[chocomouse]

Happy Birthday, Cass! We'd love to hear from you. Tell us about your latest baking adventures, please!

[chocomouse]

Today I made a ham and Swiss braid for a potluck, and a batch of Coconut cupcakes with coconut icing. That was from a KAF Goodness mix, and really not good. It made only 6 cupcakes (and stated so on the box) and the dough did not even fill the cupcake wells (a standard size pan/wells). The icing is a weird consistency and has no coconut flavor. I really like the Goodness Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake (makes a 9 x 9 pan) but was also not impressed with the Chocolate Cookies or the Lemon Bar mix. I won't be supporting their Goodness charity any longer!

[chocomouse]

Skeptic, for years we've mulched our vegetable garden with a layer of 3-4 sheets of newspaper topped with 3-4 inches of grass clippings. We replenish the grass clippings as needed throughout the summer. That does a great job of keeping the weeds down between the rows and any areas that are not planted.

My mantra is we need about an inch of rain every week to get a good crop of fruits and veggies. Today is our first uncomfortably warm day this season, at 83*. It has been a lovely blue skies, slight breeze, and low 70s most of this month.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

We've had almost no rain for the past 3-4 weeks. Just sayin'

[chocomouse]

Today I used Moomie's Hamburger Bun recipe to make hot dog buns, a nice handling dough but I still need to work on shaping technique. I also used the KAF recipe for Basic Muffins, subbing one cup of spelt flour for one cup of AP and adding 1.5 cups of blueberries from the freezer. They are tender, moist, and would taste better if I had not forgotten the sugar!

• This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

Baker Aunt, my garden is not so big, not any more, as I have been down sizing it. Thirty-two years ago when we moved here, I made it 50 x 100 feet. This summer, we are down to about 35 x 50. And I'm thinking about plans for doing it all in planters on the deck - in a few years. No deer, big or small (in Vermont, they are all "small", white-tail deer, 110-125 pounds is probably pretty average) have gotten through the fence. I start about 2 feet up off the ground, and the last row is about 5 feet up. They will jump a 12 foot fence easily, if they feel they have enough landing space. We also have 50 feet each of asparagus, blueberries, and blackberries, plus 150 feet of raspberries, and 3 apple trees. I don't envy you trying to cut back to one freezer/refrigerator!! I couldn't do that!

I also process my tomatoes by putting them in boiling water briefly, and then into cold water, and then slipping the skins off. I don't use a food mill, etc, I just squish them with my hands, add celery, onions, peppers and simmer til they have boiled down to sauce consistency.

[chocomouse]

The only thing I can is a Hot Pepper Relish, and the peppers won't be ripe for that until late August or September. I freeze all my fruits and veggies, and then make fresh jams throughout the year as I need them. But I look forward to reading about all the canning everyone does, and maybe sharing of some recipes which I will then try.

[chocomouse]

I've just returned last night from a week in Maine, and am so far behind with gardening chores. No seeds in yet, but I hope to get those in tomorrow afternoon. I did get all my purchased seedlings in - 6 each of Celebrity tomatoes, New Ace bell peppers, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. I put up a deer fence that is 18 x 18, made of metal fence posts with fishing line wrapped around them at about 2, 3, and 5 foot levels. The deer can't see it, and get scared and confused when they run into it. You just have to put it up early, so they never get a taste of the salad buffet and so hungry for more of it that they will jump the fishing line. I put their favorite foods, lettuces, spinach, kale, beans, beets, carrots, etc inside the fence. I plant the tomatoes and peppers, which they don't like the smell of, close to the outside edge of the fence as another layer of fencing. Then the squashes, cukes and zukes which have prickly vines and leaves around that. Onions usually go close to the fishing line fence, but I'm not growing any this year. So far, the deer have not gone into the enclosed part of the garden. We have been eating asparagus for a month, the blackberries are in full blossom, the blueberries just beginning now.

[chocomouse]

I'm sorry for your loss Wonky. My thoughts are with you and your siblings.

[chocomouse]

I don't eat donuts, and never have = they go straight to the pit of my stomach and sit there, for days. However, a friend is obsessed with Krispy Kreme, so one day I broke down and tried one, a lemon filled. Light and airy, not heavy, not greasy. I've learned that some KKs put in more filling, and that is good. Some KKs put on a thicker layer of glaze, and that is not good. The nearest KK to me is about four hours away. I eat them three times a year, when I'm traveling. I'll be in big trouble is one should open in this area.

Mike - you're right about the mini-muffins! They are very much like a donut hole, and that is how I make them, too. It's been several years, or more; I think my husband would be happy if this discussion nudged me to make them again, soon.

[chocomouse]

Perfect timing! We'll be in Maine, and there is a new Krispy Kreme about a mile up the road from our campground. I'll get a dozen raspberry filled - yummy. I don't make donuts (I don't like donuts, except for fresh Krispy Kremes) but if you like a basic donut, my husband says the KAF recipe for Doughnut Muffins makes a decent imitation.

[chocomouse]

Happy, happy, birthday, SWirth! I imagine your yard and fields are a mass of beauty about now, and full of all kinds of birds. Enjoy!

[chocomouse]

I've been waiting for a really good deal for a while, and put in my order last night. My favorite to restock at this time of the year is the Italian Dressing salad base. I sprinkle it generously over cooked chopped red potatoes before adding mayo for potato salad. I agree with Baker Aunt -- check out this offering!

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

Dinner last night was grilled boneless pork chops with a maple-bacon rub, asparagus risotto, and green salad. This morning I prepared salads for tonight: seafood, potato, and cole slaw.

[chocomouse]

Yesterday I made another batch of the Oat-Wheat-Flax buns, but had to shorten the rise time due to other plans, so they didn't rise as much and may be a little more dense. I should have just put the dough in the fridge until we got back home. We love these buns - thanks so much Baker Aunt for bringing this recipe to our attention. We need cookies in this house, so I'm planning to make the Coconut Citrus Cookies posted in the latest KAF catalogue.

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