Miss A and I are visiting my mom and dad this beautiful fall Sunday. We’re cooking our usual weekly staples from their house quite simply because I missed them and needed out of the house. Even though I’m still rolling through my cooking, I have company and I don’t have to look at all the chores stacking up around my own house. There is just no time to get to them this week. Out of sight, out of mind.

So while Miss A and I are visiting, Mike is working on his portfolio for work. He’s up for tenure this year and it’s review time. And Mr. N is at rehearsal. He has another show next weekend, so today is the beginning of tech week, rehearsals for four hours a day until opening night. So aside from our prepared lunches and snacks, we won’t be cooking too much this week. It’s going to be one of those grab and go times. Fortunately, we did have the chance to cook quite a few new recipes for the blog last weekend and we’ll have some delicious Indian dishes on the way soon. First, we thought we’d share Miss A’s favorite bread recipe and a few pictures from our annual fall trip to Winona, Minnesota.

As you may recall, Miss A wasn’t such a big fan of the kefir bread. She prefers a regular white or wheat bread taste to a sourdough bread taste. Now for those of you that have been following our blog for a while now, you also know that I am not a bread baker. Yeast and I tend to not get along so well, unlike Miss A and yeast-based breads. She has it down to a science.

So when Charles at Five Euro Food posted his recipe for No-knead bread in two hours, I knew I had to give this a try. It seemed fool-proof. The recipe truly couldn’t have been easier. I followed Charles’ instructions to a “t” and it didn’t disappoint. The bread rose beautifully as you can see.

And then it baked just as well; although I left it in a smidge too long. No matter, it looked like real bread and I counted this as a true success. A breakthrough!

Of course, the true test came when I sliced a piece. I still had a fear that it would have turned out too dense, like my typical bread baking results. Not this time though! It even looked like real bread; and Miss A’s 4 spoon rating was the icing on the cake.

In fact, it got a 4 spoon rating from each one of us. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to have finally, and successfully, pulled off a yeast bread recipe. Miss A enjoyed many a lunch sandwich on the bread. It also went perfectly with wine and cheese. Thank you Charles!

For the recipe: Charles’ No-knead Bread

Now, here are a few pictures from our recent annual trip with Friend Sue and Richard to Winona. We ate fantastic food, tasted good wines, drove to historic sites and saw old friends. It was the perfect fall getaway, and a much needed respite. And even though the weather wasn’t 100% cooperative, it did lend for a beautiful rainbow that stretched over the entire town. Unfortunately, by the time we drove to a good overlook and I got my camera ready, it had faded to just one end of town. The full rainbow was a stunning sight.

While in Winona, we also had the chance to see the largest steamboat ever built. The American Queen was built in 1995 and is a replica of a classic Mississippi River steamboat from the 1800’s. The American Queen docked for a day at Levee Park while on its nine-day journey on the Mississippi River from St. Paul, Minnesota to Memphis, Tennessee. It was an impressive ship and one that invokes thoughts of Mark Twain and early life on the Mississippi.

And just so you know that we’re alive and well, despite our infrequent posts and comments, here are a few of the family shots from our weekend.

Happy fall everyone! Next time we’ll be back with vegetable dish that actually garnered a 4 spoon rating from one of the kids! Cheers.