I was a member at ABADS and now a premium member at ibrugs. I only saw/recieved one trumpeter magazine the whole time I was a member at ABADS... wrote to peeps about it and still never saw another one so just gave up. I'll just look at everyone's pretty pics online.

Hi Daisy. Just saw these comments. A Philipino friend of mine gave me a cardamon plant years ago, I did not really nuture it until last year. I transferred it from a pot to the ground, fed it regularly with blood and bone and watered it religiously. It grew to around 5ft high and branched out somewhat. We've just entered into our late spring and I was outside this evening and noticed it has flowered on two branches much like your flowers. I'm pretty sure it is a genuine cardamon, as I also purchased a cardamon plant from our Diggers Club in Australia and it is identical to the one my friend gave me. I was stunned when I saw the flowers, as I thought they grew from the bottom of the plant. I'm hoping they will produce the familiar cardamon pods. I followed some of the youtube videos - which was rather difficult as they are all spoken in Indian - but learnt they cut off the lower leaves on the stems, which I did myself, in order to let the light and sun through the branches. I am delighted and thank you for sharing.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Creamy Coconut Cardamom Rice Pudding ==================================== adapted from Kate Zuckerman's The Sweet Life makes about 6 cups, serves 8-12 Rice: 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp jasmine rice or basmati rice 1/4 cup sugar 1 (13.5 fluid oz) can coconut milk 1 cup whole milk 1/4 tsp salt Custard: 16 cardamom pods 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar 1 cup whole milk 2 cups heavy cream 5 egg yolks 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 1. Cook the rice: Preheat the oven to 325F. Place the rice in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Place the rice in a heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan with 2 cups cold water. Bring the rice to a boil and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Strain the rice and discard the starchy water. Place the blanched rice back in the pan and add the sugar, coconut milk, milk, and salt. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and cover the pan with aluminum foil or the lid. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the rice expands and absorbs all liquids, 30 minutes. If the pan is not oven proof, transfer the rice to a metal or glass baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. If there is still runny milk in the pan, continue to bake, covered, for another 5 to 10 minutes. When the rice is done, remove it from the oven, leave it covered, and set it aside. 2. Make the custard: While the rice is baking, make the custard. Using the bottom of a small frying pan, crush the cardamom pods to split them open. (*I used a mortar and pestle.) In a heavy saucepan combine the cardamom pods and seeds, 1/2 cup of the sugar, milk, and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and allow the cardamom to steep for 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, egg, and remaining 2 tbsp of sugar and briefly whisk for 1 minute. Using a ladle, slowly whisk some of the hot cream into the egg mixture to warm it. Gradually pour the warmed egg mixture into the hot cream, whisking the cream constantly as you pour. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and strain the custard to remove the cardamom pods and seeds. 3. Combine the custard and the rice: Scoop the rice into a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot custard over the rice and, using a whisk, slowly whisk until all of the rice granules are dispersed evenly and the mixture is thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract. Allow the rice pudding to cool completely. This pudding will keep, refrigerated, for 3 days. Variation: "Brulee" Spoon pudding into ramekins and chill. Sprinkle sugar over top of custards and place under the broiler or use a torch to caramalize. . My Notes: Substituted a vanilla bean for the cardamom pods. I split a vanilla bean and scraped the seeds into the milk and cream, along with the sugar, brought to a simmer and left to steep for 10 minutes.

How weird the timing of this post is, to me. We've owned our house for four and a half years, and two weeks ago I got a knock on my door in the middle of the afternoon. I answered, to find a very drunk young man (mind you it was only one o'clock!) swaying there, asking who the h%!! GAVE me my house!?! I politely informed him that nobody gave me my house, I bought it four years ago. He went on and on about how it should have been given to him and how he was going to get a lawyer and take my house away, because the house that he HAD been given was "not as good" as this one....blahblahblah. This guy did not scare me, he does not have the power to take my house away, and had already been to several lawyers who told him so. A bit of history: I bought my house in 2003, before which it had sat on the market for seven (!!) years. When I bought it, I was told only that this one and another house across town had been left to my seller as part of an estate. Then a few months after papers were signed, my husband and one of my boys went to a yard sale down the street and they were told that the original owner had died and instead of leaving his house to family, he left it to the guy across the street (which is who I bought it from.) They said there were hurt feelings over this, and that there were several family members that would not visit them because they would have to pass my house. I thought that was really weird, to be brought up like that, but I never heard another thing about it. Until now. This guy was yelling and cussing in front of my children (which I was finally able to shut down) but I sat out there and talked to him for a few minutes, mostly because I felt bad that somebody would ruin their life over the greed and jealousy over what amounts to not being given a present! I mean, obviously everything had always been handed to him, because in talking to him, he had no idea what it meant to work for what you have. He was driving a brand new black Corvette, which he left running for the entire half an hour he was here, drunk off his butt, going on and on about how much money his family had, and that he should have been given my house. I did mention that my house was on the market for seven years before I bought it, and if he had really wanted it, he could have bought it during that time. He yelled "Why would I need to BUY it, it was already paid for?!?" I mean, the entire concept simply escaped him, and I thought what a waste! He was no older than 25, and that's stretching it, I think. To be that bitter and that useless of an individual really saddened me. It made me glad that we don't have much money to just hand our children all that they want, they will have to have work ethic. The sense of entitlement coming from that useless young drunk was just astounding.