Eureka! Sandwich Bread!

So I have been looking for the perfect basic sliced bread recipe for a while. Months.

I was pouring over Bernard Clayton's 724 page bruiser, New Complete Book of Breads. With no real luck. Some okay breads but not what I was looking for.

But finally a light bulb went off. What is a million times more comprehensive than this book?

The World Wide Web.

It took me about five minutes to figure out that sliced bread was not the proper term for what I was looking for, it only really returned images of people's favorite grocery store brands.

I tried to think of a synonym comparable to what I was looking for.

What do you do with sliced bread? Make SANDWICHES!

A quick search brought me to A Year in Bread.

Where they shared a recipe for what the called Susan's Farmhouse White.

Thank You Susan! Your bread is just the ticket.

Next expedition Whole Wheat!

Seriously Perfect Oatmeal Cookies with Surprise Ingredient

When I found this recipe I was skeptical, honestly I am not sure why I even gave it a chance. But when I took the first bite, I knew that I was changed. Forever. These babies have a thin crispy exterior with a moist, soft, thick interior. Perfect combo of salty and sweet.

These are going to be in the permanent collection.

And what is the secret you ask? Bacon. Yes you heard me bacon. So wierd, but oh so good. If you try it you won't regret it. And if you don't believe me, ask Stacey about Bacon Chocolate bars.

So fry up a few pieces of bacon

Save 1/2 CP of your bacon drippings and take the plunge

You will need:

3/4 CP Sugar
3/4 CP Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 CP Bacon Drippings
1/3 CP Oil
2 CP Oats
2 TSP Cinnamon
1 TSP Salt
1 TSP Baking Soda
1 1/2 CP Flour
2 Pieces of Bacon, fried and chopped finely
1 1/2 CP Chocolate Chips

In a large mixing bowl add your sugars..


and the oil, eggs, and bacon drippings.


Mix it up.


Add oats.


flour and cinnamon.

Baking Soda.


Salt.


And mix the whole mess together, into the yummy cookie base to come...


Next add in your chocolate chips. I say be liberal. I just pour a bunch on (and I wish I had done more, but do it to your taste)




Then chop up your bacon, I wish I had chopped more finely so it would have been more subtly incorporated, but do whatever sparks your fancy (is that even the right way to say that?)


Throw it on top and mix it up.


And roll it into balls, whatever size you want. The smaller the crispier, the bigger the softer.



Pop them in for 12 minutes.

Now taste and see...don't forget a glass of milk!

Our Local Fruit Market

Our local fruit market has a great selection for great prices.

I love the colors everywhere.

the freshness in the air is almost palpable.

Did I mention the colors?

I love the way these look, maybe someday I will try them. Maybe.


their selection is great.

And at fall....the pumpkins...




the sign on these said "big warty things" fitting, I think.

and these are "Fairytale Pumpkins"





The best part is I got all of this for a little over 20 bucks.

Challenge: Asparagus

Dom has been sick. So basically I have been cooking and cooking and cooking. Not because he will eat anything, but because apparently that is what I do these days. In the name of documentation I figured that I would share with you what I have been doing.

Also I like to have all the good recipes in one place and I have been compiling a family cookbook to have printed, but I am running out of room and the internet is vast and apparently unending, so I think I am going to opt to keep them here.

We don't eat enough vegetables.

I am trying to make more. It helps having the garden, makes it easier to not have spoiling fresh food lying around (even though we usually do anyway).

I read an article about how Asparagus is ridiculously good for us. It can basically cure you of cancer because it cleans out all the bad stuff. Of course all of this has not been studied long enough to be proven, but that is good enough for me. I am sure our livers could use a little extra help and I like Asparagus, it seems exotic somehow.

So I bought a bunch and they just sat around for a while. Finally I was hungry and Dom was sick, so I figured if I was cooking only for myself I could make whatever I wanted. I looked in the fridge and decided for Asparagus since it probably didn't have much time left on this earth whether I ate it or not.

Not sure how to cook it, I turned to the International Cookbook. Dom found it for me at a used bookstore in Riverside, CA and I love it because it was printed in 1929. The recipes are so brief, as though I should know what I am doing. And it brings to mind the thought that our great-grandparents probably cooked that way and made recipes and elaborate meals just like the ones suggested in the book.

But I have only made the Chocolate Sauce recipe and the Hot Cocoa out of it. Awhile ago I had decided that come hell or high water I was going to cook/bake every recipe in that book. With the exception of things that I can't find like "Squab" (WHAT is that?) and things that are too expensive like the 50 or more recipes that include lobster.

So finally, today, I started. I looked up Asparagus in the index and flipped to the

proper page and all that was listed was...

Easy enough. So I grabbed my meager ingredients and got to work.

I got some water boiling...

Then this too easy recipe, got complicated. I didn't get how I was supposed to peel them, so I just skipped it. I was pretty sure that I have eaten them un-peeled before. I just chopped off the ends.

Then popped them in my pot, which was too small.

But I am lazy so I just smushed the lid on and hoped for the best and I set the timer for 20 minutes.

I was surprised by how overdone they already seemed. Maybe my boil was on too high a flame?Oh well, I skipped the hollandaise and just opted for butter.

It was better than I expected and bonus was I got to check off Asparagus in the book. 3 recipes down, only like 500 to go. But I am going to take it easy.

Campus Cats

We have a bit of a cat problem on campus. The problem is that they are multiplying.But they are oh so cute. Months ago I tried to adopt this one, but I felt too bad taking it away from it's family.
We need to do something with all these cats, I would help. But they look at me like this.
And instead of catching them, I do this.
They are so happy here.
And they enjoy our campus so much.

But cats don't have the same moral codes about incest as we have. Soon there could be more babies.
But slowly by slowly they are disappearing one by one. I am hoping they are finding their way to a farm full of mice to catch. I'll miss you little guys.