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You can also share a little information about yourself here. What would you like your partner to know about you?

Happy hunting!

Where do you live?

Ponce Inlet, FL, just south of Daytona Beach, on the barrier island. We are cooler than Orlando in the summer and warmer in the winter. We couldn't have bribed Mother Nature to make this better!

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

Yes, being in Central FL, I grill a lot and we eat indoors during the summer. On the patio in the fall/spring. Never red meat, we eat grilled veggies, shrimp, fish, and chicken. Oh, once a month or more, I try to do ribs.

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

Patio walls are strong melon/gold color. I use aqua, teal, and red accents. The kitchen area is now a burnt peach color and I find that aqua is beautiful there too!

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

Use my regular dishes--Classic Fjord by Dansk. Pure white with elliptical shape. Love them because I can dress up or down. In reality, all dressed down and casual here, except that I use cloth napkins.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

We don't entertain often but it's always casual. We are just the two of us and retired.

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

Yes! Yes! Especially if it's made in Italy.

I'm still trying to locally find the measuring spoons and cups that cover the common measurements like 3/4 tsp or 1.5 cups or 3/4 cups. I'm in a small community--you'd think.......

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

Drinks are usually wine or beer or lots of water with citrus. Desserts--sliced tropical fruit because it is always available.

7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

Just here at home. Hey, we're a block from the beach and on a barrier island too. We're always on vacation!

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

After years of trying, I gave up on tomatoes and peppers. They aren't salt tolerant (we get a lot of sea spray). Seems like the cukes are doing well this year. However, I go to the farmer's market every two weeks a load up on vegetables. Don't have space to keep canning results.

9. Barefoot or flip flops?

Tennies, because I wear orthonics that allow me to walk. That's important!

Here's a link to my photobucket account, although I have not put too much there. I'll put a link to the kitchen pictures thread below.

Lars

Where do you live?

San Pedro, CA, at the very southern edge of Los Angeles, right on the Pacific Ocean.

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

With our temperate coastal climate, we rarely have the balmy summer evenings that I loved growing up in MI, so although DH grills fairly often, we mostly eat indoors (but we have a folding door that basically opens up the entire family room/kitchen to the backyard. It's a nice indoor/outdoor feeling. Luckily DH likes to grill. I don't. Not a skill I ever really learned. Odd though, when camping, I'll make ridiculously elaborate meals over a tiny single burner or propane stove.

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

These would be an extension of my kitchen/house colors. Kitchen is basically white farmhouse-style kitchen with deep warm grey walls and a schoolbus yellow stove. Accent colors I tend use throughout the house are the deep yellow, turquoise/aqua, brick red and/or lime green.

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

Regular dishes are plain white, though I do love special pottery serving pottery in those accent colors. We only use paper plates/napkins when entertaining really large groups.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

Casual always. We do one formal dinner a year... Christmas Eve. That's it.

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I'm not a big gadget person because we really have very limited cupboard/drawer/shelf space (just got my first salad spinner because I finally got so tired of washing leaf lettuce from my garden). That said, on my first swap, I got a tomato press from Yvette (where are you Yvette?) and every summer I marvel at how I ever survived the summer tomato season without it (Thank you still, Yvette, if you ever still lurk!).

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

Drinks? wine. Snacks? cheese. Desserts? cheese. Did I mention, I love cheese? and wine? I may be one of the few people in the universe who doesn't love chocolate. It makes me break out in a sweat. In summer, I love fresh fruit of all kinds, lots of cobblers with berries from the garden.

7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

We're just a couple of blocks from the Pacific Ocean. As a family, we spend lots of time kayaking, sometimes kayak/camping. And I do lots of gardening year-round. I love growing edible things and experimenting. Right now the front yard has carrots, onions, broccoli, bok choy, lettuce, cilantro, basil, mint, parsley, thyme, eggplant, tomatoes, raspberries, meyer lemons, passionfruit, lemongrass, sugar snap peas, hops, strawberries. And in the backyard, figs, more lemons, valencia oranges, olallieberries, blackberries, oregano, sage, more thyme and lots of rosemary.

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

See #7. But for canning, I only make preserves and dill pickles. And I freeze tomato sauce. Because we have such year-round availability of produce, I tend to cook/eat with what's available seasonally.

9. Barefoot or flip flops?

Either. Or even high heels, just not too good with the "sensible shoes" category. I even hike in flip flops. And when I used to golf, I golfed barefoot (took my golf shoes off after getting out of sight of the clubhouse :) )

Swap partner... more than you wanted to know?

Here are my answers

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

We grill often in the summer but I am allergic to bee-stings so sometimes bees force me to go inside. In fact, I just placed an order for a brand new Weber grill which will be here Friday morning in time for our Memorial Day BBQ :) Too many picnics have been ruined by the presence of bees so no picnics for us.

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

I love bright colors as accent pieces and our dishes are white Crate and Barrel Quartet so work with pretty much anything. Our outdoor furniture is cast aluminum and looks like wrought iron.

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy? Regular dishes, never paper unless it's for more people than I have dishes for (I have 24)

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal? With lots of kids of my own plus friends' kids - definitely casual

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets? YUP and I own most of them too. I am THE gadget queen. (jessy, All Clad make measuring cups and spoons that I have and love with the odd size measurements)

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks? We're teetotalers for the most part but serve beer, sangria and good wine on special occasions. I'm a pastry chef so dessert is always good (or at least I hope so LOL). Favorites are homemade chocolate ice cream with pequin peppers, dirt cake (the kids LOVE it) and cookies. We love salty snacks and pickles. DH loves spicy, the hotter the better, for me a little kick is more than enough.

7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.? We grill and have a firepit we like to sit around. Friends have a boat we went on last year. They sold it. I'd love to own one but unless my swap partner sends me one....well, a girl can dream.

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve? OK, let's be honest. I have black thumbs. Everything I try and grow, dies. Dh attempts a veggie garden but so far we've never harvested anything lol. I LOVE the farmers markets and when they are here I go at least once a week and sometimes twice. I can can and do preserves but then I end up with lots of jars of stuff that never gets eaten. Anyone want peach chutney from 2009? I do have a to-die-for dill pickle recipe and plan on making lots of pickles this year. I ordered 100 pounds of pickling cucumbers from the CSA for when they are in season. Thank goodness for my trusty mandoline. I made 30 pounds last year and they were finished before the end of summer.

I LOVE flowers, and our landscaper plants annuals for me every year and I have lots of bulbs that come back every year.

9. Barefoot or flip flops? (Okay I just threw that one in to see if you all were paying attention! Maybe I should have said "boxers or briefs"! LOL) Barefoot or flip flops, never ever socks - not even in a Chicago winter. Love my UGGS

Where do you live?

I live in Lake Charles, Louisiana

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

We live in a bug infested area during the summer. So since it's icky outside we usually will eat inside. We do often grill, smoke and fry outside in the summer. We bring it inside to eat!

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

We have black and tan furniture with orange and green accents. Lots of area to lounge and enjoy our hot summers!

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

If we have a really large crowd we use paper but if it's about 20 people we use our regular everyday dishes, cloth napkins and silveware.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

We love to entertain! I love to have people walking thorugh the house and relaxing. Usually very casual entertaining.

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

Of course!!!!!

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

VODKA TONIC and wine!! Dessert would be anything berry related especially if it is lemon and raspberry with chocolate.

7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

We live on the point of a bayou and a river. We gave up big boy water toys along time ago... We happen to live in my paradise so I don't feel the need to go camping. My DH thinks camping is at the Ritz Carlton. I don't necessarily feel that way...I just have to have a shower close to me ;-).

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

I do grow alot of herbs but I rarley preserve or can. It's just my DH and I now. I grow basil, bay leaf, chives, thyme, oregano, coriandor (in winter). But I enjoy receiving delectibles!

9. Barefoot or flip flops?

Flip flops in size 6 1/2 if you please! I happen to do bling or regular flip flops. I do not wear sock s anymore...just too hot! Unless it's winter here with tennis shoes.

I love love love regional items! I don't do cookbooks any longer because my shelves are hanging with way too many! I'm very easy peasy to please! I just want something that I can remember my swap partner by.

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?
We love to grill and smoke. We do many picnics with the kids each summer.

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?
Blue and Yellow

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?
We usually use the regular dishes when we are home, but we take plastic with us when we picnic. Not much paper products here. Recycling is big here and I have gotten away from using disposables.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?
Casual

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I love gadgets of any kind.

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?
Cocktails. Cookies. Chips
7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

Camping and grilling

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

Would love to, but no time and no place for a garden.

9. Barefoot or flip flops? (Okay I just threw that one in to see if you all were paying attention! Maybe I should have said "boxers or briefs"! LOL)

Flip-Flops!

I love regional cookbooks. I just got my Mom's collection after she passed in January. I love to read them like novels.
I also collect shot glasses and magnets from places we have been to or from people I have swapped with in the past.
Hope this helps.

Lisa

Burlington, North Carolina, a little town between the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) and the Triad (Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem)where our new co-op is now open.....yipeeeeee! I stood in silent awe at the long line of bulk bins last night.....(happy sigh)....

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? I grill out only a few times a year, but I'll pack a picnic in a heart beat. Just about always picnic on long trips, even on the train!

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

Front porch is brick, white tables and chairs.

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Use my regular dishes or paper plates. I also have a type of Bento box for picnics.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?
Casual

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

Love gadgets, nice wooden spoons/utensils

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

Drinks -- sangria, lemonade, limeade. Desserts--fresh fruit, frozen ice cream desserts, fruit with frozen cream, parfaits with fruit and custard. Snacks, not so much.

7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? I want to try pizza on the grill and love to do a light tapas dinner. We'll be grilling steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs this Memorial Day weekend in the mountains.

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve? I have planted some tomatoes in one area of the backyard that gets some sun and will have some fresh herbs. I'd love to can some tomatoes....we'll see. I like to make freezer jam and chutney in the fall.

9. Barefoot or flip flops? Clark's sandals and Crocs

I have received some wonderful swap gifts over the years, many that I use often and have out where I can enjoy them. I really am not buying more cookbooks for myself, but can't resist vintage "cookbooklets" that were published for various products. I love condiments/sauces/spices etc. from other places around the country. Really, I'm not too hard to please where our swaps are concerned. :o)

Teresa

1. Where do you live?

I live in Quincy, California which is in Plumas County. A little mountain town in Northern part of the state. A place with four seasons and incredible natural beauty.

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

We barbecue a fair amount during the summer. Our warm season is short so it really needs to be taken advantage of. I love sitting on our patio during the summer and enjoying the birds out there while having lunch or coffee.

3. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

Nothing specific but I favor warm colors. We could use some cutlery/dishes that are patio friendly in fact.

4. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

Definitely paper most of the time. I'd rather be gardening than washing dishes:)

5. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

Very casual. When guests arrive at our place I am normally still cooking, wearing shorts and an old white t shirt. I am all about comfort and to that end am a bit of a slob! What can I say.

6. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I like kitchen gadgets but rarely buy them for myself. I'm kind of a tightwad.

7. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

I don't drink alcohol or sugary drinks so for me it is normally water and iced coffee beverages. Yes, I am boring:) I do love dessert and my Achilles Heel would be cookies. I snack mostly on low fat ice cream and fruit during the summertime.

8. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

We mostly entertain at home in our backyard. We are fortunate to have a pretty big, user friendly back yard with a fire pit and three mischievous cats that keep us entertained. There is typically a camping trip or two per summer.

9. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

I very much enjoy gardening. This year I am letting my primary garden plot rest while covering it with coffee grounds and grass clippings but I'm still slipping some veggies into other parts of the yard/garden. We have two apple trees that sometimes produce fruit. Love the trees regardless. I do can strawberry jam every year.

10. Barefoot or flip flops?

Socks and tennis shoes. I run around a lot and protecting my feet is weirdly important to me.

Thanks Jessy!

Kate

Please tell us a little about yourself and your eating and cooking style. Who lives with you, favorite colors, hobbies etc.

I live with my DH of 28 years and our cat. Since we both work weird hours meals can be elaborate or a peanut butter sandwich in front of the computer. I enjoy all kinds of cooking from preserving to baking and everything in between. Favourite colours are blues, greens, aquas, purples though love a touch of sunshine yellow and white. I read voraciously and also enjoy sewing, embroidery and knitting/crochet.

Your favorite cookbook. Types of cookbooks you always look at. Do you like to write in your cookbooks when you find you need to alter a recipe to make it work or do you believe books should not be written in?

I use the Margaret Fulton Cookbook, the CWA Cookbook and the Golden Wattle Cookbok the most, though I also collect tons of clippings and paste them into blank books. Some I write on, most not. I love cookbooks with lots of pictures or chatty stories about the background of the recipe or the culture it originates from.

Do you like jam? Yes, but I have a lot on hand ATM. DH loves raspberry (which I don't have).
Do you like jelly? See above
Do you like marmalade? See above
Do you like pickles? Some, especially sweet ones
Do you like spicy food? Yes
What are your favorite fruits? Any you do not like? Fresh fruits are a prohibited import here.
Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? Probably sweet, but like savoury too.

1. Where do you live?

I live in York, Western Australia which is a very small town 100km inland from the state capital of Perth.

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

To date we haven't done a lot of outdoor cooking as we haven't had the place to do it. Currently we are building an extension to the house which will include a large deck and I hope we will do more outdoor living next summer.

3. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

Don't have any ATM. Will probably go for something cheerful and drop-proof :-)

4. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

I have some cheap Ikea plates and some plastic picnic plates I take on picnics. I don't mind paper napkins but almost never use paper plates except as giveaways with Christmas cookies on them.

5. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

We don't entertain a lot but usually casual.

6. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I have drawers full of gadgets. I like gadgets that assist with things I actually do, but not just gadgets for their own sake IYKWIM.

7. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

I'm not big on alcohol so mostly diet Coke, diet Ginger Ale, diet Tonic Water (diet because I find the regular kinds too sweet) or iced tea. I don't think I ever met a dessert I didn't like :-) Chocolate is good :-) Snacks, if I have them mostly things like chips and crackers.

8. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

I am not the outdoorsy type :-) Camping is what you do only if there are no other alternatives. We like tapas-type eating in summer.

9. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

I like gardens and every decade or so get a gardening bug and grow stuff. Otherwise I'm not much of a gardener. I like to make jams and chutneys but as we don't eat much ourselves it's hard finding people to give it to :-)

10. Barefoot or flip flops?

Shoes or sandals. Barefoot in the house only and flip flops make my toes feel funny :-)

There are a lot of things that can't be sent to Australia, Customs will confiscate and destroy them. For a list please see the link below as I'd hate to see my swap partners lovely efforts come to naught :-(

I live on the west coast of Canada - Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

I really don't distinguish much between summer cooking and winter cooking. I grill year around, regardless of weather.

I've never cared for picnics or eating outside.

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

I use the same dishes inside as out. And since I love taking photos for my blog, I love colourful platters and interesting serving dishes.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

We are very casual.

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I like useful gadgets.

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

Good wine year around. About the only summer drink that I really like is Sangria. I make a mean Sangria.

7. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

I don't can probably because I do not like condiments or preserves. I have a small garden and grow herbs, some year around, and tomatoes.

Please tell us a little about yourself and your eating and cooking style. Who lives with you, favorite colors, hobbies etc.

I live with my DW in an old [circa 1825] house with our dog and 8 cats. We've been together 31 years. In one of my several incarnations I was a chef so our cooking depends mostly on how mobile I am. Sometimes I do quite a bit of the cooking and at times most is left to Christy. Luckily she's learned much during our 31 years together. I'm half Italian so I do cook lots of Italian, but love non hot Mexican, regional American, French, Chinese, etc. My favorite color is purple and the non color black. I'm also an artist and draw, sometimes paint watercolors or sculpt. I crochet in a very basic manner and know only basic knitting stitches. Love to garden but can't do too much anymore. Luckily I'm surrounded by the best of the Garden State for food needs and also lucky that I concentrated on perennials when I did garden more.

Your favorite cookbook. Types of cookbooks you always look at. Do you like to write in your cookbooks when you find you need to alter a recipe to make it work or do you believe books should not be written in?

My favorite all time cookbook is James Beard's American Cookery. Good recipes but I love the way he wrote. I have a extensive cookbook collection and love all types of cookbooks. Favorites are the old time pamphlet cookbooks, to the many incarnations of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I too read cookbooks for pleasure. I do write in them and love used cookbooks that others have written in.

Do you like jam? Love it.
Do you like jelly? Very much so. Apple is a favorite.
Do you like marmalade? Not so much.
Do you like pickles? Not spicy but do love dills.
Do you like spicy food? Well spiced, but not hot. I don't eat black pepper if I can help it, but can eat a bit of cayenne much easier.
What are your favorite fruits? Any you do not like? Love fruit and can't think of any I don't like... ah.. except cantaloupe.
Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? I do have a sweet tooth.

1. Where do you live?

I live in a tiny town in rural New Jersey, surrounded by farms of the horse, tree and food varieties.

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

We grill fairly often in the summer but then eat indoors.

3. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

Not really any particular color.

4. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

Depends. I don't like using paper products too much but when I'm not getting around Christy likes to use paper plates so she doesn't have as much to wash up since we don't use a dishwasher. I do use cloth napkins though.

5. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

Casual.

6. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I love gadgets and have lots. I like to collect old/antique gadgets too.

7. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

I drink seltzer as my continual drink. Raspberry. Unsweetened only. I have a 2 gallon crock that I make iced tea for the summer in or lemonade. Neither of us really drink alcohol any more although we keep some around. I'll drink Asti or champagne but don't like other wines. Desserts we eat mostly fruit, but I do like to bake and we like most anything with lemon, chocolate or other fruits. We make ice cream fairly often in the summer. Snacks consist of dark pretzels or a hunk of very dark chocolate. I don't care for milk chocolate, plus the dark doesn't seem to affect my glucose levels. Smiles.

8. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

We haven't been doing much the past couple years but we like to rent a cabin on a lake or down the shore when finances allow. Mostly we just love to lounge around and read, eat Jersey tomatoes and white corn and play with our animals.

9. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

I love to garden but don't do much anymore. I do have several friends who have produce stands on their farms so it's easy and close to get great veggies and fruit. I like to can but have done more freezing lately. I plan to get out the big pressure canner this year though.

10. Barefoot or flip flops?

Always barefoot whenever possible and sometimes when not advised. Smiles. I've been known to run outside in the snow barefoot for a few minutes. We always kid about how hard it is to get me in shoes. I like to say my feet are claustrophobic. Smiles.

Hope this helps.

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?
Yes! We use the back yard and grill all year, and we often eat outdoors, even if I cook inside. We have a temporary gazebo in the back yard with table and chairs under it. I haven't used a picnic basket except in Griffith Park.

2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?
I normally stay away from earth colors, but that is exactly what I have used for our patio because it goes with our hot tub. We have red cushions on the outdoor dining chairs.

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?
We use regular dishes outside - almost never use paper, and I use cloth napkins all the time as well.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?
Never formal

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?
I like gadgets that work well and are easy to store. A lot of them (especially favorite ones) get stored in the handing rack I installed above the peninsula.

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?
Lemonade or limeade, since I have lemon and lime trees. For desserts, I usually have fruit, sometimes with balsamic vinegar. For snacks, I like bean dip with tortilla chips or hummus with lavash.

7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?
I used to go camping a lot, but now I go mostly in the winter and visit one of the desert parks. I tend to stay in cabins now instead of tents and so I don't spend time around a campfire. We removed the firepit in our back yard because we never used it - it came with the house.

8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?
I try to keep herbs growing, and I have producing lemon and lime trees plus a young orange tree. I used to make fig preserves when I had fig trees, and I gave almost all of it away, as I did not particularly enjoy eating it.

9. Barefoot or flip flops? (Okay I just threw that one in to see if you all were paying attention! Maybe I should have said "boxers or briefs"! LOL)
Sandals or Croks - I don't like flip flops at all, but I wear both sandals and Croks.

Part II

Do you like jam? Not really - I give away what I make.
Do you like jelly? No.
Do you like marmalade? Yes, but it takes me years to go through it.
Do you like pickles? Yes!! but not sweet ones.
Do you like spicy food? Very much
What are your favorite fruits? Mango, lemon, fig, lime, mamey, papaya, but I love pretty much all fruits, especially tropical ones. I like all berries.
Any you do not like? peaches
Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? I'm more a savory person, but I'm beginning to eat sweets again.
Do you wear jewelry? One earring plus rings.
Do you have pierced ears? Only one
What scents do you like for your body or your home? No scents for my body - I'm allergic to most fragrances.
Allergies: I have problems with some milk products, but not all. I got tested for food allergies and decided to ignore the results.

Magazines: Italian Design magazines mostly.

TV cooking shows: Julia Child, Frugal Gourmet, Simply Ming, and a few others on PBS. I'm not a fan of anything on the Food Network - I'm very much a West Coast person.

Lars

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?
We have a "fully loaded" picnic basket but it seldom gets used. During the spring and summer, we typically use a vinyl or cloth tablecloth on the table, and eat at the old redwood picnic table that's outside on our brick patio, listening to the sound of falling water from our little fountain.

3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?
Oh for eating outside, the simpler the better! Paper plates, paper napkins are great! We don't use breakables outside.

4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?
Very casual. Please wear shorts and a Hawaiian shirt :O)

5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?
Not really.

6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?
A favorite summer drink would be ice water with a slice of lemon, and I also enjoy wine and wine coolers. Flavored teas (but definitely not fruity flavors) with a little ginger-infused simple syrup are also good. Love love LOVE ice cream (I've posted a number of recipes and photos on this site), and we have some wonderful ice cream "bowls" and glassware that get a workout.

7. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?
I don't can or preserve. We do have a dwarf Meyer lemon tree and a dwarf navel orange tree, and the veggies we grow are usually tomatoes, zucchini, corn, green beans, Chinese snow peas, sugar snap peas, Swiss chard and herbs such as rosemary, parsley, oregano, thyme, and different kinds of basil. I always enjoy the show the garden puts on every spring and summer--California poppies, alyssum, violas, lavender, coreopsis, freesia, cosmos, sunflowers etc.

8. Barefoot or flip flops.
Neither. I wear Birkenstocks. Gotta protect the feet, y'know!

We don't grill, eat outdoors, grow veggies ( although I do love all types of flowers, growing in the yard, from the florist, even porcelain ones )... We don't camp, drink, use paper or plastic plates, eat anything spicy, or entertain ( being a 24/7 caregiver for hubby makes it next to impossible ).... The closes I've come to canning is to make refrigerator sweet pickles.

I live in south eastern Michigan... I used to love the change of seasons but now we only have three, too hot, too cold and way too wet ( lol )... Just the two of us, both in our late 60's, no pets... Favorite color blue. from pastel to cobalt.

I'm a casual kind of person, barefoot most of the time and would wear loose fitting house dresses or Muumuu's all the time if I could find them ( lol )... I have a passion for beautiful delicate knick knacks. glass, china or porcelain... Can't stand the taste/texture of olive oil but love olives... Not much of a cookbook kind of person but would totally treasure one on deserts from AnnT, with all those fabulous photos, ( if she ever published one ) or from someone almost as good... Enjoy almost all fruits except mango... Not much of a gadget person but would welcome anything that helps these weak old hands, in the kitchen or garden... Love lacy type crocheted items or oddities like those high heel shoes... Jam's, jelly's -- well if it's sweet it wants me to eat it... LOL

Hope this helps but I'm sure I'll enjoy anything you send, as long as it isn't another hubby to care for... LOL

Hugs,
Rita

P.S. Sure hope my swap buddy posts...

So DH, DS (age 11) and I live in a small craftsman cottage by the sea with our yellow lab, Jett. I work from home as a graphic designer. Aside from a ridiculous amount of time devoted to work, I spend time helping out at DS' school, gardening, kayaking, reading, walking, and occasionally, sleeping. My loves: family, travel, food (talking about it, eating it, cooking it, traveling to find it), kayaking and art. Cooking style tends to be eclectic, but predominantly Mediterranean, though my roots are Polish. I love to be served visually striking meals like dcarch posts, but I cook for flavor, not presentation. Family meals lean heavily vegetarian with meat used as a flavoring, not a starring role and more often than not, one-pot meals, made up with whatever's picked from the garden that day.

I cherish a special plate, or bowl, or book or piece of cloth for its design and utility.

It's me and Puccini, my loyal Lhasa Apso. Also, the BF is around - aka The Picky Eater. My parents are with me for the summer too.

1. Where do you live?
Stratford, Connecticut - a town on Long Island Sound.

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? I just purchased a gas grill - so I plan on using it alot. Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen? I love to pack picnics and head to the beach. I'm having a deck and patio installed next month - so I plan on having dinners and parties in the yard too.

3. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area? teals, blues, orange, greens, golds and creams.

4. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? I don't have much yet.

5. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

Casual

6. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

I do love gadgets...

7. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

I love making up summer coolers. Fresh fruit tarts, or just fresh fruit for dessert. Spiced nuts. Bean dips and pita chips...etc. Spicy, sour...anything goes.

8. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Love going to outdoor concerts, We have an event at our town beach called "Blues on the Beach" I plan on inviting friends and having a party! Also planning on more backyard bbqs.

9. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Yes and herbs too. Are you one who likes to can and preserve? yes, tomatoes, pickled eggplant and mango chutney.

10. Barefoot or flip flops? Flip flops - and Croc garden clogs...

- I live in Columbus, Ohio. Zone 6a!
- I live with my husband, a dog, and 2 cats. We have a grown son with a fiancee and a daughter in college, but they are all out of town. So we are empty nesters now, but we often entertain, sometimes large groups. I love to cook, but I really only cook dinner a few times a week, as one or the other of us often has a commitment in the evening. I love cooking Asian cuisines most -- Chinese, Thai, Indian -- but I like a lot of variety. The most important food-related thing is that we keep kosher. So that means I won't be able to use anything with any meat or poultry in the ingredients. Fish is okay, but only kosher fishes (no shellfish, eel, octopus, squid, or catfish). I'm sorry if that makes it difficult.
My favorite colors are red and pink, but my kitchen is Mediterranean looking: red cherry cabinets, cork floor, black and violetta granite, pale peach walls.
I love to travel! I'm in Toronto right now; tomorrow on to Vancouver and then Alaska. I also love books and crossword puzzles, especially cryptics, the Red Sox, and I like my garden. This is my third year with vegetables, and we cleared out a sunnier spot, so we should have better results.
- Your favorite cookbook. - That's a tough one! I currently love Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" best. But I also love the interesting ones my brother-in-law gets me. "Saffron Shores" is a doozy, and so is "World of Jewish Cooking." I buy a cookbook from every new place I travel to; sometimes they are in languages I can't even read. I definitely make notes (if I liked something enough to try it again), but usually in pencil, for no real reason.

1. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?
We do grill pretty often in the summer, but usually Jack does it. We eat in the yard or inside when we grill.
2. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?
No particular color scheme out there. The furniture is wrought iron. It's also Mediterranean looking, pretty formal.
3. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?
We use our regular dishes.
4. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?
Mostly casual.
5. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?
Well, I am "Our Lady of the Tapmaster," after all! But other than that, I really have to think something is worth it.
6. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?
I love peach iced tea and peach sangria in the summer. We don't eat too many desserts; I like mangoes and raspberries a lot. Snacks -- I love salty things, but they are usually fattening. Dill pickles and other sour pickles are good.
7. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?
We love baseball and like to see our local AAA team. I like to ride my bike. I sure wish we had a boat or a cabin, but we don't. Mostly we like to sit outside on the patio and read.
8. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?
I grow herbs (basil, rosemary, dill, thyme) and a few vegetables. This year: tomatoes, different lettuces, green beans (maybe), tiny eggplants, bell peppers, and hot peppers. And I even tried a little corn!
9. Barefoot or flip flops? (Okay I just threw that one in to see if you all were paying attention! Maybe I should have said "boxers or briefs"! LOL)
Both!
Do you like jam? Yes, but we don't eat much of it.

Do you like jelly? I like it, but we never eat it.
Do you like marmalade? Not really.

Do you like pickles? Yes, but not sweet pickles.

Do you like spicy food? Yes!

What are your favorite fruits? Any you do not like?
I love mangoes, raspberries, pineapple, and peaches best.

Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person?
Savory
Also, please post any allergies... like to nuts for example.
I'm not allergic to it, but I have that strong aversion to cilantro. The other thing I don't like that everyone else does is chocolate with fruit.
Thanks in advance, and have fun!

Part II

Do you like jam? Somewhat
Do you like jelly? Sorta of
Do you like marmalade? Yep, I live in the land of oranges!
Do you like pickles? Yes--any kind
Do you like spicy food? Absolutely--if I take my meds. Love Mexican and Italian foods especially. Decorate my kitchen with both!!
What are your favorite fruits? I love all fruits, especially the tropicals--mango, lemon, lime, papaya plus strawberries, peaches and apples.
Any you do not like? nope
Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? Stand back--I don't like chocolate, but I love savory goods or foods made with fruit.
Do you wear jewelry? Only fancy watches--no other jewelry
Do you have pierced ears? No
What scents do you like for your body or your home? None, they make me choke.
Allergies: Only animals, unfortunately. To replace that, I have two fabric cats and a metal one.

Magazines: Business journals (how boring!)

Please tell us a little about yourself and your eating and cooking style. Who lives with you, favorite colors, hobbies etc.

I live with my DH of 14 years. Four grown children, one is married. We live in rural western Oregon on 12 acres.
I have chickens and pygmy goats and one spoiled cat!!
We both still work full time outside home. We are more and more interested in preparedness and self-sufficiency. I would love to go "off grid" someday, but not just yet. We have a few more hurdles before that is an option. My ideal retirement would be a cabin in the woods with simple furnishings, room for a large garden, wood cookstove, animals for meat/milk/eggs and a once a month trip to town.....with internet access. LOL

Your favorite cookbook.

I rarely USE a cookbook. When I do, it's mostly for inspiration. I google alot! I like old cookbooks with history and stories and can read them like a novel.

Do you like jam? Yes, but don't eat much.
Do you like jelly? See above
Do you like marmalade? See above
Do you like pickles? LOVE Dill pickles and other pickled/ vinegar based foods.
Do you like spicy food? Mildly spicy is OK, I like the flavor but am a heat wimp.
What are your favorite fruits? Bananas! And most other fruits too!
Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? Savory!! Vinegar and salt are my friends!!

1. Where do you live?

See first question.

2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen?

Not a lot, but sometimes. Too many bees and bugs in the country! We generally eat indoors.

3. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area?

Don't really eat outdoors.

4. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy?

Use same dishes as inside or paper plates and napkins for quick stuff in the summer.

5. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal?

We rarely entertain and when we do it's usually family. We are casual to the extreme!!

6. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets?

Not particularly. I like multi-use, practical items. My cooking style is very plain and simple so I don't need much.
A sharp knife, good cutting boards of all types, silicone spatulas (can never have too many), etc. are solid basics and get the most use in my kitchen.

7. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks?

Coffee, iced tea, wine, lemonade (not from a mix...blech!)

8. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.?

Farm maintenance/animal care, vegetable gardening, preserving pretty much use up the hours in a day after I get home from work. I love heirloom seeds and want to learn more about seed saving for self-sufficiency.

9. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve?

YES!! See above. I love my garden. After a rough day a work, I like to take a glass of wine and just wander through my veggies and relax.

10. Barefoot or flip flops?

Either one. I have to wear some kind of shoes in the garden so it's usually flip flops or croc types. Barefoot in the house in the summer.

Deanna