November 20, 2009: A Special Day and A Very Special Gift - Pay it Forward

Today is a special day for me. I'm publishing my 300th post! If I'd known my blog was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of it. *grin*

Yesterday I received a very special gift from Thomas at A Growing Tradition. Since I've never been to New England, Thomas sent a bit of New England to me!

On the brown bag, which is printed with replicas of old advertisements, are chocolate covered Cape Cod Cranberries, A little jug of pure Vermont maple syrup, a bag of Hutchinson's Maple Caramel Corn from New Hampshire, A box of Boston Tea Party English Breakfast Tea, and a potholder imprinted with a recipe for real Boston Baked Beans.

Oh, but that's not all! There was one thing in the package that was so very special, it deserved very special treatment, so I got out the recipe for one of my favorite breads and went to work. Well, it's not really work when I make bread in the food processor!

Dakota Bread
Yield: 1 loaf

1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 110 degrees)
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup honey....this was very special honey from Stefaneener
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats

Sprinkle yeast in warm water; stir to dissolve.

Combine remaining ingredients in work bowl of food processor. Add yeast. Process until dough forms a ball, check for moisture, adding a bit more flour or water if needed. Process for about 15 seconds, then let rest for 5 minutes. Process for 60 seconds or until dough feels smooth and elastic (mine was slightly soft and almost sticky, perfect when greased by the bowl).

Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to grease all surfaces; cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Punch down dough. Shape into one loaf. Place into a greased loaf pan. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Hot from the oven...

Mr. H gets both of the heels while they are still warm. I get a nice, thick slice to toast. Have you guessed where I'm going with this?

Hmmmm, what is that in the jar? Why...it must be Thomas' Meyer Lemon Marmalade!

Oh, he's good. Really good. It's perfectly jelled, not too thick, not too thin.

The flavor is heavenly. Sweet, a slight lemon tang, just the tiniest hint of the bitter that makes it marmalade. It's hard to believe this is the first time Thomas has made jam or jelly!

The last bite was as good as the first.

I ended the evening with a cup of hot Boston Tea Party tea, and another reading of Thomas' heart warming blog entry for Wednesday, November 18, 2009, "On Family - Honest Scrap Award". If you haven't yet read it, please do, but be ready to cry. It's a good kind of cry, though.


When I accepted Thomas' offer of a gift, I promised to pay it forward. If you would like to receive a goody bag from Granny, leave a comment on this post to let me know. On Saturday I'll randomly chose by putting your names in a hat and drawing out three. I was going to pick the first three emails sent to me, but I felt there was too much advantage for the eastern time zoners and/or insomniacs ;-)