Sharon, I just love pecans and am looking forward to trying your recipe. We have several native pecan trees on our property. Actually we have probably a couple dozen trees, but two are right by the house and easy to access...the one in the front yard drops pecans everywhere. The one on the edge of the woods drops them into tons of leaf litter and debris, so I have to search harder for those. Most of the other trees are way back in the woods and I usually leave their nuts for the wildlife. I grew up in a pecan-loving family. If the only thing I do is make batches of pecan pralines for family members for Christmas, they are just thrilled to death. They're even tickled pink if I just give them big zip-lock bags of pecans from our place. Our first year here there was a huge bumper crop of pecans in the front yard right at Thanksgiving. All my siblings, their spouses, my mom and dad, my nieces and nephews, my aunt, my cousin and her spouse and kids spent their Thanksgiving picking up Wal-Mart bags full of nuts. They even wanted to eat outside at the picnic table under the pecan tree. Apparently they allthought they were helping me out by picking up the pecans for me. When I told them to keep the pecans for themselves, LOL, they ran back outside and picked up more. I was rolling on the ground laughing at them! "Oh", they said delightedly, "You mean we can keep them? Let's go find more!" Clearly my family members know the value of a good sack of fresh pecans! I had the last laugh though. I was SO relieved thinking of them spending all THEIR time cracking and picking out the nutmeats, because I'd intended to do it myself and give the nuts to them for Christmas. Instead, they all got gifts from the store, and I didn't spend a month of evenings cracking pecans and picking out the nutmeats to give away. So, we all were happy! I still need to find and post my recipe for pecan cream pie like my aunts used to make. I haven't made one in ages and just thinking about it makes me want to make one right now. Dawn

Try going to your local Farmers' Market and get some of the fresh fruit that is overflowing at this time of year. We went to the one in Mar Vista yesterday, and there were lots of stands selling all kinds of peachs, plums, plucots, apricots, dates, figs, nuts, oranges, etc., not to mention all the vegetables. I bought eggplant, asparagus, and brocolli plus a bag of Valencia oranges, since my orange tree is not producing at the moment. I do not mix fruit and vegetables in a salad, as a rule however. I also bought lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, Persian cucumbers, and avocados. Unfortunately, the farmers' markets seem to be quite a bit more expensive than regular stores, even when comparing organic items with organic items. Still, the FMs are fun to go to, but Kevin got tired carrying the oranges. I should have bought those last - next time I will remember. They also sell fish at that market. I was hoping to find cherimoya, but I think perhaps only the Santa Barbara and Hollywood markets have that on a regular basis. Sometimes it is available in Santa Monica. I bought the last one at a Japanese market. The ones on my tree won't be ready for another three months or so. Lars

This is another good Jello salad, since we're on a roll, here. It's delicious, Cynic! :-) And it takes all of about 5 minutes to put it together. Mandarin Orange Fruit Salad 1 - 3 oz. pkg. apricot (or orange) Jello 1 - 3 oz. pkg. lemon Jello (or 2 apricot if you can find it) 1 c. boiling water 3 - 11. oz. cans mandarin oranges, with juice 1 can (22. oz.) crushed pineapple in heavy syrup (with juice) 1 - 19 oz. pkg. mini marshmallows 1 c.mayonnaise 1 med. container Cool Whip 1 c. grated sharp cheddar Dissolve Jello in water. Add oranges and pineapple including the juices. Pour in a 2 quart dish. Spread marshmallows on top of the warm mixture. Cool and chill until firm. Mix mayonnaise and Cool whip and spread over congealed Jello. Sprinkle with cheese. Chill 2 hours or longer.

A friend served this. She made it the previous afternoon and left it on the counter top, stirring it up when she remembered, until evening. Then put it in the fridge. Took it out the next day about an hour before we ate. Directions had me confused too. I don't think it's a critical thing.