I have small quantity of potato onions to trade. Looking for Elephant Garlic, any high quality soft-neck garlic, and French Red Shallots. Email me if interested. Bob

My side by side fridge and freezer is fairly big. Used to have a 30"x30" chest freezer years ago, but you needed to stand on your get to get to the bottom of it, and it would frost up about every 3 months. The newer freezer is slightly larger than the older one. The heat coils usually on the back are embedded inside the box, so the sides and to fell very warm to the touch. I also added a freezer alarm that shows temp and signals of its above 25 degrees. The alarms have saved me a lot of grief. Hope you have a good viable sourdough culture! I had posted a few times about how to keep them going for many years. I make a batch from my starter and mix only flour and water into it, nothing else. I like the starter to be quite thick as opposed to a batter. After 2-3 days if its not bubbling well, I take some of a dried batch I have stored in a plastic bag in the fridge, then I just add a bit of my dried culture and it usually starts right up within a few hours. After a 1-2 days, I spoon out a small amount and spread it on a sheet of plastic wrap to dry out. After a day of drying, it gets crumbled and placed in the fridge for quite some length of time, as it keeps very well that way. The rest of the bubbling mixture gets a cup taken out and put back in the fridge for the next time. The rest, gets mixed with more flour (sometimes whole wheat) and water. Another 2 days pass and its usually ready for the bread making. I do add regular yeast too, but thats only for the quicker rise I like to see. I know someone who adds sour cream to their bread. Very crusty and sour! Might make a batch of bread this weekend, and use a little buttermilk in the dough just to give it a bit smoother/finer texture. My herbed butter was made last summer and I used fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and lots of garlic. It all went into a small food processor to be finely chopped, then I added chunks of butter and some olive oil. I don't mix too much longer as butter will soften and melt a bit. I have these Japanese sushi molds that I line with plastic wrap and place a spoon of the mixture in each compartment. Its covered with wrap and a small plastic cover is pressed on, molding it into a small rectangular shaped cube. I place in the freezer and let them harden and then pull out the wrap from the plastic mold and cut them into individual chunks then back into the the freezer. When I do the turkey its usually just a big breast and rib meat (healthier with less fat). The herbed butter gets stuffed under the skin on top of the breast. I also posted my way of doing stuffing with sausage meat and chestnuts, as well as mixed breads. I will probabaly add a few dried cranberries to it as well as they give a nice burst of tart/tang when you eat some.

Triciae, you are right. It would be better made fresh, but it is a time consuming recipe. First you have to caramelize the onions. I do that very slowly. Then you have to cook the sweet potatoes until soft. It takes me about an hour to do all of that. Maybe I'll caramelize the onions and freeze them. Then all I have to do is peel (unlike the recipe, I peel my sweet potatoes) and chunk up the potatoes. That might cut it in half. I use frozen garlic. ann_t's was beautiful, but I've never seen fresh garlic in my life! None of the farmer's markets or vegetable stands around here carry it. All we get is garlic that has been shipped in here. It think it is referred to as cured. I am in zone 8. It may not grow well here. After the other thread about chinese garlic, I'm considering calling the local ag school for advice. If I can grow my own, I just might!

I made potato pancakes a week ago using cooked (but not mashed) potatoes, and I drained them before I added them. I use no milk or cream in my recipe (maybe some potato water, if necessary), and get the moisture from eggs. For two cups of cooked potatoes, I used two eggs and then added flour, salt, baking powder, (and onions) to make a batter. I have found that it is best to make smaller pancakes, cook them at a somewhat lower heat than normal pancakes, and for a longer time. If they are too big and cooked at too high a heat, they do not cook all the way through, but that can be remedied by storing them in a 220 degree warming oven, or by reheating them on a cooler grill. I made cornmeal pancakes this week-end, and I like them a lot better. I also prefer latkes made with grated raw potatoes, onion, egg, and Matzo meal. It's important to squeeze the excess water out of the grated potatoes when making this recipe, and I only make these in a skillet, since they require 1/4 inch of oil for frying. It is also best to make these smaller instead of larger, as the larger ones can fall apart when they are turned. I haven't made potato waffles from mashed potatoes, but I think that might be a good way of making sure that they are cooked all the way through. Lars