[skeptic7]

I did pumpkin cornbread with maple syrup, and flavored with dried ginger and candied ginger. Its a combination of cornbread and gingerbread with maple syrup instead of molasses. I was afraid it would be too bland but it is very tasty with pronounced ginger flavor and just a hint of sweetness. I'll try making a double batch tomorrow to give away.

[skeptic7]

Chocomouse, I used your maple syrup for cooking a butternut squash yesterday. Delicious!

[skeptic7]

I roasted a chicken for Thanksgiving, with rice stuffing. Mushroom giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, and butternut squash with onions and maple syrup. In order to deal with the important part of Thanksgiving first, I started the day by baking and eating individual apple crisp before cooking anything else. I was planning on several other dishes including broccoli, and gingered chickpeas, and pickles but luckily ran out of energy before starting them. As it is I am going to be eating leftovers for days. The idea of baking a full Thanksgiving meal for one overtook my common sense. I was contemplating a turkey but realizes before that idea got fixed into my head that I don't have enough spare freezer space. The extra bags of flour is crowding my freezer.

[skeptic7]

I did three individual apple crisps which were just great. Its been a long time since I made these. Ate one yesterday warm with ice cream, and another one for breakfast today.
I was thinking of making more pumpkin cornbread but didn't have time.

[skeptic7]

I did a Cornmeal Herb Focaccio on Wednesday. This is the same recipe that I did last year for Thanksgiving. It has 1 cup cornmeal and 3 cups All Purpose Flour. There is 1 tsp of Rosemary, 2 tsp sage and 1/2 tsp thyme. It came out very well, light and airy. I feel a little bad that I couldn't make this out of whole wheat flour, but when I tried with whole wheat flour three years ago it was very heavy and flat.

[skeptic7]

The Chocolate Cherry scones were great. Maple walnut does sound good, maybe I can try that next. Made the scones last night. I heard back from my friend, she really like the cheddar cheese bread.

[skeptic7]

chocomouse, thanks for the information. I'll get a new funnel and do this on one of the cold winter days. I have a candy thermometer so I can get the temperature correct.

[skeptic7]

I did whole wheat cheddar cheese bread yesterday. It came out fairly well I think. I made it as a present but I won't hear back from the receipent until later. I forget how much time it takes to knead a loaf of bread when I'm not doing it.
I'm going to make some scones, I think chocolate cherry is what I am want right now.

[skeptic7]

Chocomouse;
I've got instructions from your husband on sealing maple syrup in glass canning jars. I'm going to try this sometime after the holidays. It looks very easy. Soak and boil the jars, heat the maple syrup very hot using a candy thermometer to make sure it gets the correct temperature, then put the syrup in the jars, and put a lid on them. This doesn't need to be heat in a hot water bath to seal. Have you tried it? Should I buy a metal canning funnel? My current one is plastic. I would probably use wide mouth pint jars.

[skeptic7]

I did some pumpkin biscotti. I think I might have to make a double batch next time, they were disappearing fast until I put the survivors into the freezer.

[skeptic7]

Harris Teeter had a sale on KAF flour. A 5 lb bag was $3.49, not as good as BakerAunt's prices but its $1.00 cheaper then the regular prices and about $2.00 cheaper than some other stores. I bought 2 bags of the whole wheat.

[skeptic7]

Joan, I hope you have a swift and complete recovery.

[skeptic7]

I cooked my large pink banana squash/pumpkin. It made 6 pints of pumpkin puree and one pot of curried pumpkin soup. I like this soup recipe a lot and make it at least once a year during pumpkin season. It mixes cooked chickpeas, pumpkin chunks, onions and curry into a very hearty flavorful soup.

[skeptic7]

One thing I've done for sensible gluten free friends -- these most likely have a mild wheat intolerance, is make apple crisp with oatmeal and oat flour for the topping. This isn't truly gluten free but works for wheat allergies. I've also made cheesecake with cornmeal thickener and cornmeal pastry crusts; and Southern cornbread. Spoonbread would also be gluten free.
I basically don't like gluten-free flour with xanthem gum. If someone wants to go gluten free why all this effort to get fake flour baking? They should change their diet completely and eat rice and beans with corn tortillas, and Southern spoonbread, and baked apples stuffed with raisins. Or Southern Chinese food with nary a wheat kernel in site.

[skeptic7]

I made pumpkin muffins with maple syrup. This was made for a Vegan friend and I didn't bother tasting any before I gave it to her. I used 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of 1/4 cup honey so its probably much less sweet. Vegans think of honey as an animal product and prefer to avoid it so I used maple syrup instead.
This friend has romantic notions of the health benefits of gluten-free baked goods, however she isn't allergic or intolerant so I don't bother getting gluten-free flour for her. If she really wants gluten free bread or cookies, she can bake them herself.

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