[chocomouse]

Our dinner was grilled chicken thighs, grilled potatoes drizzled with olive oil and Penzey's Foxpoint seasoning, steamed zucchini and summer squash, and a cucumber-onion salad.

[chocomouse]

Thanks for posting that recipe, Joan. And Mike, that was my first thought too: "I'll just use my shortbread recipe." But then I thought "no way!", I'll file it with my "quick and easy" recipes -- yummy foods I can throw together just by opening pre-packaged foods and transforming them into something new and delicious!

[chocomouse]

Joan, what is blueberry yum yum?? It sounds delicious!

We had BLTs, again, although I have just a plain tomato sandwich while my husband has the works. But, when the garden tomatoes are ripe.... And today I made 2 pints of salsa and 2 quarts of tomato sauce.

[chocomouse]

I picked a 5-gallon pail of tomatoes, Romas and Celebrities. Tomorrow I plan to make ketchup (first time making that) and salsa and tomato sauce - all for the freezer. I also made zucchini brownies, and froze 2 pints of shredded zucchini for the winter. I also froze 5 pints of broccoli. This broccoli is side shoots from the original heads that I picked in July.

Our dinner was ribs, cole slaw, and summer squash.

[chocomouse]

Tonight we had BLTs.

[chocomouse]

Aaron, did you try bread at "When Pigs Fly"? A small bakery in the Portland area. I love their breads. One of their bakeries also has a pizzeria, and makes excellent pizzas.

[chocomouse]

Today I made a lemon cake - using a Duncan Hines mix!! It's for a berry trifle using blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries from our garden - the last time this summer we'll have all three of those fresh at the same time. The trifle is for a large group, and I also used instant lemon pudding mixes, and frozen Cool Whip, and my husband's raspberry cordial. Sometimes you just have to take shortcuts, like when you're fixing a deli platter of meats and cheeses, focaccia, sandwich buns, potato salad, cole slaw, and baked beans.

[chocomouse]

I've made that Chewy Semolina Rye bread recipe many times,and the first time trying a recipe I follow the instructions closely, although most of the time I've made multiple changes! I use dried onion in most rye breads - it's not a strong onion flavor, although someone who doesn't like onion might disagree. I also always add caraway, mustard, and dill seeds. Sometimes I've used Rye Bread Improver instead of the vital wheat gluten. I sometimes used Deli Rye Sour or Flavor (KAF, I think they changed the name about 5 years ago). I usually use pumpernickel or first clear flour, but have used a "medium" rye. I also usually replace most of the water with dill pickle juice, depending how much juice is left in the jar! My notes show that every loaf was excellent!

[chocomouse]

I'm getting low on semolina also, and hoping KAF will have some in the store when I go in early September. I have a $10 reward to use (along with several $10 bills of my own!) this time, and have started a list.

[chocomouse]

I forgot - I did cook today! I made Pudding-wiches; I used to make these often during the summer when my children were young. It's instant pudding mix (kids preferred pistachio, I prefer chocolate with peanut butter stirred in) using 1 1/2 cups milk, allowed to set up for 5 minutes and then a dollop spread between 2 graham crackers and frozen for a couple of hours. They need to sit for about a minute before eating, otherwise they are too hard to bite into. This is a nice cold summer snack, a change from popsicles or other frozen treats.

[chocomouse]

Thursday I made another focaccia, this time using just a little garlic in the dough, and only olive oil and sea salt sprinkled on top. I'll serve both of them, cut into 3" X 3" squares and sliced in half for sandwiches for a family party Saturday night. This version is for the less adventurous eaters in the group - and there are many of them! They will also be able to choose plain sandwich buns.

[chocomouse]

I didn't cook anything -- but my husband cooked his own bacon for a BLT. I had a tomato sandwich, on whole wheat-semolina bread.

[chocomouse]

Thanks for doing the quizzes, Mike. You deserve a break! I've learned a lot, but certainly don't need one every day.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, half shelves are a terrible waste of space! After 30 years in our house, my husband built slide out drawers in place of both the top and bottom shelves in my biggest pair of cabinets. We thought about having those when we had the house built, but they were quite expensive, and having splurged on high-quality cabinets, we needed to cut some of our costs. Now, I can fit more stuff in the cabinet, and easily see and retrieve what I need. Maybe you could consider replacing your shelves with drawers.

[chocomouse]

Baker Aunt, I hope the sprained ankle is not keeping you from your appointed rounds!! I'm sure you've figured out ways to continue moving about your kitchen.

Our dinner tonight was Italian sausage with spicy brown mustard on split focaccia which I had made earlier, and corn on the cob. I have plenty leftover for lunch tomorrow.

I also made another batch of refrigerator bread and butter pickles. These are really good. I learned a new trick: do not boil the cucumber slices with the pickling brine. Just put the sliced cukes into a mason jar, pour the hot brine over them to fill the jar, cover, and refrigerate when cool. They stay nice and crisp.

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