[chocomouse]

Earlier this week I made Apple Cinnamon Buns which were excellent. Next time I will shape it into 20 buns instead of 12; they were just too big. Yesterday I made the "Everything-Cheddar Filled Braid" from KAF's latest catalogue. If I make them again, I will make significant modifications. The cheese filling is excellent, but there is not enough of it in proportion to the amount of dough. You can see that in their photograph that accompanies the recipe. The dough was very easy to work with, but not especially tasty. It needs to have garlic, or onion, or both added during the mixing. It might work out best to use the filling as a spreadable butter that you put on a bun or biscuit. Today I made two loaves of our everyday sandwich bread, a Buttermilk Oatmeal made with half AP and half WW flour. Next up, I need to start mixing a variety of refrigerator cookie doughs, which will take me through the holidays and hopefully into the new year.

[chocomouse]

It's just the two of us this year, too, after 30 years of serving about 30 guests! I'm roasting a turkey breast, and have Pepperidge Farm dressing (in the blue bag!! Herbed!! the ONLY kind to have!) and added celery and onion. We have mashed buttercup squash and baked potatoes from the garden. I've never done a breast before, and don't know if I'll get enough drippings for gravy, but will try, so I've also bought a jar of Heinze gravy. I'll have cranberry sauce out of a can, and my husband will have pecan pie. This is about half the items I usually make No cheeseball, rolls, cole slaw, fruit salad, yams, apple or raspberry pie, or cream pie and it feels wonderful, so relaxed. I had major surgery last Thursday and am so thankful to be home with my husband! Life is good.

[chocomouse]

I have a celery vase too! I remember my mother putting celery in her's for special meals, but I've never used mine. Every summer I visit Michigan, west of Kalamazoo, and I've seen and smelled the celery fields there. I've tried growing it in my garden, but I don't have "wetlands" and didn't water it nearly enough, so it was tough and stringy. But it was a fun experiment. Thanks for sharing that article, Baker Aunt.

[chocomouse]

This morning I made another batch of Deli Rye Rolls, and tried my seed experiment. I found that an egg wash is the most effective way to make the seeds stick to the buns. I suspected that, and Kid Pizza confirmed it a while back. I'm about to make a pie crust now, and I'll probably run out of energy and just refrigerate the dough overnight and fill it tomorrow.

[chocomouse]

Rascals, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. I shall be thinking of you!

[chocomouse]

That's very interesting navlys, and yes, you do hear me thinking about not adding corn syrup to hamburgers! But, maybe, for a fresh, juicy burger. I have a pot of creamy tomato soup on the stove for tonight, recipe is from the Watts Team Room, via jej on the old old BC. It has been my favorite tomato soup for years. I've been away, and then had a rotten cold which still lingers, so I've not done much cooking lately. We've mostly been eating soups and casseroles from the freezer. We've enjoyed a new recipe, a macaroni-hamburger soup that is OK. Last night we had salmon on the grill, a spring greens salad, and herbed rice, which was a nice change. No grilling for a few days - the temp is supposed to drop drastically overnight.

[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.

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