Janis on the Farmette's Profile

I have an unusual allergy to kiwi fruit and raw stone fruits, but I never mention it or make an issue of it to my hosts because I've learned that I only need to pay attention. Thankfully, I can eat stone fruits if they've been processed in any way: cooked, canned, frozen, or dried. It's an allergy that confuses people, but it's very real.

As a former vegetarian who now eats seafood and poultry, I've discovered that some people find it easier to remember this preference if I remind them that I don't eat "critters with four legs." :-D

Nice round up! The dishes in the sink sign made me shudder, though. I'd need a sign that says "If you leave your dishes in the sink, I will make you regret it."

Oh, dear. Change, even a good change, can take some getting used to, but I seem to be having difficulty with this redesign. After supper, I like to kick back in a comfy chair with my iPad and catch up with TheKitchn, AT, and - previously - Unplggd, Renest, and even Ohdeedoh (no kids, but I'm an auntie). With the new design, that is no longer as pleasant as it used to be. For one thing, pages - as they load on an iPad, are quite "slidey" because of their width. It seems that a good number of your writers have iPads, so you should be able to check this out to see what I mean.

More importantly (to me, anyway), I miss the one-click navigation at the top of every page. It was SO handy! Top-level navigation is not nearly so handy now, and so I find that I tend to skip visiting anything but the two main sites.

And, while I'm whining, I find that I resent all the real estate given to AT and TK Top Posts and Top Tours at the bottom of the page, especially when posts/tours tend to linger forever in the top spots. I'm much more interested in seeing what's new than looking at the same top post/tour links visit after visit.

I was involved in a site redesign myself last year and I truly do appreciate the amount of effort it requires. I'm really trying to love the changes, but - sorry - am still not feeling it.

Tea from a tea shop that's about 60 miles away (cheaper to have it shipped), vanilla beans and organic coconut oil from Amazon. I'll start getting the coconut oil from a local organic market, now that they've started carrying it.

I know a LOT of work goes into redesigning a site and I really want to like the results as I am such a fan... But I tend to browse AT (and component sites) with my iPad and the results look kind of choppy. For instance, I usually start with the latest on theKitchn, then browse over to Unplggd, then to AT, etc. With the new change, I only see links to AT and theKitchn. No link to my user account, either. I'm guessing these are visible from a conventional computer browser and will come back soon via my MacBook Pro to see what's missing compared with the iPad.

Fire up the woodstove and enjoy its cozy warmth with your beverage of choice. First, in order to enjoy the fire, spend some time splitting, hauling, and stacking wood. The outside work is even better if you have a dog, cat, or donkey to supervise you (we have the latter two).

My husband taught me early on that spending time outside in the winter can be a pleasure if you have warm enough clothing. As others suggested: take a walk. Enjoy the fresh air. Bring your camera and any people or critters willing to tag along. PerryA expressed it so well: beauty exists in winter. (It might surprise you!)

@vegetalion, thanks, I'll check it out! We've been happy with other Bionaturae products and there's a good chance that I've already tried their olive oil - but I won't be certain until I see the bottle/label.

+1 for kneading by hand, especially when just starting out to make bread for the first time. You don't need a machine to make great bread, plus a machine will only distance you from the process while you are learning. I made bread by hand for years - before there was a no-knead method - and only advanced to a machine (yes, a KitchenAid) once I started making five loaves of bread every Saturday (which I no longer do). I agree with the others who suggest getting to know your process and making sure you enjoy it before making a large investment. And aneelee's suggestion about trying a friend's machine is excellent!

Here's a link to the Crisp Tuna-Cabbage Salad recipe. Sounds yummy, but I'll probably sub canned mackerel filets for the tuna.

Sipping hot tea with this right now -YUM! I skipped the extra sugar, added ground ginger and black pepper, and increased the nutmeg slightly (because I misread the amount). A keeper.