Have you ever been to New Orleans?
One of the famous places to visit is Cafe du Monde. There are several of them scattered around the city, but I managed to get to the one in the Market in the French Quarter. Cafe Du Monde is famous for coffee with chicory, and beignets, which are made as you watch.
Hot, puffy little pillows of dough dusted with confectioner’s sugar. They are best eaten when they have cooled enough so that you don’t burn your fingers or your tongue. Yum!
You can order a gift package of the coffee, a box of beignet mix and a cup for $11.50 plus shipping. While I’d MUCH rather take a trip to N’awlins and have the real thing, this might tide me over. And it seems like a great gift for a snowbound friend.
To order, call 800/772-2927.
Daily Archives: November 11, 2003
Blue Cheese
Not just any blue cheese, but MAYTAG blue cheese. For sixty two years, this cheese has been made by hand on the same dairy farm in Newton, Iowa.
My mother raves about this cheese, and she recalls my grandfather (who lived in Iowa) serving it.
I think I’ve found an unusual Christmas gift for my mother. A two pound wheel of this cheese is available for $23 plus $5.00 in shipping and handling. That doesn’t seem like too much to pay for what is considered the “definitive” American blue cheese. Besides, each bite will bring back memories for her.
If you’re interested in trying this cheese, you can call 800/247-2458 to order.
Lasagna Gardening
The herb list I belong to has chatted about “Lasagna Gardening” in the past, and I’ve always thought it sounded like a great concept. The idea is to layer four to six inches of compost or layers of material over a spot where you want to make a new garden bed. If the area is in your lawn, the layers will kill off the grass and the bed will be ready for planting without having to use harsh chemicals.
Oddly, I found a note about this method in the “Real Simple” magazine, November, 2003. They suggest mowing an area you wish to dedicate as a bed next spring, and then putting down four sheets of newspaper, and a four inch layer of shredded fall leaves or bark mulch. Hose it down and let it sit for the winter.
I think I may try this on a section of my formal garden that has been infested with grass. I plan to put down layers of newspaper, chopped leaves, shredded paper from the office, compost and grass clippings. What better time to renovate a bed than in the winter, when nothing is going on?
If you’re interested in this technique, you can read more about it in ” Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!” by Patricia Lanza, et al You can buy the paperback new for $11.17 at Amazon.com. What have you got to loose?
Birthday Reminders
And, while we are speaking of memory…
Did you know that you can sign up to be reminded of important dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries?
www.birthdayalarm.com has a service that allows you to store names and dates and then e-mails you seven and three days before each birthday. Go check it out.
Can you hear your family beginning to talk about the fact that each and every one of them have gotten a card or a call from you, and ON TIME!!!???