Me too on #4 logic, Ed and I live this every day ;) Good fruitcake, yum! and Vehicles for dip, very true. I usually do cucumbers with french onion, but I'd settle for a good carrot stick to get it to my mouth. My favorites are "Hello???" (I want to add an exclamation mark) and "If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again." I'll have to use that in other ways of life. Here's a good cookie recipe to get your holiday eating started: Christmas Cookie Recipe 1 cup of water 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup of sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup brown sugar lemon juice 4 large eggs 1 cup nuts 2 cups dried fruit 1 bottle Crown Royal Sample the Crown Royal to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Crown Royal again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar...Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Crown Royal is still OK, try another cup.. just in case. Turn off the mixer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the frigging fruit off floor... Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a dewscriver. Sample the Crown Royal to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.... who giveshz a sheet. Check the Crown Royal. Now s hift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of ar, or somefink.... whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the bottle of Crown Royal. Make sure to put the stove in the dishwas her. Cherry Mistmas!

ccaggiano, the amount of sugar used in fruit jams is not a safety issue. Traditional pectin needs a certain ratio of pectin/sugar/fruit to jell. An all fruit spread with no sugar at all is still safe to can, the issue is in whether or not it will jell. It has been noted here that "Pomona will jell water", so the sugar ratio isn't an issue. Cut it as low as you like until you are happy with the taste, it'll still be safe. I will note, however, that low sugar/no sugar spreads do not store as well or as long after opening and I've found that no-sugar spreads lose color. This picture shows this year's strawberry jam. My long cooked and low sugar jam is on the right, the "no sugar" spread with Equal is on the left. Annie

Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this question, juliejart. I used 1 1/2 cups total for an 8-pint batch (half Golden Sherry and half brandy); however, this was a fruit mincemeat, not a meat mincemeat, if you know what I mean, so a lot was absorbed by the dried fruit. For meat mincemeat (I have two recipes - one for venison and 1 historic family one for pork.) I add brandy when prepping the pie. Amounts are at the bottom of this post. Here's the recipe with my notes: Mixed-Fruit Mincemeat (My Variation) Categories : Canning & Preserving Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1/2 pound dried apricots -- chopped 1/2 pound dried cherries -- chopped 1/2 pound dried dates -- chopped 1/2 pound golden raisins 1/2 pound currants -- or dark raisins 2 cups apple cider -- or apple juice 3/4 cup brandy 3/4 cup sherry -- (I used Almad Golden) 2 pounds tart apples 2 pounds firm ripe Bartlett pears 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons finely chopped orange zest 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon zest 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger In a large bowl combine the apricots, cherries, dates, raisins, currants, apple cider, brandy and sherry. Stir until well combined. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to macerate for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Peel, core and chop the apples and pears. In an 8- to 10-quart pan, combine the apples, pears, orange juice and lemon juice. Stir in the dried fruit mixture, orange zest and lemon zest. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger until well-blended. Stir the sugar mixture into the fruit in the pan. Over medium heat, bring the mincemeat mixture to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Reduce the heat and simmer until the apples are tender, about 40 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If mixture becomes too dry, add a little more cider vinegar. Ladle the mincemeat into hot jars, removing as many air bubbles as possible and leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Using a plastic knife, remove any trapped air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process both pint and quart jars in a 200F (93C) water bath for 30 minutes. Description: "The original recipe came from "Blue-Ribbon Preserves."" Yield: "8 pints" NOTES : This stuff is so good it ought to be a sin to eat it. Day 1 I mixed the dried fruits with 1 cup of brown sugar and chopped mixture in the FP in several batches. Macerated 30 hours until Day 2. I think the sugar with the liquor mellowed the fruit. Day 2 chopped and sliced the apples and pears by hand for a more discernable, fresher texture. That worked very well. My version doubles the pears and apples and halves the sugar. Headspace: Slight venting with quarts. I think something closer to 1- 1 1/4" would be better, even wide-mouths like these were. Expanded right up to lid just like pressure-canner. When I canned venison mincemeat I didn't use brandy until I baked the pie. The venison is so rich usually I'd add 1 cup or so of fresh chopped apple to the quart when ready to bake and 1-2 tablespoons of brandy. But DH prefers it plain. If you have it, Drambuie is a really fine addition to mincemeat pie. (Well, Drambuie is a really fine addition, period. Skip the pie, LOL.) Carol

Ellie Topp knows what she's doing. It's been a while since I made that mincemeat, so I had to look up the recipe. My mincemeat didn't turn out particularly dry, so I'd guess that has to do with the variety of apple? Also, if you're concerned about acidity, I wouldn't be. There's a good amount of lemon juice and peel plus the apples, raisins and cranberries are acidic already. No worries. If you canned per the instructions shelf storage is fine. If you prefer to refrigerate and have the space, that's OK too. Carol