Jack and the Beanstalk and My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It has been a day. It began when eggs rolled off the counter and hit the floor in scrambled dumpty fashion. While cleaning up the mess, I left oatmeal on the back burner and managed to scorch it beyond recognition. Lest I be allowed to forget a day that got off to a bad start, the acrid odor permeated the house and refused to dissipate. Things didn't improve as the day wore on. I was late for a meeting and in my hurry to make up for lost time, I left the spigot on the coffee urn open, and didn't notice it until the coffee swirled around my no-longer white sneakers. That wasn't the impression I was trying to make, but at least they'll remember my name. Once home, I managed to fall up the stairs, dropping the sack of groceries I was carrying. I decided to take a breather and rev up my chi before I killed myself. I headed to the deck, plunked down in my favorite chair and took a deep breath. That's when I saw the arborvitae and the vine that was climbing around it. In a progression that is natural only in a brain like mine, the story of Jack and the Beanstalk entered my frontal lobes and would not go away.

Bread Machine Yeasted Gingerbread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've seen this recipe floating around cyberspace for several years now and it has been on my to-do list since it first caught my eye. The original recipe was created by Beth Hensperger and it can be found in The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. I was able to borrow a bread machine today, so I was able to experiment with some recipes that had been sidelined because I do not have a machine of my own. With a bread machine, this flavorful, albeit unconventional, loaf is effortless to make, and the only problem I had was deciding how, or with what, I would serve it. Its flavors are unique and the bread does not lend itself to haphazard service. I came up with a couple of options that I think are workable. If you have a good European-type butter, quartered slices, slathered with butter would make a grand addition to a tea table. However, I think breakfast is the meal where most of us can best find a use for the bread. It makes marvelous toast and if the toast is served with cream cheese, it makes for a stellar breakfast offering. Those of you who enjoy standard gingerbread will probably enjoy this yeasted version. Here is how the bread is made.