can you spell spelt? it’s taste is delicious

lavash or cracker bread
CLICK on picture for basic cracker bread (Lavas) recipe

Everyone likes to make something enjoyed by those we love and ‘cracker bread’ is one of those things. However, there is always a few ‘suggestions that pop up from the peanut gallery and these have to be taken into account. Some want more of the taste of a ‘pretzel’ while others want a little more ‘flavor’.

This really isn’t hard to do. I roll a little course salt over the bread prior to baking to give it a more ‘pretzel finish’ and interchange the secondary bread to find something a bit more flavorful. I like using ‘Spelt’ for this purpose as it is similar i smoe ways to whole wheat but with a distinctive nutty taste all it’s own…. which is why smoe folks say it is making a comeback. It also mixes better with water than whole wheat and that works for me!

Here’s a brief history of ‘spelt’ that can be found on the web:

“Spelt has a complex history. It is a wheat species known from genetic evidence to have originated as a hybrid of a domesticated tetraploid wheat such as emmer wheat and the wild goat-grass Aegilops tauschii. This hybridisation must have taken place in the Near East because this is where Ae. tauschii grows, and it must have taken place prior to the appearance of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum, a hexaploid free-threshing derivative of spelt) in the archaeological record c. 8,000 years ago.

Genetic evidence shows that spelt wheat can also arise as the result of hybridisation of bread wheat and emmer wheat, although only at some date following the initial Aegilops-tetraploid wheat hybridisation. The much later appearance of spelt in Europe might thus be the result of a later, second, hybridisation between emmer and bread wheat. Recent DNA evidence supports an independent origin for European spelt through this hybridisation”

In any event, it is a nice addition!

on vacation in san diego

an interesting way to feed elephants at the San Diego Zoo! CLICK on the above picture to see our vacation pictures

 Most of our vacations always incorporate a little ‘business’ which is the reality of modern life.  We had an opportunity to meet friends, travel to the San Diego Zoo and Sea world besides the expected convention– which was also fun!

Made some BBQ ribs today! YUM!

making your own cookbook

Here I am (I need a shave) with my little cookbook for my daughters CLICK on the picture to see how you can make one of your own or save other family memories!
Here I am (I need a shave) with my little cookbook for my daughters CLICK on the picture to see how you can make one of your own or save other family memories!

 One of the things I really would have enjoyed was a cookbook from my grandmother. Alas, she was one of those wonderful chefs that had literally everything in her head. I have to confess to seeing a small address size book that had all kinds of pen scratchings in it… but it didn’t LOOK to my young eyes as a cookbook… but it was! Her book was covered with all the abreviations that frequented some of the wonderful cooks from the ages. I look back and wish I had it today!

So with a lot of proding from my adult children, I produced a mini-cookbook ( primarily to see how it looked and how it works) for them using the tools from mypublisher.com. Fortunately for you, they just updated their software making it much easier.  I will work on a more larger and complete book with all the little details that I omitted from this book… but it will take me a year ladies, so be patient.

flipping through my little cookbook
it's fun to flip through the little book and see all the fun things we have enjoyed over the years.

Obviously, I left out a lot. Laura commented that it contains only manfood… you know, desserts and entrees. Well, I did have one recipe for a marvelous salad dressing. The next book will have much more.

So, before your grandmother or the chef in your life moves on… capture some of those memories in a book!

Roger

summer fun

Going to the mid state fair in paso robles!
Going to the mid state fair in lovely Paso Robles! CLICK on the picture to visit the fair!

 And what are you doing this summer? Well, for us going to the fair is always a fun time, I have to admit that beating the guesser ( who tries to ‘guess’ your weight) is always fun, but I always enjoyed slamming the sledgehammer down and ringing the bell ( unfortunately now gone).

This year marks Laura’s and my 40th high school reunion and our 38th wedding anniversary. Hard to imagine it has been that long. I remember one of my favorite people once tld me as a child that it surprised him so when he looke dinto the mirror to find an old man staring back at him!

Summer heat is also a great time to try on those funny hats!