Meat Pie-lettes

I think it's sad that I can't bake more often; it's definitely my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. I found an excellent recipe for Tourtiere (Meat Pie) on Allrecipes. It calls for ground pork, but I used ground lamb instead. And rather than making one large pie, I made a dozen mini-pies by pressing my crust dough into muffin tins. These were really delicious, and the spices (cinnamon, cloves, allspice) were surprisingly delicious when paired with the lamb and my own addition of garlic powder.

I like to cook on Sundays.

Butternut Squash with Polish Sausage and Onions Sauteed
Baby Greens with Tart Apples, Cherry Tomatoes, and Parmesan Cheese with a Walnut Oil Vinegarette
Grilled Toast with Cheddar Cheese

Butternut Squash with Polish Sausage, Sauteed with Onions

To make this, I took the casings off of a pound of Polish sausage, and sauteed it in canola oil (about 1 tsp), with one roughly chopped onion. I chopped the sausage into smaller, more manageable pieces while it was cooking, and when the sausage was done cooking, I pressed the mixture between paper towels to remove excess fat. In the meantime, I cut apart one butternut squash, and microwaved it until tender (about 15 minutes or so). I served the sausage in the butternut squash cavities.

Baby Greens Salad with Tart Apples, Parmesan Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, and a Balsamic-Walnut Oil Vinegarette

I love this salad! The combination of cherry tomatoes, tart apples, and balsamic vinegar add a really balanced sweet-sour flavor, and the Parmesan cheese and walnut oil make it a savory salad. Simply wash some baby greens, and in a salad bowl, combine the greens with a handful of grated Parmesan cheese, a handful of cherry tomatoes (chopped), two cubed, tart apples (the variety is your choice), and toss with a drizzle of walnut oil and balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a few shakes of pepper.

To make the grilled cheese toast, I simply placed two slices of crusty Italian bread in my George Foreman Grill, and when they became all crispy and hot, I sprinkled a few pinches of grated cheddar cheese on one piece, and sandwiched it.

The only drawback to making a meal like this is the compulsory wishing it were summer!

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1080 Recipes

The self-proclaimed Spanish cooking Bible, 1080 Recipes, is comparable to Italy's Silver Spoon, and is translated and made available to English speakers by Phaidon Publishers.

I admit I didn't know much about Spanish cooking, other than it combines features of European and Middle Eastern cooking, and, of course, a variety of meats. And part of that assumption is true, however, I didn't realize what a variety of foods and ingredients are used.

Some dishes I would love to try include Spinach Tarts with Coddled Eggs, Stuffed Beets, Tomato Sorbet, and Fava Beans with Blood Sausage.

I admit the desserts also sound intriguing. Bavarian with Pineapple, and Ladyfingers with Jam and Chocolate sound quite good.

If I end up cooking any of these recipes, I'll be sure to post photos and describe my results here.

Baking Biscotti

(l-r, Earl Grey biscotti, Almond Biscotti)

I had biscotti for the first time just a few months ago. It was on sale at the local supermarket, and I tried the almond variety out of curiosity, and quite enjoyed the texture/flavor. I was on a baking binge today (I ended up also making lady fingers and resultingly, tiramisu), and thought I'd give biscotti a try; I'd previously heard it was an easy, stress-free experience. I got the basic recipe on AllRecipes.

But as much as I love baking, and how little I enjoy walking away from a baking session without trying something new and unusual, I thought I'd tweak the recipe a bit. I ended up with Earl Grey Biscotti. It's citrus-ey, mild, and lovely; I wish I had some white chocolate to dip them in. Here's a recipe for them:

Earl Grey Biscotti
(makes approximately 16 biscotti)

Ingredients
3 bags Earl Grey tea, cut open
1/4 canola or vegetable oil
1/2 C brown sugar
1 5/8 C flour
1 whole egg + 1 egg white
1/2 T baking powder

Instructions
Drain tea bags in a larger bowl, and beat with oil, eggs, and sugar, until combined. Add flour and baking powder, and stir until combined and cleaning the sides of the bowl.

Grease a sheet cake pan.

Shape your ball of dough into a log, equal in length with that of the pan, and then press it to 1/2 inch in height. Bake in a preheated 375 degree (F) oven, for about 30 minutes.

Remove the log from the oven, and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange on pan with cut sides up, and bake 10 minutes more. Flip slices over, and bake another 6 minutes. Allow to cool.

I think this would be great dipped in white chocolate; just a suggestion.

Enjoy!

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Makin' My Own Mac

(mind the smudge, please)

I admit I've never actually had Hamburger Helper, however, I do enjoy a good bowlful of elbow macaroni with a meaty tomato sauce. Here's my recipe for this tasty treat.

Hamburger Assistant (?)

Ingredients
2 lbs. elbow macaroni

1 T olive oil
5 anchovies, from can
1 big onion, chopped
1 big green bell pepper, chopped
1 lb. ground turkey
3-14.5 oz cans stewed tomatoes, mushed up
1 small can tomato paste
2 T Italian seasoning
1 T dried basil
3-4 T dried garlic (depending on desired taste)
shredded Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, salt, and pepper, to taste

Instructions
Boil water for pasta in a large pot. You will cook the mac until al dente while the sauce is simmering.

On high heat, saute anchovies in olive oil. When they are dissolved, add onion and green bell pepper and saute until tender. Add ground turkey and saute until well done.

Add stewed tomatoes and tomato paste. stir in spices, and add sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer for approximately 20 minutes.

Once pasta is ready and drained, stir it into the sauce, stir, and add a good handful of shredded Parmesan cheese to the mix.

Enjoy!

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Treating Myself to a Little Dose of Comfort Food

I like cooked cabbage; especially when it's sauteed. Corned beef and cabbage is really good, but I honestly don't eat beef often. Therefore, I occasionally end up eating corned beef and cabbage minus the corned beef plus potato, onion, and sometimes turkey bacon, which is delightful. Here's a recipe if you'd like.

Bacon-ey Cabbage Saute
Sauce three slices of turkey bacon in one tablespoon of olive oil until brown, and then add one enormously large sliced onion (or two medium sized onions) and two chopped yukon gold potatoes and saute until soft and brown. If things start burning, add a splash of chicken broth and de-glaze.

When onions and bacon are ready, add one roughly chopped cabbage to the pot, add another splash of chicken broth, cover the pot, and allow to cook for about ten minutes, or until the cabbage is tender to your liking. Stir occasionally. When ready, season with pepper and a good squirt of plain yellow mustard (the hotdog type, not dijon). Stir well, and serve.

Instead of a Restaurant Pizza

I love pizza, especially with mushrooms and onions, with a brown, crispy crust, and a good tomato sauce. It's too bad a really good pizza can run at about $25 at least. I love to make my own, and I do whenever I have the time, but time is too often sparse, and so I make a speedy version with a tortilla crust. It only bakes for about five minutes under the broiler, and everyone gets their own personal (perhaps handmade?) pizza. Here's how to make my favorite kind.

Ingredients
white tortillas, one per person, lightly brushed with olive oil on both sides
tomato sauce (jar spaghetti sauce works well)
mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, shredded
honey ham, thinly sliced, and torn into large pieces with your hands
garlic powder
onions, sliced very thin
white button mushrooms, sliced thin

What to do
Spread about two tablespoons of tomato sauce on each torilla. Top with a small handful of mozzarella cheese, and about 1 T Parmesan cheese. Add onion slices, mushroom slices, and ham. Lightly sprinkle with garlic powder, and place under broiler for about five minutes, or until brown, melted, and fragrant.


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Instead of an Ice Cream Sundae

I like soft serve, especially with strawberries, but I can't get out every time I crave the stuff, so sometimes I have to make do with something similar. I've found that a yogurt parfait is quite good. I make mine with nonfat yogurt, frozen raspberries, honey, and bran flakes (for crunch, not flavor). I think it's important to keep the berries frozen, because when you drizzle the honey on them, it stiffens up and adds a chewy quality to the dish. Here's how I layer it...

Dallop yogurt
Frozen raspberries
1 T. honey drizzled
1 T. bran flakes
2 Dallops yogurt
Frozen raspberries
2 T. honey drizzled
2 T. bran flakes
Enjoy!

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Merry Christmas!

I hope you're having a terrific holiday, whatever it may be!

Christmas Menu
Supper
Roast Beef
Roasted Root Vegetables
Garlic Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes
French Bread Rolls

Dessert
Sticky Toffee Pudding-lets with Caramel Sauce
Gingerbread
Sugar Cookies

Merry Christmas Eve's Eve

Today I tried fruit cake for the first time. I've never actually tried eating the cake part; when relatives brought the stuff, I'd pick the candied fruit off the top, because I'd heard that the cake was less than delicious.

The cake was pretty-with the jeweled candied fruit pieces on top. I personally did not enjoy the stuff; it tasted somewhat like Fig Newtons (which I enjoy), but the texture (grainy and dry) made the experience less-than-satisfying.

My mission: to make my own fruitcake.

When I saw "The Silver Spoon" gracing a library bookshelf, I was first stricken by its size; rarely do you see a 1,264 page cookbook. It turns out to be the self-proclaimed classic Italian cookbook, and it really does seem to cover an impressive variety of foods. While I admit I'll probably never try, for example, wild boar recipes, or some of its other seemingly offbeat dishes, I've been able to scrap ingredients for a few of the featured dishes.

Something I really enjoyed making was a green bean dish featuring lemon zest, scallions, and sesame seeds; it was acidic and incredibly savory, yet fragrant. Something I didn't enjoy was boiling the green beans excessively (something I don't enjoy is a mushy green bean), and the large amount of oil mixed in.

I hadn't made this dish for a while, until yesterday, when I was looking for a good after dinner snack, and found a bag of frozen slender green beans, and tried to recreate the flavor by memory (after all, I returned the cookbook, as any good library patron would). I heated the beans just until hot (still crispy), added about 1 tsp lemon zest, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 T butter, about 1 chopped scallion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. It was good, I think I managed to preserve the enjoyable properties of the dish while adding the freshness of crispy beans and cutting back on oils. I'll probably make this again.

But until I can get the "Silver Spoon" again, I'll check out Exploring the Silver Spoon, a resource blog documenting one woman's journey through its 2000+ recipes; something I'll probably never come close to doing with this cookbook.

Shew! It's been a while since I posted something crafty! I've been a little too interested in Illustration Friday, I know. But, oh well...I can't wait until "fall weather" kicks in, and I can get ahold of some pumpkins. Pumpkins aren't only good for carving; of course I'm sure you know that already. Anyways, I thought I'd put together a list of things I like to do with pumpkins.

1. Carving pumpkins: I'm not so great at carving pumpkins purely from my own talents. I once tried to carve an Ernie pumpkin (like on Sesame Street), and it came out looking like the Wal Mart smiley face. However, with the help of carving templates, I can carve much more beautifully. Learn to make your own pumpkin carving templates, or access pre-made templates.

2. Toast the seeds: That's a giveaway, surely. You've done that before. You can toast the seeds in a hot oven, after tossing them with salt and oil (I've used canola and olive, and they're both just fine). But have you tried sweet-sour pumpkin seeds? Sugar and spice pumpkin seeds? Spicy pumpkin seeds?

3. Make some soup: I love butternut squash soup. I like to eat it with ginger added, or with a tomato and cream cheese or ham and cheese sandwich. Technically, pumpkins are a type of squash, right? Use pumpkin flesh without the tough outer skin instead of squash in the butternut squash soup base recipe I posted a while ago.

4. Fragrance the house: Pumpkin pie is, hands down, my favorite dessert. Unfortunately, I can't eat it everyday. I can be quite a busy bee, and plus, I'm afraid that if I ate it too often, I'd begin to dislike it. But I wish the house could smell like a pumpkin pie everyday. In an old issue of Martha Stewart magazine, I read that if you gut a small cooking pumpkin (save the top/stem), rub a generous quantity of pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon and nutmeg are sufficient) into the moist side of the top/stem, cut a few holes into the pumpkin, and burn a tea light inside, the flame will heat up the spices and make the house smell goooooooood!

5. Plant those seeds: Throw the unloved/unused seeds into the lawn, and next year you won't need to purchase those pumpkins!

Although the list is short, it's a lot of things that can keep you busy during the fall season.

I've been cruising the internet lately, and have come across some really neat stuff. I finally got a new printer (it has been a year since I last had a fully functioning, color and black/white printer!), and I'm out to find free printables. Here's some really awesome stuff I found while reading this article.

Cornell Notetaking Paper-For university or high school students, or "forgetful Freddy's" out there.

PocketMod-The cheapest (free!), most handy printable and customizable daily organizer ever!

Incompetech Free Online Graph Paper- A plethora of graph paper printables.

Paper Wallets-Insert your photos and print up a wallet!

Printable Lens Hoods-For picture taking goodness.

Printable Rulers-Several types are available.

Lately, I've had the opportunity to converse via email with a really super nice fellow blogger. Her blog is the Fits and Starts Craft Blog, and she makes some really awesome sparkly felt donuts. Check them out here. She's planning on posting a tutorial, so keep checking in and make your own! If only all donuts had sparkly sprinkles.

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I saw a television ad for Hellmann's "real" mayonnaise a few days ago. It was an optimistic commercial, with people holding sandwiches, demanding "real" food. The point of the ad was that Hellmann's "real" mayonnaise was made from eggs, vinegar, oil, and nothing else. I thought "ahhh..." since I've been bothering to make my own for the past few years, and that theirs may be comparable and simpler to acquire. I saw it in the local supermarket, and, er, no, it wasn't so real after all. The usual culprit: preservatives. Now, they may be helpful, not harmful, preservatives, but it's a lie nonetheless; the stuff isn't simply oil, vinegar, and eggs as they claimed!

Not so real.

So, I'll continue to make my own mayonnaise, and I'll share my recipe with you. I got it from a past diet, and modified it. It's super easy to make, especially if you have an immersion blender on hand (if you don't, make plans to buy a cheap one, they're THAT handy).

Real, Real Mayo

Put 1/4 c room temperature canola oil, 1/2 t salt, 1 room temperature egg, a small pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 t mustard powder, and 1/2 t sugar or honey in a jar or blender. Food process or immersion blend the mixture. Then, with the blender still running, add 1/2 c room temperature canola oil gradually. Then, add 4 T plain, white vinegar to the mix, and blend. Turn the blender on again, and add 1/2 c room temperature canola oil gradually, and then blend the mixture until it is reasonably stiff, like mayonnaise. And that's mayonnaise!

I like to eat the mayo too, it doesn't creep me out, even with the raw egg in it! I like to use it on sandwiches (especially on a Mighty Mouse Sandwich), in salads (potato salad, crab salad, macaroni salad, tuna salad, egg salad), and even on baked chicken. Yes, if you spread some mayo on some tenderized chicken breasts before baking them, they'll stay nice and moist, even if you overcook them!

Lately, I've taken to sandwiches made with crusty bread, sweet pickles, onion, cheddar cheese, and mayonnaise, assembled and grilled on the George Foreman. Sounds strange, but isn't. No kidding. Really.

I made this dish today, actually, and make it relatively often. I got the idea of sauteed zucchini, onions, and dried basil from a restaurant I ate at a while ago, and converted it into a pasta dish. I make good use of leftover red pepper marinara; but you can use a store bought pasta sauce (although I don't really think it even begins to compare with homemade sauce). Here's a recipe:

Recipe: The ingredients are in bold type, so you can make a shopping list!

Before beginning the sauce, boil sufficient water in a large pot. You will prepare a 1 lb. bag/box of a tube-type pasta.

1. Saute 1 chopped, large green bell pepper, 1 chopped large yellow onion in about 1 T. olive oil on high heat. Let these veggies brown well, but don't burn them to the point where they're charred.

2. Now, add 2 roughly chopped, large zucchini to the pan, as well as about 2 T. dried basil flakes, and a few pinches of salt and pepper (to taste). Stir, cover, and allow to saute (on high) until the zucchini is soft and disintegrating into the mix.

3. Now, add about 3 c. red pepper marinara to the pan, stir, and bring to simmer (still on high heat). When the sauce is bubbling, remove from the stove, and combine the pasta and sauce in a large, deep pan. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese shreds (or slices, if you have fresh), and shredded Parmesan cheese (optional) over the mixture.

4. Broil the casserole in dish in an oven, and watch closely (the cheese browns quickly). When the cheese is brown, the dish is done!

Here's a pic of the finished casserole:

There's something about the prospect of a nearby summer season that really fortifies my creative side; and ironically, as the months are growing warmer, and the beautiful days are growing longer, I find myself spending more time in the kitchen! Maybe it's the ease of finding a wider variety of locally grown, well ripened, fruits and vegetables; I don't know. But I thought I'd spend the first day I've "had off" (other than running errands and grocery shopping) in a while making something delicious. I rarely plan meals ahead of time, and the idea for a sliced steak sandwich hit me in the grocery store.

Apparently, sandwich steak is just steak that's been thinly sliced; which proves that you learn something every day. I purchased four sandwich steak slices from a local grocer, took them home, squeezed the juice of one lemon over them, and then grilled them on the George Foreman Grill until almost completely charred. I placed them on slices of toasted artisan bread, with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, Vidalia onion slices, and Dubliner cheese. The cheese melted quickly and the whole thing was far better than a burger!

The salad was derived from a diet I attempted years ago, and is made with arugula leaves, microwaved-from-fresh beets, bleu cheese, walnuts, and vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar and walnut oil. The beets are sweet, the cheese is sharp, and the arugula is peppery and mellow.

The whole meal was delicious, and probably cost me around eight dollars, which is even cheaper than fast food these days, and the ingredients (with the walnut oil as an exception-but it is available if you look closely) are easily located at average grocery stores.

Greek salad is a spring-like dish, and lemon chicken is an anytime favorite, so its only logical to combine the two. Yes, the "mayo" indicates that mayonnaise is used; but it isn't as disgusting as it sounds. The idea came from a mayo-covered, broiled fish recipe. I filleted a few chicken breasts, creating two pieces of chicken from each breast, spread a thin layer of homemade mayo made with lemon juice and canola oil, and then shook some lemon pepper, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder on them. I popped them into a preheated 475 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the top was slightly browned and cooked through.

The greek salad was made with those small salad cucumbers (sliced), halved grape tomatoes, canned black olives (I smashed them between my fingers), and romaine lettuce. I squeezed the juice from 1/2 lemon onto the salad, added a splash of olive oil, and a few fistfuls of goat cheese; and then tossed the mixture.

Oh, and I found the maple leaf Jadeite dish at the local thrift store (only $1 each!).

Another dessert attempt: Gâteau au Yaourt.

As suggested on a

Craftster forum, I made a "Gâteau au Yaourt" (which I'm assuming is French for "yogurt cake"). The recipe turned out well (thanks Funkensteins), despite warnings on the recipe's website of the cake falling in and not baking fully in the center. However, I wish I would have gone with the suggestions of adding fruit or fruit yogurt to the batter, because I thought the cake was a bit bland (I was forced to use some low-fat vanilla yogurt). Chocolate & Zucchini mentions that "It is a fluffy, cloud-like and moist affair, not too sweet, and just perfect for any time of day -- breakfast, dessert, afternoon snack, any time at all," and while I agree that the cake is moist and not too sweet, if I'm going to consume cake made with 2 eggs, 1/2 c. oil, and 1 c. sugar, I'd like it to knock my socks off with flavor.

Since I was planning on serving this to my friends (who are picky eaters), I thought I'd make some lime glaze to spruce it up a bit, and I was pleased with the flavor combo. Basically, I boiled the juice of one lime and about seven tablespoons of white sugar on the stove, until the glaze became a syrup, that I brushed onto the cake.

Those who ate the cake along with me thought that it had especially redeeming qualities, especially that the cake was so moist. I have more yogurt at home, and I have therefore vowed to make this cake again, this time with fruit added. I think this yogurt cake idea would serve well as a base for lemon poppy seed cake, since its texture is much like a pound cake.

First dessert attempt: Sticky toffee pudding.

To kick off my 2007 resolution of eating more dessert, I baked a sticky toffee pudding (which was new to me), and it was, hands down, the best cake I've ever tasted. I didn't have any dates on hand, so I substituted some chopped prunes for the dates, and it turned out just fine- no funny flavors.

It tasted like a moist cake, with a dark toffee flavor, and the caramel sauce added a round, buttery flavor to the sharp toffee flavor. It was easy to make (just as simple as a boxed cake mix is to prepare), and the ingredients were on-hand. I'll definitely be making it again. Here's my recipe, which is a modified recipe from

Epicurious.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Caramel Sauce
(serves 6 hungry, 12 not-hungry)

Pudding:
1 1/4 c. (packed) chopped prunes
1 cup boiling water
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, room temp.
1 cup (packed) brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon baking soda

Caramel Sauce:
1 c. (packed) brown sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 stick (1/4 c.) butter

For the pudding (cake):
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and butter a 9 inch pan.
Combine prunes and boiling water in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside to soften (45 minutes).
Using an electric mixer, combine butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then, add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing between additions. Add 1 cup of the flour, and then mix well after addition. Then, add remaining 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add remaining 3/4 c. of the flour, and then mix well after addition.

Combine instant coffee granules and baking soda in a small bowl or cup. Add this mixture to your softened chopped prunes (this will bubble violently and make a mess, so do this over your dry mixture bowl). Stir to combine, and then add this mixture to your cake batter (large bowl). Now, beat well to blend.

Pour batter into buttered pan and bake until knife is clean when inserted, about 1 hour. Then allow cake to cool before serving.

For the caramel sauce:
Combine whipping cream, brown sugar, and butter in medium sized saucepan, and bring to boil (stirring constantly). Then, lower heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 2 cups.

Serve the pudding (cake) with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

The year is shiny and new, and in honor of 2007, I have taken a resolution:

Or, more specifically, to eat more homemade dessert. I eat too much candy and soda pop, and am hoping to substitute smaller amounts of better-tasting homemade desserts. So, I'm on the lookout for good dessert recipes. And I don't mean frozen, bagged chocolate chip cookies or boxed cake mix and tub frosting. I'm thinking rich cakes, pies, sweetened breads, cobblers, and fruit salads.

From watching Monarch of the Glen (my favorite, Scottish television drama), I got an idea of a "sticky toffee pudding." Apparently its a big deal across the pond. I found a simple-sounding recipe at Epicurious, and I'm ready to make it. It requires 1 1/4 c. chopped dates, and to my displeasure, couldn't find it at the supermarket (although I could find at least ten kinds of more exotic dried fruits, which didn't make sense), so I'm planning on substituting 3/4 c. chopped golden raisins and 1/2 c. chopped prunes for the dates. I suspect this recipe is one to properly kick-off my new, sweeter year.

Baking is love.

I love to bake, especially in the fall and winter months, and my baked goods which seem to be most appreciated are bread, pies, and cookies. I reserve pie-making for holidays (and an occasional pie-splurge here and there). Cookies are a weekly thing: usually chocolate chip, although I admit I'm getting (literally) sick of chocolate chip cookies. But bread is always fun and never lasts as long as anticipated: it's the diamond of the baking gems. I started making bread when I was about twelve years old, which was a major accomplishment in my baking-challenged family, and was a Christmas staple: I usually made four loaves on Christmas Eve, which required a great physical stamina, considering I had to knead the bread dough for twenty minutes.

But bread isn't just a special occasion; after all, most carb-loving people eat bread regularly. So, yes, this winter I'll be making bread every weekend, instead of relying on the more disgusting-flavored bagged bread. Last week was the Betty Crocker recipe; it turned out quite pretty, considering I squeezed three loaves in the oven to bake, competing for the very limited heat. I had to bake it an additional ten minutes, to get that nice brown crust (total time= 45-50 minutes). Here's the result...

Normally, the crust of this bread recipe tends to become rubbery when left out overnight. I've tried brushing melted butter over the crust, which didn't help; this time I tried something different. I placed each cooled loaf of bread into one of those produce baggies you put your vegetables in at the grocery store, and twisty-tied each bag. This kept the crust from becoming impossible to bite, and the bread-innards were soft and flavorful. Yum.

My baking wasn't limited to bread this week: while waiting for the dough to rise, I made a batch of cookies from the Betty Crocker Cookbook (the older version, from the 60's). I think they were called "brown sugar drops." They turned out to taste like chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips (which I like, incidentally). Here's a glamour shot of the finished cookies...

Now that I've baked the Betty bread, I think I'll try a "no-knead" recipe I found a link to at Not Martha; I'll save my arm muscles for Thanksgiving.