[skeptic7]

I did a soup last Sunday which was very different from Mike's. It took much less effort and was only a single stage process. I cooked it in the slow cooker overnight. This was a lentil and vegetable soup based very loosely on Cook's Illustrated recipe.
I wanted to try something a little different so I used parsnip and fennel as well as carrots and onions. I used Trader Joe's Tomato Sauce -- this was an accident I was looking for a can of salt free diced tomatoes, and I seasoned with a teaspoon of whole cumin and a teaspoon of whole coriander. This turned out thick and rich and tasty after being cooked overnight.
By itself its a little too spicy but goes well with grilled cheese sandwiches.

[skeptic7]

I did a Rosemary Focaccio bread on Monday. My Rosemary went through the mild winter very well, although one variety is notably paler in color. This one has also been flowering which I hope is not a reaction to stress.
I gave it to a friend and have not heard back on how well she liked it. Focaccio is my "not much kneading" bread since it is so well hydrated. It does need kneading to prevent wet and dry spots in the dough. This time I patted the focaccio into the pan, let it rest for around an hour, then sprinkled on the rosemary and pushed the foccaio into the corners of the pan. I had to oil the top of the dough to prevent my hands from sticking, but doing it this way, pushing the rosemary into the top of the dough kept the rosemary from falling out after it was baked. I let the dough rise for another couple of hours before baking.

[skeptic7]

Missed this.

[skeptic7]

Mike;
I eat a lot of cold pizza for lunch particularly on hot days. I can make a 10 inch pizza, eat a quarter fresh and cut the rest up. 2 pieces fit into a sandwich box and makes a nice lunch either cold or microwaved luke warm until the cheese is just barely melted. If either of you enjoy left over pizza, making pizza is totall worthwhile for two people -- or you could just refrigerate an unbaked pizza and cook it for another meal.

[skeptic7]

Muffin recipes seem to suffer from ingredient creep -- they were originally a type of plain bread then gradually more sugar and fruit and butter were added to the recipes. I hated when Martha Stewart started popularizing recipes that started with creaming butter and sugar together instead of using melted butter. I always thought creaming butter and sugar was reserved for cakes, while muffins were meant to be thrown together quickly.
Joy of Cooking 's muffin recipe has 1 3/4 cup flour to 1/4 cup sugar which always seemed plenty sweet to me.

[skeptic7]

Aaron;
How old are your kids? I didn't start eating whole wheat until I was an adult and my taste buds had dulled enough that I didn't mind bitter things like brussel sprouts. I buy my sandwich bread at Trader Joe's, I bake scones and rolls and pizza and other things that I can only make.

[skeptic7]

The first time I ran into a shrimp with heads and legs and tails, was when I was 9 or 10. I just looked at it and looked at it and decided to give it to my mother. This was at a Chinese Student Potluck in Iowa and was considered a rare treat -- it was hard to get any sort of fish much less whole shrimp.
I know eat it quite happily but prefer if someone else has done the cooking.

[skeptic7]

This seems ridiculous. If you can't eat carbs why are you even looking at bread substitutes. Eat vegetables, and meat, and cheese, and eggs. Serious carb free diets couldn't have most ripe fruits due to sugar content which would be horrible.

[skeptic7]

I got this.

[skeptic7]

Joan, I'm glad your husband is enjoying eating again. I hope his strength returns quickly.

I did a bread based on Mrs. Cindy's Chocolate Cherry bread. I left out the cherries and use part buttermilk for the liquid -- about 1/2 cup buttermilk. I also sweetened with honey and increased the butter slightly. I also added a cinnamon swirl with brown sugar/cinnamon. I was thinking of Mexican chocolate when I planned this. This was placed in a normal loaf pan and let to rise overnight It was baked in a slow cooker for 3 1/2 hours till 190 degrees.
I was very pleased with the bread its very chocolatey with a cinnamon after taste. Not too sweet and it had risenvery nicely indeed being light and fluffy. I gave some away and the receipients liked it.

[skeptic7]

I can't understand the no-knead trend. I have a recipe(s) which doesn't require much kneading, but even that requires some kneading to prevent dry and wet spots where the flour wasn't well distributed.

[skeptic7]

Thats an interesting recipe.

[skeptic7]

I had looked up melting propensities of cheeses once. I was surprised to learn that some Indian Cheeses don't melt at all. Cheddar melts when young but not well when aged.

[skeptic7]

Its a pity that your professor is missing the very first loaf. I'm quite sure the subsequent ones will be just as pretty.

[skeptic7]

My Cloche is the type thats used dry. I also used the Dutch oven without any additional water. I don't put the bread directly down on either. With the cloche the bread is a round cake pan, and a normal loaf pan for the Dutch oven. I can do that as I have an oval Dutch oven. I've gotten used to round boules out of necessity but given a choice I prefer other sizes and shapes.

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