I still have fingernails! It didn't really start rising until after 2 hours! I put a pan of hot water in the oven with it, and that helped. I wonder if buttermilk isn't a great liquid for dissolving yeast. The buttermilk was almost as thick as yogurt. I used half for the crumb cake and tried to shape the other half into balls for buns, but I could see it was too wet and would just meld together. So I put the other half in another pan and sprinkled coconut on top. I'm going to try to recreate what we called coconut buns growing up. They are glazed after baking. I'm letting them rise overnight in the fridge. I think they'll be all right. I just hope they taste good! I'd hate to waste all that butter, sugar, etc. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. If it's anything to be proud of, I'll take photos. ;)

foodonastump: the green chillies come in a small can about the same size as a small can of black olives. Usually they are in the Mexican food section. There is a choice of chopped or whole. I want to try the Fiesta Ole, too. It look good! We did the Apple Baked French Toast Saturday morning for the B&B guests. She has an apple tree; we were picking apples by flashlight! The guests loved it. My friend did the meat. She wrapped smoked sausages in bacon, topped it with brown sugar and baked it. There was a fruit cup (grapes, strawberries, pineapple and banana) and I made English Muffins. The experience was fun. The guests were interesting to visit with; some were first time guests and others had been coming for 12 years. I have one picture of the table and will post when I get the chance. Thanks for your recipes.

FC, I did. It worked incredibly well, though I undercooked it just a tiny bit teying to achieve perfection. It is still excellent, and there was no cleanup. I am just so happy y'all helped me learn to do this, so thanks. Russ, just buy the Staub. That is an awesome price, and once you own it, you can sell half your other cookware on eBay. I just wiped 'er down with a damp towel, and threw in a pot roast. You can roast a whole chicken, a big one, or cook a huge pot of red sauce. Or a couple of tenderloins for pulled pork. Heck, you can deep fry it it. And it works on induction beautifully. I am by no means a Cookware Ho. I have about eight mismatched pieces, some of it $9 pots from Tuesday Morning. But the Staub is a must have, and I'm just sorry I went so many years without it because I was a cheapskate. Get it now, and never regret it.

Just an update. My neighbor’s husband was playing golf in the yard yesterday, so I handed him my big, heavy bag. It had the some of the items suggested like the dough hook, flour wand and so on. Also some artisan bread flour to try out. Golf balls for the husband of the brand recommended in another thread. She came over a couple of hours later with a still warm Dakota bread and turtles for my husband. Asked if I was hacking into her emails because I had also included the “proof basket” or what it is called recommended here. Said she had it in her online shopping cart before but didn’t get it yet. She said she normally waits until Christmas to open ours since it’s her favorite, but because it was kind of heavy and her husband was like “what did she do now?”, they did open it. While she was here, she also asked my daughter about what her favorite rolls are. Met me at the hedge today to deliver a dozen warm ones. She said she is also going to try baking a chocolate almond torte to be ready when our family comes over for Christmas. (Said it’s a Rich one to serve twelve, so she wants it to be fresh). Gosh, I love my neighbor. Thank you so much for helping me making her happy. As for my family, we better take some long walks or something.