There’s a still in the house on fall and winter mornings, just the faint hum of the fridge in the background, that I find soothing. The oven isn’t working. Again. I think it’s possible all the jostling from the kitchen renovation might’ve loosened the igniter that I just changed a few months ago. The oven was moved almost daily for three weeks. It was working fine before the renovation in mid-August, and I noticed it acting wonky soon after.
I’ve got a new igniter on the way from Amazon, due to arrive tomorrow, so I’ve decided not to deal with taking the oven apart until the igniter is in hand. I’d hoped to push off buying a new oven until next year but with holiday cookie baking on the horizon in just seven weeks, I may have to rethink things. Oven saga, chapter 379 to be continued. Whatever you do, learn from my terrible experiences the last three years and don’t ever buy a Samsung oven.
In other news, I made a spur of the moment purchase of beef stew while at Guido’s in Great Barrington yesterday, so my beef spezzatino is on the menu tonight A loaf of challah from the freezer is thawing to go with either dinner, too. I’m mulling over the idea of offering a virtual challah baking class, where I’d teach in real time how to make the dough, then shape it into basic loaves, and also use it as a base to make jammy buns and a savory, cheesy garlic bread. I just need to figure out the date and logistics of teaching a live class and also monitoring the chat. Sundays work better for me, but the class recording would also be available for purchase afterwards, so you’d be able to watch it at your leisure, too.
I’ve also been meaning to mention an easy way to find any recipe on the site here if you’re not sure which category to find a recipe. If you scroll along the menu up top where it reads “home, breakfast & breads, etc.” at the very end you’ll see a link titled “archives”. If you click the archives, you’ll notice a magnifying glass on the right side of the screen which you can use as a search bar to find recipes and past posts.
I made a refill of my homemade glass cleaner this weekend, and realized that while I’ve shared my recipes for DIY room freshener and All-Natural Kitchen & Bath Scrub, I’ve never shared the glass cleaner recipe, so here it is. I’ve used it for a few years now on mirrors of all kinds from antique to new, my stainless steel appliances, windows, even my eyeglasses, and it’s amazing. The cornstarch may seem an odd ingredient but it actually helps to ensure no streaks (I know, it sounds crazy, but true).
Hope this week is a gentle one. Be well and remember to be kind.–xo, j.
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