[chocomouse]

Mike, did you buy a finished cake or a boxed mix at Trader Joe's for the lava cake? The nearest TJs to me is about 2 hours away, but I shop there about once every couple of months. Years ago I tried the KAF mix, and was not impressed.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, I used the KABC recipe for Braided Lemon Bread for the dough, as I couldn't figure out what recipe from my files I have used in the past (I save and annotate all recipes I use, even if they are "bad"; that reminds me to never make it again!). I subbed sour cream for the yogurt, reduced the salt to 1 teaspoon, and skipped the Buttery Dough Flavor. This made a nice dough, easy to handle, although it was way too much. I made the sponge and let it sit in the fridge for about 6 hours before I continued. I used the same recipe for the cream cheese filling, but subbed 3 tablespoons of lime juice (from a bottle) for the lemon juice. I used my usual blackberry jam recipe, with added lime juice. The braid is really tasty, not too sweet; blackberries are perhaps my most favorite fruit. Don't be intimidated by the looks of the finished braid (and the ends of these braids don't look great, I had to crowd all three of them onto my rimmed (in case of leaks) baking sheet. The braiding is so simple - I've never had one come out not looking great. The first time I made one, it was so perfect, the folks at the potluck where I shared it insisted I tell them which bakery I used.

[chocomouse]

This is the Blackberry Braid I made yesterday - it is delicious! I'm pleased that none of the filling oozed out between the braiding sections. It made three 12-14" braids.

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[chocomouse]

Dinner was baked haddock, air fries, and a tossed salad.

[chocomouse]

My blueberries were really hurt by the 24* temp we had one night in May. About half the blossoms were open, so we've lost half the crop. We do put netting over the 50 feet of bushes which means we get all the berries! The raspberries and blackberries had not blossomed yet, so were not affected by the freeze. Today I bought more seedlings -- 6 cabbage because only 2 of my 6 starts survived all the rain and cold, and 6 more broccoli because they were BOGO.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, I often use lime juice in baked goods with blackberries; it brightens the flavor just as lemon juice does with some ingredients.

Today I made a chicken-broccoli braid for my husband to take to a potluck. It was fun - I haven't made a braid, savory or sweet, for several years. Now, I'm craving a lemon braid! Oooh, I see in my near future a braid filled with cream cheese and blackberry jam. . . .

[chocomouse]

Wishing you a very happy birthday, Cass! I think of you often as I still spend a lot of time baking.

[chocomouse]

We had salads for dinner: leftover Greek orzo, seafood, and pasta with spinach, black olives, red onions, feta, and Ranch dressing. It was 80* with a forecast of heavy rainstorms late this afternoon, but they have not materialized, yet. So far, it's been the first day with no rain in about 2 weeks.

[chocomouse]

I made bagels.

[chocomouse]

We had ribs on the grill, asparagus, and Greek orzo salad.

[chocomouse]

I made another batch of the chewy peanut butter cookies; as usual, I doubled the recipe, and added a couple handfuls of chocolate chips.

I also made focaccia. This time I added Vermont Cheese Powder, onion, and garlic to the dough, and topped it with flaked Maldon sea salt and Penzey's Foxpoint seasoning. We'll have it with leftover pasta for dinner tonight.

[chocomouse]

Dinner was chicken salad wraps.

[chocomouse]

Skeptic, you must be getting some of the smoke at your place, too. I can smell it in the air here, but we're sort of on the edge of "OK not OK". I'm very sensitive to smoke and will be happy when it clears out. The weather folks keep pushing that time-line ahead, but hopefully by the weekend. My plants definitely need some sun!

I love making the baked pancakes - it's so much easier than scooping and flipping them on the griddle. It's the same recipe, same flavor, same texture.

[chocomouse]

Wednesday dinner was baked blueberry pancakes and sausages.

[chocomouse]

I made a pasta dish with rigatoni, bite size chunks of red pepper and onions and slices of Italian sausage in a tomato sauce with chopped onion, pepper, and celery that was frozen from last summer. I also got out sweet pepper focaccia from the freezer. I've been in Maine for the past week, and this was easy and perfect for such a gray, drizzly, chilly day. Plus, we have leftovers for later in the week.

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