[chocomouse]

I used five-gallon pails 3/4 filled with water, and tossed in some sunflower seeds to tempt the chipmunks. My grand-daughter, about eight at the time, said, "Oh, I didn't know chipmunks could swim." They can't! Nor can they climb up the slippery sides of the pail. For mice, we've been baiting the traps with peanut butter mixed with bird seed, and it still seems to be working. But most effective on all those little critters is the cat.

[chocomouse]

I made a cheesecake with a layer of fresh raspberries and chocolate drizzle between the two layers of cheesecake. It was delicious, although next time I will use more raspberries. Best of all -- the top did not crack!! Today I baked two loaves of spelt sandwich bread and a tea loaf pan of lemon zuchinni bread. I forgot to put the lemon streusel on the top, but that's OK, it's in the freezer for next time. Tomorrow I'm planning to make the Deli Rye rolls with seeds and will report back here with the results of the seeding trials.

[chocomouse]

I'm still processing a lot of veggies from the garden - broccoli and zuchinni into the freezer, and I pickled cauliflower using a new recipe, and also made another batch of hot pepper relish. I also made linguine carbonara and a broccoli salad. And we ate stuffed peppers out of the freezer I was sick of cooking!

[chocomouse]

I've been busy "putting food by" from the garden. I have frozen about 10 quarts of cauliflower, and made cauliflower-cheese soup and pickled cauliflower. I froze a couple of pints of chopped green peppers, and am anxiously hoping some will soon turn red for a hot pepper relish. I also made 4 quarts of tomato sauce with celery, onion, and peppers ready for winter soups and pastas. Last night I fixed a roast of pork, with herbs and boiled cider, and we have leftovers for sandwiches.

[chocomouse]

Today I made a ham and cheese braid for my husband to take to a potluck. Yesterday I made two loaves of our usual whole grain sandwich bread.

[chocomouse]

I often buy 10 pound bags of KAF AP at BJs for $6.49, if you have one near you. But, since KAF is just 10 miles down the road from me, I sometimes buy a 50 lb bag of Sir Lancelot. They sell for the wholesale price, which changes frequently, but is usually around $30.00. I used to get about two bags a year, but we don't eat so much any more and since I retired I don't have an office to share staff meeting treats.

[chocomouse]

KIDPIZZA It's great to hear from you again and I'm so glad you are still baking! You've also reminded me that I have not made a cheesecake for ages. I am going to try the double egg wash on my next batch of seeded rolls. That might be a couple of weeks due to a vacation coming up, but I will let you know how well the seeds stick. Thank you for your kind offer to send me your excess seeds, but I do have plenty of seeds in my pantry and my freezer. Maybe you have a baking friend in your neighborhood who could use them.

[chocomouse]

Interesting, Mike. Did you do a second egg wash on that pair after they came out of the oven, as KidPizza suggested? I'm not so sure about using honey on the rye, or any other savory, buns, but I might try it on one or two just to see.

[chocomouse]

Baker Aunt, thanks for sharing the info from Cass. I will try it also. So far, I do believe the egg wash works best, but it is such a gloppy mess. Mike, we lived in Highland Park in the 80s, and I ate the poppy seed buns. Here in New England I only see plain hot dog buns, although hamburger buns often have sesame seeds. I don't put any seeds on my hot dog or hamburger buns, just on dinner buns.

[chocomouse]

Mike, thanks for your suggestions for getting seeds to stick on rolls/bread. I did spritz the rolls with water, dip the tops in seeds, and spritz again, and let rise. I've done that before, and it doesn't work, but thought I'd try again since KAF suggested it. I'm going to try the spritz with cooking oil next time. And then if that doesn't work, I'll try dipping the tops in water, then seeds, and placing the rolls upside down on the parchment to rise.

[chocomouse]

Happy Birthday Mike! I hope you had a great day. Thanks so much for starting and managing this site.

[chocomouse]

I tried the KAF recipe for Deli Rye Rolls, and highly recommend it - excellent! I followed the recipe exactly except did not use caramel color, and used Artisan Bread Topping instead of Everything Bread and Bagels seeds on top.

Most of the seeds fell off, as usual, I think because I spritzed the tops with water before dipping in seeds. I should have used a beaten egg white, or the spray stuff for holding on the seeds. Does anyone have a preference? What works best for you?

[chocomouse]

I made a cheesy cauliflower soup for lunch, but added onion, garlic, basil and tarragon to the recipe. It is very good. I will freeze the remainder in individual serving sizes for future cool days. Last night I made cole slaw, broccoli salad, seafood salad, and zuchinni pancakes (although I used cucumber instead of zuchinni because that is what I had in my garden). We'll eat salads again tonight, and anything that is still leftover will be finished off tomorrow night with grilled chicken.

[chocomouse]

Our 10 bushes are planted in a 50 foot row. My husband built a frame to support a netting. It is greenhouse shadecloth that allows 80% (I think, we bought it about 25 years ago) of sunlight through it, and we put it over the row as soon as we see the birds begin to check for ripe berries in early July. The netting is 20 by 60 feet, and all the edges are bound by heavy tape with grommets about every 5 feet, so we use huge "nails" to tack it to the ground. It goes up one side 6 feet, across the top 8 feet, and down the other side 6 feet. I can stand under it to pick. The bushes are just approaching 6 feet tall now. We had it made through a local nursery, and although it wasn't cheap, we got our money's worth in berries! Our raspberry and blackberry rows have a similar support system, with wires on the sides to help contain the branches, but no netting. We tie tin pie plates and old cds to the wire supports; their clanging and flashing light as they twist in the breeze and sun helps scare the birds away, but does not elminate their feasting. We also use "scary eye" balloons and have fake owls scattered around the garden area. To extend our season, we have 50 ft of July raspberries, and 50 ft of fall berries, which are just beginning to ripen now. Our berry supply lasts us til the next picking season, and my husband has berries on his breakfast cereal every day! Do you grow berries? Any tips?

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, do you ever use frozen berries? Any hints for how to work with the variability of the wetness of the berries? Other than the toothpick test? I'm going to try both of your recipes - nothing like recipe testing as an excuse for another batch of muffins!! Also do you have the burger bun pan? I often make muffins in those, especially when I use a streusel topping. You get a bit of streusel with each bite!

[Author]

Posts