Light Rye with Cheddar

This loaf was conceived mid-afternoon before going out to some community theatre and baked within an hour of my return home. My inspiration came from this take on the Bittman / Leahy recipe at The Blog That Ate Manhattan. I love that it uses olive oil, and the sweetness that comes through is quite lovely without being at all overpowering or forward. 

It sat for a bit more like 5 or 6 hours because, heck, sometimes you just don't know when the play is going to end.

So I didn't give it a full 30 minutes to rest here... Let's just call it an even 20.

Seam side up opened all the cheese that had previously been folded inside, but that's okay, because sometimes it just wants to rise to the top.

Gave it almost 40 minutes with the top on...

...and a little less than 15 topless.

Pulled it out to cool and enjoyed the heft, the hard exterior and, certainly, the aroma. Not a bad way to ring in midnight.

I actually waited until morning to slice it up. And then I ate a "couple" of slices.

The loaf turned out remarkably well for such a lack of planning and hasty bake. Most of it was consumed the first day, of course, but it was just as tasty on day two and on day three made some outstanding toast. Day four is going to need a new loaf, however. That is just the way things are.

Homemade Coffee and Molasses Soda

I like coffee. That is probably pretty clear to anyone reading this. And I like soda. But I detest cloyingly sweet, overly sugared commercial sodas most of the time. (It's all about moderation, after all.) Sometimes I like to combine my love of coffee and my love of soda, and while there are a few commercial products available that do this, I always feel they fall a little short.

On the other hand, this is a ridiculously easy drink to make at home.

I use a SodaStream to make my sparkling water, but you can just as easily use a can of bottle of good seltzer water. Seltzer is important -- do not use Club Soda unless you want a salty taste added to the drink. A strong seltzer is nice and bracing and holds up to the added ingredients which, frankly, you will want to experiment with in small doses as you perfect your own recipe.

With sodas, always start small and taste as you go. Remember that you are diluting flavors, but mix them in slowly (the bubbles do most of the work) or you will overflow quickly.

My glass today began with this stuff, none of which was measured but generally amounted to a total of less than 2 tablespoons all together before the sparkling water was added:

Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Cinnamon
Coffee (cold brew)
Bragg's Apple cider vinegar
Blackstrap molasses
Muguey sweet sap
Residual crushed mint (from my previous soda)

More cinnamon, coffee, lemon and molasses for me, very light on the sweet sap (which is kind of like a sweeter molasses, anyway, and is easily dispensed with), and I don't normally add the vinegar except when I am in a mood for that sort of thing... You might want to just leave it out unless you already love the tartness.

And there you have it. Add some ice and it is a great tonic for a hot day.

Cinnamon Bread with Raisins

You have the basic dough recipe... This one simply adds the raisins and cinnamon. Telling the story visually, including the clock for reference, this is exactly how it was done. Once you have flattened the dough initially, and put the fruit and spice down, you need only make it into a nice ball that will fit in the cast iron pot the same as if it were a plain loaf. Bake times remain the same. Enjoy!