Thanks - I looked up lacewings and that sure is what they look like. It says they eat insect eggs, so I took the lacewing eggs over to my rosebush where hopefully they'll eat aphids instead of cats. Do BSTs have chemical protection from being eaten the way monarchs do? fennel is aromatic and the cats have those little 'stink horns'.

PKGuy, she said 4 cups was too little; that 7-8 cups is the minimum. Thanks for the tips about the order of adding the ingredients. I had actually done that part right. I think one problem may have been that I added a half cup of flour all at once, rather that sifting it in or adding little by little. I think you're right that I'm still on the upside of the learning curve. Judi, I'm beginning to think you're right, that I bought the wrong machine for my needs. Many of my bread recipes call for about 3 or 4 cups of flour and make one loaf. I guess I can always make two loaves and freeze or give away the other, but that is not what I expected to be doing. I am past the time when I can return it or exchange it (though it is still under warranty through the manufacturer), so I am just making mental adjustments in how I plan to use it. I still think the Universal is an excellent, heavy duty, well-made machine and great if you often need to make several loaves or large batches. I wish I had had it years ago when all the family still lived at home.

Was Fori's question answered satisfactorily, as I don't want to be contributing more to hijacking this thread? If this should be taken to another thread, say the word. Annie, your question is interesting, and I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if my son has outgrown the egg allergy, which we know beyond a doubt that he had (we don't do potato salad with hard boiled eggs or anything like that). But he still tests very positive and we don't want to find out the hard way, so we just do what we've been doing that we know he doesn't react to - use small amounts in baked goods, but no eggs otherwise - no merigue or any recipes with high concentration of eggs. A while back, I posted a question about the Cook's Illustrated version of mac & cheese, which calls for stirring in 2 eggs after the pasta has been cooked & drained. I was wondering if those eggs get sufficiently "cooked" - and the response seemed to be yes. That recipe contradicts what I have otherwise felt comfortable doing with eggs regarding my son's allergy, but we tried it & he hasn't had a reaction. Some of the concern is that eggs pose a potentially anaphalactic reaction, as with nuts & shellfish, which he is also allergic to, but can't have the littlest bit of those. I'm like you in that I have no food allergies. I eat & love just about anything (although oddly, the last few months, I have developed what seemed to be random hives, but may be linked to appearing a couple hours after I have ingested nuts - I hope it's not that). Guess people just have to do what they think is best for themselves and their family members & others need to respect it.

The recipes I've seen use egg whites and you can buy cartons of pasteurized liquid egg whites, or use the powdered egg whites. In any case, here's one that uses marshmallow creme And here's another one These look pretty good and pretty easy, and I bet the kids at Brownies and Cub Scouts would love the frosting. I'll have to try it. Being a northern New Englander, we always have Marshmallow Fluff in the cupboard. Thanks for the idea.