Honey Lavender Rolls

2-1/4 tsp dry yeast or one packet
1 cup milk
4 T butter
2 tsp sugar
2 eggs beaten
3-1/2 cups flour
1-3/4 tsp salt
2 T melted butter to glaze
plus to grease bowls
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp lavender ground

sprinkle the yeast into a shallow large dish of 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk. let it set a few while you mix salt and flour in a bowl. warm the other 1/2 cup of milk over low heat with 4 T butter and the sugar. Cool until warm and not so hot and beat in eggs. add yeast/milk mixture in and beat.

mix flour and salt in a large bowl
stir yeast and milk mixture into the flour mixture

knead in ground lavender or chamomile or cinnamon
knead 5-10 min
use flour to keep the dough from sticking at first but
dont add too much or the dough will get dry
switch to butter after a spell
that will keep it from sticking

let dough rise 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in size. i put the dough in a large buttered bowl and grease the dough ball up too. i put that in the kitchen sink over the drain to block it off a bit and run
a small stream of hot water in the sink around the bowl put a wire rack over the sink and lay a towel over it. it makes a steam room for the dough and it rises fast and fluffy.
punch down dough once or twice
set 10 min

use butter to keep dough from sticking
cut into 3 pieces
roll into ropes
make a braid
coil the braid up into a greased bowl
this will be the bowl that it cooks in
glaze with butter
glaze with honey

set in a warm damp place for 20-30 min
the sink works well in the steam room
it will double in size again
it will be delicate. try not to harm it
drizzle with honey

bake at 400-375 for 12-17 min
if it is getting too brown on the outside before the innards are cooked then turn the heat down to 350 or something.
my oven is funky so i have to rotate the bread pan every 6 min.
remove from oven
remove from bowl

glaze one more time while still very hot
or maybe even twice more.

Heart Cakes

Cake:

Wet ingredients

1/2 cup butter melted

2 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup milk

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tsp orange extract

1 tsp almond extract

Add:

3 egg whites beaten to soft peaks

Dry ingredients:

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 2/3 cups flour

combine wet and dry ingredients

pour onto a cookie sheet that has a rim
or a heart shaped muffin pan

bake 350 20-25 min

cool
use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes if you used the cookie sheet.
if you used the muffin pan then slice muffins horizontally once or twice to make layers!

Glaze:

12 oz raspberry seedless jam

3 T water

heat, spread over cooled cake

cut cake in half

put one half on top the other

cut into 1 1/2 inch squares

Icings

Chocolate:

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 T corn syrup

1 T butter

melt and pour over cake squares

put in an icing bag and used to decorate

Sugar:

9 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp orange extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

red food coloring

heat over low heat and pour over cake squares

tube of red decorative sparkly gel icing

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

i dont want this cake to turn out too cakey. not too dry or fluffy. i want it moist and dense.

Cake

Wet ingredients

Cream:

4 eggs

2 more egg yokes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cube butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup sour cream

15 oz canned pumpkin

3 T fresh grated ginger

Dry ingredients

In another bowl:

2 cups of flour

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

mix wet with dry ingredients

cook in 9x13 at 350 for 25-35 min

Frosting

mix:

8 oz cream cheese

1 cube butter

2 cups sugar

few dashes of nutmeg

few more dashes of cinnamon

frost the cake when cooled

This tasted great. it was moist and slightly dense.

it will be better next time tho.

Fancy Potatoes and Gravy

gravy:

1 1/2 onion chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

a beef soup bone

1/2 c red wine

4 sprigs parsley chopped

pepper and salt

4 T corn starch

all but the wine boiled  down to a thick gravy like this:

remove bone and add wine

simmer 1 min more

Potatoes:

2 big russet potatoes baked in the oven at 350 for 1 1/2 hours

peeled off skin

beaten with a mixer

add:

1/4 c sour cream

1/2 c milk

1 T butter

salt

pepper

1 c spinach chopped

bacon bits

1/4 c shredded cheese

packed it all down into a pan and put it back in the oven

350 for 40 min

Removed from oven and topped with gravy

Garnished with parsley

mmmmmmmmm

this gravy was killer

next time i will make twice as much gravy to put on top

and gravy is so good for you too!

Savory Veggie Stew

1 red potato

hand full of grape tomatos

hand full of baby carrots

1/2 bell pepper chopped

2 cups of spinach chopped

10 sprigs of parsley chopped

1 T rosemary

1 T sage

1 bay leaf

2 tsp beef base

6 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

1 T butter

2 T applejack

2 T corn starch

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 cup ground flax seed

put this on a low boil or simmer for about an hour.

Not sure if i liked the boiled potato taste so i took it out after it was cooked.

Good with twice baked potato or bread.