[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!

[chocomouse]

I usually do have to add either water or flour to my doughs to get the right feel. This dough was different - and I don't know if it was because I ended up kneading in the forgotten yeast, or due to the kinds of flours used in your recipe. I didn't know what to expect. I'm pretty sure it was over-kneaded. It handled more like taffy than bread dough. I'm going to make it again, soon, probably tomorrow, and will post about it then.

[chocomouse]

Yes, Baker Aunt, I use cast iron for most everything. We liked the flavor of the bread, and the texture was OK, although a bit dry. But I'm reserving final judgement until I make it again, since I forgot the yeast and ended up kneading it at the end - not the usual process! Not sure what that did to the texture.

Yesterday I made Tropical Muffins, and baked them in a mini-muffin cast iron pan. I used a favorite muffin recipe, and added dried fruits, in this case candied orange peel (that I candied myself), dried pineapple, mango, and cherries. They are delicious.

[chocomouse]

I baked it for 35 minutes at 350*, internal temp of 195.
I had more success making the bread than posting the picture!!! That's fine with me. It doesn't seem to matter what I do with my picture program on my phone or computer, it flips to upside down on this site.

[chocomouse]

I made Len's recipe for Wheat/Rye/Semolina Buns today, but shaped it into a sandwich loaf. I checked it while it was rising - but it wasn't rising. Then I realized OMG I never put in the yeast!! I decided to try kneading the yeast into the dough at that point, which I've tried in the past and so far it's always worked. It did rise, very nicely indeed, and as soon as I figure out how to reduce the size of my photo to 512 KB, I'll post it!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by chocomouse.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by chocomouse.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by chocomouse.

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[chocomouse]

I'll have to try Len's bun recipe, soon. Our dinner tonight was ribs on the grill, with leftover marinated bean salad and a green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. The lettuce, which I grew in a small planter on the deck, was chewy and a little bitter -- so that's the end of it for us. Sad, as the next planing of lettuce in not ready to eat yet.

[chocomouse]

Today I baked Maple, Walnut, and Fig bread. It's not too sweet, and I love the flavors. I also made chocolate chip cookies for my husband.

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