Happy New Year! I hope it’s off to a great start for all of you. In our house, we’ve had much cause to celebrate, with the birth of our new baby boy right before Christmas. He arrived a few weeks ahead of schedule which was a relief because we could hardly wait to meet him. His two-year-old big sister loves him already, doling out more hugs and kisses than he can handle. Oh we’re quite sleep-deprived and I’m not going to be able to cook quite as often for a little while, but right now we couldn’t be happier.

With family members flowing in and out lately to meet the new guy and help out I have managed to grab pockets of time in the kitchen – including a little baking session to make this Honey Oatmeal Bread recipe I found on a package of vital wheat gluten. It makes two loaves which is great because I could slice one up for breakfast toast this week and freeze the other to save for after all the help leaves.

The whole wheat flour and oats make the bread hearty, with a texture that is actually lighter than I’d expected. The gentle sweetness from the honey gives the bread great flavor on its own, but I’ve been topping it with a little honey cinnamon butter anyway. I figure I deserve it.

P.S. I’m submitting this recipe to this week’s Yeastspotting roundup.

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Well, it’s a good thing I like cranberries.

What did your junior high home ec teacher always tell you to do before you started to prepare a recipe? Read it first. Not just give it a quick scan, but actually read it through so you understand what you’re about to do. For some reason, that lesson never quite sunk in with me. I still routinely skim the directions and good percentage of the time that means a degree of improvisation somewhere in the middle of my cooking. Making this Cranberry Nut Bread recipe from a package of cranberries was one of those times.

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I gave you a little preview of these Cornbread Muffins in my Split Pea Soup with Ham post earlier this week – they’re my favorite accompaniment to soup or chili. Everyone likes their cornbread a little bit different. For me, the best kind is on the sweet side and definitely not dry. This recipe, from a box of corn meal, is just that. It comes together so fast that I actually made a second batch while the first was in the oven – I wanted to give a bunch away and freeze some too.

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I used to never, ever, ever bake bread. Ever. I didn’t have the time, and I didn’t like kneading. But most of all I was afraid I’d mess it up. Fortunately, I’ve recently changed my tune.

It took a little bit of courage on my part to try out the White Whole Wheat Walnut Bread recipe from King Arthur, the first kneaded yeast bread I’ve made in recent memory, but I really had no need to fear it. The recipe was very straightforward and the end result: a nutty, desirably dense, flavorful loaf.  It was great with a spoonful of strawberry jam, but an absolute treat grilled into Brie & Dried Apricot Panini (on my other blog!).

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