I love it, the darker the better, and finally I have a good recipe for it using the bread machine.

1 ¹/₈ cup warm water
¹/₃ cup molasses
1 ¹/₂ Tbsp oil
1 ¹/₂ tsp salt
1 ¹/₂ cup all purpose flour
1 cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp dry active yeast

Run through your bread machine set for a 1.5 pound loaf on the whole wheat setting. This bread actually rises more than my normal white bread recipe and has a wonderfully fine crumb.

This recipe isn't as dark as I would like, but we were only able to find light rye flour, so it might be dark enough if I could get some dark rye. Also, the molasses on hand was black strap, which along with the cocoa powder might be adding a bit of bitterness that would be avoided with a less harsh variety of molasses. I like it fine as is however, and seeing as how I'm the one with the extra taste buds in the household.... :D

The original recipe is here if you want to see what changes I made.

I made the baked pasta dish again tonight, this time adding a 15oz can of diced tomatoes (seasoned with basil, oregano, and garlic). I baked it for 35 and 15 minutes and it turned out perfect! That little bit more moisture and tomato did the trick.

And for fun:

You Are a Carrot Cake Cupcake

You are a complex person. You have many interesting layers to your personality, though others might not know it. You are drawn to a cross section of people. You friends play different roles in your life. You are like a cupcake because you are are deceptively simple. There's actually a lot to you! There are many ingredients in your life, and you only want them in proper amounts. Being you is a delicate art.

All ingredients up for personal choice, tonight's choice in parenthesis.

Required:
1 pound dried pasta (radiatori)
1 26oz jar pasta sauce (Ragu Super Chunk Mushroom)
1 jar of water
2 cups shredded cheese (Italian 4 cheese - mozzarella, provolone, romano, asiago)

Optional (I never make it without meat of some sort)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 bag frozen onions and peppers
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained

Brown up the beef, onions, and peppers; drain excess fat.

In a 13x9x2" pan mix the dried pasta, sauce, and one full sauce jar of water. Sprinkle meat and veggies on top and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Remove foil and stir, checking that the pasta is al dente (if not add a bit more water if it looks like it needs it and bake some more). Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and perhaps lightly browned.

While I was out in California a few weeks ago athelind (@LJ) introduced me to something called "orchata" and it was nummy. Some googling for recipes revealed that it is more commonly spelled "horchata" and that it's very simple to make (and that everyone has their own recipe and opinion about what is "the right way").

So I'm giving it a try.

2 cups rice (the original recipe says white or brown, I only have white on hand so that's what I'm using)
2.5 quarts water
1 tsp ground cinnamon (the original recipe has one stick, but we only have ground so...)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup sugar (to taste really)
TIME

Wash the rice then cover it in cold water and let it soak for at least eight hours. I ended up leaving it for about eighteen.

Drain the rice and put it in the blender with enough water from the 2.5 quarts to cover (about 2 cups) and grind/puree/liquefy. If you're using ground cinnamon go ahead and add it in the blender to make it mix in easier. Dump the puree into a pot that will hold at least 3.5 quarts and use the remainder of the 2.5 quarts of water to rinse the blender into the pot. If you're using stick cinnamon, toss it into the pot. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Strain the mixture through a sieve. I feel there should be some use for the rice mash but I haven't thought of anything yet.¹

Strain the mixture again through damp cheesecloth. Since I have none I attempted the damp coffee filter suggestion. Don't bother. It filters too well for this. I gently strained through the sieve again and resigned myself to some amount of grit.

Add vanilla and sugar, stir well (or in the case of a container that can be closed tightly, shake like hell) and chill.

The verdict? Not as good as I hoped. I'll give it a few hours to rest and taste it again. As much as the various commentary put down cooking the mixture I think it might help to scald it at least. So if sitting over night doesn't help I'll heat it.

1. Yes I have. Put mash in a pot, add 2 cups of liquid (I used one each milk and water), 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 tsp vanilla. Cook on low until smooth and creamy. It's sort of a "cream of rice" pudding.

Take a Good Season's salad dressing cruet and do the following:

Fill to -V- line with seasoned rice vinegar
Fill to the -W- line with soy sauce
Add:

1 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp garlic powder
3-5 drops sesame oil
Sesame seeds (optional since the oil gives the flavor)

Fill to the -O- line with your favorite light oil

Shake like hell and let rest for a few hours to overnight for best flavor.

I'm still working on the amounts on the seasonings and encourage anyone that tries this to fiddle with the amounts for themselves. :)


Bonus biscuit recipe just so I don't forget the amounts again. (I'm still not sure I got them right.. but the biscuits are tasty anyway.)

4 c flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening
milk

Blend together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix* in milk until the dough sticks together but is soft. Fold out onto a lightly floured surface, pat down so it's about 1/2 of an inch thick, cut biscuits. Bake at 325 (convection) or 375 (conventional) for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

* Be quick and do not over handle the dough. If you knead it you'll end up with rocks rather than biscuits. If you have a good stand mixer with a dough hook it works great for both cutting in the shortening and adding the milk. Just stream the milk in and stop when the dough is all stuck to the hook.

2 Johnsonville Stadium Style Brats, sliced into "coins"
1/2 bag Birds Eye Pepper Stir-Fry
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 can sliced mushrooms (or fresh if you have them)
1 can (15oz) sliced stewed tomatoes
cornstarch and water to thicken
seasonings
cooked spaghetti, noodles, rice, or whatever else you think it might be tasty over

Heat a saucepan with a bit of oil and lightly brown the brats and stir-fry mix with the garlic (add fresh mushrooms at this point), add tomatoes and mushrooms and bring a boil. Thicken with the cornstarch and water mixture and season as you like.

I just used seasoned salt and red pepper.

You could thicken this with tomato paste if you wanted a stronger tomato sauce flavor. I didn't want to open a can to use only part of it and I liked the lighter flavor that thickening with cornstarch gave.

Since I'm doing some Thanksgiving baking (apple pie!) I figured I'd put my favorite pie crust recipe (for sweet pies anyway) up for anyone interested.

2 c all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¹/₂ c unsalted butter, chilled
¹/₄ c shortening, chilled
5 Tbsp ice water

Place flour in a bowl with the sugar and salt. Cut the butter and shortening into pieces, and cut into the flour until crumbly. Mix in vanilla. Add just enough water to form a ball: it should not be sticky. Knead quickly into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap (or toss in a ziplock like I do), and chill for 1 hour.

When ready to make pie, work quickly. Do not let sit out, or handle excessively as the butter and shortening will soften and you will curse me in the most vile language as you try to get the crust to behave.

We dug out the 6qt ice cream maker I bought back in '99 for $13 and never used. We made plain vanilla ice cream for the first attempt (best vanilla EVER by the way) and now that we've managed to get through 6 quarts of that I'm making the Spiced Cider Sorbet from the machine recipe booklet, with a few modifications.

This is for a 6 quart machine, if you want amounts for 2, 4, or 5 quarts let me know and I'll add those.

6 c apple cider or juice (one can of concentrate and water to make 6 cups)
3 c sugar
1 tsp ground cloves (originally, 1¹/₂ tsp whole cloves)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon (originally 6 sticks)
6 c unsweetened applesauce (one 50 oz jar)
3 c cranberry juice (half of a can of concentrate and water to make 3 cups)
¹/₃ c lemon juice

Dissolve sugar in apple juice/cider, add spices and boil for 5 minutes. Remove whole spices. Add remaining ingredients and chill for at least one hour.

Freeze according to your machine's instructions.

Note, have containers that can hold about one gallon plus two cups handy for chilling the mix unless you are fortunate enough to have a fridge that can handle either the pot you mixed it in or your ice cream maker's canister. (I used a gallon jug and the empty applesauce jar.)

Mine is still freezing so I can't tell you if it's any good yet, but it sure smells nice.

Edit: It is done, and it is good.

For the folks on IJ, GJ, and JF: Would you like to see the recipes I have posted on LJ in the past posted over here?

Since I made this last night (in massive amounts for freezing) I thought I'd go ahead and post the recipe.

1 lb bacon, cut in half for shorter strips
6-8 large onions, cut in 1" dice
6-8 Granny Smith apples, cored but not peeled, cut in 1" chunks (any firm tart apple would work)
6 pints sauerkraut
1 bottle white wine (cheap but drinkable, not "cooking wine")
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
coarse black pepper to taste
Sausage¹
Pork²

1. 10 sweet Italian, 6 garlic and cheese, 5 fresh bratwurst, and 1 fresh kielbasa (aka "Polish sausage") cut into 10 pieces
2. one medium center cut pork loin sliced into 10 slabs

As with the slow cooked version, the amounts are flexible and the meats are entirely up to your preference. Since it's difficult to tell sausages apart after cooking (and they will break in half so you can't go by lengths) I don't use hot sausages any longer, but I have in the past. That said, the bratwursts were darker than the other sausages in this batch.

Obtain a heavy pot large enough to hold everything, I used a heavy turkey roaster (which can hold a 25lb turkey) and had plenty of room to stir things this time.

Cook the bacon until the fat has rendered, add onions and apples and cook until lightly browned and soft. Add 'kraut, wine, brown sugar, and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the meats, cover and simmer for as long as you can stand the wait. Add water/broth/wine if needed to keep everything moist.

I started this batch around 2:30 and served when my mother got home from work at 7:30.

We generally have it with mashed potatoes (Dad's choice) or rice (everyone else) and I suspect it would be lovely with buttered noodles.

Dark pumpernickel bread and nutty brown beer are optional but highly recommended.

Even my brother, who opined that chowder was "a waste of fish", liked this one... once we badgered him into trying it.

Amounts are approximate and somewhat proportional, a serving of fish and potato per person with enough broth to construct a soup out of it.

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 ribs celery, diced fine
3 quarts water
1 bottle clam juice (8oz)
2 Knorr vegetable bouillon cubes (1 cube makes 2 cups of broth)
4 tsp Better Than Bouillon clam soup base
5 medium/large potatoes, cubed
2 large fish fillets (firm-fleshed whitefish, such as pollock or cod), cut into 1" cubes (approximately 2 pounds?)
1 can minced clams, with juice
1 can whole corn, with liquid
salt & pepper to taste

Saute onion and celery in butter until translucent or lightly browned. Add water, clam juice, bouillon, and soup base. Bring to a boil and add potatoes, cook until nearly tender (approximately 15 minutes). Add fish and reduce to heat to a hearty simmer/slow boil. When fish is cooked through add clams and corn, stir well, and adjust seasonings to taste.

This is a "New England home style" chowder, which means you add milk (or cream) just before serving. We've always added it to our bowls "to taste" and toss in some oyster/soup crackers.