Daisy refines the "touch" command

Some people have been asking me for new videos of Daisy. Daisy is happy so many people like her videos. She really is the cutest Lemon Beagle! Not only that, she amazes me with how smart she is. She very good at listening and waiting.

So finally I have downloaded a cool video converter that shrinks the size of the video down, making it easier for us to upload to YouTube and on this blog (before the file size was way too big). It's called DivX converter. It's super easy to use and really great at condensing and making your videos a better quality. There are Mac and PC versions.

Below are two movies of Daisy as she is fine-tuning her skills of "Touch". She used to just touch with whatever paw was nearby, but now we are working on "1" and "2" which means left or right paw. She is doing pretty good but needs a little bit more work so that she gets it right everytime. We are learning this so she can touch a 'mark', because..........

Daisy now has an agent in Tokyo. She will be doing doggie modeling and acting. So we are working on more commands and fine tuning her responses. She enjoys learning new things alot! She loves attention and treats!

Have fun with these two..more to come

Views of Hawaii - Spring 2009

A "Dalmatian" pigeon we saw at Lani Kai

We've been fortunate to already have gone to Hawaii twice this year so far! Ken had mileage points that got us there in January. Then, since Ken still doesn't have a job, we were able to take advantage of a last minute unheard of cheap package deal in April, just before the busy travel season of Golden Week here in Japan (guess that's how retired folks can get good deals). So, off we went again for just a few days. We got in a bit of golf and good eatin' in during those times. We also enjoyed relaxing with Janet mom, especially the times we spent on Waikiki beach renting lounge chairs and umbrellas and acting like real tourists! That is the first time I have ever gotten in the water at Waikiki, since when you live on Oahu, you avoid going there at all costs.

We had such a wonderful time, everyday, we had good weather and soaked in the ALOHA...it sure goes along way to soothe ones soul!

Here are some pictures from both trips with some details below them. Hope you will find them enjoyable.

Whales off of south Maui coast

More Whales off the south coast of Maui

Ken as we start out a beautiful morning of golf at the Kahili Golf Course (years ago called the "Grand Waikapu") in Wailuku Heights, Maui. In the background is Haleakala, a rare view without too many clouds blocking the top of the mountain!

A view at Elleair Maui Golf Club and the new homes they are stacking in around the course and on the hillside there in upper Kihei that has long been open land.

Me and Mom's toes in the sandy shore at Waikiki

An Oahu firetruck parked in front of the Safeway on Kapahulu (which has a Starbucks), we liked the surfboard on it!

Our newest fun destination on Oahu (new for us) the Lion Coffee factory store/cafe. Ken is posing here in front of their somewhat cheesy display in the entrance.

A view of Windward Oahu (Kaneohe town) from the Ko'olau Golf Course. This course by the way, has some of the most beautiful scenery however is a pretty tough course to play!

Another view at Ko'olau Golf Course, the green colors were just amazing here as the sun broke thru a cloud!

Me getting ready to drive at the Waikele Country Club on Oahu

A mother Goose at the Waikele Country Club

Baby Geese at the Waikele Country club...so cute they were!

These birds were everywhere at Waikele Country Club, I believe this one was young as some of the other ones had more distinctive black on their chests

A bird looking for a handout at the Elleair course on Maui

Ever wondered how to keep some Plumerias you find on the golf course on your cart for decoration? Well I have, they usually blow off but I decided this time to poke a little twig in the center and then push it all into the one of the holes for holding a golf tee. Silly but these are the little things one enjoys when we can't be in Hawaii everyday.

Another shot of a Plumeria in the golf cart tee holder

Ken at the Ted Makalena Municipal Golf Course on Oahu. It's a flat course that we enjoy playing. Don't expect much in the way of facilities if you go, the holes aren't even marked and it can be confusing to follow the golf cart path for a first timer. See, doesn't my Plumeria look nice in the cart?

We finally made it to a Lampert's Ice Cream, Ken with his order

Me at Lampert's, the beginning of eating my way to oblivion

We love Leonard's malasadas and they have graciously placed a wagon where you can get some fresh and hot in Waikele (in the parking lot in front of the Big Kmart) instead of having to drive all the way to their bakery on Kapahulu, YUM!

The pet hotel delivering Daisy to us to the place where we parked our car at the airport. This caregiver let Daisy ride in front and watch for us to come get her. Can you see her face in the windshield, I think at this point she saw that I was approaching.

The second time we came home, the driver had Daisy in the back of the van, there were other dogs up in the front waiting to be reunited with their families. It's a nice service the pet hotel at Narita airport has. They will bring your dog to you as you are picking up your car at the airport parking, very nice for tired travelers!

Cherry Blossoms Tokyo - 2009

The small river near our home, the trees are in full bloom!

Another year gone by, and the beautiful Sakura are everywhere right now as well as gorgeous weather for them! We took Daisy for a walk around a couple places we know that aren't crowded, especially the normal walk we usually take, a small river-side about 4 minutes walk from our house.

Here are the pics from this year.

A coupla posers, riverside near home

Tried to get Daisy to look at the camera, but she was enjoying watching other dogs and the little Sakura petals that were blowing off the trees in the breeze, like a snow shower of petals!

Ken and Daisy, taking in the view, and in Daisy's case, tasting the Sakura petals that have blown to the ground.

Ken pointed out to me this interesting phenomena, flowers sprouting right out from the trunks of trees!

A very close up of the Sakura fully opened.

1. 

Me and Daisy enjoying the view from the river edge

Birds in our Japan Garden - Tokyo

Japanese White Eyed birds are a beautiful color green. They love cherry blossoms but also perform amazing acrobatics in our garden to catch gnats and mosquitoes in flight. They are also quite fond of the blooms of our Rosemary plants and any fruit we put out such as Mikans, Oranges or Apples.

Today I was inspired to share with you some of the many birds we see in our garden in the Tokyo area, especially at this time of the year. At one point today, there were 5 different types of birds in the garden at the same time, all providing a great service of natural bug control for us!

Some of the photos are my own, taken in our garden, but since it's hard to get the birds to pose well for me, I have included some photos from the internet for a closer and prettier look at each type of bird. One person called Ingo Waschkies (click here) I found has fantastic pictures on the internet of some of the common birds seen in Japan (along with a nice gallery of birds from other places besides Japan).

Who would have thought we could enjoy such a parade of birds in our little postage stamp of a garden in Tokyo, right from the sofa! It makes us cherish our little garden even more.

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Brown Eared Bulbul (Hiyodori)
This bird loves our little Mikan tree (tangerines). Here is one having an
afternoon snack of fresh Mikan in our garden.

Another more clearer picture of this type of Bulbul, these are very common in Japan.

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Dusky Thrush (Tsugumi)

This bird was busy for about 3 hours today running around in the flower beds and the Dichondra lawn finding and pulling out of the ground, cut-worms and Japanese Beetle grubs. I was thrilled since these worms and grubs often are the cause of damage in my garden.

Another picture of a Dusky Thrush
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White Wagtail (Hagusekirei)
This bird is very common around where we live since there are some open spaces, especially around the riverside of the Edo-gawa. Daisy thinks they are fun to chase.
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Daurian Redstart (Jobitaki)
This little bird is awful cute, it flits around the garden and it's tail bounces around after it lands each time. We don't see these everyday but have them visit quite a bit in the late winter.

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Grey Starling (Mukudori)
This bird is pretty shy about getting to close to humans, but today there were two in the garden busily finding things to eat. I was surprised to see them since they normally don't' come down on the ground in our garden. Usually we see them in large groups up on the telephone wires or hundreds of them in one tree making quite a bit of noise, and they can be rather messy for anyone and anything under a tree in such circumstances!

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Japanese White Eye (Mejiro)

Another picture of the sweet little Mejiro. Their song is as sweet as they look.

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Azure Winged Magpie (Onaga)
This is quite a beautiful bird and very big! It is related to crows and jackdaws. One day, one of these swooped down into our garden and plucked a large Cicada (Semi) off the trunk of our tree as we sat there watching. We didn't even realize the Cicada was there! These birds must have the best eyesight! We see them flying in small groups around the area where our condo is and around the Edo-gawa. They are a little shy and you don't often get to see them very closely.

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Eastern or Oriental Turtle Dove (Kiji Bato)
Here is a picture of one of the friendlier doves that visit our garden. They love to sit and sun in the lawn and as in this photo, various other places in the garden. Before we got Daisy, if we left the patio door open, they would sometimes wander right into the house! They are such a beautiful Dove and you can see by the pattern on their wings why they are called Turtle Doves.

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Bull-Headed Shrike (Mozu)
One of these was in the garden last summer and caught a baby lizard. I was not real happy since I do like the lizards that dwell in our garden, but a bird's gotta eat right? I'm sure it's not easy for the birds in the Metropolitan Tokyo area! I hear that despite their gentle appearance, these birds are considered almost a bird of prey and will even catch sparrows and small mammals!

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Great Tit (Shijyukara)
Another cute bird we love to see in the garden. We don't see these in the summertime, but usually there are a pair that come around to our garden every year in the winter and spring. We put out a bird house in hopes they would nest here but so far not yet. They love gnats and also nuts that we put out for them. Their song is a delicate melody.

Little dessert cakes from Japanese department stores

A lovely little Chocolate Glazed Pistachio mouse cake with some real Gold flake on top

In Japan, every large department store has a basement with food for sale. Usually it's rows and rows of deli-style counters, a bakery, fresh fish and meats, small (and horrifically expensive) groceries (mostly produce) and sometimes wines and cheeses from around the world. A very interesting part (for me) is the sweets, especially the little Japanese cakes. Not necessarily "Japanese" by ingredients but more like the Japanese version of something from Europe or elsewhere in the world. They are really small but cost around $4.00 to $10.00 USD for just one! They are not something I buy often, but once in a while it's nice for a little indulgence.

These cakes are like most Japanese foods, meticulously made and presented. The packing for taking them home is also quite interesting too. Of course, they are super delicious!

Recently I got these two while at the Takashimaya in Nihombashi. Their basement has alot of French and Italian foods sellers. I also (besides these cakes) enjoyed getting some great, fresh baked (hard to find in Japan) authentic French breads and some Italian bologna and pate` (from Milan).

Chocolate Mousse cake and a Strawberry Cream cake packed in the take home box.

The salesgirl used these little pre-cut cardboard corners to secure each cake from moving in the box (using the ever adored, in Japan, scotch tape)

I don't know how they get the Strawberries so glossy in Japan, looks good doesn't it?

The inside of the Strawberry Cream cake

The inside of our chocolate cake, layers of Chocolate and Pistachio Mousse with a bottom layer of Chocolate cake

This is what the box it all came in looks like.

Slow Cooker Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pudding Cake - Low Calories

Looks good doesn't it?

Ok, I am REALLY getting into my old crock pot (and I mean old, I have had it since 1983!). It's just too easy to make things in, especially these days when I have about zero energy for meals that take lots of prep work and cooking.

Now I have discovered that I can make some low-calorie desserts for my husband and I in the crock pot. We are, as most always, trying to lose weight but still crave some sweet goodie after dinner, so I am working on new creations in the crock pot.

Here is one I came up with this week. Can be enjoyed hot from the crock pot with some low-calorie ice cream, ice milk or Rice Dream non-dairy frozen dessert etc if you want, or you can pour some fudge sauce on top, sugar free if you are trying to cut out the sugar and some calories.

Slow Cooker Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pudding Cake- low calories

For the Peanut Butter Cake portion:

3/4 c. Cake Flour
3 teaspoons Somersweet
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 c. non-fat milk
1 tablespoon plain, natural unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 c. Peanut Butter (natural, unsweetened, creamy or chunky as desired)

For the Chocolate topping "pudding":

3 tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa Powder (I used Dutch processed)
5 teaspoons Somersweet
1 c. boiling water

Butter/grease the bottom, corners and up the sides about 1 inch of the crock pot before turning it on or placing any ingredients into it.

Combine the flour, 3 tsp. Somersweet and baking powder. Add milk, applesauce and vanilla. Stir with whisk until smooth. Add peanut butter and stir with spoon until mixed completely. Put into the crock pot and level out evenly if necessary.

How it looks with the Peanut Butter batter leveled out.

In a small/medium bowl, stir together the Cocoa, 5 teaspoons Somersweet and the boiling water. Whisk till completely blended. Gently pour over the peanut butter cake batter in the cooker. DO NOT STIR IT. Just let the cocoa mixture rest on top.

How it looks once you have placed the Cocoa mixture on top of the Peanut Butter batter.

Cover the cooker and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours. Be careful any time you remove the cover (which you should not do while it's cooking) that you do not let any water collecting on the lid run down into your dessert.

How it looks in the crock pot when it is done (in this photo, I had already removed one serving).

Crock Pot Kalua Pork with Cabbage

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork with Cabbage, with some cracked pepper on top

One thing I really miss when I'm away from Hawaii is Kalua Pork. You may have eaten it if you have ever been to a Luau dinner. That is the 'real' thing where the pig is slow cooked in an "Imu" or earthen oven. The word 'kalua' in Hawaiian comes from 'ka', meaning 'the' and 'lua' meaning 'hole'. The Hawaiians used the Imu which was a pit in the ground, to steam whole pigs, breadfruit, bananas, sweet potatoes, taro, chicken, and fish.

The Imu acts like an underground pressure cooker. It takes alot of time and labor to prepare an Imu, so it was (and still is) mostly used for group meals, festivities, or religious ceremonies.

An Imu, a lua or round pit, is about 2 feet to 4 feet deep with sloping sides. The diameter and depth matches the amount of food to be cooked. The pit also contains not only the food, but rocks and vegetation. The excavated dirt or sand is kept next to the pit so that it can be used to cover the Imu later. Kindling material and wood is put in the bottom center of the pit, then stones, about the size of a closed fist, are then positioned on top of the wood. The kindling wood is lighted and the fire heats the pit and the stones. As the wood turns to charcoal, the Imu stones drop inward on the hot coals. After a few hours the stones are at their maximum heat and are then leveled out.

To steam the food in the Imu, green plant materials are needed. The Hawaiians used some of the traditional plants such as banana stumps, ti leaves, honohono grass, banana leaves, and coconut palm leaf.

The wood used usually is 'Kiawe' which is a cousin of Mesquite. This gives the pork the awesome smoked flavor. You can duplicate this at home in your slow cooker (crock pot) by using liquid smoke. I use Wright's Mesquite Liquid Smoke as it is easiest to find in most supermarkets. The Hickory type is also good.

A picture of the liquid smoke I usually use, from B&G Foods' website.

Here is my recipe...me ke aloha....

Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Kalua Pork

Pork Shoulder Roast or alittle fatty Loin Roast cuts, 1 lb or amount as desired
Water (to cover meat, one cup at a time)
Liquid Smoke (1 tablespoon to each 1 cup of water used)
Hawaiian Salt (about 2 tablespoons for each 1 cup of water used)

Place raw pork into the slow cooker pot. Cover with water (about 2 cups for each 1 lb. of meat). Add liquid smoke. Add Hawaiian salt. Cook on low for 5 hours.

This photo is just after adding everything to the slow cooker pot. See how the water is covering the pork quite a bit.

After 5 hours has past and around 2 hours before you want to serve, add roughly chopped cabbage as much as you like. I add alot (about 1/2 to 3/4 of a head of cabbage) and then mix around until it is almost covered by the water/juice. It will steam a bit as it is cooking so there is no need to cover the cabbage entirely by the water as you have done with the pork. Cover the crock pot with the lid.

I usually then turn the cooker up to high until serving (about 2 hours after having added the cabbage).

Enjoy hot from the crock pot with side of corn on the cob, potato or macaroni salad and/or steamed white sticky rice. The Kalua Pork can stay warmed and served for several hours (say at a party for example) by keeping the crock pot on low.

Here is some of the Hawaiian Salts I use. It comes in ground or course. Click here to read about Hawaiian Salt.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in Chiba, Japan

Well now they've gone and done it. There is a new Krispy Kreme Doughnuts located about 10 minutes away from our home in Japan, at the Minami Funabashi La La Port shopping mall. Krispy Kreme has several locations in Tokyo proper, but now they are spreading out from there. We have never gone to any of the shops in Tokyo since the waiting time in line is usually 1 hour if you are lucky, it can easily be 2-3 hours. I have also heard of people waiting even 4 hours! We decided to check out the La La Port location and there was only about 15 minute (or less) wait time. We got there before I snapped this photo, there was no one outside waiting at the time.

Click here if you would like to read a fairly detailed article about Krispy Kreme in Japan (by Japan Inc).

So this location at La La Port, looks mostly like any US version of Krispy Kreme, except not as big inside and not as much merchandise for sale. The order board is in Japanese and English, helpful for folks like me! Not that I NEED to be making use of it very often (trying as usual to lose some weight!). You can see the doughnuts going thru the process of being made as with most of KK's shops. Boy does it smell GOOD in there! PLUS they were handing out free just made (still hot!) glazed doughnuts to all of us waiting in line. That was nice, but Ken and I joked that we should leave after that as that was all we wanted was one doughnut.

We ended up getting a dozen for our neighbor (as a peace offering since Daisy had chewed the wallpaper in their entry off a bit) and about 4 doughnuts for Ken and I to share with each other. The next day when we got on the scale, we had LOST weight so the big joke now is 'we need to go on Krispy Kreme diets to lose weight'....if only huh?

The left row of people waiting is for those who want to select various types and amounts of doughnuts, the open row (at the time of this photo it was clear) is an "express"  for those who want to purchase boxed dozen (for take out) of the glazed doughnut only. It's very popular in Japan (the regular glazed doughnut) and many people buy 2-3 dozen (or more!) to bring home, take to the office, or give to friends or neighbors (whom are usually thankful to have the doughnuts without having had to wait in line for them).

The wonderful, and always fun to watch, doughnut making machine.

Orange Chicken, Panda Express style

I have been trying to make Orange Chicken like the kind at Panda Express. My husband LOVES their Orange Chicken and will eat it every day when we are near Panda Express locations (because there are no chances for him to eat it in Japan). So I tried to make it at home. It is not easy but after the 5th try, I think I have got it as close to the real thing as can be done at home, and without a big Wok. I don't own a Wok...no space!

Anyway, we tried it tonight and it was delicious! I also have a recipe for Orange Lilikoi Guava chicken in a crock pot that I will post soon. It's similar to this Orange Chicken except it's all done in a crock pot. You lose alittle of the crunch of the fried chicken pieces but also it's healthier since there is nothing fried!

And now.......

Terri's Homemade Orange Chicken, Panda Style

For the sauce, mix together in a bowl:

1 cup Orange Marmalade (for lower calories use a sugarless variety)
4 tablespoons Shoyu/Soy Sauce (low sodium Shoyu is ok too)
1/2 cup Barbecue Sauce (any type you like, I used a Honey Mustard type)
dash of salt (about 1/4 tsp.)
1 teaspoon of thin sliced red chili peppers, fresh or dried
2 teaspoons of Organic Turbanado Sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon Lilikoi Juice concentrate (optional, I used Aunty Lilikoi's)

After thoroughly mixing these ingredients together, place them all in a crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. You may check on it and stir once or twice.

For the Chicken:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs Chicken, thighs or breast as desired (I used both in equal amounts)
1 Egg beaten
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp ground White Pepper
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup All Purpose Flour

After the 5-6 hours are past, cut into large bite sized pieces the chicken meat. Beat egg in a medium/large sized bowl. Add chicken, salt and white pepper. Mix together thoroughly and set aside.

Put oil in a pan or deep fryer and heat to frying temperature.

In another bowl, mix the cornstarch and flour. Add the chicken mixture, and mix until well and evenly coated. Add the chicken pieces in small batches. Removed from oil when browned on both sides (if using a pan to fry, you may need to manually turn over the pieces one by one to assure even cooking.

Place on paper or rack to drain.

After all the chicken is fried, put into a large bowl, or a smaller bowl in batches, and pour some of the Orange sauce from the crock pot over the fried chicken. Mix around until the chicken pieces are coated with the Orange sauce and serve.

**note, next time I am going to try adding some sauteed/stir fried crushed garlic to the Orange Sauce to see if that will spiff up the flavor a bit. Also my husband said he would prefer it alittle spicier so I will add more red chilies next time too.

ENJOY....

Avocado Mashed Potatoes

Looks like Guacamole doesn't it?

Here is a recipe I just came up with today. Turned out pretty good! You just have to get over the mental block of green potatoes!

I think I will use the left overs to make Japanese style Croquettes tomorrow and will post that later.

Give it a try if you have some potatoes and an avocado needing to be eaten! It really is quite tasty!

Avocado Mashed Potatoes

About ¾ lb Potatoes
1 avocado
lemon juice
¼ cup soy or cow’s milk (I used soymilk, plain/unsweetened)
1 tablespoon butter
salt, white pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste, if desired

Peel and cut potatoes into large chunks. Cover in cool salted water in sauce pan and boil until pieces can be pierced with a fork (not too soft where they break when the fork goes in).

While the potatoes are cooking, peel and mash one avocado. Sprinkle with dash of fresh lemon juice (about 1 tsp is good). Sprinkle with some salt (about ½ teaspoon or as desired) and mix all well. Set aside.

Place the butter into the milk and melt in the microwave. Sprinkle the salt and pepper in and set aside.

When the potatoes are done, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon. Mash roughly in a bowl. Add the milk/butter mixture in about 3 portions to the potatoes, mixing thoroughly after each addition (use a hand beater or stand up mixer). Continue to mix to desired consistency (we like our mashed potatoes alittle lumpy in our home).

Lastly, add the avocado, folding in or mixing gently on low speed until evenly distributed into the potatoes.

Serve warm.

Mango, Coconut, Macadamia Nut Bread or Muffins - Sucanat

Finished muffins, with one split open so you can see what it looks like done. YUMMY!

Today I was going to make some Mango Bread, which has coconut and mac nuts in it, but ended up putting the batter into muffin papers. As usual, I am trying to make my recipe healthier, using whole wheat flour (partially), Sucanat sugar (no white sugar) and some applesauce to replace some of the oil.

You can use fresh mangoes or frozen. I prefer frozen because besides the fact it can be quite an ordeal to peel and then cut up a mango (for me anyway), they are really expensive here in Japan, when you can find them and it's hard to find them not over ripened in what I consider, a usable condition. I'm serious about them being expensive! I saw a mango at the supermarket here 2 days ago that was 980 yen, which is about $10.00 USD currently! There was also some cheaper mangoes (smaller and probably from the Philippines) that were about half that price, still pricey if you ask me. A bag of frozen and already nice chopped mango is only about $3.50 USD and there is nearly 2 cups in the bag! However, again, it's not easy to find it. I usually have to go to more than one supermarket before I am successful, so when I see them, I often buy some to keep in the freezer for later.

This recipe could be used in a bread pan as a loaf of fruit bread, but you would need to bake it longer, around 45-50 minutes or more, depending on your oven.

When making muffins, you can also use reusable Sili-cups (silicon muffin baking cups) instead of the muffin tin and papers, which is what I usually do, but since I was giving a good amount of these away to friends, I decided it'd be better to use papers this time, giving them a bit more stability in transit perhaps.

Enjoy!

Mango Bread or Muffins

1 cup cake flour (or pastry flour)
1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs well beaten
1/2 teaspoon coconut flavor/extract (optional)
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened, plain
1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil, sunflower oil, etc.
1 1/4 cup Sucanat (cane sugar)
2 cups diced (peeled first) mango (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts
1/2 cup grated coconut (unsweetened, if you are forced to use sweetened, cut down the sugar)
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates (optional, this will make the muffins much sweeter, I did not use any in this batch)

Batter mixed and ready to add the coconut, mac nuts and mango.

Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) or a bit higher depending on your oven (I baked these at 160C).

For bread, grease and flour two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the oil, applesauce, Sucanat and coconut extract/flavor.
Mix thoroughly.

Add the dry ingredients and blend well but don't over mix.

Fold in the mango, coconut, nuts and raisins.

Pour batter into loaf pans or spoon into muffin tin/papers or Sili-cups. Do not fill muffin papers or cups all the way , but rather just below the edge (see photo below).

Bake bread for 45-60 minutes (depending on your oven) and muffins for approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown. Test for doneness by inserting a clean knife or a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean it's done.

Let loaves cool for 10-15 minutes before taking them out of the pan. Do not slice until completely cooled.

Muffins can be removed carefully and set out to cool.

This recipe makes 2 loaves or approximately 18 muffins.

This is about the level you should fill the papers or Sili-cups with batter.