Grandma's Kitchen Table

CEiMB: Blueberry-Almond French Toast Bake

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was selected by Heide at Chez Zero and is Blueberry-Almond French Toast Bake.  It can be found on page 55 and also here.  Thanks, Heide, we all enjoyed it. 

The ingredient list:  Whole-Wheat Baguette, low-fat milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, blueberries, almonds, and dark brown sugar.  The recipe is easy and delicious, and we were plenty skeptical as we do not care for wet bread type things. I only made a half recipe as I wasn't certain it would go over well.  The eggs, however, seemed to make it behave more like a quiche than a bread pudding.

The nicest feature of this recipe is that you can prepare it the night before and pull it out ready to put in the oven the next morning for breakfast which makes it perfect for holiday mornings or when you have overnight guests.  The guys say it is a definite repeat.     

Next week's hostess is Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet.  She has selected the Tomato Tortilla Soup on page 76 of The Food You Crave.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Turkish Flatbread

The fourteenth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Turkish Flatbread, on page 71.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes two good size flatbreads (8-9 inch loaves), so I halved the recipe and made only one as I made three breads today trying to race with time about getting these done before October...only one more to go! 

Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, salt, yeast, water, and olive oil.  It mixes very easily, rises, gets folded, rises again, gets shaped, rises a little again, put into the oven to bake, cools, and that's it, very easy.
It is such a pretty bread when it is all finished, is nicely flavored, and the inside was so soft and lovely.  Definitely a repeat. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Armenian Barbary Bread

The thirteenth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Armenian Barbary Bread, on page 70.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes two good size flatbreads (about 15x5 inches), so I halved the recipe and made only one as I made three breads today trying to race with time about getting these done before October. 

Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, yeast, water, and olive oil (and optional black sesame or nigella seeds).  It mixes very easily, rises, gets folded, rises again, gets shaped, put into the oven to bake, cools, and that's it, very easy, fairly quick as well.

It is nicely flavored, when Mark got home, he immediately ate two slices and deemed it "very good, I think I will have some more." I would say that speaks for itself on flavor. 

Oh, and Phyl, those are poppy seeds on there, not nigella seeds or black sesame seeds, which were the two options, because I could not find those at my market, so if you are looking at this and squinting to see if I stayed true to the recipe, I confess:  I did not.  But they were optional, so I'm not feeling too terribly guilty.  Okay, maybe a little bit guilty...I will keep looking for said seeds. 

Is this a repeat?  Probably, Mark seems to really enjoy it and I thought it was good as well.

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Crisp Cornmeal Flatbread

The twelfth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Crisp Cornmeal Flatbread, on page 76.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes 2 good size flatbreads (about 10x15 inches), which were what I would call very large crackers.  After they baked and cooled, it was fun to crack them apart into different sizes and shapes. 

Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, stone-ground cornmeal, salt, cayenne pepper, yeast, water, and olive oil.  It mixes very easily, rises, gets folded, rises again, gets shaped, put into the oven to bake, cools, and that's it, very easy, fairly quick as well, and very tasty. 

The cornmeal taste in them makes them especially good and a little extra crunchy, very nice in a cracker!  Yes, definitely a repeat.

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Pain de Campagne

The eleventh recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Pain de Campagne, on pages 80-81.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes 2 good size boules, but I halved it for 1 as I am on a bread making tear around here, determined to make all the breads from this section of the book (15 in total) before the deadline on Thursday at midnight. 

I was excited to make this recipe as I had made a similar one in the BBA group and enjoyed it very much.  How did it compare?  Both were good, but I have to say, this was my favorite of the two.  Again, like the recipe for French Bread for Baguettes, this has a lovely, lovely outside with a light and delicious inside, soft and very flavorful.  This one wins, hands down, definitely a repeat.
Ingredients were:  Whole Wheat Flour, All-purpose flour, salt, yeast, and water.  Very tasty, yes, definitely a repeat.

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: French Bread for Baguettes

The tenth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for French Bread for Baguettes, on pages 78-79.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).  

The recipe makes 4 baguettes, but I halved it for 2 as I am on a bread making tear around here, determined to make all the breads from this section of the book before the deadline on Thursday at midnight.  One only needs so much bread, so I figure half recipes will disappear in no time once the guys get to them. 

I was excited to make baguettes from this recipe as I have made them before from a few different recipes and I was eager to see how this one would stack up.  It stacks up very nicely...a lovely color, texture, and taste!  In fact, this is IT as far as I am concerned, so far this is my favorite French Baguette recipe of all that I have ever made.  Love the outside crunchiness and the inside softness.
Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, salt, yeast, and water.  Very tasty, definitely a repeat.  Did I say definitely a repeat?  Good, because it is definitely a repeat...this is my new French Baguette recipe unless I find another I like even better. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Pain de Seigle (French Rye Bread)

The ninth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Pain de Seigle (French Rye Bread), on page 83.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe gives various options for forming, and since the guys here love dinner rolls, and because Leslie was making them with me as well, we opted for the dinner rolls.  It makes 12 rolls, using roughly 2.5 ounces of dough per roll. 

Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, rye flour, salt, yeast, and water.  It called for an overnight pre-ferment sponge.  Other than that, the recipe is straight forward and didn't require any special instructions.  The only special instruction I noted in my book for next time was that I would brush a little something on the tops before baking to get a nicer brown color to the roll as these did not really take on any color by the time they were finished baking.
Looks aren't everything, though, they were absolutely delicious.  I think they will make great sandwich rolls in lunches this week.  Definitely a repeat. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Elegant Dinner Rolls

The eighth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Elegant Dinner Rolls, on pages 86-87.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes 12 rolls and the book gives directions for shaping and sizing them in different ways.  For this first time, I just stuck to the little round shape he describes in the main recipe. 

Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, salt, yeast, sugar, water, egg, and unsalted butter.  The instructions for making the dough included using a food processor, but I don't care for that method, so I just did it all with a bowl, by hand mixing with my large spatula, and a little bit of kneading before plopping it in a buttered bowl for an hour or so rise.  After the rise, the dough was wonderful to work with while forming the rolls.  They had another rest on their baking pans for an additional hour, followed by baking in the oven for 20 minutes.
Nice hot, lovely, delicious rolls.  Definitely a repeat. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Fridays Favorites Fare

READING:   In the midst of my WWII reading, I am hoping to figure out the aircraft, so have been reading here, there, and everywhere to try to come up with some working knowledge of the different WWII aircraft.  The internet is so great for things like that, so much information at my fingertips.  

LISTENING TO:  Music from the 40's.

COOKING BYTES:  This coming week the French Food with Dorie blog-along starts, the I Heart Cooking Clubs blog-along switches chefs to Giada, so am joining up with that for the next six months while they do her recipes as we get to choose our own and I cook Giada already...it will be fun to cook with others doing that, and the Modern Baker blog-along switches from Yeast Breads to Yeast-Risen Specialties.  Good thing my pool closes after next weekend, meaning more time in the kitchen so that I can try some of this!

Photo Below:  Looks like a normal photo of the guys hanging out, doesn't it...but this one is the guys hanging out in Boston on college visits...Nik attends and swims for Boston University, Matt visiting Boston University, and Harrison visiting Harvard.  They managed to hook up one night and have a good time together out there.  They look pretty happy.  (Left to right:  Harrison, Matt, Nik)

FAV NEW FIND:  Am enjoying watching Matt in the process of recruiting trips as he is trying to figure out where he would fit in best for college with the swimming factored into it all.  He has done two close to home and two more that involved plane travel, etc.  The coaches and swimmers presenting their programs are doing a wonderful job of it all, it is going to be a difficult decision! 

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  It was Homecoming week at Guerin, so that was fun subbing this week with all the students dressed in interesting costumes for the various theme days.  Also fun seeing the CSC swimmers head out of town to their different recruiting trips, so exciting to see who is going to end up where at the end of it all.
GOING TO:  Enjoy what promises to be a wonderful weekend weather-wise.  Matt is off to Boston, Alex has plans to go to the James Dean car festival in Fairland just to browse about at fancy cars.              

PRAYING FOR:  Children dealing with cancer, please join me.

Modern Baker: Cornetti

The seventh recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Cornetti, on pages 90-91.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes 12 rolls, but I halved it for 6 rolls as my main bread eater was out of town.  It all worked well.   Ingredients were:  All-purpose flour, salt, yeast, sugar, water, and olive oil. 

These were easy to make, and fairly easy to form, i.e. much easier than braiding.  It looks interesting, basically it is two crescent rolls crossed one over the other to make a cross.  It makes for a huge roll as if you eat the whole thing, it is like eating two crescent rolls at once, that's a lot of bread!  Very tasty, definitely a repeat.

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

CEiMB: Energy Bars

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, The Food You Crave, was selected by Liz at My Table, Their Table and is Energy Bars.  It can be found on page 39 and also here.
The ingredient list for these is longer than most of Ellie's recipes:  oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, dried apricots, almonds, raisins, dried dates, nonfat dry milk, cinnamon, maple syrup, and eggs.  I made them exactly as she said and they turned out delicious.
Easy, delicious, and healthy, definitely a repeat.     

Next week's hostess is Heide of Chez Zero.  She has selected the Almond French Toast Bake on page 55 of So Easy.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Coffee-Break Muffins

Thanks to Rhiani of Chocoholic Anonymous for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Coffee-Break Muffins, found on page 15 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  You can also find the recipe on Rhiani's site here.  Thanks Rhiani, the muffins was delicious, and I am not a coffee drinker! 

These were quick and easy to mix, quick to bake, and delicious either warm right from the oven or at room temperature.
Confession:  I have not a clue how to make coffee.  I don't drink it, I don't like the smell of it, I am not a coffee person.  Mark usually waits until he gets to the office to have his coffee, so with the exception of a Saturday or Sunday morning single cup of coffee, there is no coffee making going on around here.  When we have guests, Mark handles the coffee making, so in order to make this recipe, I had to wait for a day when Mark could make some coffee for me to put into the recipe.  That's how much I know/don't know about the whole coffee making world. 

That said, when I tasted the muffin, I thought it was very good, coffee taste and all.  It's not going to change my coffee making/drinking habits, but if a non-coffee drinker liked these muffins, I'm betting a large number of the bakers this week loved, loved, loved them!  Right, Caitlin? 

Next week:  Leslie from Lethally Delicious has chosen Tarte Fine, found on page 315. TWD blogroll found here.

Modern Baker: Seven Grain & Seed Bread

The sixth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Seven Grain and Seed Bread, on page 84.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes 2 loaves of bread, but I halved it for a single loaf and it all worked well.   Ingredients were:  rolled oats, water, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, yeast, more warm water, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, whole grain rye flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter for the dough.

This dough was easy to work with, just mixing in the mixer, two rises, no kneading, etc.  Easy.  It gets formed on a floured surface and placed in the bread pan, left to rise another hour or so, and then baked for a half hour, cooling before slicing. 

You might notice the lack of photo for the entire loaf, as I forgot to photo anything except warm toast slices with melting butter.  If you are not a teenage swimmer, you do not need this much butter, and in fact, the bread is quite good toasted without anything on it.  All the seed flavors are so delicious toasted and the combination of the flours is wonderful.  Not sure how it would be with sandwiches as one loaf is just enough for toasting around here.  A repeat?  Oh, yes.

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

CEiMB: Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was selected by Melissa at Melissa's Kitchen and is Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce.  It can be found on pages 18-19 and also here.

The strawberry sauce is easy:  strawberries, maple syrup, and lemon juice, heated slightly.  The pancakes themselves had all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, buttermilk, skim milk, honey, and vanilla extract in them.  A delicious combination, wonderful pancakes! 

Whenever I make a recipe, after the guys have eaten, I usually ask, "Is it a repeat?"  This week, before I even had a chance to ask, Mark announced that it was "a definite repeat soon and often!"  I would say this recipe was a hit, not only with Mark, but with all of us. The portion size is very generous, three pancakes with the sauce is an awful lot in one sitting, so if you aren't extremely hungry or if you aren't a guy, one will probably suffice.    

Next week's hostess is Liz of My Table, Their Table.  She has selected the Energy Bars on page 39 of The Food You Crave.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

MSC: Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

It's time for another cupcake adventure this month from the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.  This one, Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes, is found on pages 104-105 of the book, and was chosen by Nina of Nina's Cupcakes. 

These were a big hit with the guys, Nina, they love Oreos!  In fact, I don't know how many times I had to buy the Oreos because they kept eating them all before I could get the cupcakes made. 

The ingredient list is not long:  Oreos, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, and a tiny bit of salt.
 An Oreo was placed into the cupcake wrappers, forming the bottom crust, the other ingredients mixed and poured on top, set in a low oven to bake, cooled on a rack, then cooled again in the refrigerator.  Easy, and no frosting to make.  I made a fourth of the recipe and it gave me ten little cheesecakes.  Guys loved them, definitely a repeat.  

Next month's recipe selection was chosen by Katie from Katie's Cakes and is Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, found on page 64, posting October 15th.   Blogroll and Schedule found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cranberry (actually Peach-Raspberry) Upside-Downer

Thanks to Sabrina of Superfluous for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Cranberry Upside-Downer, found on page 206 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  You can also find the recipe on Sabrina's site here.  Thanks Sabrina, this was delicious! 

I wasn't able to find cranberries fresh or frozen, 'tis not the season here yet, so I wandered over to the "Playing Around" section Dorie thoughtfully supplies throughout the book and chose to use fresh peaches and raspberries as we are having lovely peaches and raspberries in the markets here right now. 

Oh, my was this combination wonderful.  It is actually more wonderful than it looks as I am apparently not only any good at braiding and knotting bread, I also have some issues in getting fruit to form nice tight lovely circles for the flip over.  It all flipped over just fine, I just have no idea how those circles got so messy.  And who knows how those raspberries sank down between the pockets, those aren't even showing and I used two dozen of them.
No matter...that's the great thing about having only guys to cook for in the house, they would never in a million years notice or comment on such an issue, they only care about the taste!  It did look very pretty and fruity, which they loved, so I'll work on getting those circles more perfect next time. This is a repeat recipe, and when cranberries come into the stores, I am grabbing the first bag I see so that I can try this recipe with those as well.

Next week:  Rhiani from Chocolate Anonymous has chosen Coffee-Break Muffins, found on page 15. TWD blogroll found here.

Modern Baker: Rosemary Olive Knots

The fifth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Rosemary Olive Knots, on page 88-89.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes 12 large rolls.  I made only 6, using a half recipe as I wasn't sure these would be a hit.  I should have made the full recipe. 

Ingredients were:  all-purpose flour, salt, yeast, olive oil, and water for the dough.  The filling called for Kalamata olives, fresh rosemary, olive oil, and black pepper.

This dough was easy to work with, just mixing in the food processor, a few rises, and folding with the bench scraper, essentially no real kneading, etc.  Easy.  There was a 30 minute rest in the refrigerator after forming it into a square, then a rectangle with the filling on half of the rectangle, folding it over and cutting into strips with a pizza wheel.  It was fun shaping the strips into knots (okay, I can't braid and I can't knot dough, but it was fun anyway).  Another rise, into the oven, and 30 minutes later, warm, delicious rolls.  Definitely a repeat. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Fougasse - Pierced French Flatbread

The fourth recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Fougasse, on page 74.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes two large flatbreads.  I made only one, using a half recipe and it was huge.  Ingredients were:  all-purpose flour, salt, yeast, olive oil, and water.  In the "variations" notes for the recipe in the book were suggestions about incorporating other ingredients, so I did that as well, using Calamata olives, fresh rosemary, and Gruyere cheese. 

This dough was easy to work with, just mixing in a bowl, a few rises, and folding with the bench scraper, essentially no real kneading, etc.  Easy.  It was fun shaping it into a triangle, making the piercing slits, then stretching again, brushing with olive oil, dotting with more cheese, and letting it rise before baking. 

Oh, my the flavor was wonderful.  Definitely a repeat. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Instant Sandwich Bread

The third recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Instant Sandwich Bread, on page 77.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).  The recipe makes a large 23"by 18" pan of bread.  I made a half recipe which fit perfectly in a 9"x13" pan. 
Ingredients were:  all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, unsalted butter, yeast, and water.  This dough is quite wet.  It was easy to work with because the instructions were for combining all the ingredients into the food processor, mixing, resting, and then mixing again before "pouring" the dough into a bowl to rise and then next into the prepared pan.  Easy.  It seemed strange pouring it into a pan, like making a cake. 

After baking, when turned out of the pan to cool, it even looked sort of like a cake.  The instructions were to cut it into 6 pieces (dividing in half and then each half into thirds) and slicing it horizontally to make a sandwich bun.  It made a delicious bread, really great for hardy sandwiches.  Definitely a repeat.
 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Semolina Sesame Braid

The second recipe I made from the Breads Section of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Semolina Sesame Braid, on page 82.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

The recipe makes a large 16" loaf of bread which disappeared around here in a day.  Ingredients were:  all-purpose flour, semolina flour, salt, yeast, water, and sesame seeds. 

This dough is quite wet.  It was easy to work with when I was mixing it up, resting in the bowl 20 minutes, another mix, and another rest for 10 minutes, but then when I turned it onto the board to do the kneading, it was wet, loose, sticky, and hard to handle.

There was very little in the way of kneading, just a folding over several times.  I had been warned previously by those in the group who baked this bread previously and was ready with a bit of extra flour to make it all come together in a soft dough that was more easily handled, especially since I needed to braid it. 

Go ahead and giggle...what can I say...I cannot braid...all those strands going all those various ways, who knows what is supposed to go where and how (I am the least crafty person you will ever meet), but I tried and it sort of looked braided, kind of.  Then on the two hour rise, it puffed up and I couldn't see the braided strands that well.  No matter, it tasted great! 
All in all, very straightforward and simple.  It made a delicious bread, the guys were eating it out of hand and using it to make sandwiches as well.  Definitely a repeat. 

If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

Thanks to Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Peanut Butter Crisscrosses, found on page 78 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  You can also find the recipe on Jasmine's site here. 

Thanks Jasmine, these were delicious!  I love crispy cookies.  These were so crispy and also nicely crunchy with the peanuts inside, had to hide them from myself so I wouldn't eat more than one...okay, two.  Easy, fairly fast, and delicious!  Definitely a repeat.

Next week:  Sabrina from Superfluous has chosen Cranberry Upside-Downer, found on page 206. TWD blogroll found here.

Fridays Favorites Fare

READING:   Willa Cather again, the last two books I can find in the library system around here.  This is your fault, Jessica, I've been on a Cather tear since you went to Red Cloud.  (Oh, and thank you for that.)

LISTENING TO:  Big Band Music...River City Brass at Connor Prairie Symphony on the Prairie tonight.

COOKING BYTES:  Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table cookbook was released this week...and a new blog along group is forming for it starting October 1st, called French Fridays with Dorie.  Oh, yes, French food again! 

FAV NEW FIND:  A degree of peacefulness about accepting things I just can't change...a long time in coming.   

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Trying to work out computer issues.  I know that doesn't sound like it would be a favorite thing, but just the fact that I am figuring some of them out is encouraging.  Some of them.  Not all of them, but some of them.  People are so very patient when they try to help...calms me right down as I tend to get a little impatient and frustrated easily with the computer for some reason.  Anyway, here's to learning more about the beast!!  Oh, and I got a comment on my blog Tuesday from Dorie and it wasn't even my turn to host (she usually comments on the host's blog that week)...always a fun surprise.
GOING TO:  Enjoy a weekend of friends, family, relatives, and factor in some swimming, Connor Prairie Symphony on the Prairie, possibly golf, and just having a good time going with the flow over the three day weekend.  What's not to love about all that?  Okay, I wish you were here, too.            

PRAYING FOR:  My favorite Pixie Chick who is undergoing chemotherapy and journaling her journey on her blog...it is humbling to read, makes me a more compassionate person, and gives inspiration to the meaning "live each day."  Hugs and prayers for Lyn, please join me.

CEiMB: Fettuccine with Crab & Asparagus

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was selected by Jessica at Johnstone's Vin Blanc and is Fettuccine with Crab & Asparagus.  It can be found on page 164. 

I will just leave that for you this week as this recipe was not a hit here and probably the less said about it the better.  Was it Ellie's fault?  Absolutely NOT.  We are not big fans of canned crab, so my thinking self should have stopped right there and either used fresh crab claw meat, substituted shrimp, or thrown in the towel.  I think the shrimp would have been the ideal way to go as the rest of the recipe was absolutely wonderful...just not the crab part.    

Next week's hostess is Elina of Healthy and Sane.  She has selected the Baked Felafel Sandwiches from the web here.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.