[chocomouse]

My baking plan for today is to finish the carrot cake I started yesterday -- which was delayed because we lost power for 10 hours. I was just about to add the flour and spices to the wet mix. but just let it sit on the counter, and finished it at 8 p.m. when we got power back. It smells and looks fine. My taste tester tried it, and says it is great. I'll make the icing today - I know that will fix any issues! While I waited, I opened a brand new 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle!

[chocomouse]

Mike, this is what I used for my dill pickle brine: 1 cup water, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, plus a tablespoon each of dill seed, mustard seed, caraway seed. I usually add dried or chopped onions and garlic to the dough. I simmered the brine until the sugar and salt were dissolved, then put it in a mason jar in the fridge. The first time I use this, I think I will not add any dill, mustard or caraway seeds to the dough. If the flavor is not strong enough for me, I will add them next time.

I sometimes have put alum in pickles; it's supposed to help keep the pickles crisp, but I never noticed a difference.

[chocomouse]

Thanks for the recipe, BakerAunt. I'll follow it exactly next time I make rye bread. Except -- I'll be trying out my own home-made pickle brine - probably not "high quality"! No cucumbers have been in it. But eventually I am going to try the brine with cukes to see if it would make a decent "refrigerator dill".

[chocomouse]

Really nice work, Len!

[chocomouse]

For dinner, I made a shrimp stir fry, with broccoli, green beans, snap peas, carrots, red pepper, and onion.

We love the snow, but not all the other stuff, like freezing temps, wind, ice! We're predicted to get sleet, freezing rain, snow, high winds - "the works" - overnight and into tomorrow. We've cancelled my birthday party tomorrow; not a big deal, because The Box Truck where we planned to get fish tacos for lunch is not here this weekend - the staff is vacationing in San Diego!

[chocomouse]

We had haddock and roasted veggies: potato, parsnips, carrots, red peppers, onions, and Brussels sprouts. I used a garlic and rosemary seasoning packet from Stonewall Kitchen which was very good.

[chocomouse]

That sounds similar to the amounts I use for pumpernickel, BakerAunt, although I don't measure the spices. I need to make more pickle brine, since I never buy or eat pickles, and I do believe the pickle juice greatly improves the taste and texture of the bread. I'm curious - are you using dill or just any pickle juice?

[chocomouse]

Thanks for reminding me, Mike. I love rosti!! and learned to make it when we lived in Germany. But I've not made it for a couple of years -- way too much butter, but so good. It's now on my "future menus list".

[chocomouse]

I made split pea soup, using the Christmas ham bone.

[chocomouse]

I planted Salad Bowl lettuce and chives seeds, both Common and Garlic, a few weeks ago, under the Gro lights. It's probably time to decide what else to start now - but I've been feeling lazy lately.

[chocomouse]

Wow! A Kitchen Aid stand mixer! Do you have one already or will this be a new learning experience for you? How exciting!

[chocomouse]

Today I made a dozen sticky buns.

[chocomouse]

I would also suggest adding some mustard to the ham and potato soup. I plan to cut the rest of the ham off the bone today, and then cook the bone for soup. Last summer for a "chowder pot-luck" I made Dutchess soup and added chunks of potato (so that it qualified as a chowder!) and ham - it was excellent. I might use some of the ham to make that again. I also will put some into the freezer for omelets, egg muffins, etc.

[chocomouse]

No cooking here tonight! A food truck has been coming to the parking lot of a daycare center near us on Fridays and Saturdays for the past month. This is a real treat for such a rural area. So I picked up San Diego style fish tacos for our dinner - delicious! However, it's not quite the same as sitting on the pier over the waters of the bay on a sunny day, not when it's raining and the temp is 34*.

[chocomouse]

I made beef stroganoff for dinner tonight.

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