Since the link will disappear, I'm posting the article content. It would frustrating to come along in a few days and not know what all the fuss was about. Carol, I have to agree with you about the twee tone. I couldn't put my finger on what was bothering me, but you summed it up nicely. Leah Eskin A day in the country Four French friends make jam and mischief Published September 10, 2006 Christine Ferber calls Guy Untereiner her best friend. So when she mentions another best friend, Guy is heartbroken. Decu! Christine runs a patisserie in the unpronounceable French town of Niedermorschwihr. But today, in the Michigan sunlight, her new best friend is Herb Teichman. Herb grows fruit so sweet that Christine is moved to treasure these jewels not merely for a morning but forever-or as ever as fruit can get, which is to say as jam. "Elle est la fee de la confiture!" admires Guy. She is the fairy queen of jam. Indeed, her jam is so beautifully colored and richly flavored and endearingly packaged that it is famous far beyond Alsace. "They adore her in Japan!" swoons Guy. Christine caresses an apricot. "The colors do me good," she confides. "I could make more jam, I could make more money. But that is not what I want. I want a beautiful life." A life packed with good flavors and good friends like chef Jean Joho (of Everest and Brasserie Jo and Eiffel Tower fame), who has invited her and Guy and pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer for a day in the country. Christine strolls into the orchard with Herb. "Pas de betises!" teases Guy. No messing around! Herb is married. Has been for 52 years. But what is a walk among the peach trees if not an opportunity for juicy innuendo? Back in Joho's breezy Michigan kitchen, Christine sorts the cherries one by one, sliding the beauties into little faceted jars. She instructs Joho to prepare a brine from Alsatian honey vinegar and peppercorns and star anise. Guy gazes at the heap of glorious fruit. "Mais c'est chic!" he cries. Guy, who has a soft spot for Norman Rockwell and garden gnomes, designs table linens that are one part sentimental French country, one part water-resistant practicality. Guy knows chic. Joho fills the jars with the brine and twists on the tops, sealing in summer. "Sixty degrees," Christine commands. Jacquy flips open his phone and does the math: [60 x (9/5)] + 32 = 140 degrees. Celsius to Fahrenheit is nothing; he runs Chicago's French Pastry School. Joho slides the jars into the oven. Christine is already melting apricots into jam. "When I have things put up I feel rich, like a squirrel," Herb said, back in the orchard. The oven is packed with bounty enough to make the friends feel rich as squirrels. And clever as fairies. APRICOT AND VANILLA JAM Makes three to four 1-cup jars 2 1/2 pounds apricots 3 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup water 2 vanilla beans, split in half Juice of 1 small lemon 1. Pick: Only perfect and perfectly ripe apricots will do. 2. Array: Assemble your tools: Copper jam pan or other medium-sized heavy low stockpot, canner or large stock pot, ceramic bowl, skimmer, wooden spoon, ladle, sieve, jar-lifter, tongs, candy thermometer, timer, parchment paper, clean dish towel, 4 1-cup Mason jars plus new lids, bands and labels. 3. Macerate: Rinse apricots in cold water. Cut them in half; discard pits. Mix apricots, sugar, water, vanilla beans and lemon juice in the bowl. Cover with parchment paper, pressing gently so paper touches fruit. Refrigerate 1 hour. 4. Simmer: Scrape apricot mixture into the jam pan. Bring to a simmer. Pour back into bowl. Press on parchment paper and refrigerate overnight. 5. Sterilize: Next day, wash jars, bands and lids. Set aside bands. Put lids in a small saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes. Let lids sit in hot water. Set jars in a stockpot. Fill pot with water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Let jars sit in hot water. 6. Boil: Set the sieve over the jam pan. Pour apricot mixture through the sieve. Remove and discard apricot skins; set aside apricot halves. Bring accumulated juices to a boil. Skim thoroughly and continue cooking on high heat until syrup reaches 220 degrees on the candy thermometer. Add the reserved apricot halves. Bring to a boil again and cook 5 minutes. Continue to skim carefully and stir gently. Remove the vanilla beans and cut into 2-inch lengths. 7. Fill: Use jar-lifter to grab 1 jar in its hot water bath. Tilt to empty, carefully. Ladle hot jam into hot jar, right up to the top. Add a length of vanilla bean. Wipe top edge with a clean damp cloth. Use tongs to set 1 hot lid on top. Screw on band. Turn jar upside down to seal and cool.* Fill the rest of jars in the same way, one at a time. 8. Store: When cool, check that the lids are concave, indicating a good seal. Label and store on a cool, dark shelf up to 1 year. -Adapted from "Mes Confitures" by Christine Ferber *The USDA considers inversion canning inferior to this boiling-water process: Follow the recipe above, leaving 1/4-inch headroom in jars. Wipe rim, set on lid, screw band finger-tight. Keep jars upright. Transfer to a canner and process 5 minutes. Lacking canner, set a round cooling rack or several inverted ring bands in the bottom of a stockpot. Fill pot with water. Bring to a boil. Using a jar-lifter, lower filled, sealed jars into the pot until submerged by 1 inch. Cover pot. When water returns to a boil, time 5 minutes. Lift out jars. Cool. Store up to 1 year. For details and high-altitude adjustments, see homefoodpreservation.com. LeahREskin@aol.com Btw, Her comment that she could make more money but she wants a beautiful life is just so French - not that there is anything wrong with that.

We owned 2 Saturns until my 11 year old konked out last May. To repair would have cost a fortune and even though we had been what I would term 'valued' customers, the dealership made no real attempt to keep our business, even though they knew I was prepared to purchase another new car from them initially. So I simply walked across the road - literally - and bought myself a little Toyota Yaris. The Saturns were good. Notice the word 'were'. They were good in the days of the polymer panels. Great for a Canadian living on the east coast who has to travel on salt covered roads in the winter. Mine, even after 11 years was in great shape except for that thing under the hood known as an engine... But I must add that as a courier, I did put well over 170,000 miles on the car. DH has decided he'll be going to a Toyota as well when his Saturn gives out. He's hitting 185,000 Miles at this time. As I said, in our case it wasn't really the car but the dealership. There's a lot more of them (dealerships) and those who think that buying a car from them once means you'll repeat in the future had better think again. On the street where I bought my first Saturn in 1996/97 there used to be only three dealerships. Now there are 10.

Thanks so much for posting this article. I am a HUGE fan of used book stores. There is nothing better than spending the day amongst old books and finding a few that I just cannot wait to read. And once I bring those old books home, they tend to STAY here. I will say, however, that I very much DISLIKE people who come in with scanners and just try to turn a quick buck. I know it's a free country and all of that, but I just find it insulting. PAM

Man did I ever start something with the Indonesian Peanut Butter Chicken. :) Too funny! Here is my recipe in case anyone wants to try it: INDONESIAN CHICKEN SATE WITH PEANUT SAUCE 2 whole chicken breasts (I usually triple the recipe) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp chili powder 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsps soy sauce 4 tbsp chicken bouillon broth Mix everything but the chicken breasts in a bowl. Use this as a marinade over the chicken. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade (reservind the marinade). Bake in oven 350F (I use clay pieces to cook my chicken on - really good results). If on clay, no need to turn. PEANUT SAUCE (If you triple the recipe for the chicken/marinade, then triple the peanut sauce. 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 shallots (I don't use this) 1 tbsp brown sugar 1/3 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter 2/3 cup water 3 tbsp whipping cream (I use 2% milk) Pour the reserved marinade in a pan, add the peanut sauce ingredients and thicken. Serve marinade over chicken and rice. I like to saute some nuts. It's good to put sauted peppers on top. It's delicious. Tell me if you try it. ---------------------------- Jess, that was a good website. Carol