Subj : Balsamic vinegar
To   : Janis Kracht
From : Ruth Haffly
Date : Sat Jun 10 2023 13:25:32

Hi Janis,

Long time, no hear. Good to see you back.

 JK> I hope all is going well for you and your family... I've been

We were on a cruise/train/bus trip to Alaska the latter part of May,
came home with bronchitis (and a bit of a head cold) for me, a mild case
of Covid for Steve. Both of us are improved, but not 100% yet. Nice
thing about this trip was that we did a shared table for the evening
meal so we never sat twice with the same group. We shared the table with
a good number of international--had an enjoyable meal and discussion
every night.


 trying JK> to catch up here, and I am getting there (slowly (grin)).
 Some of you JK> folks like yourself and Steve, and Dale and Dave may
 remember Sophie JK> and Indy, my two dogs...Indy died several years
 ago, and poor Sophie JK> (the smaller one) is now suffering from liver
 and thyroid failure... JK> we're counting the days for the poor girl
 and trying to be optimistic.

It's hard to lose a pet. We adopted out our cocker spaniel before moving
from AZ to HI; its been 22 years and I still occaisionally look for him
to be underfoot. Hopefully Sophie will pass easily and you will have
lots of happy memories of her.

>> (thanks to Drum for the source).  They are growing great, perhaps >>
three foot tall, but no evidence of flowers yet.

 JK> If you've had cold snaps like we have, they may get buds later.  Also,
 JK> see if you can find some plant food specifically for tomaoes - it does
 JK> make a
 JK> difference.

>> We are wondering
>> when and how to prune them so that they get bushy instead of six foot
>> tall.


 JK> For my gardens, suckers are always important to get rid of because the
 JK> suckers, which grow in the "V" between the main stem and the branches,
 JK> need to be pruned to save energy for main branches - you'll get more
 JK> fruit that way as well.

That was Dale, to me. He and Gail are in an assisted living community
now and he's trying to grow tomatoes indoors. We gave up on trying to
grow them when we realised we'd be gone during the main harvest time.


 JK> Suckers grow quickly, but if left to grow into side stems, they tend
 JK> to be spindly and produce inferior fruit. When they're small (under 2
 JK> inches), they can be pinched off, but if they're bigger, pruners are
 JK> necessary.

 JK> Hope this helps :)

 JK> Here is a weird but interesing switch on Lasagne we all liked (as
 JK> weird as it sounds (grin).  I was doubtful about steaming the lasagna
 JK> sheets, but it worked really well :)

 JK> From the Food Network:

 JK> Sunny's Easy Tomato and Basil Lasagna Roll-Ups
 JK> ==============================================

 JK> Ingredients
 JK> 24 lasagna noodles (from about two 1-pound packages) Kosher salt and
 JK> black pepper
 JK> One 15-ounce container ricotta
 JK> 4 cups shredded 2- to 6-cheese blend that contains mozzarella (along
 JK> with provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, pecorino or jack cheese) 1 cup
 JK> chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish 1 cup chopped fresh Italian
 JK> parsley, plus more for garnish 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
 JK> 2 large eggs, whisked
 JK> Zest of 1 lemon
 JK> One 24-ounce jar tomato and basil pasta sauce Grated Parmesan, for
 JK> garnish

I tried the lasagne sheets once when I found whole wheat ones at a
health foods store (don't think it was Whole Foods, think it was while
we were in Savannah). We came to the conclusion that we liked working
with regular lasagne noodles better, but I can see where the sheets
might be better for something like this. Maybe I'll have to give them
another try.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


.... 90% of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

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