grasshopper_mouse

Every few years I attempt a batch of Springerle cookies. I think they came out really well this time, though I'm pretty sure the anise seeds and extract I have are too old, as the flavoring isn't very strong.

Boy, did this take forever!

Bonus pic of the last few Big Jim green chiles roasting on the grill:

My first time making cinnamon rolls. I used this recipe from King Arthur Baking Company.

The recipe was easy enough to follow, but they came out a bit flat in the end, despite getting good height off the second rise. The recipe tells you to bake them on a sheet, but I think that was part of the issue with them spreading out. Next time I'll put them in a pan with walls and cram them all together and hopefully that keeps them more uniform.

My apologies if this post goes against the rules (Mods, please delete if so), but can anyone recommend to me a good free digital art software I can download? So far someone has mentioned Krita, but I was wondering what people here found to be the best? I am familiar with Illustrator, so I have an understanding of how vector graphics editor and design software works, I've just been out of the art game for ages, so I have no idea what's out there.

Thank you!

2 California Wonder Bell Peppers

10 Giuseppe Mild Green Chiles

7 Big Jim Green Chiles

There's many more Bell peppers still on the plants, but I'm hoping they start turning red before the weather forces me to pick them.

Edit: Apparently the tape measure is weird? I dunno, it looks like a normal tape measure to me? I think it might seem weird because it's upside down? Here's the same pic rotated:

I'm gonna have more than I know what to do with, and that's even after losing a dozen or so to end rot.

I feel like this is taking forever. Not sure if I'll get any peppers in the end, but we'll see!

Best: My aunt's wedding. Super quick ceremony. I and my cousins were all in the 6-11 year old age range. She had a piñata for us at the reception. We devoured candy and danced and ran around like maniacs, it was glorious.

Worst: Years later, one of those same cousins mentioned above gets married. In July. In Massachusetts. Outside. The heat and humidity were unbearable. And they KNEW the weather was gonna be shit, because the wedding program they handed out to everyone before the ceremony began was shaped like a fucking fan. THEY KNEW.

The ceremony finally ends and the catering staff makes everyone wait outside the dining hall in the heat for unknown reasons for another full hour. When we're finally let in, the AC is struggling to keep up and it's hot as hell in there, too. When the dinner is served, it is NOT the vegetarian lasagna I chose on the wedding invite, no, it's a portabella mushroom burger. I hate mushrooms, I would have never chosen such a thing. They switched the menu out and didn't tell anyone. Also, no open bar, wtf.

My "Big Jim" hatch chile plant isn't looking very big yet. The Guizeppi Milds and California Wonders are doing a bit better. This was the first day I took them all outside for a few hours to start the hardening off process. I've had them inside with a fan and grow lights up until now.

I expected some flowering at this point, but it's been stupidly cold and rainy here since I planted back in late March (I'm in 6a/6b), so maybe I'm expecting too much too soon? Next week is the first week it will in theory be above 55 degrees F overnight.

I've also been battling gnats (sticky traps and mosquito dunks for the win), which is weird to me because with the fan, the top layer of soil dries out pretty quickly, but I think I have them managed now.

Tried my hand at yeasted sweet bread from the King Arthur Baking School cookbook – one plain, the other is lemon poppyseed.

They came out okay, but I think I screwed myself over by using flour that was too cold because I pulled it straight from the freezer instead of taking it out the night before. The dough got a rise, but not big enough for my liking. Not sure if I also maybe kneaded it too much, as it was really hard to get the long strips for the braids to stay long, they just kept springing back into shorter strips.

Probably won’t make this again, but I think the bread will make for some really good French toast.

(Posted this over on a Baking community as well)

Tried my hand at yeasted sweet bread from the King Arthur Baking School cookbook -- one plain, the other is lemon poppyseed.

They came out okay, but I think I screwed myself over by using flour that was too cold because I pulled it straight from the freezer instead of taking it out the night before. The dough got a rise, but not big enough for my liking. Not sure if I also maybe kneaded it too much, as it was really hard to get the long strips for the braids to stay long, they just kept springing back into shorter strips.

Probably won't make this again, but I think the bread will make for some really good French toast.

They're a bit more leggy than I think is healthy, but hopefully repotting them will help.