Sad Recipe - a poem

I didn't have potatoes
So I substituted rice.
I didn't have paprika
So I used another spice.
I didn't have tomato sauce
I used tomato paste,
A whole can, not a half can
I don't believe in waste.
A friend gave me this recipe
She said you couldn't beat it,
There must be something wrong with her...
I couldn't even eat it.

-author unknown

Lame-O

Sorry friends... Once again I feel as though I have neglected my blog. I don't have any particular reason, but I shall update you a bit on what has gone on in my kitchen... We BBQd a lot, we celebrated Jacob's 3rd birthday (pictures to come), and just this week finished bringing in the garden. We had lots of green beans, some onions, tons of parsley and lettuce, carrots and tomatoes. It has been delicious and exciting to grow our own food. I tried making squash (yuck), kale chips (yuck again), apple bars (yum), Amish friendship bread (not really bread, but still yum), pea soup (decent), and sish kabobs (love!). I made up my own bacon-mushroom-potato soup for Jeff who wasn't feeling well, and I perfected my oatmeal cookies (only 1/2 cup of brown sugar in one batch!). It has been a pretty great month in the kitchen.
Sorry for being lame.

Fire!

So we bought a big bunch of dill at the farmers' market for 1$. We both love the smell, so just the walk home was worth the money. Well, I used it in a few things and then wondered how I could 'save' the rest. I found a website that said I could dry it in the microwave and then store it in an airtight container. So I stuck my dill in the microwave, and as you can probably guess, next thing I know there is fire in my microwave. I open it, toss a glassful of water in and remove the now terrible smelling dill. Burnt dill stinks!

Tastes Like Strawberries?

It was a cloudy, cool, rainy day today... so what does that mean? A perfect day to heat up the house (and our tummies) with some yummy baking. Only one minor problem... No butter. No hard margarine. No soft margarine. No oil. How is this even possible? As it turns out, this is more of a major problem when I start scouring recipes for something,anything, to bake. And then I come across pretzels. Well, I had been wanting to try these again, so I used a different recipe this time. I doubled it (except for the egg), used grated mozzarella, and topped with cinnamon and sugar. The recipe made 16 mini pretzels and they were pretty good. Next time I would add more sugar to the dough.
... I just asked Jacob if the pretzels yesterday were yummy and he said "Yup." I asked what they tasted like and he said "Strawberries."
. 

Lenten Pretzels
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Recipe By: Taking Faith Home

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp cheese, grated  
1 egg
coarse ground salt

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast in warm water and stir to dissolve.

2. Add sugar, flour, and cheese.

3. Stir and knead until smooth.

4. Divide dough into 4 and roll each piece into a snake.

5. Shape like a pretzel, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt.

6. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.