Mike, we use a floating hydrometer to measure the density of our syrup, but since we double check everything, we also use a refractometer. We measure in brix, which requires a reading of 66-68 to legally be syrup, so we go to 67. Hydrometers are very expensive. We buy ours from a sugaring supplier in Wisconsin, and they are certified by some department in Vermont's government.
Tonight my husband had a BLT and I had a green salad.
Today I baked a blueberry coffee cake; going to cut into it as soon as I post this!
We had pizza.
Unfortunately, I made the peach cobbler in a 9 x 9 pan - and there is only one piece left this morning! It was excellent when fresh out of the oven, but by evening, not so great. The cakey park had absorbed most of the sauce, and was a gloppy mess. It still tasted good, but the texture was not good. Sorry I could not share with you Joan - but I do love German chocolate cake, and I can almost taste your frosting.
Our hummingbirds have mostly left for their southern wintering spots, although we still keep our feeders filled for the laggards to drink. They start migrating here in early August. We'll leave the feeders up til mid-September, and put them back up around May 1.
I baked a peach cobbler this morning, and did a taste test as soon as it came out of the oven! It is delicious. I used KAF's Spoon Bread recipe as a guide, but I really wanted something with a thick "sauce", not just runny juice from the peaches. So I simply added a tablespoon of flour to the sugar the peaches marinated in for a half hour, and it came out just as I hoped.
Today I made a big batch of tomato sauce, using tomatoes from the garden. I also put in chopped green onions, green peppers, celery, and zucchini. I added hot Italian sausage (ground and cooked) to some of it which we will have, along with a salad, on penne for dinner.
I made an orzo-spinach-feta salad for my husband to take to a pot-luck dinner. Don't know what I'll have, but leftover potato salad for sure. I'm leaving for a week in Maine in the morning, and don't want to leave a lot of leftovers for my husband to finish off because they will still be in the fridge when I get back!!
Dinner tonight was grilled chicken thighs and corn on the cob, with roasted slices of zucchini and yellow squash
I had a tomato sandwich. And a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.
That sounds really good, BakerAunt; I might try that recipe. My husband is picking about 2 quarts of blackberries most every day now, and I'd like to bake some, fresh. We usually freeze them all, and he eats them on his Frosted Flakes every morning all year 'til they're gone. When I get back from Maine next Monday, I'm planning to make a simple blackberry cobbler.
We had burgers and corn on the cob, all cooked on the grill, for dinner tonight.
I made a veggie lasagna tonight, with zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and spinach, with alfredo sauce and cheeses.
BLTs here.
