herbiehancock

I wasn't sure it was going to stop snowing this past winter. Now, I'm wondering if it's ever going to stop raining! In May, Havre got dumped with 3.51" of rain (average rainfall for May is 1.84"). This month, we already have 2.33" of rain when the average is 1.90". Enough already! We should have planted our garden Memorial Day weekend, but it was raining. When the rain stopped for a few days, the ground was soaked and my gardener couldn't get in there with the roto-tiller.  I bought some big, beautiful, healthy herb plants and kept them indoors until they begged to be repotted. I put them outside and they got battered by wind and rain. I think they'll all make it, but they sure don't look very pretty now. Sage   Rosemary   Basil   Lemon Balm   Thyme   Flat Leaf Parsley Chives Stevia   My gardener was going to plant last weekend come hell or high water (hehe). We kept the garden covered with a tarp during the night and, if it wasn't rainin...

You may have heard of this little blog . It has a few good recipes . The other day, I wanted to bake these . But while I was searching for the recipe, I came across this and if you don't get up and make this right now, you'll be very sorry. Because, if you don't make this , you can't make Cinnamon Bread  French Toast. And that's all I have to say about that.

Mmm, french bread.  Mmm, homemade  french bread.  Lynda at Lynda's Recipe Box made this and blogged about it a few weeks ago and she made it look so easy and her loaves turned out so pretty, that I just had to make some. Lynda has a great blog with some great recipes. Check out her 2010 Top Posts and you'll see what I mean! These loaves baked up soft and beautiful on the inside and crunchy on the outside. And the aroma! Oh, my... there's nothing like homemade bread! It would be perfect with a bowl of soup or sliced to make garlic bread.  Lynda kneads her dough by hand and her recipe is written as such. I adapted her recipe to make use of a stand mixer. Even if you've never made yeast bread before, I wish you would give this a try. The dough comes together quickly and rises quickly. If you started right now, you could have french bread for dinner! PRINT RECIPE Crusty French Bread  - adapted for stand mixer from here 2 ¼ tsp dry yeast 2 cups warm water 6 cups fl...

Fish was on the menu every Friday night while I was growing up in New England; the middle daughter in a Catholic family. We could count on frozen fish sticks; cod; swordfish; and fried smelt, which was one of my favorites. Saturday dinners were usually Boston Baked Beans that my mom cooked in the oven all day, which included molasses and a big chunk of Salt Pork. She served them right out of the bean pot , with hot Brown Bread.  My Mom didn't make the Brown Bread from scratch - it was good old B&M Brown Bread from a can. She'd take the bread out of the can, wrap it in foil and heat it in the oven along with the beans. We'd get a slice slathered with butter which would immediately melt into the fragrant bread.  This bread is steamed (rather than baked) in an aluminum can. I've had the can for some time and forget which size it is, but it measured 6" high and 4" across. After the batter has been poured into the can, to be sure no water or steam got into the ...

Enter here for a chance to win a $65 giveaway from CSN Stores! Lately, like many of you, I've been busy making a mess. But what a merry and mouthwatering mess it's been! Honk if you like garlic!  These Garlic Knots are soft and yeasty - good with soup, or pasta and your favorite sauce, or just for those times when you find yourself standing at the kitchen counter with nothing to do. Pull one of these lovelies apart fresh from the oven and dip each piece into the leftover glaze of butter and olive oil. You can thank me later. I made three batches of these Garlic Knots. When I made the first batch it was -1 degree outside and only 68 degrees in the house. They didn't rise like they should have and I didn't have the patience to wait, so I baked them anyway. The flavor was good, but they weren't light and fluffy. For the glaze, I used minced raw garlic mixed with olive oil and melted butter, but found the garlic to be a bit harsh. I made the second batch of dough the ni...

For the last few weeks, a definite feeling of Fall has been in the air in North-Central Montana. Although we don't get the bright red and orange New England colors during the change of seasons, the trees turn beautiful shades of yellow and orange. Because I'm a Desert Rat at heart, I'm sorry to see the end of Summer, but as always, there are good things around every corner. One of the good things about the end of Summer? Soup weather! I know you're wondering why I'm talking about soup when there's a picture of a book about pizza here, but it'll all work out - trust me!  Does anybody remember watching The Pizza Gourmet on PBS in the late 1980's?  I watched it on Saturday mornings - probably just before or just after watching The Frugal Gourmet.  I sent for Chef Carl's book way back when, and have used it many, many times since. One of my favorite recipes from this book is for the Antipasto Salad. I've made it several times and besides being d...

You may have seen the recipe for these  buns on other blogs, as they seem to be quite popular. They're also known as "Moomie's Beautiful Burger Buns". I don't know who Moomie was, but this is about as good a hamburger bun as you're going to get!  I got the recipe from one of my favorite websites - King Arthur Flour . I've made these a few times now and they've turned out beautifully each time. They're quick and easy to make and this recipe would be good to use for hot dog buns, or even to make a loaf of bread. I put some pulled pork between these buns with some mustard BBQ sauce and it was perfect! I hope you'll give these a try! Edit: Mary from One Perfect Bite filled us in on who Moomie is! Mary wrote: " Moomie is a real person who, along with her husband, runs a goat farm. This is her address."     Thanks, Mary!  Beautiful Burger Buns ¾ to 1 cup lukewarm water 2 T butter 1 large egg 3-1/2 cups flour ¼ cup sugar 1-1/4 tsp salt 1 T ...

I just can't pass up a mango, and they sure have been plentiful in the supermarkets these days.  This recipe calls for brushing the dough with egg white and sugar, which after baking, gives a nice crunch and sweetness to the top of the scones. Hot out of the oven, these scones are perfect with a pat of butter. For the leftovers, I split the scones, buttered and grilled them and topped them with Tropical Trio Jam - a combination of mango, passionfruit, and pineapple. Scrumptious! Mango Scones 2 c flour 3 T brown sugar 1 T baking powder ¼ tsp salt 1/8 tsp nutmeg 4 T melted butter 2 eggs 1/3 c heavy cream 1 T vanilla 1 mango, peeled and cut into cubes 1 beaten egg white 2 T granulated sugar Whisk dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs; add heavy cream and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add mango to egg mixture. Mix in cooled melted butter. Add dry ingredients into egg mixture and blend gently with a rubber spatula. Do not over-mix. Pat dough onto a parchment li...

I used the last of my store-bought bread crumbs the other day and as I was contemplating either keeping the can (I know I could use it for something!)  or throwing it away (I have enough stuff! ) I glanced at the list of ingredients. Ack! The main ingredients were: Enriched flour, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, water, salt. The crumbs also contained less than 2% or less  of brown sugar, honey, molasses, sugar, wheat gluten, whey, soy flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn flour, oat bran, corn meal, rice flour, potato flour, butter, dough conditioners, yeast nutrients, distilled vinegar, skim milk, buttermilk, lactic acid, calcium proponate, potassium sorbate, romano cheese, spices, onion, garlic, celery, paprika, parsley, oregano, black pepper, basil, fennel. Wal-Mart has a rack of their day-old bakery breads at a reduced price and I usually get a baguette or a l...

Indigenous to India, nearly half of the world's mangoes are still grown there.  Although there are only a handful of varieties of mangoes that are available in the U.S., there are hundreds of varieties of this fragrant tropical fruit.  The variety of mango in this picture is Ataulfo, also known as  The Champagne Mango® . The pit of this mango is quite thin and the fruit is smooth and mellow. I hadn't seen this variety before, so when I spotted them at the market, I bought three of them intending to eat them as I normally eat mangoes -- fresh out of their tender skins without other flavors vying for attention. Then I decided that for once I should make something with these little pretties.  Enter Mango Bread Pudding  from Epicurious. Because I wanted all the mango flavor, I didn't use any of the recipe's spices (cardamom and ginger). The recipe calls for cutting the mango into 1/2-inch cubes, but after peeling the mangoes, I put them in the processor and pureed t...

If you live east of Texas you may not have heard of Marie Callender Restaurants. They're famous for their pies, but I'll take their cornbread for dessert any day -  served hot with honey butter on the side. This isn't a corny cornbread. It's light and sweet with a tender crumb. It's my favorite cornbread, ever! I used Crisco for the shortening today, but have used butter and oil in the past and the cornbread has always turned out well. If you want spice, add some chopped jalapeno's. If you love bacon, add some cooked, chopped bacon. If you want corny, add some corn kernels! This is a recipe you can make your very own. (Thanks, Marie!) You can find this recipe all over the interwebs, and here it is again! Be sure to make the honey butter - you won't be sorry! Cornbread like Marie Callender's 1-1/4 cups flour 3/4 cups cornmeal 2 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup sugar 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup shortening 1-1/4 cups milk 1 egg Put all dry ingredients into a bowl and whi...

Traditionally, hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday - the last of an indulgent treat before Lenten fasting. Now, many people serve them as an Easter treat. They're so good, I'm not sure why we don't make them all year long! The cross, whether slashed with a sharp knife into the risen dough before baking, or piped afterwards with a thick powdered sugar glaze, symbolizes the crucifixion of Christ. You'll notice that the glaze on these buns may or may not resemble 'crosses', but they are just the way we like them ;) This recipe, from Taste of Home, has the delightful hint of orange by using orange juice and orange zest. If you'd like something a little different this year for your Easter treat, give these a try - I think you'll like them!  Orange Hot Cross Buns 2 packages quick-rise yeast 1-1/4 cups orange juice (110-115 degrees), divided use 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 c sugar 3 eggs 3 tsp grated orange peel 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 cup raisins ...