White Bread (again)

  I added bread to my grocery list for tomorrow and then thought the better of it. Why not just make a loaf?

 I like a recipe for Simple White Bread that I've made before. The  recipe is here.

 I don't understand the variability of how high the loaf rises. I made it very similar as to before (though a single loaf). I did not mix the yeast as the last time (both Active and Rapid Rise) but used only the Active variety (because that's all I had). Same bread flour. And the  way I warm the rising dough in the oven is the same. And yet this loaf was not as high.

 That said, the taste is excellent.

 The recipe calls for the bread to rise an inch above the bread pan before baking. I let it rise an hour  and a half and it was barely even with the top of the pan. The recipe calls for only one rise and that is unusual.

 The bread is light and airy with plenty of holes and with an  even texture.

 It couldn't be prettier. Other than higher.

 I cut two slices when it cooled. I buttered the heal and ate it that way. The next slice in (pictured at the top of this post) I lathered on some butter and then a spoonful of orange marmalade. Just great! Tomorrow morning it will be perfect as toast.

Cornmeal Mush

  I'm always looking for a little variety in my meals and something triggered a memory of cornmeal mush yesterday.

 In fact, cornmeal mush is one of my earliest memories, mostly because I remember the day Dad brought a bowl home with him that my Aunt Belle had made for us. She was already an old lady in the early 1950's as she was born in 1870, just after the Civil War.

 Dad made a big deal about the treat - and Mom did, too (probably because she had one less thing to cook). I remember seeing the yellow-gold of the raw mush in a bowl. I wish I remembered if I ate any (surely I did) and what my opinion was. I figured my aunt had to go to a lot of work for something so obviously prized.

 But no. I made a pan of it yesterday and it's just three ingredients: water, cornmeal and a pinch of salt. I used the recipe posted here but surely any will do.

 It wasn't something Tom was interested  in. He chose toast for breakfast. And he slept in anyway so while he was dozing I  cut several slices, put them in a sauté pan with butter and fried them. I'd guess about seven minutes per side.

 Though I placed the bottle of pancake syrup on the table - that's how Dad liked them - I merely added a sprinkle of salt and had at it. Soon they were all gone and the syrup remained untouched.

 I'll have to eat the whole pan myself so there's going to be a few breakfasts of corn mush. That's not a bad thing. though!

First Frost of the Season

  We're running very late for a first frost. In fact, this is my 48th year of keeping frost records and the previous latest was October 26. This is one day later.

 The previous latest occurred in 2005. The earliest I've ever recorded frost was September 19 in 2012.

 My average date of first frost was October 6. This very late year pushes the new normal to October 9.

 Considering how cold it got (30.9°) I'm surprised the frost wasn't more generally seen and heavier. I saw none in our front or side yards. I had to look to the back yard to see a layer of light frost almost everywhere.

 As I did my laps in Sam's lane, the sun rose beautiful in a sky crossed with vapor trails.

 The soybeans and grass planted there as an early winter cover was lightly sprinkled with ice.

 Look closely at this shot for the treat I was provided near the end of my walk ...

 Can't see it? Here's a closer shot of a sundog.

 A little warmer weather ahead. Upper 50's today. Then rain. So we'll head into November with only one frosty night so far this season.

Coconut Macaroons

  This has turned out to be a day of baking. I've been thinking about something coconut for some days now and I finally decided on macaroons. The recipe I used was one I've used before from All Recipes. Click here.

 I baked them the full 15 minutes as I like some of the coconut to get a little crispy. Shorter baking times will net a cookie that's more sticky.

 It's simple enough: just five ingredients.

 I bought an extra bag of shredded coconut because I had no idea how the contents of a bag converted to cups. It seems that 14 ounces is a standard size and that's just shy of five cups. Not quite  enough (though I doubt it matters).

 Also  the recipe calls for mixing by hand. I prefer not to do that.  A heavy tablespoon is sufficient for mixing but it does take some muscle-power. You certainly want the coconut evenly coated with the sweet milk and the vanilla flavoring.

 Because the mixture is so sticky, using an ice cream scoop to distribute the dough onto the cookie sheet is a great idea. That's what I usually do with all cookies anyway.

 The recipe doesn't say how many cookies it makes (it says "12 servings"; what's that?). I got 28 cookies out of the recipe.

 I'm sure chocolate chip is still our favorite but variety is important. And these are great cookies.

 

Dutch Baby

  Tom and I both love Dutchy Babies (puffed pancakes) but I've always thought they were a bit complicated to make. That's probably because when we order them at The Original Pancake House they always say to  allow an extra half hour. That's not because they're complicated; it's because they take about 25 minutes to bake.

 I looked at a number of recipes and settled on the one posted by the Food Network. Click here.

 I don't have a non-stick skillet that can be placed in an oven (they all have plastic in the handles). And yesterday I looked for one of Mom's cast iron skillets but couldn't find a one (I'll bet she got rid of them). But if they can go into cast iron, maybe the non-stick pan isn't necessary?

 I just used a 10" Corning pie plate. It's not as convenient as something with a handle but I figured it would do. I greased it lightly with Crisco. And, per the recipe, I melted the butter in it. I figured it'd be as non-stick as possible. It was.

  Every Dutch Boy I've seen has been different. The same goes for the pictures that are posted. They tend not to bake evenly. Mine developed a rise in the center (clearly a bubble) and the edge tore a bit when it was just about finished. But it locked fine just the same (in fact it looked homemade). The last one we got at the restaurant was close to burnt.

  I don't have a cooling rack but I took it out of the oven and sat it in the cool sink. That worked fine. The bottom wasn't a bit soggy.

 How was it? Delicious! We ate ours with lemon juice and I sliced a banana on each plate. Blueberries or strawberries would be nice with this. Traditionally the Dutch Baby is served with slices of lemon. It was baked perfectly: lightly browned around the top edges and with a center that was done that reminds me a bit of custard.

 While this is a breakfast food, we had it for lunch/

 

Apple Crisp Delight

  It's that time of year for apples. And over the weekend I was showing Pam Beery the cook book Mom put together for me before she died. She selected my favorite foods and wrote a short recipe for each one. I hadn't seen that she included "Apple Crisp".

 This was a favorite dessert of Bob and mine. I decided to give it a try since it's so simple. When Tom and I were at Kroger this morning I bought a bag of  Gala  apples ($4.99 for five pounds) and late in the day cored and peeled eight. The bag contained 16 so I have half left for eating.

 Gala was probably not the best choice. They are too naturally sweet.

 It took eight of the apples to fill much of an 8x8" baking dish, 

 The topping reminds me of others I make for coffee cakes. The margarine is "cut in" with a fork so it is distributed  equally in  the mixture. It should be crumbly when finished.

 Here's the apples with the topping spooned on and ready to go into the oven.

 And here's the finished dish. I baked it for the 45 minutes as Mom suggested and it looks like I remember hers. I added the broiler on high for a minute or so to brown the top a little more. I always liked it a little  crunchy.

 How is it? Wonderful. Childhood memories contained in a small dish.

Lebanon Railroad

  Don and Pam Beery, originally friends of Tom's, bought tickets for the Pumpkin Patch Express trip, a Halloween event on the Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad. They arrived early yesterday evening and spent the night with us.

 We were booked for the 10 AM to noon ride. We all got up about 7 AM, had a great breakfast that Tom prepared yesterday: French toast (using cinnamon-raisin bread) and sausage links (mine veggie, of course). We left Farmersville about 8:30 AM and got there about 9:15 AM and had some time to waste.

Tom (l-r), Pam and Don

 It was a crisp 51° as we waited for the train ride.

Photo credit: Don Beery

 An example of one of the cars. We were in "front" (thought it becomes the back on the return trip) in a deluxe car. Unfortunately, even though the literature said a toilet was in most cars, there wasn't. We didn't need it but that was a bit of a disappointment.

 One of the buildings at 16 E. South Street in Lebanon, Ohio.

 This is the locomotive that pulled us.

Pam in left opening; Tom in right

 A wider view before we departed.

 The actual ticket office is across the street from the train. You have to go here and sign in, even if you've bought the tickets in advance. That part could be streamlined. If we can print tickets for music concerts at home, why not this?

Pam and Tom during the ride

Bill and Don

A wide view of our car

When we arrived at the pumpkin patch, we exited through two more cars.

 Probably not a good idea anyway!

 The pumpkin patch. Every rider was able to chose one pumpkin.

 The one stop was for about 50 minutes. This stop was more kids-oriented. They had face painting, balloon animals, corn hole, a maze and other attractions kids would like. Adults were offered various food booths (coffee was $3).

Balloons being twisted into animals

My pumpkin choice

 This was a great way to enjoy some relaxing time with friends. The southern Ohio fall scenery is very nice and we crossed a number of bridges and streams that added more interest. It was nice to sit back and let someone else drive.

Bill (l-r), Pam, Don and Tom

Photo credit: Pam Beery