O.k. I was planning on doing this with cranberries and then I didn’t have any…so I went with what I did have which was golden raisins. This stuffing is addictive, I promise. It is so flavorful, even without roasting in the turkey, that you will be lucky to get ti to the table. I added chipotle in adobo for a smoky little kick and because of that I think it would be amazing to serve with a deep fried turkey.

This recipe is based on one in the November issue of Bon Appetit. I liked the way that the bread held …read more

Back in the day before people were so health conscious the lighter a dinner roll was the better it was. I mean, there used to practically be competitions to see who could create the lightest rolls. restaurants served lighter than air rolls and customers gobbled them down.

These rolls are an OLD recipe. They are the lightest, most tender dinner rolls you ever put in your mouth, and you know I wouldn’t lie. These are somewhat sweet and very buttery. The flavor is incredible but it is the lightness that will have you addicted.

I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and decided to buy this book that I had been hearing so much about, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.
As busy as I have been I had been reduced to buying (gasp) store bread a couple of times a week and …ewww. I hate that.  I hate giving the family stuff that I know there is no nutrition to, but you have to fill them up somehow, right?
I thought that the idea of making ANY kind of bread in five minutes a day was amazing and worth a …read more

My week has gotten away from me.  Personally, I would like to go back to start over again, starting with about 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Why?
Because that was the time I was at Panera Bread in Cedar Hill, Texas gnoshing on all sorts of amazing food, slurping coffee in my brand new coffee cup and chatting with Jason Russel (Gen, Mgr.), Stan Sears (comedian Bakery Training Specialist), and Krista Moberg (Marketing).  And I had a blast.
These people LOVE their jobs, and to me that says a lot about Panera.

I am loving the after Christmas clearances at the grocery stores.  I don’t know how it is where you are but apparently people around here did not bake, cook, or buy as much as usual because there are a ton of things clearanced.

Jonika asked me the other day about the process of soaking grains before making bread. I don’t know how many of you are aware that I am a big freak when it comes to organics, whole grains and nutrition… even though you might not think so here.  We spent several years as wholefoods vegans and then vegetarians before choosing to return to a omnivorius diet.
Anyway, exactly what is grain soaking and why in the world would you do it?

 
Last week I went to a friends house to be her assistant bread chef.  She has amazing recipes but they are all in German so she translates and I do what she says.

O.k..so..yeah.
It’s just bread with cranberries and walnuts. But, I love naming things so humor me.  I do not go as far as one of my favorite characters, Anne Shirley,naming trees and woods but I like to give my recipes cool names.  Especially for bake sales.

 
I have been making bread for so many years that it is natural to me to substitute ingredients and flours  without much thought.  I know what certain things will add as far as texture and flavor and it is a comfortable relationship I have with bread…no suprises anymore..just old friends that know what to expect from eachother.
With Marc being sick I am trying to get as much nutrition in him as possible so I have been making flour mixtures when I make bread… Freshly ground whole wheat berries, oat groats,  brown rice, lentils, sun flower seeds, flax….and the list goes …read more

 
Someone brought over an entire box of tomatoes yesterday. I mean a bog produce box worth.  It seems the store was going to throw them away.  I will not get into a rant about the amount of food wasted hourly in the United States by grocery stores..at least not today.  Feel free to continue reading.
They were ripe and I skinned about half of them before I went to bed.  I think I am going to make stewed tomatoes this weekend.  That way I can have sauce or scalloped tomatoes when I want.  Anyway, I got tired and left the rest …read more