Those bowls are gorgeous, Lars. I'll have to show them to DH so he gets inspired. He's learning to turn bowls on his lathe. For his first project he started out with a big chunk of wood...it's now about 3" in diameter, lol.

Looks very good, Lars! I know you've mentioned that you can eat yogurt so I thought I'd post the pumpernickel recipe I use. I've been making it for years & don't remember exactly where the recipe came from but I 'think' it's from one of Beth Hensperger's books?? Yield: In my family, it's traditional to make pumpernickel in very large oval rustic loaves. It could also be baked in two pullman pans. 1-1/2 Tablespoons Yeast 1 Teaspoon Molasses 1 Cup Warm Water 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 Tablespoon Salt 1/2 Cup Wheat Bran 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (I use hard red WW rather than the white WW for this recipe) 1-1/2 Cups Pumpernickel Flour (Pumpernickel is to rye flours what whole wheat is to wheat flours. If you see a recipe calling for "rye" flour...that's the same as all-purpose wheat flour) 2 Cups Plain Yogurt, at room temperature 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted & Cooled 3-1/2 to 4 Cups Unbleached AP Flour (I use bread flour) 2 Tablespoons Bran for sprinkling 1.) In a small bowl combine the yeast, molasses and warm water. Stir to dissolve & let stand until foamy, about 10-15 minutes. 2.) In a large bowl or a stand mixer...combine the cocoa, salt, bran, whole wheat flour, and pumpernickel. Add the yogurt, butter, and yeast mixture. Beat hard for 1 minute. 3.) Add the unbleached AP Flour 1/2 cup at a time to form a soft dough that just barely clears the sides of the bowl...careful not to add too much flour. 4.) Need for about 4-5 minutes in a stand mixer or about 10 minutes by hand. The dough will be quite sticky at first & smooth out as you knead. Again, careful not to add much flour as you knead. 5.) Place dough in a large greased container, turn dough to coat the top with oil, & cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours). 6.) When doubled, gently roll the dough onto a floured board & shape as desired. 7.) Cover loosely with plastic wrap & let double, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Just before baking, slash decoratively & sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of bran. 8.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 9.) I bake my pumpernickel on a stone & use steam but most recipes don't call for this step. 10.) Bake about 45-50 minutes. Let cool on rack. This bread has a slight sourdough-like tang from the yogurt. It makes fantastic ham sandwiches and, of course, reubens. It's also yum with date/orange cream cheese. /tricia

I didn't know that you could freeze lemons. Wow....I will remember that one too!!! I really enjoyed the fresh lemons that Ann ( Spacific )sent me in the last swap. They seem to last so much longer in the fridge, than the store bought ones. I guess thats because the were so fresh. Not picked months before. They had such a strong lemon favor, than those terrible store bought ones. Thanks for reposted this info Dixiedog....and Thank you too Lars !!! It's amazing the things we can learn here!!! What a great Forum !!! and what great people we have on here, sharing all the tips. Diana55

Here are some trees from the Olivas de Oro ranch. Kevin took this photo because I kept forgetting to take my camera with me. Olive trees need a lot of space, as they drain a lot of nutrients from the soil. There are a few oak trees still interspersed among the olive trees. Annie, there are a lot of places to go for olive oil tasting. I found out that there is a very good olive farm in Ojai, less than an hour from L.A. Ojai is a delightful town with nice restaurants, spas, and beautiful countryside. There are also olive farms in Temecula, where there are vineyards as well. I think Kevin and I will go there soon, as it is an easy day trip - we've been to Ojai several times, but will go back also. Ann, I do think that bread (especially your sourdough) is a very good way to appreciate the olive oil. I especially like the Arbequina Reserve for its fruity flavor, but I also like the Mission Reserve, which was one of my favorites. The Arbequina won a silver award, but I did not know that at the time I bought it. Annie, I look forward to your next visit to California! Lars