I'm corning our own flat cut brisket this year-- used a recipe from Bob Appetit-- the brine contains Lager-- it's brined for a total of eight days-- will be interesting to see if it's as good as Dad's old corning recipe. Also planning to do a Beer Cake-- it's originally a German recipe but hey if it's got beer it COULD be Irish. Home Cookin Chapter: Heirlooms , Traditional & Ethnic Gugelhupf Bierkuchen (German Beer Cake) ======================================= 1 cup molasses 1/2 cup butter at room temperature 1 (12 ounce) bottle beer 1 cup raisins, plumped and dried 2-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder (double action) 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon EACH, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (I use 1 teaspoon cinnamon) 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or filberts, toasted Glaze (see recipe below) . Instructions: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour a 9 or 10-inch tube, bundt or gugelhupf (sometimes spelled Kugelhopf) pan. Combine the molasses, butter, and beer in a saucepan and heat only until the butter melts. Stir in the raisins or currants and let the mixture cool for 15 minutes. Sift together the dry ingredients. Stir in the nuts. Pour the cooled beer mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated 350° F (180°C) oven for 45 60 minutes (I check at 45 minutes, mine took 50 minutes). Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack. Let cake cool a bit before drizzling glaze over it. GLAZE: Mix 1 cup icing sugar and enough maple syrup (or liquid honey) to moisten the icing sugar to the drizzling stage. Pour glaze over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides.

Kelly, of course fresh black-eyed peas are better, like any bean/veggie is. But the Ranch Style peas are excellent. They're not a bean that's hard to like. I cook both fresh and use canned when I don't have time to simmer a pot all day. We have a fresh hamhock in the freezer that I'm saving for ham and pinto beans. Yum!

No experience using a food processor for bread, but here are some recipes from Better Homes and Gardens Food Processor Cook Book. Be sure to check the User's Manual that came with your Food Processor for recipes. -Grainlady ...When making yeast breads remember that most processors can't handle more than 3 cups of flour. You may need to cut your recipe in half and prepare consecutive batches to bake the desired number of loaves. Both conventional and easy-mix recipes can be used. Do not process the dough for more than 60 seconds; if it hasn't formed a ball, shape by hand. If the motor begins to slow down, quickly add a little more flour. This should free the dough from the blade so the motor can return to normal speed. WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 c. warm water (115F) 2 T. brown sugar 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour 2 T. shortening 1 t. salt Conventional Method: Dissolve yeast in water; add sugar. Combine flours. Insert steel blade; add 2 cups flour mixture, the shortening, and the salt. Process with on/off switch till resembles cornmeal. Add 1/2 c. yeast mixture; process with 4 on/off turns. Let machine run 15 seconds or till ball of dough forms. If dough seems sticky, add 1 to 2 T. all-purpose flour. Do not process more than 60 seconds. Place dough in greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in warm place till double (45-60 minutes). Punch down. Shape into loaf; place in greased 8x4x2-inch pan. Cover; let rise till double (30-45 minutes). Bake in 375°F oven about 20-minutes. Cool on wire-rack. Makes 1. Easy-Mix Method: Using ingredients as above. Place steel blade in workbowl; add 2 cups flour mixture, dry yeast, sugar, shortening, and salt. Process with 4 on/off turns till resembles cornmeal. Add 1/2 c. water; process with 4 on/off turns. Add remaining 1/2 c. water; process with 4 on/off turns. Add rest of mixture; continue as above. ------------------------------------ SWISS RYE BREAD 3 oz. Swiss cheese 1 c. milk 1 T. sugar 3/4 t. salt 1 pkg. active dry yeast 3/4 c. rye flour Insert shredding disk in work bowl; shred cheese. Remove and set aside. In saucepan heat milk, sugar and salt over medium-low heat just till mixture is lukewarm (110°F), stirring constantly. Stir in yeast; let stand 5 minutes. Place steel blade in work bowl; add the all-purpose and rye flours, shredded cheese, and half of the milk-yeast mixture. Process with 4 on/off turns. Add remaining milk-yeast mixture; process with 4 on/off turns. Turn machine on again and process about 15 seconds or till ball of dough forms. Do not process more than 60 seconds. (If dough seems sticky to the touch, add 1-2 T. additional all-purpose flour; process with 1 or 2 on/off turns.) Place ball of dough in lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in warm place till double (45-60 minutes). Punch down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Shape into a loaf. Place in greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise till nearly double (30-45 minutes). Bake in 375°F oven for 35-40 minutes or till done. It top of bread browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil the last 15-20 minutes. Makes 1 loaf. ----------------------------------------------- WHITE BREAD 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 c. warm milk (110°-115°F) 3 c. all-purpose flour 1 T. sugar 1 t. salt 1 T. cooking oil Soften yeast in warm milk; set aside. Place steel blade in work bowl; add 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt. Add half of the milk-yeast mixture; process with 4 on/off turns. Add remaining milk-yeast mixture and oil; process with 4 on/off turns. Add remaining 1 cup flour; process with 4 on/off turns. Turn machine on again and process about 15 seconds or till ball of dough forms. Do not process more than 60 seconds. (If dough seems sticky to the touch, add 2-3 T. additional flour; process with 1 or 2 on/off turns.) Place ball of dough in lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in warm place till double (1 to 1-1/4 hours). Punch down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Shape into a loaf. Place in greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in warm place till double (about 45 minutes). Bake in 375°F oven 40-45 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf. Easy-Mix Method: Use ingredients as above. Place steel blade in work bowl; add 2 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Process with 4 on/off turns. Add half of the milk; process with 4 on/off turns. Add remaining milk and oil; process with 4 on/off turns. Add remaining 1 cup flour; continue as above ------------------------------------------ CHEESE BATTER BREAD 1/4 c. lightly packed parsley (stems removed) 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, cut up (1/2 c. grated) 2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour 1 package active dry yeast 3/4 c. cream-style cottage cheese 1/2 c. water 2 T. butter or margarine 1 egg Place steel blade in work bowl. Add parsley; process till chopped. Add Parmesan; process till parsley and Parmesan are finely chopped. Add 1-1/4 c. of the flour and the yeast. Process with on/off turns till combined. In saucepan heat together the cottage cheese, water, and butter or margarine just till warm (115° to 120°F) and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. With machine running pour heated mixture through feed tube, add egg. Stop machine; add remaining 1 cup flour. Process with 4 on/off turns, continue processing for 5-10 seconds or till well mixed (dough does NOT form a ball). Turn dough into greased bowl. Cover, let rise till double (45-60 minutes). Stir down. Spread evenly in a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole. Cover, let rise till nearly double (about 45-minutes). Bake in 350°F oven for 45-55-minutes. If top of bread browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes. Remove from casserole; cool. Makes 1 round loaf. ------------------------------------------ BRIOCHE LOAF Brushing the egg yolk and milk mixture gives the loaf a golden color. Use either a standard loaf pan or a special brioche mold -- 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1/4 c. warm water (110°-115°F) 2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour 6 T. cold butter, cut into pieces 4 t. sugar 1/2 t. salt 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 1 T. milk Soften yeast in the warm water. Place steel blade in work bowl; add flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Process till butter is very finely cut into flour mixture. Add yeast-water mixture and eggs; process about 20 seconds or till mixture forms a dough. Do not process more than 60 seconds. (If dough seems sticky, add about 1 T. additional flour, process with 1 or 2 on/off turns.) Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in warm place till double (about 1-1/2 hours). Punch down; cover and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. OR, shape into a ball and place in a greased 6-cup brioche mold. Cover; let rise till double (about 1-hour). If desired, combine the egg yolk and milk; brush over loaf. Bake in 350°F oven about 30 minutes or till done. Remove from pan; cool on rack. Makes 1 loaf.

I'm a believer in a good commercial kibble for dogs. I don't have picky dogs because I don't overfeed them. They both hover around 87 pounds of lean muscle. They each get about two cups of kibble and I split a can of no salt green beans or carrots between them. Other times it's a 1/2 small can of wet added be tween them. Can lasts two nights. Tonight I gave them a couple of spoons of cottage cheese in their meal. Onions and to a much lesser extent garlic contain a compound called thiosulphate that can cause severe anemia and liver damage. Never give dogs onions as the concentration is quite high. Garlic has just trace amounts but should be used with care if at all. Ground turkey is not a good choice unless you are absolutely sure the skin isn't being ground into it also. That skin and it's fat is a good way to give a dog pancreatitis down the road. When I have had ill dogs on a rice chicken or the bland diet I prefer (cream of wheat,hard cooked egg, cottage cheese and sugar) if I had them on it for more than a week I had to buy supplements to add to it. Yeast powder and some B vitamins I think. It's been a while. There was a lady (vet? food scientist? UC Davis?) on a tv show once who showed all the many supplements one would have to add to home cooked dog food to even come near the nutritional requirements met by a good quality kibble. There were like a dozen or more bottles or jars on the table. If dogs won't eat it's cuz they aren't hungry and they can hold out for quite a while before giving in. Remember back in the wild they had to fast for long periods of time sometimes. Most people overfeed their dogs. If a dog has a skin condition and you suspect allergies take it to the vet. It's not common for a dog to have a true allergy to dog food. It is more common for it to be allergic to the bowl it eats or drinks from if it's made of plastic. Most skin problems are not food related although poor nutrition can of course aggravate them.