[chocomouse]

Good for her! How wonderful that the two of you can share the joys of baking together.

[chocomouse]

We had grilled salmon, baked potatoes, and asparagus from the freezer for dinner tonight. I rubbed the salmon with a garlic-citrus rub (fairly hot and spicy) and then brushed maple syrup on it for the last 4 minutes.

BakerAunt, I envy you "one last picking" of anything from the garden. We're finished gardening, and most of the plants are pulled up. It was not a great year, but our freezers are full!

[chocomouse]

I made garlic knots for my husband to take to a pot luck this week.

[chocomouse]

Tonight we had breakfast sausages cooked with sliced apples all sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon, along with cole slaw and corn bread muffins. This is one of our favorite fall meals.

[chocomouse]

I've just returned from grocery shopping. I bought KAF white whole wheat as I used up my supply last week. The flours were well-stocked, although prices are up -- 4.89 for a 5 pound bag. My husband will be picking up a 50 pound bag of AP and the KABC store next week; I usually resupply about this time of year anyway, fall and spring.

I paid attention to cwcdesign's (I think that's accurate) comment about low supplies of pasta. The shelves were pretty empty of pasta, but I did find, down low in the back, a few boxes of cavatappi and gemelli. Interesting that the macaroni and the penne sections were empty. I surmise that the more common shapes are being bought up, whereas the "weird" looking shapes that many folks are not familiar with, are more available.

Overall, I'd say the shelves were much emptier than I've seen them since last spring.

[chocomouse]

We are having some lovely weather these couple of days - dry, low-70s, and sunshine - I'd given up hope of ever seeing the sun again, it's been so long! I'm working on harvesting everything and putting the gardens to bed for the winter. We are still picking raspberries, 1-2 quarts a day, by far the best crop we've had in 35 years. Our average first killing frost date is October 15. And we still find a few tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli. Plenty of lettuce and greens. The winter squashes are picked and drying on the deck, and I've processed all the peppers. Between the drought and the heat, it was a very poor garden this year. Once I write up my daily garden log and planting lists, I'll start to think about changes for next year.

[chocomouse]

Our dinner last night was chicken thighs on the grill, spaghetti squash with garlic butter, and a mix of fresh from the garden steamed broccoli and zucchini.

[chocomouse]

For dinner we had cole slaw, seafood salad, macaroni salad, and a couple of late tomatoes from the garden.

[chocomouse]

I made Apple Sharlotka today. DH, by mistake, bought MacIntosh apples instead of the Cortland I asked for - so it is mushy, like applesauce. I won't be eating it, but he likes it!

[chocomouse]

I made 6 more pints of hot pepper relish this morning. I've now used up my 2 5-gallon pails of peppers - relish or into the freezer.

I will be making cheesesteak for dinner tonight, on sub buns I made this morning.

[chocomouse]

ItalianCook, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of pasta on the grocery shelves here at this time, although they were empty last spring. Along with the various sauces! I had decided that folks who didn't know how to cook, and usually got fast food, resorted to pasta and jarred sauce for meals. But since you mentioned it, I've inventoried my pastas and will buy a few boxes! Thanks!

[chocomouse]

Our dinner tonight was cavitappi topped with sliced sausage, onions, and peppers in a fresh tomato sauce, with garlic knots.

[chocomouse]

I have a thread from the obc by Baker Irene called "A Flavor I Wish We Had in a Chip". The recipe I use is from that post, and I believe that post is saved to recipes here. I think the homemade chips work OK, although they seem to kind of disappear into the batter (of scones or muffins) as they bake, they do not remain hard and chewy like a regular chip does. However, my husband prefers the store-bought chips, so he paid an exorbitant price online somewhere and got me 6-8 bags or so of "real" chips! Also, Baker Irene's post got my imagination working - lots of interesting flavors are possibilities!!

[chocomouse]

ItalianCook, I use what is called "Crystallized Sugar" on top of muffins and scones. I usually can find it at TJMaxx, HomeGoods, etc. It doesn't add a whole lot of sweetness, but it does add a nice crunch on the top of baked goods. I made cinnamon scones the other day, with homemade cinnamon chips and ground cinnamon, topped with crystallized sugar - the perfect topping. I keep the sugar in an empty spice jar with medium to large size holes for easy sprinkling.

[chocomouse]

At my house, a gorgeous bread like that would be gone by tomorrow!

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