[chocomouse]

We had ham steaks on the grill, with potato salad and a green salad with the greens and herbs from a huge pot on the deck.

[chocomouse]

Today I made Len's bread recipe again, and this time shaped it into buns. I didn't get the oven spring that I've had with the sandwich loaves, but they did rise nicely. They shriveled (the tops wrinkled) up a bit as they cooled. I had to make some substitutions: I was short of semolina, and I had used the last of the medium rye earlier, so I used pumpernickel. No more baking this good bread/buns until I make a stop at KAF for pumpernickel, medium or dark rye, and semolina.

I can buy five-pound bags of their main flours at any local grocery store for around 4.29. But I can get the specialty flours only at the KAF store, and pay the regular price, which is what you see on-line. And I have not found a local store that consistently carries any other brands of the specialty flours.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

Dinner last night was salmon and potatoes cooked on the smoker/grill, and cole slaw. Tonight we're having egg salad sandwiches on Len's bread, with assorted raw veggies, cherries, and grapes. It is 97* here, and very humid; a heat index of 107, a rarity for this area. Luckily, we have a heat pump, so the whole house is air-conditioned.

[chocomouse]

I have two loaves of Len's Semolina-Rye-Whole Wheat bread rising. I'm about to make a sheet cake so it will be baked just before the bread needs to go in. And then I will make raspberry jam, some of which will be used to make the raspberry poke for a potluck tomorrow. I need to get all the baking/cooking done before the temperature rises to the 90s around noon.

Baker Aunt, you must be having so much fun putting away books and dishes! Does this mean you are moving things from your temporary quarters, or are you unpacking things that have been in boxes for ages?

[chocomouse]

No cooking here tonight either! Husband had a dinner meeting, and I had a late afternoon medical appointment. So I stopped at a local ice cream stand and got a dish of lemon home-made ice cream. No calcium deficiency here!

[chocomouse]

Tacos for dinner last night!

[chocomouse]

Those look great Len! My container tomato (given to me by a friend with a greenhouse, I have no idea what variety it is) is only about 12-15 inches tall but has over 50 tomatoes, still green, on it. They are bigger than a cherry tomato, but I don't know how large they will get. I'm given a mystery tomato every year! Fun to watch it grow, not always such a great thing to eat!

[chocomouse]

I often use asiago in place of parmesan, as it has a really nice flavor. But I love Gruyere for a good melting cheese. I've sometimes substituted it with Jarlsberg - I like prefer that over Gruyere only for the price!

[chocomouse]

Dinner tonight was sirloin steak tips marinated in balsamic vinegar, macaroni salad and a green salad. Very warm and humid, and going to be in the upper 90s by the weekend, but we did get a brief shower this afternoon and will have rain most of the day tomorrow.

[chocomouse]

Skeptic, I'm so sorry that attic project is still ongoing; I know you wanted it finished by summer! Are you able to keep your living area relatively cool now? I've never tried baking in a slow cooker, but reading about your successes has me thinking about trying it.

[chocomouse]

That sounds wonderful, Mike, I hope your weather turns soon. My cherry and patio tomatoes are loaded with fruit, but green. The Celebrity tomatoes and peppers have lots of flower buds. We ate all the lettuce I had in a planter on the deck, and the second planter of lettuce isn't quite ready to eat. Nothing else will produce for at least a month. But everything is looking green now, instead of yellow -- the sun has finally risen here in the east and the rain has stopped. We have received about 5 inches more water than is average for the year. I've had some mobility issues, so I never did get the whole garden planted, and what I did get done was late. Next year, I'll be growing most all the vegetables in raised beds, planters, and pots on the deck.

[chocomouse]

Today I had a Breakfast Party at my house, with all of my immediate family as guests. I've been preparing for it for several weeks, so it really was not a ton of work, although my husband did the heavy work with setting up a large canopy, tables, and chairs next to the front flowerbed. Mother Nature helped out by delivering perfect weather for us! I made lemon blueberry cornmeal cakes (KAF corn cakes recipe), tropical fruit muffins, maple nut scones, maple walnut fig bread, and cinnabons; plus egg cups (really just scrambled eggs with sauteed onions, peppers, cheddar cheese and baked in muffin tins); fresh cherries, grapes, melon; assorted juices and mimosas.Some of the guests also brought food. We had 2 grandchildren, new college grads about to start their first career (both teachers) jobs, 1 grand-daughter starting sophomore year in college, 1 grand-daughter starting freshman year in college, and 1 grand-daughter a rising senior in high school but about to start her freshman year in the Early College program. What a blast! Love those teens!

[chocomouse]

And I remember cleaning out for our move from Chicago to Vermont thirty years ago, especially emptying the freezer. Every night we ate salmon (that we had caught in Lake Michigan) or pheasant or antelope that my husband got on a hunting trip to Iowa and Colorado. We so badly wanted hamburg or a piece of chicken!! But like both of you, we ate a lot of weird, creative meals. I love the reference to "Chopped"!

[chocomouse]

We drank it frequently when we lived in Germany, made by some Hungarian friends. We still enjoy a glass of it every once in a while, but must buy it at the liquor store.

[chocomouse]

This morning I made Len's Wheat-Semolina-Rye dough shaped into a loaf, again. I had to add 2 Tablespoons of water to get the right consistency. It rose beautifully, just as it had the first time I made it, with nice oven spring. Unlike the first batch (when I forgot the yeast, and had to knead it into the dough after the dough was thoroughly kneaded!) this time the elasticity, or texture of the raw dough was just as dough typically is. I'm going to need hamburger buns soon, so will give this dough a try in bun-shape. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Len!

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