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I often use First Clear (also purchased at KAF) in my rye breads. I replace some or all of the rye with it. I do like the results. But then, I rarely dislike any rye, unless it is gummy.

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Our dinner was sliced spicy sausages with chunks of peppers and onions in a fresh tomato sauce with leftover wild rice stirred in. I also made popovers from a KAF mix that I was given last Christmas that needed to be used up.

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We had ribs, bean salad, and cauliflower salad for dinner.

I made hot red pepper relish, my copycat version of Stonewall Kitchen's Farmhouse Red. It came out a bit too hot, since I don't know of any way to tell how hot a jalapeno pepper is, other than to taste-test the final product. I added 2 more sweet red peppers, and my husband says it's now OK, so tomorrow I will process the relish for storage.

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Today I made a small batch of tomato sauce from what is likely the last of this season's tomatoes. We might be able to pick a couple more for BLTs. I'll be making a pasta dish soon.

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The recipe I used for relish called for the brine and vegetables to be simmered together for 10 minutes. After processing (water bath, minimum 1/2 inch over top of the jars, for 10 minutes) the liquid and veggies did not separate. Years ago, when I made pickles (sliced or quartered cucumbers), sometimes the vegetables were at the top with the liquid on the bottom. They tasted fine, we ate them, we're all still alive today - so I guess they were OK to eat.

I've finished cleaning and freezing the 16 pounds of blueberries I picked last Saturday in Maine. Lots of pies and muffins and pancakes next winter!

[chocomouse]

Mike, does your relish taste like dill pickles, or like a sweet relish with lots of dill flavor? If it's sweet with dill flavor, I'd love the recipe.

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Today I made a blueberry galette, using some of the 16 pounds of berries I picked in Maine last weekend. I had a terrible crop from my own bushes this summer, due to the heavy freeze of 24* we got on May 17. I usually pick about 50 quarts, but got only about 10 cups. So my sister and I went to a U Pick farm and had a blast. They deliver you in a golf cart to whatever variety you want to pick - acres and acres of beautiful, huge clusters of berries. They also had a live band, lots of food, and happy, knowledgeable employees. Luckily, Hurricane (turned into a plain storm) Lee had tamed down; we got very little rain, just lots of wind, with gusts around 50 mph. A friend in a camper near us had a tree fall on his car and smash the windshield, but no one was hurt.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, when I made zucchini relish a month ago or so, I shredded the zukes and let them sit in a colander to drain excess liquid before simmering them in the brine. One batch I even sprinkled with salt to help shed excess fluid, but then it was a chore to rinse off all that extra salt, so I didn't salt the second batch. However, that batch didn't have extra fluid so I'll not salt the zucchini in the future. Funny -- I bought a gigantic package of hot dogs, 2 dozen I think, a couple weeks ago because I was craving a hot dog! But I only like them when they're cooked on the grill or over a fire.

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I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for my husband to take to a potluck but with plenty left for him to eat, as I leave tomorrow to spend the weekend with our friend Lee on the coast of Maine.

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I made mac and cheese for dinner.

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We went out for seafood dinners.

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I made coconut-lime scones.

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Dinner tonight was venison backstrap (steak), corn on the cob, yellow, green, and purple string beans, sliced tomatoes and onions marinated in Italian dressing. This was the last of a 2nd planting of beans, but I have another planting coming along so we should have more in 3-4 weeks, depending on the weather. We're on our 4th day of high humidity and temps in the 90s, and I have no idea how that will affect the garden produce. We have more storms and cooling predicted for tonight, but that was also the prediction for last night - we got the storms but no cooling.

[chocomouse]

I made English muffins today.

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Leftovers here, too! My husband had seafood and cauliflower salads, and I had a chicken thigh and steam pea pods. Then he had a huge bowl of raspberry ice cream, it looked just like the huge bowl he had after lunch earlier today. So the ice cream I made yesterday is almost gone!! I licked out the freezer bowl right after I made it; that's probably all I will get.

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