246 I wish I had a mess like that little cutie ! WOW sounds like you have been busy. We are still getting fabulous tomatoes and peaches. I don't know what all this rain though is going to do to them. They may be sodden messes. I would love the scone and the crisp recipes !!

Hosta and 246 here are the recipes. These are the notes for the bread 1st.

1. Use Turbinado sugar for the top...lots not regular
2. Use the bittersweet not unsweet chocolate

CHOCOLATE BREAD STARTER
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour ( you can use bread flour)
CHOCOLATE YEAST BREAD
5 cups bread flour ( 1 c or so extra for kneading)
1/2 cup good-quality cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar, plus
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast dissolved in 2 c warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature,plus more for pans
6 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
vegetable oil, for lightly oiling bowl
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon heavy cream
4 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Directions
1)Chocolate Bread Starter: Dissolve yeast in water for 10 minutes; stir in flour until completely mixed; cover loosely and leave to proof at room temperature 6 hours.

2) Chocolate Yeast Bread: KA with dough hook for 5 min. on low or till completely smooth- mix 5c flour, cocoa, 2/3 cup sugar, yeast water and 1/2 cup Chocolate Bread Starter (freeze the remainder for later use); scrape sides often let rest in bowl 15 minutes.

3)Turn on KA to med. and add soft butter and salt, cont for 10 min till it is smooth and shiny. After the 10 min add in about 1/2c-3/4 c flour now , just enough so dough cleans bowl and cont a couple minutes. Should be very soft but kneadable. Place on counter with a light dusting of flour and knead in chopped chocolate thoroughly.

4)Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours; leaving dough in bowl, fold dough into thirds as if folding a letter for an envelope, recover with plastic wrap; let rest 30 minutes.

5)Butter three 8"x4"x2" loaf pans and coat with remaining 4 T granulated sugar; divide dough in thirds ( will have 4# of dough approx) and then divide each third into 4 even pieces; roll and form each piece of dough into a tight ball; place four pieces, smooth side up, side-by-side in each loaf pan; cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

6)Preheat oven to 375;right before placing in oven combine egg yolk and cream and brush on loaves; sprinkle with lots of turbinado sugar; place in oven, reduce temperature to 350° and bake for 40-45 minutes or until loaves have a slightly hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

7)Let rest in loaf pans for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack.

Frittata:

Cook 8oz spaghetti til tender in boiling salted water and drain and rinse well and place in a large bowl.

Chop 1 lrg red or green pepper,1/2c chopped onion, 3 cloves chopped garlic,1c chopped carrots,1/2# asparagus cleaned and cut into 1" lengths,1 med tomato. Saute all in EEVO and butter till tender, start carrots 1st as they take the longest. Add tomatoes last. season with salt and pepper.

Combine 5 eggs and a handful of fresh and dried herbs of your choice. I used basil and rosemary. Add 1/2c grated parmasan and 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste.

Mix vegs first into spaghetti and then egg mixture till throughly combined. Have a 12" nonstick or well seasoned iron skillet heated with EEVO and butter combined pour whole mixture in on top and cover with a large lid. Leave alone for about 10 min or till setting. Make sure it doesn't burn on bottom but you want it to brown. Place a cookie sheet over the pan and carefully invert frittata onto sheet and slid back into skillet . ( Needs 2 people !!) Finish cooking til set 10-15 min. Serve with more grated cheese and a sprinkle of fresh herbs on top.

Thanks so much! I love how the bread is done in four small loaves inside the pan . . . very clever idea I'm going to try with other yeast breads!!

Peach Pecan Toffee Crisp (recipe is from pat_t on the cooking forum and has her notes) I personally baked it in a pie dish and followed the rest of her notes except I used regular salt and no one could wait 10 minutes after it came out the oven LOL.

INDIVIDUAL TOFFEE PECAN PEACH CRISPS

Filling:
6 cups frozen sliced peaches (about 2-1/2 lbs.) thawed, (I used 9 FRESH peaches)
3 Tblsp. sugar (I used light brown sugar)
1 Tblsp. fresh lime juice (I used lemon juice)
2Tblsp. all-purpose flour

Topping:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt (I used kosher)
6 Tblsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup English toffee bits (such as Skor)
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Vanilla ice cream

For filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place six 1-1/4 cup ramekins or custard cups on large baking sheet. Mix peaches, sugar, and lime juice in large bowl to blend. Divide filling among ramekins.

For topping:
Whisk flour, brown sugar, and salt in large bowl to blend. Using fingertips, rub in butter until mixture holds together in clumps. (I did this in my food processor) Stir in toffee and pecans; sprinkle over filling. Bake crisps until filling bubbles and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

**NOTES: I baked the whole thing in a large oval Corning ware dish instead of using ramekins. It's supposed to make 6 servings, but I think you could easily get 8 out of it. All of my changes are in parentheses.

From Bon Appétit, March 2002. Notes by Linda in MO, posted at Mimis Cyber-Kitchen 7/28/02.

THANK YOU...I just got individual ramekins from Fishes Eddie in NYC when cat-mom and I were shopping. They will be perfect for this. c

OH thank you for the recipes. This weekend I made the peach/blueberry "cake" again for my 80 year old parents. They loved it and wanted the recipe also. It's so easy!
I've made more applesauce this year than ever and still have 20 lb of Paula Red ones to use. The garden has too many tomatoes so today I've got to do something with them.
Maybe juice or salsa.

You guys, the food's luscious and the recipes exciting, but this is just the sort of thing that might get KAWs bounced from here, which would be a real shame. KAW discussions can add important depth and richness to the information exchange on the KITCHENS forum.

So, how many feet of baking counter do you feel you need for setting out baking trays (pictures to set salivary glands pumping definitely needed), setting dough aside to rise, etc? Do you ever put stuff to rise on top of the fridge?

Rosie...that is why I show the "mise en place" and the use of the appliance...KA. For the very reason you are stating as it is pertinent to the discussion. Did you look at the slide show? I hope you picked up tips from it.

In past posts the size of islands and the use of a bunch of different equipment has been discussed. We are trying to combine a lot of different aspects and are finding our way. We sure appreciate any and all suggestions :)!

I have 8ft of countertop for the baking area and it is 30" deep. It is soapstone. You can see that dough does not stick to the surface at all when kneading. This keeps the amount of extra flour needed to a minimum. I have covered this before but it is never bad to repeat data.

As to rising the bread dough. Most folks do not have the top of the fridge as an option. On cold days I use the oven with the door ajar so the light is on or I turn it on to 90 degrees and then off and rise inside with the door closed. Miele has a proofing option but it is too hot.

Iris please post canning pics and salsa tips and recipes and show your KAW...we love pics. Use the "link" option so we don't slow this too much .

Thanks rosie for the questions and comments. c

Rosie, good points

We made the cake in my baking corner which is to the left of my cooktop. The counters are 30" deep all around so you can see how I can have "stuff" eg a crock, cake stand, accessories and music on the back of the counter and still have plenty of space to work even with a helper on a step stool.

What looks like a bank of three drawers in front of my niece is actually a brilliantly executed door leading to a Magic Corner II unit. On that unit, I keep the food processor, which came out to make the cake dough as well as the topping for the peach crisp, my icecream machine, Cuisinart Grill and DLX machines as well as the juicer. All are in that one cupboard and easily accessible.

You can see the under counter microwave off to the left. It's in the perfect location for melting a stick of butter although truth be told, the induction hob is so fast we rarely use the MW any more. Above that is my KA. Between the KA and the stove I can put 4 half sheet pans and if I need more I can put them on the stove as well. There's not much linear length to the counter top but because it's so deep there is a ton of room. Like trailrunner, I tend to find my granite not too sticky for dough and find I use much less flour than I used to when baking bread.

Further to the left are my Miele DO. But that will be another thread some other time LOL. If I stand in the baking center, I have access to everything I need without taking a single step other than to the fridge. Flour, sugar, salt and other baking ingredients are either in a pullout pantry on the other side of the ovens or in the cabs above the microwave. Baking sheets and cooling racks are above the oven and all my cake pans and anything too small for the storage above the oven are in the drawer under the hob. TG for the person who first mentioned "Zones". My kitchen certainly is not arranged like a traditional kitchen but it works SO WELL.

Hope this all helps

c, I proof bread in the Miele DO all the time. I use the proof setting for light batter, put the dough in and set the oven to switch off after 10 minutes. It gets just warm enough and stays warm to perfectly proof the dough. HTH

The garden has been overflowing with peppers and tomatoes. We love to use the hot peepers on pizza and in any thing that needs a little zing.
My granite goes in on Thursday. It will be much easier to deal with than my current ceramic tile counter top. Especially for making that chocolate bread!

Hey iris, do you want to trade hot pepper rings for Peach orange marmalade? They look divine and we LOVE hot peppers here.

You can email me through mypage.

Oh Iris those peppers look wonderful. I hope you will post more pics too ! 246 the recipes and pics are just so great and your explanation of the cabs and how they work is great. THANK YOU. I hope others will chime in. c

loves2cook, I love the pics of your KIA, especially since your counters are in full view with cooking actually going on!! I am trying to decide on a counter right now because I do a lot of baking AND canning. Seeing how you handle cooling jars while baking helps me envision how my kitchen will work.

If I'm looking at it correctly, the counter your niece is in front of is about the same size as the new counter I'm adding to my kitchen. It reassures me that I will be able to function quite well in that corner with both canning and baking! I still need to figure out how to incorporate a small sink into that section of countertop though.

Lissa, our prep sink is in the peninsula island behind and to the right of my niece. I just have to turn around to have access to water and a drain.

Here's my {{gwi:1561236}}

The work zone G shape is amazingly efficient. To the left of the cooktop is baking and the U to the right of the cooktop is prep with can storage, prep bowls, serving dishes and storage containers all within that zone.

Cleanup is outside the work zone keeping everyone who is helping out "my" area. Silverware and dishes are in the cleanup zone making them easy to get to when setting the table and emptying the DW's.

I love it. The only thing I would have done differently if I could have and it really wasn't feasible, was to put one of the dishwashers so it was more accessible from the work zone.

Last thing I will bake before new counter goes in. DH's favorite, humble apple pie.

OOOOOHHHH AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH Iris you can NEVER have too many apples or too much crust ! WOW that looks so yummy. The new Southern Living had an apple pie recipe with 4 1/2 # of apples in one pie. Yours looks even better ! c

K, no fair. You can't post such divine pictures of a scrumptious pie and NOT share the recipe. Give it up, girl.

Right now I have meringue mushrooms from Maida Hatera's (sp) Great Deserts book in the oven.

Hopefully they'll come out looking super and I will post a picture.

Not as hard as they look and super impressive!

The first picture gives you an overview of my cooking area.

Then you can see why I LOVE convection bake, in fact I now have 6 sheets - all the oven racks in one oven - of puppy biscuits baking.

Then assembly and Voila! Now you have to look...

Not as hard as they look and super impressive!

The first picture gives you an overview of my cooking area.

Then you can see why I LOVE convection bake, in fact I now have 6 sheets - all the oven racks in one oven - of puppy biscuits baking.

Then assembly and Voila! Now you have to look...

trail runner, the Miele proofing mode is too hot (I don't know what they were thinking - just to temp choices for it - too hot and way too hot) but the oven has a defrost mode that lets one set a wide range of temp. A lot of the time I'm doing breads with a cold rise or I'm using the bread machine, but when I need a warmer environment, I use the defrost mode. I wish that instead of dividing things into all these modes the Miele would have fewer modes with broader temperature ranges.

And I find it pretty annoying that the Miele manual doesn't have a chart with the modes and their temperature ranges. It seems that the only way to find the temperature range for a mode is to set the oven into that mode and go into temperature setting to see what it allows for the mode.

A tip for those with Miele's who want the hottest oven possible for baking flat breads (pita, pizza and naan). Surround mode allows the highest bake temp setting - 550. The other bake modes top out at 500. Or you can preheat on broil where one of the modes (I can't remember which one at the moment) lets you go up to 575.

cloud I know what you mean. We do so many breads now that need a cool rise so the option of using the oven is a moot point at present. But I couldn't believe that they had 125 degrees to proof!

If you look in your book (mine is page 16) the settings with the range if temps is listed .

I have used defrost also to rise. I don't have a bread machine since I make so many large batches and also I started making bread in 1975 so I am "set in my ways" :)

Do you have a good flatbread/pita bread recipe ? I am not happy with the ones I have tried. Also have you tried cooking them on a hot cast iron griddle ? There are a number of threads on the "foodblogsearch" if you look for griddle breads.

Hope you will post some pics....we love pics.

246 those mushrooms are beautiful ! I make them when I do my Buche de Noel at Christmas. They are so pretty. Thank you for showing the great tutorial. c

trailrunner - did you mean on a griddle on the stove? I haven't done that. To get more cooking space so I can make more at a time in my oven, I put my bread stone on one rack and a round cast iron griddle/pizza pan on another rack and bake on both the stone and the cast iron griddle. They cook nicely on both surfaces though I think the stone does best.

I posted my recipe in the linked cooking thread. I have one amendment - I now think that the pita puffs and develops a pocket more reliably if the pita rounds are allowed to rest for 10 to 15 minutes after they are rolled. It can be hard to find space for 12 or so pitas to rest - I find that I can layer them on a baking sheet with smooth towels separating the layers.

This pita recipe doesn't need much rising time so I usually let it rise in the bread machine.

We finished the remodel in early 2006. In June of that year, our son, DIL and granddaughter moved in with us while he started work on his PhD. With 4 adults and a busy toddler in the house, our counters are often cluttered (since that is out of reach of our GD for now). So I'm not eager to post photos.

Our kitchen was planned more for our empty nest needs - not with this in mind though it has adapted pretty well. One drawer was turned over to keeping bottles and now sippy cups. There is a Learning Tower that gets moved around so she can "help" or have a snack while watching the cook. The drawer that held bread and snacks when there were two of us isn't large enough to hold the bread that we have around for all of us plus various jams, nut butters and snacks so the bread is on the counter.

The baking center which had about 3 feet of counter between the KA stand mixer and expresso machine now has a bread machine between them. So the island end next to the baking center gets used for kneading, forming loaves and loading cookie sheets - but the back of the island was always intended to hold overflow needs from the baking center so that's okay. The actual counter need for working the dough is about 2 foot by 2 foot, but the space next to that is used to hold the peel or baking sheet being loaded.

With 3 cooks and one clean-up person working sometimes plus friends, our prep sink gets even more use and we do find our original multicook design has held up well.

Wow Cloud-swift. You should still post pics as it will show how a kitchen can adapt.

I've only been baking bread for a year or so so am no expert. I found a great pita recipe, but it was the first one I'd ever tried, so I stuck with it, in Fine Cooking. I'm off to find C-s's.

It is very generous that you guys take the time to do this. It's really enjoyable reading and the pics are do die for! I HAD to bake the other day after reading your threads. I only had ingredients for oatmeal rasian cookies and it was pretty stormy here so no road trips to the store.

I can share my favorite kind of sandwich... I call it a Mommy sandwich...

remodel, I LIKE that sandwich !

cloud: THANK YOU for the link. I have cut/pasted. I would love it if you would do a pic tutorial of making them. No need to apologize for your space ! We love pics that show exactly what you are doing.

Yes I meant on a griddle on the stove. They will puff, just not as high as in the oven. I do believe you are right that a short rise would be a good idea too before baking. Great idea about the skillet. Now I am thinking of putting the Lodge griddle in the oven...hmmm THANKS> c

remodelfla, you and your boys make the cutest sandwich ever!

Here's our KIA tonight. I had a rough day painting my dining room (3 coats) with an arthritic wrist, I didn't feel like cooking...so don't judge me! I did make fries and a salad to go with it though!
{{gwi:1942784}}
Robin

yeah Robin!!

Here is what I made tonight. Did a slideshow to demonstrate the mise en place/bucket no disposal/good chef knife/Le Creuset pot. Hope you all enjoy. Here is the recipe also.

Indian Ratatouille

2 c diced red or yellow onion
2 T vegetable oil
2 -4 large garlic cloves minced
1 tsp hot chili ( to taste)
1 T grated ginger root
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cardamom
1-2 t salt ( to taste)
generous pinch saffron crumbled ( optional)
1 - 2 c orange juice
5 c eggplant peeled and 1 inch cubes
4 c zucchini squash peeled and 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 c red bell peppers ( may use mix of colors ) 1 inch cubes
28 oz can crushed tomatoes or 3 c fresh diced and seeded Roma
1/4 c fresh basil or cilantro for garnish
Yogurt for garnish

In large stew pot saute' onion in oil till translucent, 10 minutes. Stir in garlic,chili, ginger root, spices and stir 1 minute. Add 1 c OJ and eggplant. Let cook covered 10-15 minutes til eggplant tender. Add everything else except fresh herbs. Simmer covered til squash is tender. may add more OJ as needed.

SHOW OFF ;o) LOL.

rm : you JEST !! This is baby stuff that is why I do it !! :) I love mise en place cause then I can have a beer before I throw it all in the pot and there are NO mistakes...I am convinced that is why the French Chefs do it...remember Julia...one sip for her and one for the pot !! c

I tried to do my best Trailrunner impression today, then you show up with the Indian Ratatouille! Oh, well...Baby steps.

I finally dove into the big box of tomatoes I bought at a roadside store in Easter Washington... with the plan to make spaghetti sauce to freeze. My boys were curious and drawn in by it all to help, so that was fun. After I got going in the kitchen, I didn't want to stop, and had more produce needing attention, so I added pickin's from the garden to make a fruit salsa. The jalapenos were wild enough to burn my throat while I was chopping them (!), so I had to add more fruit and tomato, and even threw in avocado...So it's either salsa or chunky guacamole.

Also remembered I had a hunk of bread dough to use as starter, so did some bread.

I even got a bunch of laundry and our homeschooling done! I'm not saying that to brag, but am surprised that when I got going, I got so much accomplished. I'm kinda beat, but it's all good. --But not sure how much spaghetti sauce I'll get. The tomatoes are still cooking down and the 20 or 25 pounds is already down to about 4 quarts. Maybe enough for a dinner or two by the time it's thickened?

Thanks for letting me share.

You all are great inspirations. I have resorted to giving tomatoes to the neighbors, but in the morning I am determined to get the rest of them canned. If rhome can do it plus home school I can!

Holy Molies - you guys are a true inspiration. C - that Indian Ratatouille had my mouth watering. And I must admit I looked at your other photos on PB and OMG I wish you lived next door!!!

Rhome, your kids are wonderful helpers and your photos outstanding. I also got out the slideshow and browsed around. Keep it up ladies.

In these dog days of summer with the windows open and the breeze blowing I really can't get off the hammock to cook. Me and the pup just lie there till someone asks what's for dinner then I or dh tosses something on the BBQ and that's it, or if we're really lazy it'll be a bowl of cereal with ice cold milk LOL

I have to admit I don't love cooking as much as I do baking. This past weekend I made Brownies from Maeda Hatterer's Great desserts (?sp); the Italian Rum Cake from the Village Baker's Wife; the infamous Epicurios Nectarine/blueberry cake but I used apples instead; a giant chocolate chip cookie and Rice Krispie treats. These were for my daughter's birthday and were all her requests.

Then I catered a vegetarian friend's 60th birthday on Sunday and made a watermelon/red onion salad, Picnic caviar which is a bean and corn salad, Vegetarian roll ups, Couscous salad, artichoke dip with homemade Hawaiin bread, fruit salad with a simple syrup infused with ginger (this was left over from making my crystallized ginger a few weeks back) and the Finale was Paula Deene's Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake.

And I have NO pictures!!! I was so busy I completely forgot both during baking, during set up and during the parties but I do have to say the cakes were outstanding both in taste and presentation.

Oh rhome..those little boys watching and helping....you make me cry...in a GOOD way ! Oh how lucky LUCKY you are ! Those children are such a gift. Your pics are FABULOUS! I LOVE the salsa. It looks so yummy. I make a mango one when they are on sale. It is so yummy too. DS1 makes a peach panzanella at the restuarant that is absolutely wonderful. So if you have extra nectarines or peaches you might want to try a panzanella with your bread and the fruit. It is really great. It is amazing how the tomatoes cook down. But it will taste like RED GOLD !

IRIS...pictures....PICTURES>....you gotta give us pictures...

246 you are in TROUBLE...no pics...NO PICS>>>what do you mean NO PICS....wasn't the tart wonderful with apples? I will use it often this winter . I want the caviar recipe and also the roll ups and the couscous salad....so shoot me an e-mail or link here....you better getta youra camera readya !! c

Wouldn't it be great if someone was able to gather all the GW recipes and publish a recipe book! We'd be famous! Everyone could use their GW "names"!!!

The best thing is that I didn't ask the boys to help...They were just fascinated by the process and how the skins loosened. The absolute joy of homeschooling! (Learning where and when you didn't plan to. Lessons from real life.)

Now I'm going to have to look up 'panzanella,' because I have no idea what it is! :-)

Fun idea, Malhgold.

OK so I didn't get ALL the tomatoes done but I made some headway. And I made some peach jam. How do you like my new granite?

ohhhh Iris ( Kathy?) ...you made me smile...what touching pictures...you epitomize "less is more". I LOVE everything. I never thought of tomato juice....smart girl !

malhgold...I will do it if you think it will be a HIT...you gotta come to the next NYC get-together...I will be in NYC 10/22-11/5....meet you and cookbook to be discussed...

rhome bread salad,,,there are lots of versions...all tasty. Some with tomatoes and some with fruit. Great way to use stale bread . Let me know if you want DS1;secret recipe...it is yours...:) You and those children are a treasure...really....what a gift...c

Sure, I would love it, thanks! Although, bread doesn't have much of a chance to get stale around here... ;-)

Trailrunner, I use tomato juice all winter long, to make vegetable soup, tomato soup, pizza sauce, lasagna, chili...everything. And it is the quickest way to use up all those tomatoes without having to make the sauce right now. I'm all for the cookbook. What fun that would be.

Not so much mise en place, as mess in place, but DD's soda bread turned out great, and we celebrated St. Patrick's day Irish style, with soda bread smothered in Kerrygold butter and maybe some Guinness and taytos too...

Iris I had not thought of canning the juice...do you have the whole tomatoes in there too?

Abby: oh my another chef in the making...with all that sweetness it had to be great bread ! c

trailrunner - I'll be there!!!

What a wonderful, precious scene Abbycat! Look at those cute little hands, the earnest expression, and the kissable cheeks!

My mom's birthday lunch was this weekend, and we decided to bring pies instead of standard cake. It became a 5-kid project. They love to make pie. This was their first try at a crumb top crust and missed the instruction about protecting it with foil...Oh, well. It was a little dark, but didn't affect the taste.

trailrunner; about the tomato juice, I don't put whole tomatoes in the juice. After I cook the tomatoes I use a foley food mill to remove the skin and seeds (well, most of the seeds).

rhome - Yes those are some very kissable cheeks. Here she is again, decorating cookies with a a pal this weekend:

I remember the 'princess' stage! ...And the ballerina stage that is usually about the same time. It goes all too quickly. My oldest decided early on that being 'queen' was better than princess and has tried to claim that title ever since!

Your families and recipes are all so great!

Remodelfla - that is the best looking kind of sandwich that I have ever seen!

Thanks everyone for sharing!

abby and rhome....those are the BEST helpers I have ever seen...what a sweet dessert ! c