Then cut with a sharp, oiled knife into pieces. These caramels, made by the recipe above, basically tasted like a caramel-dipped apple. But why leave it there? Jeff suggested brushing on cinnamon, and that was really tasty. So we did that. I wrapped about half of them in wax paper, and dipped the rest in tempered dark chocolate (70% Callebaut), sprinkling half of those with toasted ground pecans. Because Caramel dipped apples are even better with chocolate and nuts, in my opinion! Reviews have been great so far! Hopefully, some will survive to go to work tomorrow. ----