Wertach, I sent you an email about some cuttings, I'm interested. As for the subject on this thread, I would say yes. I have collected larger edible fig branches while in California. I dried them (6 months) and have used the straight sticks for broom handles (I'm a broom maker) I whittled the ends to prepare them for my craft and the smell was delightful! It smelled kinda fruity. I would bet that the dried twigs or even better chipped pieces would be excellent for smoking meats. Being from Wisconsin I would be interested to see what kind of flavor would be had with fig smoked cheese. Fig smoked gouda...yum. Good Luck! -Little John

I just sold my home 2 months ago so do not know the model number but I had the 30" Jenn air double oven. Purchased 2004. I did call them out the first month because the baking element in the top oven did not work. They came out in a few days and fixed it. It was still under warranty. Baked fine no problems until the control board went out in 2006. Expensive to fix. The repair guy told me those go out all the time in all the models like Maytag, GE, Whirlpool, KA so I bought the warranty. Worked fine after that. I moved 2 months ago so asume it still works fine. Never used the warranty but if I didn't have it would probably have gone out. I would purchase for $2100. but would buy an extended warranty for when the control board goes out.

If you have a pressure cooker, try this curry. Curry in a Hurry This recipe from Lorna Sass's Pressure Perfect is a quick and easy way to make a pretty tasty curry. You can make it with chicken, beef, lamb or pork, and vary the hotness by using mild or hot curry paste. 2 tablespoons of mild curry paste makes a pleasant-but-wimpy curry; 4 tablespoons of mild paste makes it pleasantly zingy; 4 tablespoons of hot curry paste makes it very hot, near my limit of tolerance (and I really like hot food). I generally use 2 tablespoons of hot and 2 tablespoons of mild curry paste. If you don't want to mess with the yogurt, peas and cilantro, don't bother--the dish will still be very tasty, but the sauce won't be as rich or velvety-smooth. ( I personally don't like cilantro, so I don't use it.) The recipe calls for 3 pounds of bone-in chicken; I find it easier to use about 2 or 2.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. --Once you get the pressure cooker up to pressure, make a pot of rice. By the time the rice is done, so is this. 1 cup water 4 tablespoons Patak's Mild Curry Paste 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 3 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs or breasts, or 2-2.5 lbs boneless skinless thighs, or 2 lbs. other meat (see chart below) 1 cup plain yogurt 1 1/2 cup frozen peas 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional) Pour the water into a 4-qt or larger pressure cooker and blend in the curry paste. Place on high heat and add the onion and meat of your choice. Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring up to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for the time indicated in the chart. Turn off the heat. Allow the pressure to come down naturally. (If cooking chicken, release any remaining pressure after 4 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape. If the chicken or meat isn't tender, cover again and simmer until done. If necessary, skim off the fat that rises to the surface or degrease the broth in a fat separator. Blend the yogurt into 1 cup of the broth. Stir the peas into the curry and simmer until they are defrosted, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir the yogurt mixture into the curry. Stir in the cilantro and salt to taste. Serve in bowls over rice. Meat choices Cooking times Chicken (see notes above) 8 minutes high pressure, 4 minutes of natural release, then quick release Beef (boneless chuck, 1" cubes) 8 minutes high pressure, then natural release Pork shoulder (1" cubes) 8 minutes high pressure, then natural release Lamb (boneless, 1" cubes) 12 minutes high pressure, then natural release If using beef, pork or lamb, trim off excess fat and cut the meat into approximately 1" cubes before cooking..

What a wonderful idea !! Had forgotten completely about aspics and geletin salads. A refreshing change from the regular hot weather fare. My mom used to make geletin salads.....way back in my dim, almost forgotten, childhood. Thanks to both of you for bringing up the topic. Here is one that I think sounds good. Am going to try it ! Chicken Aspic Recipe Ingredients: 1 whole fryer (approximately 3 pounds) 2 bay leaves celery leaves 1 1/2 Tbsp salt 1 tsp Tony's seasonings 1 cup celery, finely chopped 1 4-oz can sliced ripe olives, drained 1/4 cup green onions 1/4 cup parsley, chopped Instructions: Boil chicken with bay leaves, celery leaves, salt and seasonings in enough water to cover. Remove meat from bones and return skin and bones to stock pot. Strain liquid through colander and pour into pot. Reduce to about 1 quart stock, strain again and return to pot. Chop chicken and add it with olives, celery, onions and parsley to stock. Adjust seasoning. Cook down until liquid supports chicken. Pour into Pyrex loaf pan and refrigerate overnight. Turn out and slice. Delicious served with potato salad and sliced fresh tomatoes. ---------------------------------------- Have no idea what "Tony's Seasonigs" is, so am going to try "Old Bay" seasoning. Also, if you include a veal shank or a cracked veal knuckle when making the stock will add to the gelatinous quality. Think piementos (or any other ingredient your tastebuds prefer) would also be a good additions. This is the sort of dish that one can experiment with.