Ya know, that reminds me of a story. I was bent over, weeding the hostas this summer and I heard this strange sound. Then this aroma of ... fragrant hosta ... filled the air ... How far can a dog run into the forest ... ÃÂ.ÃÂ --~ dave we enable all we can ... glad to have you along for the ride.

I have said that there are simple things you can do which doesn't entail a great deal of time and money to give you more options to achieve desirable photo effects. One of the annoying things with picture taking is unwanted reflections. You can buy a polarizing filter for your lens and significantly eliminate them. The filter is not expensive from $5.00 to $20. Just find one that fits your lens screw mount. The following side-by-side photos of a soup I made which show identical lighting, exposure, and angle of shot for the pictures. By changing the rotation of the filter, you can cut out a significant amount of unwanted reflections. This can give you better saturation of colors and sharper definition of you subject. As I remember, some time ago Lars was saying that he had problems photographing samples for his work. I think with a polarizing filter, many of his issue would go away. And BTW, SharonCB has done an amazing job in putting together a professional series of tutorials. Look for them here. dcarch

If you do not care for the flour taste in gravy, you must simmer it for 15 minutes or so after you add a slurry. This is the reason people use a roux to thicken gravy and stews, the powdery flavor is already cooked out by the time you add it. A roux cooks the flour ahead of time, so your chicken/turkey/roast doesn't need to sit so long while you're making gravy. I use a light brown roux rather than a blond for turkey gravy, as the cooking time required adds a richer flavor. Remember though, that the longer the flour cooks, the less it's thickening power. If you're new at making gravy, or make it seldom, it is a good idea to have some extra chicken stock (or turkey base...Better Than Bouillon makes a good one) on hand in case of over thickening, weak flavor (or not enough drippings!) In the case of thin gravy that needs to be thickened a bit at the last minute, I prefer a cornstarch slurry to a flour slurry because it doesn't need the extra cooking time. Do not use cornstarch as the exclusive thickener however, because it makes more of a "glaze" than a gravy. One part cornstarch to 3 parts water is a good emergency, last minute thickener for a gravy that is just not quite thick enough. Add the cornstarch& water mix in small quantities, say a tablespoon at a time (a little does a lot!), keeping the gravy at a high simmer (stirring the while) for 3 minutes or so before deciding to add more.

Glad you liked the tutorial Carol,smashing job,looking at yours,I noticed I missed the is out,silly me.