back to the bake-a-long . . .

First, a delicious brunch Dan and I prepared this morning:

After I got the potatoes in the oven and started the kale, Dan was on omelette duty (chard, mushroom, and swiss,) while I juiced a couple of grapefruit that have been languishing in our produce drawer. Bring on the vitamins!

I think Crystal, Victoria, and I are all in agreement that our bake-a-long has lost a little momentum lately . . . being busy will do that! After completing the rye part of our bake-a-long a couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to making the pumpernickel today. I also made my own caramel color, since I couldn't find a place locally that sold it. (Plus, homemade is always better, right?) Made the dough yesterday, baked the bread today:

Holy hell, this is some DAMN tasty bread! I love the rich depth and slight bitterness the coffee, molasses, cocoa powder, and caramel color lend the loaf, and the super-crisp, crackly crust was an added bonus. :)

We enjoyed slices of lightly buttered pumpernickel with our dinner tonight:

"Old-Fashioned Cream of Mushroom Soup," from Love Soup by Anna Thomas, bread, and crisp, green salads. I sense I have been craving a palette of colorful food lately!

And don't forget dessert . . .

Pumpkin cinnamon rolls . . . heck yeah! What a thrifty girl I am, using up that partial can of pumpkin that has been sitting in my fridge for over a week!

Off to drink tea and read magazines on the couch -- hope you had a great weekend, too!