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I've wondered if advertisers, etc, realize that putting black ink on many colored backgrounds renders the ad impossible for lots of us to read? I suppose they think it's showing their technical talent.

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For dinner tonight, I've made beef stew, using our favorite recipe from our days living in Germany. It calls for vinegar (to tenderize, as the German beef is quite tough) and caraway seeds, which give it a flavor people seem to love or hate. We love it.

[chocomouse]

I made 18 small plain white flour dinner rolls. Yesterday I made two loaves of our usual buttermilk whole wheat oatmeal sandwich bread.

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That's great, Mike! For me, the big deal was getting rid of the magnifying glass I carried in my bag, mostly to read ingredient and nutrition labels at the grocery store.

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He got your order, BakerAunt, and assume he replied to you. Now you'll be able to expand your repertoire! For my husband's birthday, I gave him the maple syrup dispenser that KAF has been advertising heavily. We have purchased maybe 15-25 different containers over the years, specifically for syrup. None needed to be fancy, I just wanted something that would not drip all over the table and would keep the syrup covered in the fridge. None worked - they all dripped. We haven't used this new dispenser yet, but it looks like it might work better than most.

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Italiancook, I was going to suggest you follow a dill pickle recipe and just make the juice, but now I'm going to check out the link Kimbob posted. If I have almost enough pickle juice, just not quite, I top it off with water. I've also used sweet pickle juice, entirely or partially, and find that works too, although I think I get a better "rye" flavor with the dill. I do add lots of mustard seeds, dill seeds, and caraway to get that rye flavor.

[chocomouse]

Good luck with the eye surgery tomorrow, Mike. You'll be back to baking better than ever, with more accurate measurements (ha!) now.

[chocomouse]

Today I made No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars (but putting this in the "What are you baking this week?" forum!). Quick and easy to make. I'd never made these no-bake cookies as a bar, and it was so much nicer - no pressure to scoop out dozens of little cookies before the dough hardened. Unfortunately, the peanut butter flavor was lost. I have another recipe that calls for the peanut butter and chocolate and oat mixture to be layered, so I'll try that one when these are gone.

[chocomouse]

We had tomato soup with veggies -- made from scratch with veggies from the garden. and ham and pineapple quesadillas.

[chocomouse]

Joan, that rye recipe is my favorite for basic sandwich rye bread. I now sub dill pickle juice for the liquid in most all of my rye breads. I think it contributes to the flavor and also helps the rise. I sometimes use pumpernickel flour, but a medium or dark rye works fine too. And I always substitute instant potatoes for potato flour.

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Joan, my layers are not as neat and trim as hers. I love making things that are shaped differently; it's a pleasant challenge. Many of them don't come out looking as good as the photos by the bakers show, but nevertheless, they are fun to do. Some just need more practice and care. I've made most all of the large fancy wreath-shaped baked goods, the sunflowers, the braids, etc. Some came out looking as good as the originals, and all of them tasted great. Before I retired, my co-workers were very happy to eat my experiments

[chocomouse]

This morning I baked a new recipe from SmittenKitchen, Cinnamon Scones. The recipe is similar to others, but the shaping is what interested me. The dough is rolled out, half of it is sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, then the other half is flipped over on top of it. Then rolled out again, and half sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and the other half flipped onto that. This makes layers of dough and filling, so the finished wedges are fanned out like the open pages of a book. Mine are not as pretty as hers, I need to practice, but they are delicious. They're very light and tender. I will practice more! I envision spreading a thin layer of jam between the layers, also.

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Mike, I've had cataracts removed from both eyes. The easiest surgery I've had! My first replacement lens gave me 20/20 vision, but then when I had my stroke, one year later, I lost most vision in that eye. I can see light and dark, and vague shapes, but that's it, and it's permanent. A few years later, I had the other eye done, and have 20/20 for distance. I couldn't have the multi-focal lens implant because they are still trying to strengthen the left eye and get the two eyes to work better together. But, dollar store reading glasses work fine for reading. I'm sure you'll be happy with the results, but it will hardly seem like you've had surgery.

[chocomouse]

I also cannot stand avocados! I think it's the texture. But not sure I've had one in my mouth long enough to figure out if I like the taste or not! I have a lot of trouble with the texture of foods.

[chocomouse]

We had boneless chicken thighs with Greek seasoning, broccoli salad, and smashed potatoes.

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