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Looks absolutely amazing!! Definitely going to give this a try. Thanks so much for posting all the deets!

Here it is: COPYCAT DAVE’S BREAD 1 3/4 cups warm water 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons molasses 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups bread flour or all -purpose flour 3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon dry active yeast 1/2 c. uncooked old-fashioned oats 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds 1/4 c. Toasted and salted sunflower seeds 2 tablespoons amaranth 2 tablespoons chia seeds 2 tablespoons toasted and salted pumpkin seeds 2 tablespoons whole flax seeds 1 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 tablespoons poppy seeds 2 tablespoons 12 grain cereal Quick method if you have a bread machine: Place ingredients in the bowl of your bread machine in the order specified by your bread machine maker, and use the whole wheat dough setting. When finished, shape dough and place in Pullman pan, and continue with the directions. And if you don't: In the bowl of a mixer, with a kneading hook, add all of the ingredients. On medium speed, begin mixing to incorporate all of the ingredients. Once the ingredients are combined, turn the mixer down to low kneading speed and knead for 10 minutes. If the dough seems too dry, you can add a tablespoon of water. If it’s too wet, you can add a tablespoon or so of flour. The dough should be able to clean the sides of the bowl as it mixes as well as wrapping around the dough hook for a good kneading action. After the kneading time, remove the dough from the mixing bowl. Oil the bowl with olive oil. Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the greased bowl. Turn the dough over so you can oil that side as well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm location. Let rise until dough has doubled. Once risen, remove dough from bowl. Punch down and with your hands (or rolling pin), spread the dough out into a rectangular shape. From the long end begin rolling the dough, tucking the ends in as you go. Be sure to pinch the end of the rolls and the long seam that runs down the length of the loaf. Place the finished dough into a greased 13" pullman loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise about 30-40 minutes until dough crests the rim of the baking pan. It should be about an 1” over the top. While the dough is in its final rise, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place your oven rack in the center-low position. Once your loaf has risen in the pan, place it in the pre-heated oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Bread should sound hollow as you tap it on the bottom of the loaf or take its internal temperature with a kitchen thermometer. It should be 200-210 degrees F. Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting. Adapted from Multigrain Bread Dave's Copycat from Jill4today Today's loaf:

I was just posting about soups and stews when this popped up! We're on the same page. When it's cold, and the weather as dreary as my mood, I also find soups or stews to be easy comforts as these things go...and as BeeZee points out, easy on the stomach. Easy to eat just a few spoonsful and then save the rest for later. And easy for family to bring, even if they can't duplicate Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup.

I can't say that food, per se, gave me comfort. It was the heartfelt effort of loved ones/friends making the effort more than anything. However, Mom's homemade chicken soup with noodles is good for the soul, and easy on a stomach that isn't really asking to do any heavy lifting.

I totally lost my appetite also, beginning with when my husband was ailing and then continuing after he died. I found that convenience was the key. I ate a lot of hummus and tabbouli, which were easy to make and lasted well. I usually ate them scooped into tortilla chips. I also bought a rotisserie chicken from time to time and feasted on that. I was lucky in that I had concerned friends but only one came by with food -- a quiche. It was delicious. She was funny and rather apologetic about it: "Now I understand why people bring food," she said. "You want to do something to help but you don't know what, so you bring food!" Still, it took me about a week to eat it. Getting back to the original question: I think the real problem is that they don't. At most they can serve as a distraction. My wonderul favorite aunt might have disagreed with me. She gained a lot of weight with her favorite comfort food -- a whole pint of her favorite ice cream, while watching TV! -- after her husband, one of my favorite uncles, died. But that came back to bite her, because of course she never lost that weight again. And as astute as she was about many things, I suspect she was distracting rather than comforting herself. If I'm going for the distraction I'll do wine, but I know that's no better for me than ice cream! So, knowing that your family wants to do something for you and won't take "no" for an answer, I suggest you ask for things that will keep well in the refrigerator (or freezer) and reheat easily. Think of the grocery money you'll save later! My own personal favorites are chicken and pasta with something salty or savory. If I'm in a mood to mess around in the kitchen and be distracted that way, I'll do something with those that takes time. If I'm not, or if I have friends helping, I'll ask for something easy. I personally would not be above asking someone to drive to the nearest KFC and bring a bucket of mashed potatoes and gravy, but it might depend on how far they had to drive. 🙂 Edited to add: toast with melted cheese, or else a grilled cheese sandwich with some meat along with the cheese, is another easy dish that goes well for me. I've found that one grilled sandwich can provide 2 meals. And yes, to me it's comforting despite what I've just written above.

And Elsie now has it!

Anna had one!

More SV'd steaks--I'm almost out and that won't do. Salad, mushrooms and some Little Green Dress to go with. We have a lot of quail in the freezer that our hunter friend gave us and apparently he has even more to bring so Ronnie thawed out a couple packages to use up. Decided to splurge and fry it--it turned out really good.

Here you go

@Shelby nice ! do you have a ref for those lids ? thanks

Almost a month ago I posted that my mom sent me some neat lids for fermenting . So, almost a month later, I finally got around to attempting kraut again. It's good that cabbage lasts practically forever in the fridge lol. I have another that I can do....but I thought I'd see if this attempt doesn't mold like the last time.

I'll pass on that but I would sure like to find a tomagoyaki pan.

Chefs choice-- seasoned with Penzeys Northwoods Fire ( Killer stuff ) ADDED NOTE: +2 The "tail end" or "parson's nose" of a chicken, also known as the pygostyle, is the fatty, triangular part at the rear of the bird where the tail feathers are attached. Here's a more detailed breakdown: What it is: The pygostyle is the bony structure at the base of the tail that supports the tail feathers. Other names: It's also sometimes called the "parson's nose," "Pope's nose," or "Sultan's nose". Culinary use: Chicken tails are a popular ingredient in some Asian and African cuisines, often used in snacks, dim sum, stews, and soups. Taste and texture: The meat from the tail is known for its rich, umami flavor and is often described as juicy and flavorful. Appearance: The meat from the tail is a darker shade of pink, indicating the presence of myoglobin. Fat content: The tail area is known for its high fat content. Not a common retail cut: While it's a delicacy in some cultures, chicken tails are not commonly found in retail settings in the West. Cloaca: The cloaca is an orifice used for urinating, defecating and also for mating. Not only is the Cloaca the end of the digestive tract, but it also shifts and folds back to release eggs without allowing the eggs to become contaminated by faecal matter.

Pureed winter squash and potato soup with some crispy roasted mushrooms added at the end for texture.

Thank you very much! I will look into all of these today. I really appreciate your help.

I think I checked out the same video as you. So, I will see your meat chopper... ...and raise you the citrus press... But the question is, will anyone go all-in with the takoyaki pan?!?

Oh, @MetsFan5, I am so sorry for your loss. And then Maisey, too. I know that both @Smithy and I can relate since we both have gone through losses this past year as well. My eating habits changed long before I lost my husband. The stress of caring for him during the time he was home caused my appetite to diminish. Then when he went into memory care, I mostly kept a baggie of crackers in my car and ate them on the way there and back and called it food. I lost a tremendous amount of weight. 3 weeks after my husband died, I had a hip replacement. After that, my appetite just left and I could barely eat without getting sick. I think it must have been a reaction to the anesthesia. At any rate, people literally thought I was dying. During all this time, people continued to bring me all sorts of food and occasionally take me out. I just couldn't stomach more than a bite of two. Then I lost the cat a week before Christmas. It hit me hard, but I realized that I had to try harder to eat. Instead of worrying about eating good food, I started eating snack food--chips mostly, which I've never really done in my life. But somehow the salt sat well in my stomach. Once I got enough salt and carbs in me (potatoes and gravy sound great!!), I gradually began to feel better and have started eating and gaining back some weight. I still will pick salt and carbs If I'm stressed, but am gradually trying to eat real food again. I'm not sure I'll ever get my cooking mojo back, but at least I'm better than I was a few months ago. Hang in there!!!

Zucchini and Broken Pasta Soup last night: Diced leek sauteéd in a mixture of Calabrian chili oil and local olive oil along with a finely diced Calabrian pepper and thinly slced garlic. Threw in some bay leaf, oregano, and thyme, then added bite-sized chunks of zucchini and cooked them a bit. Made a broth with home made veggie stock blended with charred cherry tomatoes. While that was cooking, I grabbed the bag containing saved pieces of broken, dried egg noodles (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) and cooked 'em very al dente, drained 'em, and then added to the zucchini soup. Cooked everything to the desired doneness, adjusted seasoning, added minced parsley and a few torn basil leaves, and topped it all with Pecorino Romano. Easy Peasy inexpensive dinner. Made enough for three more meals.

My lazy days go to. Seafood fried rice.

I’m fortunate since my girl died I have had my parents and neighbors offering food for me. My friends know me better, I’m just not interested at all in eating while grieving. I don’t know how to politely and continuously say no, other than being like “drive to the nearest KFC and get me a large mashed potatoes with gravy” which is a big ask. What foods comfort you during a loss?

Liuzhou Luosifen There is a bit of story behind this particular meal, but it's still ongoing. I'll report when it reaches its conclusion.

Plastic explosives often have a tactile feel like molding clay, right? So, like toffee.

About an hour ago, I took delivery of a nominally 500g 'nduja sausage. (Actually, it was a tickle over 553g.) That may not seem much fun to many of you, but after many years searching, I tracked down what seems to be the only stockist in China. It was described as 'mildly spicy' but they are in Sichuan where 'mildly' translates as 'very'. I'll soon find out. Actually it is Beretta brand* - not the greatest but I haven't had it in any form since 1997, the last time I was in that Italy. * I hope not the gun people.

Thanks, @FrogPrincesse. I've passed your information along. So the lemon bars were more of a success than I'd expected, but I learned a number of lessons on what not to do next time. First, the summary: the flavor of both the crust and the lemon filling / topping were good. I took the extra step of straining the custard before setting it in to bake, so I didn't have the lemon zest interfering with the smooth custard texture. The custard was a bit bubbly, and not the bright yellow I'd have expected: it was more of a dirty daffodil color. I don't know why, but those bubbles probably had something to do with it. Did I overwhisk the filling? I dunno. So between that color and the extra-thick crust, which incidentally was a bit too brown around the edge, the entire assembly didn't look very promising when it came out of the oven. This morning when I pulled it from the refrigerator the custard had cracked! I pressed down on it with a spatula to try to mend those cracks, and saw that the yellow became more intense. That's why I suspect I'd simply aerated the thing too much in the first place. With that very firm and very thick crust, I worried that I really would need the parchment sling that I overlooked, in order to get the stuff out of the pan in one piece. I worked all around the edge with a knife, and then started cutting portions in order to get it out of the pan in serving-sized pieces. This is where the Quality Control taste tests began, of course. The lemon layer didn't adhere very well to the pecan crust layer, as you can see in the lower right of the photo above. Still. That lemon filling is quite lemony and delicious. The pecan crust is pretty good too. This was one of several desserts at a potluck party I attended today. I came back with only a few pieces left. I'll keep some, but as with my previous desserts try to foist most of it off on my landlords and neighbors. And in case you need a refresher, this was a NYTimes recipe for Lemon Bars with Pecan Crust, by Lisa Donovan.

TSA = Toffee Search Administration