It was so much fun! I was nervous on the way there and getting ready for it last week. It was great sharing plants, information and brownies with so many wonderful people. Thank you to each and every one of you, espeically Marcia for hosting.

My grandfather was so excited when I got to his house and started unloading. He pulled out the pots and started potting up things immediately and then started nicking the kentucky coffee bean seeds so they'd come up. I swear he was like a kid in a candy store and said that if there was another one next year he'd like to go.

Linda, the plum crazy is a cutting and sitting it in the shade until it shows signs of new growth would be wise. The peach tree is a seedling off of ours so it doesn't really have a name. I'm sorry. It should be okay in the ground so long as it's in more of a flower bed setting and gets watered/looked after til it gets a bit bigger. Mom said your origami book was lovely. She especially liked the way you did the front and back covers and you can put a front and a back on the book she showed you just like you do yours.

Happy planting,

Stacey

Thanks so much everybody!! Been planting all weekend!
Jennifer

That was a blast ladies! Much more than I expected. I got a lot of great ideas and I look forward to what I can bring next year!

Kimmy

WOW! That was so much fun -- seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and all those great plants too!

I think I've set myself a record -- half of the things I brought home are already in the ground. Can you believe it?

Thank you so so much Marcia for hosting us and sharing your plants; Sue for keeping us all "sorted" in preparation; and every one who brought plants or gave plants new homes. It was a great time, and I look forward to the next one too....and I will make sure Alan can come, cuz no work gets in the way next year!

Here is the Broccoli Slaw recipe (the spacing may be funny, just paste into Word to edit), complements of my hubby:

Crunchy Ramen Broccoli Slaw --Alan Whetsel

1 pkg. Broccoli Slaw* (I made a double of this for the swap so I used 2 bags of broccoli slaw & roughly doubled everything listed below)
1/2 c. (at least) whole almonds very coarsely chopped and toasted
3 tbsp. (at least) sesame seeds toasted (I do them with the almonds)
(supposedly sunflower seeds can be used instead of sesame, Ive never tried it)
1 pkg. Ramen Noodles (Chicken), crushed

Dressing Ingredients

3-5 tbsp. Âto taste, Vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
1 Ramen noodle seasoning packet
1-3 tsp. Dijon mustard (also to taste)
2 tbsp. (more or less) honey or white sugar
1/4 Â1 tsp. White pepper (depends on how hot you want it)
1/2 cup salad oil (I use Smart Balance)
1 tbsp. Soy sauce (roughly, itÂs to taste)
1-2 tsp. Sesame oil (again, to taste. Less sesame oil is probably better)
A few shakes Chinese Five Spice Powder or ginger (whatever you like its even optional, sometimes I put in hot sauce or chili sauce)

1/4-1 c. cilantro

Method

1. If youÂre making this slaw the same day youÂre serving itÂVery coarsely chop almonds and toast with sesame seeds. Allow to cool.
If youÂre making it a day ahead you can stow the chopped toasted almonds with the sesame seeds in a Ziploc or do this step closer to when youÂre serving.

The toasted almonds and sesame seeds lose their crunch if done too far ahead of time.

2. Mix the dressing ingredients (vinegar, ramen seasoning packet, Dijon, honey or sugar, pepper, salad oil. soy, sesame oil and extra seasonings) and wisk together in a large bowl.

3. Coarsely chop cilantro & add to dressing in large bowl (you can hold off chopping & adding the cilantro if its going to be overnight until serving time).

4. Toss in broccoli slaw mix and toss periodically until serving time.

5. Toss in toasted almonds and sesame seeds along with the crushed Ramen noodles as close to about a half hour before serving time as possible (if the nuts & crushed noodles go in too long before, the overall salad isnÂt as crunchy).

You could make dozens of variations of this recipe. The original was with shredded cabbage and appears on the side of the Maruchan brand Ramen "Souper 6-pack".

*Usually found with prepared bagged slaw mix in the grocery store produce section

---Tina

I'm new to GardenWeb and I'm sorry I didn't see the info about this swap in time to participate. Sounds like such a great thing, and I hope to be in on the next one!

thanks for the recipe Tina...
it's so good!

you can never have enough salad recipes

yes, jplamp, be sure to watch here at Ohio Valley and plan to come next year-
there's talk we might have a get together this fall- potluck lunch, visit, maybe pre-plan a few swaps -

*stay cool if you can*
Linda