July garden...

baguettes in 4 hours? check.

Parisian Daily Bread from Daniel Leader.

The nice thing about this recipe is it doesn't take all day to proof, I'll take that. Baking bread is not hard, it just takes a tad bit of planning...

Why buy it when you can make it?

This salad dressing is delicious. It can be modified to suit your taste. I like mine a tad garlicky and it would be great with the addition of some roasted garlic. I think I'll try that next time. 

our version of ranch


1/2 c plain greek yogurt, or if you don't have greek, just strain plain yogurt (put paper towel in strainer, place over bowl, dump in yogurt, refrigerate for a couple hours and there you go...greek yogurt)
1/3 c buttermilk
3-4 T mayo
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 - 1 tsp onion powder
fresh chives to taste
s + p


put all ingredients in glass jar. shake it up. kind of hard to take a picture of salad dressing, so the one above will have to do...
if this is a little too thin, simply add more mayo or yogurt.

I've may have gone off the deep end...

Elbow deep in rye dough last week, the thought occurred to me..."what the hell have I gotten myself in to?"


Not sure what possessed me to 5x the recipe for this delicious rye bread from Peter Reinhart's book, but nevertheless....I undertook this task and we were rewarded with this dense and sharp-tasting bread.

Next up: Tempeh Reuben. I will try to re-create this sandwich from The Bittercreek Alehouse in Boise, ID. It was so good...

Use for Gigantic pile of kale: NUMBER 1

KALE CHIPS!!!!!


These make me smile. Seriously. If you need a laugh, bake some of these up, invite your friends over and watch them eat these. They crumble and kind of explode as you put them in your mouth. They are messy to eat, but they are so delicious you will forget about the pile of kale bits lying at your feet...


Oven 450 degrees. Lay kale leaves on baking sheet-not touching-this is important. Sprinkle with your favorite spices. I use:


Favorite combo number 1:
nutritional yeast
sea salt 
olive oil
garlic powder


Favorite combo number 2:
braggs or soy sauce
olive oil


The possibilities are endless. You could sprinkle sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.....


Bake for approx. 8 min on each side. Watch 'em. They burn quick. Enjoy. This is such a great way to enjoy the health benefits of this vegetable...and if you are inclined, send me a pic of yourself eating this odd snack! I need a laugh :)

Spicy Gingery and Sweet

I was craving gingersnaps and although these aren't exactly 'snappy' in texture... they did the trick. Yum. 


Recipe adapted from The Fiddlehead Cookbook 


A quick note about me. I hate do do dishes so when I cook I try to think ahead. Because of this the directions are written just as I would make these recipes....using as few dishes as possible...I got your back. 


1/2 lb soft butter
1 3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1/3 molasses (I added 1 tbl more)
2 3/4 c flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp (or more if you like!) freshly grated ginger or 1 tbl chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar


350 degree oven. Cream butter, sugar until fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Add soda, spices and salt. Mix. Stir in flour, slowly. Put sugar into bowl, roll dough into balls, coat in sugar. Bake for approx 14 min. If you want them 'snappier,' bake longer and for a softer cookie take them out around 12-13 min. Cool for 2 min on pan, then remove to rack. Beware, these spread so don't crowd on the baking sheet.

July garden

I've slacked in the pic department of the garden. We are so proud. Now...what to do with 59 lbs. of kale...ideas anyone?

Red begging for strawberries. No beggin' Red!!!

Gettin' our bread on!

It's official. There is a mother in our fridge. A stinky, sour mother. Yep. A sourdough starter! If you live near me and want some, let me know. It takes no time to refresh and you don't have the pain-in-the-ass task of starting it on your own.


With the usual baker gone for the summer, Val and I have taken over! We've both been elbow deep in the bread flour bucket and I have to admit it's been fun fun fun...

This is whole wheat sourdough from Peter Reinhart's book: artisian breads everyday. 

It's been hot here, and sometimes water just doesn't quench my thirst like a frosty beverage does. As a kid, the good ole' standby Slurpee from 7-11 used to do the trick during summer. Now I enjoy making my own 'soda.' You can make this recipe with any fruit you have on hand, I've used rhubarb and cherries. I think peaches...plums...blackberries would be great. Just adjust the cooking time a bit, for softer fruits, lessen the cooking time. enjoy.

Rhubarb Cherry Soda

4 ish c chopped fruit, I used rhubarb and pitted cherries

1 ish c sugar, this amount depends on the sweetness of the fruit you use, obviously rhubarb requires more than sweeter fruits

1/2 vanilla bean, cut a slit down the middle, squeeze out the seeds, put pod and seeds into the pan with the fruit (or 1/2 tsp vanilla)

2 ish c water

club soda

fresh fruit

In a saucepan, put the fruit, sugar and vanilla bean and water over med. heat. Cook partially covered until the mixture is syrupy and thick. This takes about 15 min. Less for softer fruits. Strain out the solids and discard (or eat!). 

In a glass, put a few spoonfuls of the syrup into a glass, add ice, add club soda and some fresh fruit. enjoy...

Fresh from the backyard...

spicy and sweet and salty...oh my!

I love sweet and salty snacks. This pretzel nut mix does the job...well.

Adapted from my old friend (I wish) David Lebovitz. You can use any kind of sweetner, I used a combo of maple syrup and brown sugar. 

All the amounts are fall in the '-ish' range, that is, if you have more or less of something, feel free to improvise

3-4 c. nuts (I used walnuts and peanuts, use your favorite)

4 T. butter

3-5 T. brown sugar (depends on how sweet you want it...)

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. cumin

1 t. ish t. cayenne (again, depends on your taste)

2 T. ish maple syrup, honey or agave

1 t. ish sea salt

3-4 c. pretzels 

2-3 c. popcorn

roast nuts in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. In large pot, melt butter, sugar, cinn, cumin, cayenne, maple syrup. Toss in pretzels, popcorn and toasted nuts. Spread back onto baking sheet, cook approx. 15-20 min. longer. Store in airtight container...enjoy!