"I find you last post the most pleasant and agreeable - what happened ? LOL I see nothing to argue about and I would agree with most..." You agree with what, me buying the beer? Cheapskate. Since there's an open invite to post pics I figure I would do so. I knew there was a rock on the side hill of my driveway that was fairly large and buried just below the surface so I set out to see how big it is. Here's my rig: http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r97/johnstem15/445ldrbb.jpg I'm working uphill to dig it free: http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r97/johnstem15/digrock1.jpg Now in the driveway working it out. I ran out of traction before power: http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r97/johnstem15/digrock2.jpg And here's the beast up close: http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r97/johnstem15/bigrock.jpg I didn't take it all the way out, I reset it so it slants into the hill a little more. Right now it's playing an integral role in keeping my driveway from eroding. Retaining wall may be on tap for the spring so I might just tangle with him again. Apparently I'm too dumb to post pics inline so all you get are urls.

Well, my first "adventure with meat" was pretty discouraging. I went to the farm market and did not see ANY lamb OR turkey OR fish, and even the all beef sausages were $5.49/lb. One stall had about 15 different kinds of sausages, but they were all expensive and also they all sounded like they were pork based. I also saw at the same place about 10 different kinds of hamburger patties, which gave me inspiration for maybe trying to make a Mediterannean style patty using the recipes above, maybe with feta cheese. I think the market must have been low on meat because I went late in the day on the last day. That's when you can get the good deals but apparently that's when they are out of meats, lol! I did score some pita and some hard rolls for a song. Then, I found out the fish market in my neighborhood closed at the end of last year, but there is still that other one that Ruthanna recommended to check out. Good thing I have two weeks to prepare. There's also a kosher meat market in my neighborhood. Boy, am I ever finding out a lot about meat! Here's a link to the recipe for the cake. I like the idea of cupcakes, because I can make one batch ahead and freeze them. I made ricotta cupcakes before and they were fab. Only thing is, I think I am going to change the menu a bit depending on what meat I do and maybe not do this cake since I will probably do corn chips for the appetizer. Now I'm thinking six layer dip, (no beans since that's an entree), corn chips, mint lemonade, kofta or shwarma with pita and tzatsiki and tahini dressing, potato salad, calico baked beans, (maybe some grilled marinated Mediterranean veggies too) and coleslaw or tossed salad. For dessert, baklava, smores, and pineapple or some other fruit thing. Kind of ecclectic but that's my taste. Here is a link that might be useful: Cranberry orange cornmeal cake

Love venison and live on it when I can. I'm guessing you mean whitetail venison... mule deer and elk are different meats all together. My current lust is cajun venison. Hot frying pan of bacon grease and toss in venison coated with cajun spice. I like mine rather rare... it will turn to jerky if you go for well done (which is not all bad). If it is home butchered watch close for any stray hair. One stray hair and the whole pan will take on a oily gamey taste. The hair has a protective oil that keeps the deer dry when they run around outside. Home butchered is often best given a quick rinse with cold running water before it hits the pan... I don't rinse but then I have years practice butchering so no stray hair or other booboo. If you pan fry it and it strikes you as gamey I highly recommend A-1 steak sauce... that should keep it edible to even the most sensitive taste buds. I don't recommend tomato based dishes unless you eat venison regular. There is a chemical in many meats that gives the "gamey" taste. After awhile your sense of tastes adjusts so that it is not remarkable. Tomato will bring out that taste and highlight it... as in venison chili. I eat venison chili but vension is regular table fare for me. My dad always likes a stroganoff dish. Fry venison, make cream sauce, stir in cooked noodles (kluski!). My grandfather's favorite burger was half venison and half pork. I don't recommend boiling venison. It won't be ruined and I boil scraps from butchering for my animals. I have tasted boiled venison... not bad. My cat Tuna loved it that way and could eat her own weight in just a couple days. For human consumption you want the meat juices to get on the hot pan and turn to a sweet brown carmel... the browning on meat. Buffalo venison I don't recommend as anything other then ground meat. It is so lean it starts shoe leather tough and gets tougher. Elk is one of the finest meats in the world. More fat then whitetail/buff so it can be panfried. The sweetest and mildest of the venison family that I have tried. Mule Deer are fairly fatty with a beef like texture. I find it stringy but tastey. So... don't let it sit in the freezer! Get out a package and make something. If it tastes bad give it to the dog and try again. Letting it sit until freezer burned is a waste... it won't improve with age. : ) lyra

Q is for QUICK - I'll say it for you, bunnyman - PENIS - there now, that wasn't hard at all - oops, it was all for naught!!!!! LOL