I've gotten to the point that I can't look at the pictures anymore, or read the articles. . . Endless pictures of parents sobbing over their children who were killed while at school. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. The earthquake and the hurricane, one right after another, my heart is broken and weeping for everyone who suffering.

So a moment to send out prayers and good thoughts that they can continue to pull people out of the rubble as the clock ticks. . . Especially in all those schools that have collapsed, I pray with all my heart and soul that they can save as many children as possible.

And for the parents of all those lost children--I am so sorry and sad.

May a thousand maidens lust after your bod.

Born Free.
By alloy

The cries rang out on her wedding day, a challenge of scale and fire and claw and Norbert rose to meet it.

The two magical beasts crashed together in mid-air, locked, and began an ancient dance. Some guests were embarrassed, but the Weasley’s to a wizard and witch cheered loudly.

A good omen on such a day.

To witness a dragons’ mating.

After a month Chris and Charlie climbed Weasley Mountain to visit Norbert. His mate had departed, perhaps for a season, perhaps forever, for it was the male’s place to roast the eggs.

That evening, after an arduous climb it was Chrysanthemum who fell ill.

A telling momentary lapse, for not only dragons had mated a month before.

As her belly grew fuller, Chrysanthemum watched through the borrowed eyes of Firedrakes as her Charlie made the climb alone. She gasped at foolishness, silently scolding him for choosing such a reckless path, the one she had taught him.

She forbade him go again, and begrudgingly he complied, forever torn between his own unborn and those upon the mountain.

On the morning of the day he cast a longing eye to the peak. “They’ll have been hatched already.” Charlie said.

“A month past” she agreed.

“He’ll bring them down the mountain soon.” Then he said no more, for the time had come and their tasks were at hand. A mother to be summonsed to act as midwife, another to herd the grandfathers and uncles.

It took a day, for this Weasley was as stubborn as either his dame or sire, but when the sun began to set over the mountain and Norbert’s brood essayed their first flight, Chrysanthemum Weasley presented the clan with yet another son.

A child born into a world free of the clouds of war.

Authors Note: Originally conceived for TQP’s Rebirth challenge, based on a prompt by Harrysmom.

This was in an email message, and I thought I'd share it with you all rather than forwarding the email...

There is a huge rock near a gravel pit on Hwy.25 in rural Iowa.
For generations, kids have painted slogans, names, and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. A few months back, the rock received its latest paint job, and since then it has been left completely undisturbed.

It's quite an impressive sight . Be sure to scroll down and check out the multiple photos. </span> (all angles) of the rock. ( Amazing... )

My dad was stationed in Germany in the early 60s, just before the US entered Vietnam. Even though he wasn't in combat, he is proud to be a vet. My mother is a member of the VFW auxillary, as am I, and Memorial Day is more than the start of summer to our family. I wish more people would take the time to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday and realize what is truly important. We should be grateful that there are men and women willing to sacrifice their lives and stay away from their families for months on end. Whether you agree with the war in Iraq or not, it's not important. Our soldiers and vets deserve our utmost respect and gratitude.

My first question is, any tips on attracting beneficial insects to my garden?

The second question has to do with ladybug houses. Are there things that can be used around the home that ladybugs would use as a house? I have found the 'build your own' plans on the net and the ladybug houses for sale, but I'm on a shoestring budget and I also like my fingers attached to my body so sawing wood is sorta out of the question.

ETA: Oh, and, tips on keeping my dogs from digging up my flowers and newly planted plants? I'd rather go as natural as possible, so are there any smells or plants they don't like in particular?

TIA!

Hi everyone.

I had no choice but to boil two dozen eggs last night. The problem is, the eggs were really fresh and are really, really hard to peel.

I'm hoping someone has a suggestion to help w the process :)

Thank you, thank you!

Ok, long story short....


On a tight budget, traveling to my parents across the country, going by bus then train.......

We're trying to keep everything as low cost as possible as coming back in the U-Haul's going to be expensive. We don't want to eat too much on the train as it's overpriced and usually not that good anyways, and the bus up to the station is an 8 hour drive through convenience store crappyness.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good, filling but not too heavy dish that travels well? We have a cooler, the slim upright kind made to go between car seats, and so far I have some pop, a loaf of bread, some turkey and roast beef slices, I'm going to put a baggy of ice in with the Amish butter. This should take care of most of it, but I'd like some 'real' food. I'm thinking some rice and chopped veggies and cold baked chicken pieces? Some cookies or biscuits? Mac and Cheese?

I've never traveled with my own food before and I really don't know what'll go bad/taste funny/too heavy/too light.....This is something so simple yet it's driving me crazy.

Gaked from Deena.


Hahhhahahahahahahah Where's my space ship?


1. Scientology (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (98%)
3. Unitarian Universalism (97%)
4. New Thought (97%)
5. Reform Judaism (90%)
6. Liberal Quakers (88%)
7. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (86%)
8. Hinduism (84%)
9. Mahayana Buddhism (84%)
10. New Age (80%)
11. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (73%)
12. Sikhism (73%)
13. Secular Humanism (72%)
14. Bahá'í Faith (66%)
15. Islam (66%)
16. Jainism (66%)
17. Orthodox Judaism (66%)
18. Theravada Buddhism (66%)
19. Taoism (61%)
20. Nontheist (57%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (44%)
22. Orthodox Quaker (38%)
23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (35%)
24. Eastern Orthodox (29%)
25. Roman Catholic (29%)
26. Jehovah's Witness (23%)
27. Seventh Day Adventist (22%)

Weeding. Wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it? Goes like this...

I don't like spending hours on mah knees, pulling up grass and clover and primroses and crap, oh-oh-oh...

Yeah, I'm old. I remember In Living Color.

Anyways. Newspaper ink is generally soy-based, isn't it? What should I be careful of if using newspaper for mulching and building a compost pile?

I started sifting compost last night from the family refuse pile. I should quit gardening and go into raising earthworms! I think it's time to go fishing.

Also, I have leaf miners again. I've resigned myself to just letting that run its course. However, something has been eating my poor red okra seedlings. One of my plants has large patches of.. death on the leaves. All of the good stuff has been eaten, leaving only this papery layer. What causes that? Should I expect more of it?

And does milk work for powdery mildew?

Is snapping off bits of saplings (morning glory, to be specific) considered safe? I have had one of my morning glory saplings wilt (limp leaves) and I snapped them off. Is this the right thing to do?

The sapling is about 2 inches in height. It has a small shoot growing forth (that is with the two leaves removed).

Around about 4 months ago, I had a really sweet, over-ripe pineapple. I decided to do a little experiment and added little cubes of pineapple into some wine. I used Hardy’s Crest Chardonnay and poured it into two bottles. The bottles were 1/3 filled.

I remember from an old science experiment I did once in secondary/primary school(can’t remember which)….we made some ginger beer and I can remember the lady at the science centre telling us to leave at least 1/3 of the bottle empty coz of the gases that would be produced etc etc.

Anyways, it turned out a lot better than I thought. There was a very subtle pineapple taste and aroma to the wine. Very easy to drink on a hot summer’s day especially if its ice cold! My only regret is that I didn’t make enough! lol I want to try it out with other fruits and maybe even some herbs… hmmm….  

Has anyone else tried making something similar? i would love some pointers/ideas/inspirations!

Can you imagine wandering through a labyrinthine old market, following your nose to find the most tantalizing smells of aromatic spices. Or buying ripe fruit that weren't imported from the other side of the globe, but the other side of town. Do you remember that olives actually come from hundred-year-old trees, it may be just about time for a cooking tour.
All great meals begin with the best sort out ingredients, and the best ingredients are all ways found locally-whether it's in your hometown or abroad.Cooking tours allow chefs and people that are passionate about food of all skill levels to drown themselves in a foreign culture in a way that traditional tourism cannot.
On a cooking tour, for example, participants tour a goat farm on the Greek island of Kea to see exactly how feta cheese is made, and then share in a meal overlooking the Aegean Sea with the farmer and family. Or maybe you could find yourself in India at the spice markets.
For some, it's the local markets, that make a cooking tour an outstanding experience.
The world's markets are traditional places that can feel a bit unnerving to tourists. As part of a culinary tour, you are mostly provided with guides to help with both ingredient choice, language barriers and navigation. After these long but abundant excursions, travelers ultimately feel like natives. It's yet another way to find your inner chef and feel like a participant, not just an observer.
So next time when you book your trip, make the most of it and include a culinary tour in your travels and when you host a dinner party you can impress your guests not only with the food but a colorful story of your experience.
View video of culinary tour in Vietnam.

Hey, all! I'm a recovering alcoholic (I get my six-month chip next Friday! Woot!), and I love to cook. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any good non-alcoholic wines that would be good for cooking or drinking with a meal. Does such a thing even exist?

I know that things like tomatoes have alcohol-soluble compounds that I can't get to without including real wine. Does anyone know a good way around this? Cooking sherry, I s'pose, but it's normally loaded with salt...

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any ideas you have!

Okay, so I have this problem. With vegetables. I love to cook, but I absolutely hate vegetables. I don't know why. It's crazy. But since vegetables make you all immortal and are kind of the staple of human existence, I'm trying to eat more. That's why I need your help!

So, does anybody know any recipes for vegetables that don't really tase like veggies? Something smothered in butter and sauce and spice? Delicious and at least somewhat nutritious?

Thanks in advance guys! :]

Hey everyone!

I made some sweet potato fries the other day, and even though they were good they weren't exactly crunchy. The recipe I had said to slice them up, toss them with olive oil/salt/pepper, lay them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with whatever spices you wished and bake at 400 for about half an hour.
Any ideas on how to make them more crispy?
Or any other french fry replacement recipes?
I can't have potatoes anymore and thats the one thing I'm dying without.
Thanks!

In an effort to get my 4 year old eating better, I am replacing his frozen chicken nuggets and frozen french fries with home-made chicken tenders and home-made french fries. They are just coming out of the oven now and are delicious. My question is:

How can I properly freeze them and how can I properly prepare them once I take them out. I made tons so that I can freeze it and then just serve as many as he wants.

I figure just put them in a ziploc bag and freeze, but then when it comes time to preparing, would microwave be okay or should I heat them in the oven? What temp and for how long??

I don't suppose anyone has any experience in handling a three-year-old with a sprained ankle, do they?

I'm not always all that creative with my veggies, but these ended up outshining my main dish (chow mein). I think the five spice powder made the real difference.

I cooked bok choy with soy sauce, sherry, garlic, five spice powder and sesame oil. Garnished with cashews.

More detailed instructions and a pic on my blog.

I decided that it was time for another oven baked salmon dish. I wanted to challenge myself to make something even healthier. No oil (other than the oil from the salmon), something to finish up the herbs and beautiful sliced mushrooms I had in the fridge. 

Surprising it tasted great...and the oil from the Salmon made up for the lack of oil.

Yummy! 

 

Click here for more pictures.

 

It's day two! Aren't you all thrilled??
Just say you are even if you aren't.

( No scary baby doll pictures in this batch )

I am going to sleep as I slept a grand total of 3hours last night.
*hugs*

Is there any computer software that is good for organizing recipes? What would you recommend if I wanted to go "digital" with my recipes intead of notebooks and piles in my tiny, yet well stocked kitchen? -K

Edit: Free software is even better!

So, with the advent of motorcars and aeroplanes fresh food is much more widely available year-round then it used to be. Certain foods and preparations thereof have fallen by the wayside as we no longer HAVE to live off home-canned and home-preserved foods.

I'm curious about recipes that folks may have around perhaps from grandparents for preserving foods to keep up the nutritional value of meals year-round. I know rhubarb was one of these foods, oft canned and used in the winter, but I'm not entirely sure HOW it was used- other than in desserts.

Also- favorite rhubarb canning recipes? chutneys, sauces, etc.

 My first year garden here in Southern Zone 6 is organic of course, like every other garden I've ever grown.  But it is the farthest thing from sustainable imaginable.  I don't mean sustainable in the full bore Ecology Action, Grow Biointensive Way.   Although I support that fine organization financially and have for years, the idea that you must grow your own compost seems silly on a suburban cul de sac where an unlimited supply of leaves can be gathered for free before the neighbors bag them to be carted away.  No I mean sustainable from the perspective of little or no purchased fertilizer or soil amendments.  

This year I've gone through 12 cubic yards of compost and its barely made a dent in this horrid soil.  For long term fertilization I've spread hundreds of pounds of rock fertilizers, which I shouldn't have to do again.  But I've also spread bales of non-renewable peat moss, in order to grow decent root crops,  and blood and cottonseed meals for nitrogen.

But gosh the yields so far have been wonderful.  Asian greens for over a month now, broccioli, cabbage and lettuce tonight.  The peas and potatoes are in bloom the cabbage heading up nicely.  I should eat every night from this garden for the rest of the season.  And for this the first year that will have to be enough.

Next year the berries will begin to yield, the fruit and nut trees two years after that.  Life is good.

Grilled New Zealand Lamb Rack with cumin rub, black bean and roasted corn salsa, panko-breaded Indian eggplant.

Ok, first, could this be a tomatillo?  I planted tomatillo seeds as well as flower seeds in this area, and I have idea which this is: