ROSEMARY ARTISAN BREAD
3 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons granulated yeast
3 teaspoons Kosher salt (make sure to use Kosher, table salt has smaller grains)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon crushed dry rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups tap water

Thoroughly mix all dry ingredient in large mixing bowl, then add liquids and gently stir everything together, cover with plastic wrap and leave sit on counter for 8 to 12 hours.  Overnight works great.

When ready to make you loaf, carefully scrap dough out of bowl onto lightly floured board.  Do not punch down dough.  Flour your hands and gently shape it into a loaf. It can also be placed into a lightly greased pan..
Let dough sit for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven until center reaches 180 and crust is brown.

I've finally started on my Fall gardening.. just two items so far because it's been so hot I've not been able to be outdoors much.
This is my Swiss Chard and beets.. funny how they looks so much alike.. the top picture is the beets.
Their just cute little babies yet but not for long.. I hope to be pinching off and eating the chard by the end of next month.. if not sooner.
If you're wondering about all the roots you can see in the dirt.. I grew green beans in these pot and only tossed the stalks away.. the leftover roots will eventually mulch down and add more nutrients to the soil.  I always reuse the soil in my containers by adding organic fertilizers such as rock minerals, calcium etc.

ZUCCHINI SPICE BREAD

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups finely chopped zucchini

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two loaf pans.

Beat all ingredients on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour into pans.  

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

I like this recipe better then any I've tried before.. it uses less oil and I love the spices in it.

This recipe came out of my old 1969 Better Crocker cook book and is actually called zucchini spice cake and intended to be baked in a cake pan.  I always use my Bunt pan instead of loaf pans.. these kind of breads are great for breakfast with a cup of coffee.

I substituted 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup white.. instead of water I used spiced rum and added 1 cup dates along with the 1 cup of nuts.

Give it a try, I promise you it's delicious.

Blueberry Scones baked in a cast iron skillet

I'm not going to give you exact quantities because I used Bisquick and being this is a medium sized skillet I used their 9 biscuit recipe.  I added 2 tablespoons sugar to the dry mix, one cup frozen blueberries and enough milk to be able to knead it.  Patted it out into the size to fit my skillet and baked 450 degrees until brown on top.

Half way through the baking I generously brushed melted butter on top.  After it came out of the oven I spread on the icing which is one cup powdered sugar,  one teaspoon vanilla and enough milt to make a slightly thick icing that would melt when applied to the hot scones.

I have decided to start blogging again..

A lot of you remember me as Posh and Trendy, that name came from back when I made doll clothes to sell on eBay which I no longer do and since my blogs are going to be about cooking, sharing recipes, gardening, crocheting, knitting and my day to day life living in the suburbs it's no longer a good name for me.

My daughter Helen from over at http://sluglines.blogspot.com/ came up with this name and I like it.  Like a comfortable shoe 'it fits me'

Now.. about the picture.. I make my own pasta from scratch and the above is spinach lasagna and fettuccine noodles.  there's a whole 10 oz bag of cooked spinach in the noodles.

I'm not going to put the recipe up at the moment.  It's just a basic pasta recipe.  You start with blended cooked and well drained spinach, add an egg or two, salt to taste and enough flour to make it the consistency needed to either roll by hand or machine.

This is a very delicious pasta.. I've made it once before using blended raw spinach but cooked is far better.. the color is vibrant and the noodles are silky smooth.

Try it, I think you will like it.