[Mike Nolan]

Our kitchen needs a serious 'spring cleaning'. That's probably going to happen in the next two weeks, as we've already scheduled having someone come in to steam clean the tile floors on the 7th of October, which means removing everything that's on the floor in the kitchen, butler's pantry, mud room and back hall closet; my guess is some stuff won't make it back to those rooms. These tiles have a textured surface that holds dirt (I think that was one of our few serious interior design mistakes in the house.)

Also, it's the time of year when mice try to get inside. I've already caught two down in the basement. I haven't seen any signs of mice in the kitchen yet, but our new cat is a serious mouser, and if there are mice in the kitchen, he'll chase them, jumping on counters and wreaking havoc. So we need to get the counter surfaces uncluttered, too. Also, I've bought many new ingredients for keto-friendly cooking and baking that I need to figure out how to organize better.

[Mike Nolan]

I had a tomato-and-salami sandwich and a small salad, Diane had some of the rotisserie chicken with some of the keto barbecue sauce.

[Mike Nolan]

I think breads and desserts will be harder for me, because they can require a LOT of changes to be more carb-friendly.

[Mike Nolan]

We both had left over spaghetti squash 'lasagna' with some extra sauce and cheese. I also had a salad.

Tonight I'm making another batch of custard and more cheddar cheese 'crackers'. (Those things are too easy to gobble down, though.) Tomorrow I will be making forgotten chocolate meringue cookies using the egg whites from tonight's custard.

[Mike Nolan]

There was a time I when I was trying to collect all the major revisions of The Joy of Cooking, but I gave up in the 90's because, quite honestly, I though the latter revisions weren't as good. I haven't looked at a recent edition in over a decade.

I use my 1943 and 1946 editions the most. I have one edition from the 1930's, it is not in good shape. I don't have a first edition (they're very rare and expensive) but it has been reissued. I've been told that the original author didn't actually cook most of the recipes in any of the editions she put out in her lifetime, though I've found them pretty reliable over the years.

IMHO, that's one big difference between The Joy of Cooking and Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child and her co-authors tested every recipe in the book many times. The 2nd volume goes into great lengths on her attempts to make authentic French baguettes from American flours. (Her autobiography goes even a bit further.)

[Mike Nolan]

A cookbook challenge could be fun, we could alternate between breads, savory (main courses or sides) and sweet items. Let's hash out the details and then plan to pick the first one by the end of October and see if a monthly schedule works, even through the holiday season.

[Mike Nolan]

Diane thinks she's got another sinus infection, so she had chicken soup for supper, I had a salad with some rotisserie chicken meat and topped with Ranch dressing mixed with Jersey Mike's hot chopped pepper relish.

[Mike Nolan]

Is it a ceramic crock? I wonder if the scratches could be sanded out or if that would destroy what's left of the glaze?

[Mike Nolan]

When/how to egg wash the loaves raises another set of issues.

[Mike Nolan]

What kind of finish is it, a non-stick coating? You could try putting something like water in it, let it cook for 24 hours, and seeing if anything is flaking off. If you take the temperature a few times, that'd give you some idea of performance, too.

I stopped buying anything with a non-stick coating on it years ago, because it always comes off over time. I prefer cast iron, stainless steel, aluminum (non-coated) or, increasingly, silicone baking pans. I haven't bought any of the ceramic frying/baking pans yet, one of these days I will. (My wife says we should be getting rid of stuff, not buying more of it.)

I have some 'ironstone' muffin pans that were great at first, I'd invert the pan and they'd all fall out, but now stuff sticks to them too often, even if I butter/grease them first.

[Mike Nolan]

We had BLT's tonight. I was planning a Sams run including getting a rotisserie chicken, but another appointment ran late. So I'll hit Sams tomorrow afternoon and probably pick up the chicken then. My wife is working from home tomorrow, so we've got more flexibility in timing supper.

[Mike Nolan]

So basically they'll go home with a braided loaf that is ready to be baked NOW (and needs to be handled carefully in transit to keep from deflating) plus dough that is about ready to be braided? Yeah, that is kinda weird and may be a formula for a home bread baking failure. Hopefully they won't have far to go and will be aware that they need to turn the oven on as soon as they get home.

[Mike Nolan]

A few years ago my wife brought hone a book from the UNL library that had recipes from the 1800's. The bread recipe started with "Grind up a peck of wheat"...

[Mike Nolan]

We finished off the Veal Zurich tonight, and I had a salad too.

[Mike Nolan]

I made spaghetti squash 'lasagna' tonight. Should have used a bigger pan, I was running out of space but it needed more cheese and more tomato sauce. Was pretty good anyway.

Kinda soupy, not sure if that's the spaghetti squash, my home-made marinara, something else, or a combination of things.

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