Challah I

Today's sandwich loaf.

Homemade Lasagna

It's a little hard to see the layers, but they're there.

I am not Italian, but I cook a lot of Italian food.

I grew up on Long Island, where we had a very large Italian community. We also had a large Jewish community which also influenced my taste in foods, and growing up in a German household we had plenty of German foods.

But I have to say my favourite of all three is Italian.

Carol Field's Basic Focaccia

A good basic focaccia that doesn't require an overnight starter - perfect for lazy old me.

Mum's Baked Ham

Before being sliced for Easter dinner

I didn't care for ham growing up. It was always either the fancy spiral ham for a special occasion, or the canned ham you opened with a key.

Then I got married and had my mother in law's ham.

Jeffery Hamelman's Soft Butter Rolls

I wanted to try a new roll for Easter dinner, I've used the two same recipes for a few years. Having run across Hamelman's roll several places around the web, I decided to give it a try.

Lemon Meringue Pie

I have no idea why the filling cracked and weeped, but it tasted just fine!

My late mother in law was a fantastic cook. She made homemade just about everything - pies (and crust), jams, bread, cookies, etc.

One of her most delicious things she made was her homemade Lemon Meringue Pie with homemade crust. Perfection.

Lemon Ginger Chicken

I wanted something light for tonight's dinner, and as I was getting a late start, I also needed something fast.

Carl Goh's Bread

When I needed to make bread today, I thought I would look for something different, yet nice and easy.

I got the "something different" part, but this is a 5 hour recipe. Not what I expected..

Homemade Hamburger Helper

I know, I know, it sounds icky. But it actually tastes good, and it's much better for you than the box version. And even better, it doesn't take long to make and it contains stuff I have in my pantry.

Honey Mustard Tarragon Chicken

This is a recipe from Jean Pare, a Canadian staple on the cookbook front with her "Company's Coming" series of cookbooks. I have been making it for years, sharing it on various other websites.

She uses a lot of condiments and canned soups in her recipes, things that many people have in their cupboard. I'm not a huge fan of that, but she has some really good recipes which are great in a pinch. This is one of them.

Tapioca Pudding

I love tapioca pudding. Apparently I'm the only one in my family that does, because when I asked if anyone else would eat it if I made it, the answer was an emphatic "No!"

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Opening my copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies at random will most often yield this recipe, the spine is broken at this page from use.

This is not a cookie for the chocolate faint of heart. Don't eat one if you can "take or leave a chocolate cookie". This is a cookie for a chocolate craving.

Pain Italian adapted from Bernard Clayton

 

I woke up this morning with a vicious cold, and I want bread. The only bread I have on hand is half a loaf of stale bread, one of the loaves I made on the weekend. I want nice thick crusty bread that I didn't have to start yesterday (remember, I'm terrible at planning ahead).

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Brownies adapted from Cook's Ilustrated

It's a beautiful day, just perfect for a batch of chocolate chocolate chip brownies.

Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies

I used to make cookies all the time. I collected cookie recipe books like they were candy, always searching for something new and different. I finally realized that there were only about 6 basic cookie recipes, everything else were just variations on those recipes.

Hot Cross Buns

I'm pretty new to hot cross buns.

My first experience with them was when I saw them for sale in the grocery store about a year after I got married and moved to Canada. My mother in law used to make them, and a batch of hers is where I got my first taste.

Honey White Loaves

I tend to make white sandwich breads for our "daily bread". My husband likes whole wheat, but the whole wheat bread I was used to tasted like dirt, strangely enough I didn't like that. My kids don't enjoy whole wheat either, in fact they prefer "rubber bread" like Wonder Bread instead of my homemade bread.

"Banana" Banana Bread

Today is not a good day. My eight-or-more year old RCA television died in the middle of "Little Bear" while my youngest son was watching. "Mommy, the TV stopped working." Gah. Four kids and no TV on the main floor. I need something sweet..

Lemon-Garlic Chicken Thighs

Recently, I came across a whole three ring binder of Cooking Light Magazine recipes I had clipped from 2000 to 2007. I had given up clipping the newer ones, instead I collected all the Cooking Light Annual Recipe books from 1999 to 2011. It seemed more tidy that way.

Tassajara Egg Bread

My daughter wanted egg bread for the next batch of bread, and as I have a bad cold I didn't want to think. Back to Tassajara...

Nut, Fruit and Coconut Granola

I never thought I'd make my own granola, it was something that you pick up at the store, hard and slightly tasteless.

Pain Ordinaire Careme Epis, and A Mistake

I am not good at planning ahead - well, it's more appropriate to say that I'm not good at planning my dinners ahead. Which is why I have a terrible time with bread recipes that start a day ahead of baking time.