I'm sure that there are many reasons that someone might decide to make a food blog.  I can think of a few:
1.  Sister lives far away and wanted recipes on a regular basis.  A food blog is a great way to make that happen easily.
2.  You really want a cooking show ('cause you think you're hilarious) but since that's never going to happen a food blog seemed like the next best thing.
3.  You take great pictures and you got sick of nobody noticing how awesome your pictures are so you thought if you threw some great pictures in with some of your stupid thoughts and a recipe that more people might care.
4.  You're a good cook.  Let's get out there and get it recognized.
5.  You write well and food blogs get more traffic than writing blogs do.
6.  You're looking for a way to add a part-time job to your week... with no pay.
7.  You're looking for a way to escape from the chaos that is your life.  When you are blogging nobody bothers you.
8.  You are tired of hauling your ass off to some job in a big building somewhere and would love to create work for yourself that you could do at home and that would still include a 'community' feel.
8.  You are somebody who loves cooking and taking pictures and you totally plan ahead.  You've got recipes planned into the next month and a grocery list to boot.  You've thought of all kinds of witty-awesome things to say and your pictures are thoughtful and beautiful.  Congrats,  You are Perfect.


The possibilities are endless.  I'm not going to tell you which ones of the above are me and which ones aren't.  I probably don't need to.  I'm sure that you've already guessed and that your guesses are mostly right.  The honest truth is that I plan almost nothing.  That's probably why I don't have thousands of people checking me out and/or offering me tv show and cookbook opportunities.  That's ok with me.  I cook for my fam and friends and rarely do I think beyond the necessity in front of me.  I hope that I get good light for pictures but I don't always.  Sometimes I don't get to cooking anything at all.  Those are the weeks where you get my garden pictures or some adventure we went on.  Sometimes I forget to take a picture at the right time.  I really should plan more.  I know that.  Sometimes I don't even plan what I'm going to write (ahem...) and just sit down at the keyboard and will my fingers into action.  Mostly, we need to eat and I want to eat good, interesting food.  That's my planning in a nutshell.


This recipe was not planned.  I literally looked at what had just come in with the food box and from the garden (my eggplant - !), typed those ingredients in and looked at what recipes came up.  This epicurious one popped up and within minutes I got it started.  It happened fast.  And it was good.  It's a little fuss - some pots and putting together and all - but it's not difficult at all.  In fact it was pretty easy and it made a lot.

Random Silly Shot - If you are looking for something to do with all of  those fennel fronds...

Late Summer Veggie Torte adapted from Epicurious
serves 6 - 8

2 medium (fat preferably) eggplants
2 lg red pepper, thickly sliced
2 lg zucchini, thickly sliced lengthwise
olive oil
salt
1 cup soft goat cheese

Tomato Sauce
1 lg leek, thinly sliced
3 med garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
3 - 1/2 cups fresh tomato, chopped
1 veggie boullion cube
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp italian seasoning
dash of pepper sauce

Bechamel:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk, warmed
1 cup heavy cream, warmed
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups parmesan freshly grated
1 tbsp Worcestershire
sprinkle of lemon zest
dash of pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon liner.
Place the eggplant slices on the parchment and then brush the eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.
Roast for about 20 - 25 minutes or until the eggplant looks just browned and is soft.
Remove the eggplant and replace with the zucchini and red pepper.  Brush those with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast for about 25 minutes or until the red pepper looks soft and just browned.  Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile for the sauce:
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the leeks and the garlic and cook together just until the leek is just beginning to brown.
Add in the chopped tomatoes.  Turn down the heat to med/low but keep the tomatoes just simmering.  Add in the boullion cube, salt and italian seasoning (a mix of parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary which you could just as easily add in individually).  Stir and let simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes.

Meanwhile for the Bechamel:
Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat.  Add in the butter until melted.  Add in the flour and mix together until it forms a paste.  Turn the heat down to low and slowly add the milk and cream, whisking steadily throughout.  Once all of the liquid is added then continue whisking slowly until the mixture begins to thicken.  You should feel a noticeable thickening.
Add the parmesan, Worcestershire and lemon zest and set aside to cool slightly.
After a few minutes, once the mixture has cooled a bit, whisk in each egg slowly.  Add the pepper sauce if you opt for that.

Line a lg 9x13 baking dish with the eggplant (I made mine squish into one bottom layer).  Sprinkle half of the goat cheese over that in spoonfuls.  Pour half of the tomato sauce over that.
Layer the zucchini and red pepper over that.  Sprinkle the rest of the goat cheese over that.  Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over that.
Pour the béchamel/egg sauce over everything.  Sprinkle with a little extra parmesan.
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until everything is bubbly and golden on top.
Cool for about 20 minutes before serving (I'm not kidding - it's gets so much better)

You might have noticed that I haven't been posting a lot of baked goods around here lately.  This is a relatively new thing.  In the past I've done my best to keep things as balanced as possible between the sweet and savoury.  The thing is that I'm kind of experimenting.  I'm trying to use less sugar.  I think that you all deserve an explanation and it involves some true confessions.  Have a seat, grab a carrot stick and a beer and settle in for the story.


Last school year (and maybe a bit longer than that) I would frequent a well known coffee chain.  I wouldn't order coffee.  I don't drink coffee and don't plan on starting back full time at any point in the near future.  I wouldn't order tea because it seems to me and abomination to pay that much $$ for hot water and a tea bag.  I would order hot chocolate.  It was an awesome treat.  I would have my 'treat' almost every day I'm embarrassed to admit.  Thanks to KT my order was perfected to 'half sweet/no whip'.  Honestly even the half sweet was a little on the sweet side for me.  Thing is though that sometimes when you are in these places you walk out with other things too.  A cookie, a piece of lemon-raspberry loaf with some kind of chemical ridden addictive substance on top called 'icing' (god... yum).  You know how it is.  I know you do.  I got so many hot chocolates from this place that I would get free drinks all the time.  Unfortunately, I started noticing that my brain felt fuzzy all the time.  I had to work harder to focus (it could be age, who am I kidding) and to stay focussed.  In other words, my energy levels were... weird.
Derek decided in about January or February to cut way back on his sugar intake (which I honestly thought was hardly worth cutting back on all things considered) because of some reading that he was doing around sugar and it's effects on the brain and body.  Hmmmm.  I wasn't convinced.  We've been eating refined sugar for a long long time.  Wait really?  How long really have we been eating it like this.  So often and so heavily.  I read some things too.  It was compelling.  The real clincher for me was summer.  I have no 'well-known coffee chain' in my hood.  Dear me, no.  I would need to make an effort to get that hot chocolate.  Plus it was summer... hot chocolate?  Not really.  I stopped.  Cold turkey done.  I started noticing a few things.  I did feel more energized.  I didn't crave the sweets after a few days.  Then school started again.  This time I bought some tea bags and boiled my own damn water.  No sugar in my drink and no temptation to come back to work with a cookie or cake in my hand.  Yup.  For sure a difference.  Even with my sinus cold brain last week my focus and my energy was better and it was easier to stay focussed than it had been before.  At the moment, I don't even care about the longer term effects on my body.  I'll take the short term energy and focus and pass GO for $200.  That's fine with me.  I could pass all this off as seasonal, or sleep related or stress.  Sure.  The fact is though that less sugar is better for me.  It's undeniable so I'm not going to fight it.
Does this mean that I'm never baking cookies or making a cake again?  NO.  I still think that a celebrations deserves to be celebrated with a dessert.  My kids will still have homemade goodies at home sometimes.  And sometimes you just need a chocolate snacking cake (my favourite) or a red velvet cupcake to make it to the next day.  What I will do though is use honey and maple syrup a lot more often because, let's face it, we've been using those as sweeteners a hell of a lot longer than sugar.  In fact, I've been searching for recipes using honey or maple syrup a lot more.  There are plenty.  Please note though that both honey and maple syrup are not sugar.  They don't act like sugar and can't be treated like sugar.  They sure as hell don't taste like sugar either.  They do have traces of good stuff in them.  They don't seem to drain me of all sense and I don't want to find my bed an hour after ingesting them either.  But if you're looking for a bona fide treat then you won't exactly get the same punch if you use honey or maple syrup in your baking.


This bread is a great example of my new replacement strategy.  I used a pinch of sugar to feed the yeast and that was it.  These look like an artisanal kind of thing which is boosting my ego big time and the crumb is fantastic.  The buns were made because both kids requested buns for school lunches this week.  I have listed every option in the recipe below.  And BTW - I managed to get everything done with a Ninja in my house.  It was quite a day.  Just for the record, this is a 'REAL' Ninja outfit - it's what they really wear.


Red Fife, Oat and Honey Buns adapted from Canadian Living
makes 1 small loaf and 4 buns OR 12 buns OR 2 small loaves

1 1/2 cups Red Fife (or whole wheat) flour
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup oats (not quick)
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup warm milk (I used 2% but you could use Homogenized - not skim)
pinch of sugar
2 1/4 tsp (one package) dry yeast

In a bowl combine the boiling water and oats together.  Stir just to mix and set aside for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the warm milk and the pinch of sugar together.  Sprinkle with the yeast and stir just to get the yeast moist.  Cover with a clean cloth and set aside in a draft free spot to proof for about 10 minutes - it should get frothy and smell 'yeasty'.
Combine the Red Fife flour with 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour.  Add in the salt and stir to mix.
Once the oats have soaked add in the honey and butter.  Mix well and add to the flour.  Add the yeast mixture to the flour.  Mix everything until it forms a sticky dough.
Turn onto a lightly flour surface and knead - adding as much of the left back all purpose flour as needed - until the dough is silky, smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a buttered bowl (I turn my dough in the bowl so that it's buttered on all sides), cover with a clean cloth and place in a warm, draft free spot to rise until doubled (1 - 1 1/2 hrs)
Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down.  Knead just a little and form into your choice of 1 small loaf and 4 buns (the size of a small fist) OR 12 buns OR 2 small loaves.  For loaves: place into a greased loaf pan.  Cover with a clean cloth.  For Buns:  Place buns on a cookie sheet covered in parchment and then greased.  Cover with a clean cloth.
Place everything in a draft free spot and leave to rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the buns for 20 - 25 minutes.
Bake the bread for about 40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you knock on it.
Cool before slicing.

By some stroke of luck (or creepy global warming phenomenon) we are still eating corn.  It's almost the end of September and there are still fresh corn cobs in my kitchen.
I spoke to the farmer I buy my corn from at the market - yeah, like we're so tight.  We 'talk' and everything - vacations, sky, weather - and he told me that we might (and that's a big MIGHT) get another week but it's hard to say.  So I decided to take what might well be the last of my fresh corn and get all creamy with it.  It's going in my freezer.  I'll super appreciate this in February when I'm making Shepherd's Pie or something... it's going to be amazing.
We've had a good run with corn this year.  I've put it in everything.  We've been consistently going through about 1 1/2 dozen cobs of fresh corn a week.  Sometimes that's all we have for a meal - mostly because nobody cooked anything and the fridge is empty and the corn is pretty easy to get ready in about, Oh, say 5 minutes or so.  This kind of overkill has happened before.  I tend to get these obsessions.  Last year I was obsessed with Green Beans.  I grew them (still do) and bought them as well.  I curried them.  I make them salad.  I almost pickled them (some people put their foot down at that one).  They went into pasta, potatoes and rice.  They got parboiled and tossed in butter then sprinkled with salt.  They got served with Sausage and Tomato with parmesan on top.  Green beans and bacon is a combination created by the gods.  I think you get the idea.  Everything I made seemed to inspire the addition of green beans.


This year it's Corn... and eggplant.  Never in combination however.  I've now successfully grown my own eggplant.  One Eggplant.  One baby that I've saved from the raccoons and squirrels.  They found every other eggplant except for this one and I think that by the time it was discovered it was too big and heavy for them to get... or whatever... I don't know if there is anything too big and heavy for raccoons.  Either way, it's still hanging to the plant for all it's worth.  It's so sacred to me right now that I've afraid to pick it.  I've done lots of other things with eggplant over the last couple of months it's still a distant second when compared with my corn obsession.


This is probably the last hurrah.  And what a hurrah it is.  This was so easy.  Too easy almost.  It's so easy that you wonder why you didn't try this before.  You wonder why you ever bought canned creamed corn - which D used to be obsessed with BTW.  This might just inspire him too - It gets you thinking about all of the things that would go well alongside.  I bought a chicken just because the thought of a well roasted chicken, dripping with juice and caramelized, crispy skin sounded like just the thing to have with creamed corn.  The truth is that there are about 3 freezer bags of creamed corn in my freezer now.  The new 'creme de la creme' of my freezer hoard.  If creamed corn inspires this kind of eloquence from me now, in September (!), just imagine what my reaction will be come February.


Creamed Corn adapted from Alton Brown@FoodNetwork
yield: about 3 - 3 1/2 cups or about 4 cans worth

8 ears of fresh corn
1/2 onion, diced small
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 cup cream
dash of pepper sauce or cayenne (optional)
pinch or two of parmesan cheese (optional)

De-Kernel each cob of corn: I usually use an angel food cake tin.  Place the top of the cob in the hole of the baking tin.  Hold the stem of the cob and cut down each side.  Use a sharp knife and the kernels will come away easily.  Run the blunt edge of the knife back down over each cob scraping off any left back flesh or juice.
Set the corn aside.
Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat.
Add in the butter, salt and the onion.  Cook just until the onion begins to get transparent.  Add in the corn (if you need to add a little more butter here don't sweat it) and stir well.  Heat for about 5 - 8 minutes or so, turning down the heat a little if needed.  The corn should be well coated with butter and the colour will be a little brighter.
Add in the honey, turmeric, herbs and cornmeal and mix well.  Cook for another 4 minutes.
Add in the Cream and turn the heat down to low.
Add in some pepper sauce and a pinch of parmesan if you wish.
Check the taste and adjust if necessary.
Cook on very low heat for another 15 - 20 minutes.
Cool slightly and serve.  (or cool completely and pour into freezer bags - smallish portions in each bag - to save for a very lucky winter day)

Because this week has brought with it a lot more than I had originally bargained for...


Because I have an awesome recipe for homemade creamed corn that took almost no time to prepare and I didn't get one single picture of it and I'm not sure I'll see corn again until next August (but I'm keeping my fingers crossed)...


Because sometimes the only thing that cheers me up is the thought that I can sit for a few minutes in the park, looking at the farmer's stalls and watch my kids eat and play...



Life is short... Breath Deeply and Live it Well.

The difficulty that I have when it comes to canning is multi-tasking.  Normally I'm a decent multi-tasker.  Not great.  Not twenty-balls-in-the-air kind of multi-tasking but maybe five balls.  The strange thing is when I start canning the ability to multi-task gets flung out the window and I'm completely and utterly enveloped, distracted and obsessed with the process going on right in front of me.
I don't eat.
I don't talk.
I don't listen to music (that's a big one).
I don't answer the phone (not so big).
I don't cook.
This leaves certain other people who live in the same house as I do in a bit of difficulty.  First problem: Although I'm not the only person who cooks here, I am the primary person.  Things just get thrown off when I'm not kind of delegating at the very least.  Second Problem:  Canning takes up space, both counter and stove and even oven sometimes.  In order to eat food must be prepared - even if it's just toast - and I'm in the way, standing, stirring, staring into the pot enraptured by the bubbles.
A couple of weeks ago, while doing the tomatoes, I didn't eat for the whole day.  Finally, at about 8pm,  it was just kid #2 and I.  I broke my roll and walked out to pick up a pizza and bring it home.  Kid #2 ate more pizza than I'd even seen him eat before and I'm not too embarrassed to tell you that I ate almost a whole medium pizza by myself.  That's just how it gets.  Today I'm finishing up some blueberry and gooseberry jam and making some tomatillo salsa.  Uh Oh.
I've determined to try to improve.  If I can prepare ahead then, even if I don't eat, the rest of the clan can  fill their belly's with something good.  This recipe is a great make ahead because it actually improves with age.  It's a kind of mishmash of ingredients but it ended up being 'interesting' enough for the adults and 'not interesting' enough for the kids.


I'm not sure where your multi-tasking limit is.  I'm learning.  Learning limits is hard and sometimes painful.  When it comes to the food stuff though this dish made things a lot less painful.  I'm going to go now and finish up some jars now and all the while I'll be trying to get my brain off the idea that a couple of more bushels of tomatoes would get me loads of ketchup and salsa for the year (what is wrong with me - two weeks ago I never wanted to see jars and tomatoes and funnels again).  The Fam will be chowing down on this awesome food.  Happy All Around.


Beef and Orzo Bake adapted from BBC GoodFood Magazine
serves 4 - 6

1 lb stewing beef (or lamb which would be even better)
2-3 tbsp lemon juice (I used one lemon)
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 heaping tbsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 good pinches of pepper
2 cinnamon sticks about 2 - 3 inches long each (do not use ground cinnamon for this one)
1/2 cup onion, thickly sliced
3 cloves garlic, quartered
1 1/2 red pepper, thickly sliced
1/2 tsp (1 good pinch) saffron
1/3 cup ketchup
3 cups fresh tomato, chopped
2 cups chard, chopped
1 2/3 cup orzo
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup parmesan, grated


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a heavy baking dish - one that has a lid -  (I used one of the Le Creuset Dutch oven thingy's - I got it from a yard sale) add the beef, lemon, Worcestershire, Honey, grainy mustard, salt, pepper, cinnamon sticks, onion and garlic.  Mix so that the beef is well coated.  Cover and roast for about 30 minutes - everything should be bubbling well and smell great.
Remove from the oven.
Add in the the rest of the ingredients but save half of the parmesan.  Again, mix well so that the orzo is mixed into everything and the liquid should cover everything.
Cover and bake again for 15 minutes.  Remove the cover, sprinkle the other half of the parmesan on top and bake uncovered for another 15 - 20 minutes.  Test to make sure that the orzo is done.  It should be bubbly and the cheese just browning.
Remove from the oven and cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

I totally know that we're all back to school and everything.
I know that even when we were in Vermont in August that some of the trees were showing signs of starting to be tinged with red.
I know that you probably had to grab a sweater when you went out the other night.
I know that when I jumped on my bike two days ago that I thought I would die in my short sleeve t-shirt.
I know all of that but I still can't let go of summer.  It still is summer... just a little.
I know because:
It's not my birthday yet.
I'm still sweaty after biking or running during the day.
My Mom hasn't contacted me about Thanksgiving dinner yet.
The new season of TV hasn't started yet.
There are still lots of tomatoes and corn at the market...


When I saw the corn there I knew that I just had to buy it.  When I spoke with the farmer he told me that this is probably the last of it.  The cold nights mess with the sugar in the corn too much and it goes all bland and boring.  A whole dozen cobs of corn came home with me tonight.  Along with tomatoes and nectarines, and locally made cream cheese (with chili peppers... come on) and more potatoes than I know what to do with for 4 dollars.  It was all a little heavy but totally worth it.  Totally.
So, if you have some corn that needs love and attention and you want to continue deluding yourself into believing that summer will continue forever then please try this recipe.  It is seriously one of the easiest and tastiest things that I've made in about a week... no joke.


Just for the record, I took some while it was still warm and spooned it onto some lettuce, topped it with some halved cherry tomatoes and drizzled with just a little homemade mayo.  Divine.  I love you summer.


Corn, Potato and Green Bean Side adapted from 'The Kitchn'
serves 4

3 1/2 cups potatoes, cut into about 2 - 3 inch cubes
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups green beans, cut into 3 - 4 inch lengths
2 cups fresh corn kernels
3 slices of bacon, diced
3 - 4tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt to taste

Bring a medium/small pot of water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and simmer at medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the potatoes are just barely softened.  Scoop out the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Place the green beans in the same water and simmer for about 3 minutes or until just beginning to soften.  Drain the water from the beans and add the beans to the potatoes.
Heat a wok or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add in the bacon and cook for about 4 minutes or until the bacon is getting brown and crispy.  Add in the butter and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add in the onion and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the corn kernels, the cooked potatoes and green beans.  Turn the heat down just a little.  Toss regularly.  Add in a little more butter if the mixture gets too dry.
Add a pinch of salt, honey and the lemon juice.
Check the tastes and adjust if necessary.
Serve

Over the course of the weekend that I was wading my way through 3 bushels of tomatoes (which you may have noticed I'm still a little traumatized by) my friend T came over.  As soon as he walked in he got in there and started helping.  That was awesome because D wasn't around to help at that particular moment and also because I was nearing the end of both the tomatoes and my sanity.
Although he grew up on a farm T had never participated in the canning process.  He talked about having entire days where the boys went out and picked as many __________ (fill in the blank with whatever vegetable you want) and the girls and Mom would get it ready to either freeze it or can it.  So it was kinda a girls job to get things canned.  T was curious about the whole thing and totally ready to get in there and figure it out for himself.
It got us to talking about all of the preserving/gardening/hunting/husbanding/surviving thing.  We agreed that not just a generation ago (ok - let's say 60 years give or take) it would have pretty much everybody that knew how to can or preserve.  Everybody knew what to do with the vegetables at the end of the season.  Everybody knew how to save seeds for next year.  Everybody knew how to make jam or preserves.  And the list goes on.  Whether or not they did it themselves, they knew someone who did and wouldn't have died of starvation if the local grocer went out of business.  The rise of the 'low fat' craze meant that we could no longer rely on the old standby's that got us through in the past.  We had to have the right kind of oil for cooking, margarine can't be made at home, low fat sour cream is not the stuff that comes out of a cow and most certainly tofurky or turkey bacon either.
It also became a status symbol to eat things that came from a large processing company rather than from  a farm.  I remember being in love with chef boyardee ravioli because that's what my Mom bought (my brother love spaghetti o's and beefaroni).  It meant that you could afford it.  It meant that you didn't have to make it yourself.  I get it.
What happened however, is that we forgot.  We've forgotten a lot.  Some people I meet don't even know how to make rice (no joke - and I take that very seriously).  T and I talked about how important it will probably become that those things be remembered again.  The making of butter by hand, the awesomeness of raw milk that you can skim the cream off the top of, the great feeling you get when you open that jar of jam in January and it's... beautiful (and good for your immune system too).  It's sad that those things have been forgotten to be sure but what's more... it's dangerous.  It's important to know that we don't need to buy them from a grocery... we have the option of doing it ourselves... and we know how to do it.


That's why I want to teach my kids about all this stuff.  Canning, freezing, growing, preserving, making from scratch and using what's around us and not's thousands of kilometres away... because it's important to know that you have options.  It's important to be able to fend for yourself.  It's empowering to know that you can provide for yourself and that you can make bread.  More than ever I appreciate that I can do this.  That I can put the ingredients together and knead it by hand and my kids can watch me and they can smell the bread baking and know it didn't come out of a bag.  Bread is important and we haven't had enough of it throughout the summer.  Now that it's cooler... bread is back and this loaf was pretty damn near perfect.


Red Fife Honey Bread adapted from Betty Crocker
yield: 1 loaf (can easily be doubled)


1 1/2 cups Red Fife or Whole Wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh orange zest
6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature


Combine the warm water, yeast and brown sugar.  Stir and set aside in a draft free spot for about 8 - 10 minutes.  The mixture should be foamy and have almost doubled.
Butter or grease a medium sized non-reactive bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the Red Fife flour and 1 cup of the all purpose flour.  Form a well in the middle of the flour and add the honey, salt, orange zest and butter.  Add in the foamy yeast mixture.  Stir to mix well until it forms a wet dough ball.
Turn out the dough ball onto a lightly flour surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is silky and smooth.  Add in the rest of the all purpose flour as needed.
Place the dough into the buttered bowl.  Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm, draft-free spot for about 50 - 60 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
Butter or grease a loaf pan.
Remove and knead down just enough to form into a loaf.  Place the dough loaf into the loaf pan.  Cover with the clean cloth and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for another 45 - 50 minutes or until the loaf has risen over the top of the pan and looks like it's the size it should be.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the bread for about    minutes or until the top is nicely browned and it sound hollow when you knock on it.
Cool before slicing.