Colleen, I got the recipe from the "tomato" thread. As Lars said, I think it would go very well with tomatoes. If only I had some worth eating, alas. Anyway, here's the recipe as posted by Lars. Rye Bread with Caraway and Fennel 1-1/2 pound loaf (approx.): 2 tbsp caraway seeds 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1-1/2 cups water 2 tbsp onion powder (can substitute 1/4 cup pureed onion) 1-1/8 cups dark rye flour 1-7/8 cups bread flour 2 tbsp semolina flour 2 tbsp VWG 2 tbsp brown sugar 1-1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp IDY Grind caraway seeds and fennel seeds in a coffee grinder that is used only for spices. Add the seeds to the water (I use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup) and microwave for one minute. Stir and microwave 20 more seconds, and then add the onion powder (or pureed onion if you are using that). If using pureed onion instead of onion powder, you can reduce the water by 2 tablespoons. Allow the ground seeds to sit in the warm water until the water has cooled to about 100 degrees. Meanwhile, add the flours, wheat gluten, sugar, and salt to the bread machine pan and stir gently with a plastic spatula. Add the oil to this mixture and stir slightly. Insert pan into the machine and lock in place. When the seeds have soaked for at least 15 minutes, add the seed/water mixture to the bread machine pan. Close the lid and add the yeast to the yeast dispenser. Set the machine for small loaf (1-1/2 pounds), medium crust, and regular loaf, or you can use the pizza setting if you want to shape the loaf yourself. Start the machine. When the bread is done, remove from pan and rub all sides with butter, and then allow the loaf to cool on a wire rack before storing it in a bag. Wait at least one hour before slicing. These directions are for the Panasonic bread machine that I have, and so you may have to adjust them if you have a different machine. The bread has a very intense flavor, and so you can cut back on the seeds/onion, but I like with a strong flavor. It is not as versatile as plain bread, but it makes great sandwiches. Grainlady gave me the suggestion to soak the seeds first, so that they will not cut the gluten strands, I think. Anyway, the loaf came out nice and light - not dense at all. Lars Colleen, I will definitely make this again, it's very flavorful, although I might cut the brown sugar to one tablespoon and get a slightly more savory dough in some instances. Annie

Tricia also posted this a while back (when garden web still had caps in our usernames!) and I saved it... Given her original intro which I also saved (Tricia- I didn't think you'd mind if I re-posted it) it might not be appropriate for school, as she says it should only travel a short distance, but your daughter might find it interesting anyway... Russian Chicken and Dumplings Posted by TriciaE this is gonna sound complicated but it isn't...just takes a while but it's worth the time investment. I make this in a LC Dutch Oven. This is best if you're only going a short distance like to the neighbor's house for din-din... I'm German/Russian...family from Norka, Saratov, Russia...and this is our family's recipe for CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS. OK, first take a deep breathe, relax, and just read through the instructions...you'll see that it's not hard just a lot of process. Here we go... Roasted Chicken 1 (3-pound) whole chicken Salt and fresly ground black pepper 4 Tablespoons butter, softened 1 Lemon, halved and juiced, halves reserved 1/4 Cup fresh MINCED herbs, such as thyme, parsley, sage, and rosemary 1 Spanish onion, halved but not "skinned" 1 Head of garlic, chopped in two pieces (no need to peel) Fresh whole herbs, such as above... Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard or freeze for another use (like gravey anyone?). Rinse chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Wash hand thoroughly. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, lemon juice, and minced herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken, as well as under the skin. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic, and whole herbs inside the chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a Dutch Oven. Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred, discarding the skin and set aside. Reserve the bones for chicken stock. Next Step: Chicken Stock 2 Tablespoons EVOO 2 Carrots, cut in large chunks 2 Celery Stalks, cut in large chunks 1 Onion halved, do not peel 1 Garlic bulb, halved, do not peel Reserved chicken carcass 2 Quarts cold water 3 Sprigs fresh parsley 4 Sprigs fresh thyme 2 Bay leaves To prepare the stock, first place the chicken bones and the vegetables in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with a little EVOO, salt, and pepper. Roast in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Now, when the roasting is done...coat a large stockpot with EVOO and place over medium heat. Add the bones and veggies from the roasting pan, give a few good shakes of salt & pepper and saute everything for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the water and herbs. Simmer for another 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside. ARE WE READY??? Next Step is... Gravy 2 Tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon EVOO 1 Tablespoon AP Flour 1/2 Cup carrot, diced 1/2 Cup celery, diced 2 Cloves garlic, minced 2 Bay leaves 1/4 Cup Flour 6 Cups chicken stock (augment with canned if the above is slightly less but it should be enough) 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish In a Dutch Oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 more minutes to cook the flour and remove the starchy taste. SLOWLY, pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15-20 minutes. Stir in heavy cream. WHEW, ok...don't give up yet...we're almost done and it's smelling good in here... Dumplings 2 Cups AP Flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 Teaspoon salt 2 Eggs 3/4 to 1 Cup Buttermilk To prepare dumplings, sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together, pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like. Set aside. The Chicken...remember the chicken??? Go get the shredded chicken and put it into the simmering sauce. If this cools down the sauce, allow a couple minutes to bring back to a simmer. Finally, the Finishing step: Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be crowded. Let the dumplings poach COVERED for 10 to 15 minutes (DO NOT LIFT LID TO PEEK). They will be firm and puffed up. Season the pot with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving. Take the Dutch Oven directly to the table...remember to use a trivet. Congratulations, you've worked for hours and have burned enough calories to indulge yourself with homemade Chicken & Dumplings Russian Style... Tradition, in my family, is to serve this with smashed tatters. Yes, it's a HEAVY meal, but what the hay...believe me, you won't make this that often! Oh, don't forget to make something green to go with it. *****************

OK, I just had to do it. I made Elery go into the basement and rummage through all the boxes to find his digital scale. As FOAS found, a packed cup of brown sugar weighed 7.89 ounces and an unpacked cup of brown sugar from the same bag weighed only 4.11 ounces. Of course, I never bother to weigh anything and don't own a scale (which is why Elery's was still packed in the basement, because he never uses it either!). My results are consistent enough for my purposes using volume, although my cups do vary in size, one half cup measure is closer to one third cup in another set. I tend to bake/cook by feel and appearance and get more consistent results by adjusting ingredients depending on texture or taste. Wintercat, Westsider is right, you cannot just sub flour for sugar, they are completely different substances. Can you cut the sugar down? Yes, I think you can, but I don't think you can eliminate it completely without replacing it with a viable or similar substitute. I do have a Boston Brown Bread recipe that calls for molasses as the only sweetener and it's lovely and moist, so you might want to try using molasses along with just a bit of sugar, or maple syrup might be nice as a flavor too, even corn syrup or honey. With the tea and the fruit I don't think browning is going to be a huge issue, it's going to be a darker color anyway, not a light colored cake. I tend to just try things and make notes as to what works, what I liked or didn't like about the finished product, I sub things willy nilly while still trying to retain the "science" that makes a final result what it should be, or at least close. What is optimal for one isn't optimal for everyone. We can't all grind our own grain (like Grainlady) or raise their own beef (like me) or have access to produce year round like California or big city markets like New York. "Ideal" depends on our lifestyle, our income level, our location and our interests. Since the OP didn't say there was a problem at all with the cake, other than being too sweet for her taste, I'm assuming the method of measurement isn't an issue and being more precise makes little or no difference. If the cake is too sweet I'd cut the sugar in half, add a good slug of molasses and see how it comes out! Annie

Can't help with the original post, other than to say if you use spice cake you may not need any additional spices, or maybe just 1/2 to 1 t. of pumpkin pie spice mix for a true "pumpkin spice" flavor. I will also contribute a really great recipe. If you can't decide between pecan pie or pumpkin pie, this bar recipe is the best of both worlds. -Grainlady PUMPKIN PIE SQUARES Base: 1 c. all-purpose or whole wheat flour (your choice) 1/2 c. brown sugar (can reduce it to 1/4 c. if you'd like) 1/2 c. butter (softened) Mix until crumbly and press into a 13x9x2" baking pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350°F. In a large bowl (or blender) combine: 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin (puree) 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 can (13.5 oz.) evaporated milk 2 eggs 1 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. ginger 1/4 t. cloves Beat well and pour mixture over baked crust. Bake 20 minutes at 350°F. Topping: In a small bowl combine 3/4 to 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 c. brown sugar 2 T. butter Sprinkle over pumpkin filling and bake 15-20 minutes more. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 2" squares. Yield: 2 dozen. Grainlady notes: You can use 2 t. pumpkin pie spice mix for the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. I use coconut palm sugar instead of brown sugar (which lowers the glycemic impact). For a gluten-free version, replace the all-purpose flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour mixture.