Those of you who follow me on Twitter probably saw my comments about a bread I baked that came out beautifully. Today, I'll share the recipe. :)

The recipe is from an excellent book on breadmaking by James Beard that I found at the local thrift store for $2. (I love thrifting!) As I also mentioned on Twitter, I'm very tempted to work my way through it because so far, everything either my husband and I have tried has come out beautifully.

I don't have pictures because I forgot to take them before I sliced up the second (and more photogenic) loaf... but then again, pictures don't do it justice. It looks like a wheat bread like many others -- you can't smell the heavenly wheaty scent that rises from a freshly toasted slice nor taste it with some orange blossom honey drizzled over.

Poor you.

So you'll just have to make this then so you get the full experience. No worries, I'll wait right here.

Sorry about the delay on this one.. I had everything written and then we had computer problems. It took a while to resolve them so that I could rescue the photos I took of these for the post.

You know how I said we overbought carrots a few weeks ago? We kinda did the same thing again... but with cabbage. We eat a lot of cabbage (one, it's tasty, two, it fills you up cheaply, both calorie-wise and cost-wise, and three, I have difficulty eating lettuce) and since Rancho has good, fresh cabbage all the time for a good price, we bought a couple of heads. Twice.

So, we needed something that would use up some cabbage and wasn't a salad.

Now, for some reason, cabbage doesn't get a lot of love from American cookbooks. Oh, sure, it's in there, but often as a garnish or on tacos if it's not just relegated to coleslaw.

We found what we were looking for in the updated English version of Latviešu ēdieni, Latvian National Cuisine: Cabbage patties.

Except I had to rename them. When we had them the first time, they tasted just like fantastic latkes but a little sweeter. And they're definitely not as calorically dense as real potato latkes; the entire recipe, if you were to sit down and eat the whole batch, would cost you under 400 calories.

This one has been sitting around in my drafts folder for a while. I had forgotten about posting it until Scorpio Woman asked on Twitter about yummy things to dress up quinoa.

Ever since Winco came to Utah, we've been able to easily (and cheaply) get all these fun grains to try. Quinoa, though it can be pricier than some of the other grains we eat, is delicious. As with rice, I cook it in my rice cooker for a quick and easy dinner component -- we don't often eat quinoa plain, but almost always with lots of additions or as part of something like a salad or tabbouleh.

Now, I love pesto. It's one of the reasons why I started growing basil a couple of years ago (and am starting two more varieties this year!) but I've never tried using a vegetable as the main "green" component. The results? Tasty and a great way to get your veggies in -- I daresay that it would fool a kid. I used some of the leftover pesto (there will be, it makes a lot) to make pesto chicken sandwiches with some grilled chicken, monterey jack cheese and red onion on ciabatta rolls.

This recipe from 101 Cookbooks doesn't require quinoa -- many other grains would work just as well. I used a mix of quinoa and bulgur since I didn't have much on hand that night. In my area, broccoli is starting to go on sale again and I expect I'll be making this again!

For those that are dairy-free, you should be able to easily substitute soy, rice or nut milks for the cream and omit the Parmesan.

I'll be the first to admit: I am not much of a baker.

I have my favorite recipes, naturally, that work for me, like the wonderful-yet-complicated french bread that I adore, even if I don't make it often because it takes the entire afternoon.

Yet sandwich bread has been elusive. The crumb would be too dense. The crust, too soft. Sometimes I'd even get a brick. (Good for breadcrumbs anyway.)

Finally, I turned to a book that has been unfairly languishing on the shelf: King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains. I flipped through it and realized that I could finally try the recipes out now that Winco and their wonderful bulk section was available to me. (Bob's Red Mill products are available in my town but whoooooo boy are they ever expensive! By contrast, Winco sells the same products bulk and at a reasonable price, so I can finally try many of the different flours.)

And I came across this one. It was a no-knead bread, which has given me problems in the past, but it didn't call for any extended rising time forgotten in the back of the fridge. In fact, I could make it in about two hours. Now, it doesn't produce the high-rising form of the kneaded loaves, so you wind up with fairly small slices, but it's good enough for Sprats and Avocado Sandwiches.

I mentioned that I'm not much of a baker, right? The first one didn't come out too well because I kinda didn't get the yeast to activate because I used cold milk (whoops). But it was still pretty good, good enough to try again. The second one came out really well. But the third one, the one I show here today, came out the best.

So, here's my advice. Use some fresh juice, just like they call for as it adds some nice flavor. Do use dry milk, or if that's not a possibility, warm up the fresh milk to 110F else the yeast will just continue sleeping. Try sprinkling some seeds or nuts over the top because that's really yummy. And try to resist slicing into it for at least 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven.

I made a mistake when we were out shopping last. You see, the store had carrots on a fantastic sale - about 3 lbs for a dollar - so I bought a big bag full. Problem: I bought 7 pounds of carrots.

Luckily, carrots don't spoil quickly but they have been making their way into just about everything. (And we still have 3 1/2 pounds left!)

This is one of those meals. It used up some carrot, some avocado and a little bit of everything else. It was a bit fussy as originally written, but I believe I've toned it down a bit to a nice, workaday meal that entices and satisfies. We had it as a "side" for some chicken scampi and millet, but you could up the greens and throw in a hard-boiled egg or two to make this a veggie-friendly main.

Earlier this week, I talked about making your own coconut milk from scratch. Here's what we did with ours: chicken satay marinated in coconut milk and a spicy sauce over coconut rice. Definitely a keeper!

The coconut rice uses some of the leftover coconut bits from squeezing out the milk, they add a subtle coconut flavor on their own but are best with a bit of coconut milk also replacing some of the cooking water. As for a side dish, we made some tangy pickled cucumber slices (recipe still needs some work, it was good but not right yet).

Also, it's really nice to grill again, even if somehow the temperature dial on ours got reversed (we were grilling on low when we thought it was on high....very, very slowly). Spring is here!

We recently discovered Rancho Markets when they opened a new location in Magna and they've quickly become our go-to place for fresh produce. The prices are fantastic, particularly on sale days, and we can get all sorts of produce for about $15. This is about half the average price for the same items at stores like Winco and Walmart and frankly, the quality is better. Like the gorgeous red apples we bought at 25c per pound -- they were not only beautifully ripe and unwaxed but also organic!

(I should add that we don't live in an area well-served by co-ops, CSAs or farmer's markets. Our local county market only runs for two months, so, unlike many foodies, we're heavily dependent on grocery stores for our produce, even in the growing season.)

Last week, Rancho had Thai coconuts for 89c each so we picked up two fine specimens. We love eating fresh coconut but this time, our goal was to make our own coconut milk and some great Thai food.

Boy, did we ever succeed. I'll post about the recipes we made later this week, but for today, let's just focus on how to make the base ingredient from scratch: coconut milk.

Yes, you can buy coconut milk in cans. Most of the year, this is the cheapest way to acquire good coconut milk. Personally, I prefer the Thai Kitchen brand because it has coconut cream (solidified coconut milk), no additives and good taste where many of the other brands can be watery and bland. However, when coconuts are available, why not make your own? The two Thai coconuts we bought resulted in about 16 ounces of coconut milk plus tasty coconut fluffies to add to pancakes and smoothies for less than the price of 1 can.

I select coconuts that are heavy for their size and have a distinct "sloshing" noise when shaken. I want a lot of liquid in my coconuts. The husk should be relatively clean with no soft spots. Don't worry if you're not up for making this when they go on sale - an unopened coconut can be stored in the pantry for up to 6 months depending on how ripe it is, according to Melissa's.

Preparing coconuts is fairly simple. Take a clean nail or scratch awl and a tap hammer. Tap a hole through two of the three eyes on the coconut and drain out the coconut water into a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 325F and bake the coconut on a baking rack for about 30 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and set it on a sturdy work surface. Let it cool a bit so you can touch it and then crack it open with a hammer. It shouldn't take too much effort. Using a paring knife (or an oyster knife, if you have one), remove the white flesh from the brown skin and cut it into chunks. It should be fairly easy to remove.

Now for the fun part: making coconut milk.

Process the chunks of coconut flesh in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped. Add the reserved coconut water (don't go over the fill line in the food processor, for this, it may be easier to use a blender) and blend until pureed. If you don't have much coconut water, add boiling water to cover.

I might add here that fresh coconut water is incredibly good. Much, much better than the canned "coconut water" they're selling in stores now. If you chill the coconut in the fridge for a few days, you can have fresh ice-cold coconut water for a snack when you do this! (Of course, then you need to use boiling water to make the milk.)

Take a clean piece of cheesecloth or a flour sack towel and line a colander or sieve with it. Set the colander into a bowl and pour in the coconut puree. Gather up the edges and press the liquid out until you're left with fairly dry coconut shreds.

You've just made coconut milk! I needed two coconuts to produce about 16 ounces or so of coconut milk. It won't last long - only a couple of days in the fridge, so make sure you have meals planned to use up the milk that day or the next.

But what do you do with the coconut fluffies left? Most people say to throw them away - they don't have too much flavor left now that the milk has been extracted. However, we found that they were a great addition to pancakes, cereal, smoothies and breading for shrimp or karbonāde. (My husband especially likes to use it when he makes a Dutch Baby for breakfast.)

Later this week: What we did with our fresh coconut milk!

I've made a lot of pecan pies this year. My dad loves them so every couple of weeks I make another pie. I wasn't satisfied with making the same recipe over and over again because I wasn't satisfied with the way the recipes were turning out, so I've been trying a different recipe almost every time on him, looking for the right one.

My favorite is still the Maple Pecan Pie but it uses a lot of (expensive) maple syrup, so I've been looking for one that was almost as good. I've tried traditional Southern recipes with molasses (those were okay but not great), I've tried cooked and uncooked recipes. So far, most have been simply "okay". Some he liked better than I did, some I liked the raw filling more than he liked the cooked.

This one from Bakerella we can both agree on. It's easy and doesn't call for any expensive ingredients. (Actually, I probably made it more expensive because I don't like using margarine.) The original recipe made 3 pies! If I had 3 pie dishes, I'd consider it because he goes through pies so fast. And, most importantly, this one got the highest reviews after the maple pecan. I loved the filling and he loved the end result.

I normally refer you to Food Network for Alton's pie crust, but this time, I'm reprinting it below with how I make it. If you've never made pie crust before, I strongly recommend you watch the Good Eats episode "I Pie" for more information.

These spring rolls are awfully good all out of proportion to their size. Also, they will fill you up fast, so plan accordingly - no more than one or two per person for an appetizer. And don't skip the sauce - it really goes well with the rolls, though you could drizzle a bit on the filling instead.

When I made these, we opted for some steamed chicken to add to the rolls. Anything you add must be fully cooked as these rolls are served raw. Usually when we have these at a Thai restaurant, they add little boiled shrimp or steamed chicken, but you can add toasted chopped peanuts or tofu (probably fried for extra flavor) for protein if you're vegetarian or vegan. Both bean thread noodles and rice paper sheets are vegan and gluten-free friendly.

Since these are primarily veggie, feel free to pack in the veggies. I added quite a bit of each so my rolls were quite big and round. But, the good news is you don't need to worry about eating a lot of cabbage! It's a super-cheap way to fill up guilt-free.

If you don't feel like cutting thin strips by hand (I didn't!), use a mandoline or food processor to grate the veggies as coarsely as possible. Just be careful - they don't dip very well if the veggies are grated so you should really drizzle the sauce over the filling instead.

Last year, my husband introduced me to naturally dyeing Easter eggs using onion skins, some of which can be seen in yesterday's photo post. I was rather curious as to how they would come out because I grew up dyeing eggs with the Paas kit like many Americans.

To my surprise, they came out beautifully: dark browns and reds, swirled and mottled where the skins had pressed or decorated with tiny imprints of leaves and flowers picked from our yard. I absolutely adored these elegant little eggs and quite honestly, breaking some of them almost broke my heart.

Dyeing eggs this way is more fun than using the little wire dippers and egg cups filled with Red Dye No. 45, or at least, that's what I think. It's simple to do but you do need a few pieces of basic equipment:

• An old pot or stainless steel
• Old pantyhose, knee-highs, cheesecloth or fabric you no longer want
• Lots and lots of yellow and red onion skins - the dry papery ones
• Pretty grasses, flowers, leaves, tape, string, etc.

You can get all sorts of colors by using different types of food items. The South Texas Unit of the Herb Society of America has a great page on dyeing naturally with suggestions on interesting items to use for colors, from red cabbage (which produces blue dye) to the more exotic brazilwood for pink or cochineal for fuschia. They also have recommendations for a cold dye process that makes it easier to do multiple color overlays.

Basic Preparation

Get out your old pot and fill it up halfway with cold water. Dump in enough onion skins to come up to the top or above and begin heating the water to a simmer. Press down on the onion skins so that they all get soaked - you should wind up with a pot full of water and onion skins. Keep adding skins and water as needed.

Once the water comes to a simmer, add prepared eggs and keep the water simmering for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the eggs to a bowl filled with ice water. Once cool, clean off the eggs and refrigerate or enjoy.

But... how to prepare the eggs? Depending on the look you want, try different things. I love marbled eggs and making patterns with different items.

(Latvian "flag" egg, jumis symbol egg, grass seed egg, starburst and stripes egg, speckled egg and flowery egg (with a mini chicken design))

Most importantly... Be creative and have fun!

Here's how we prepared our eggs this year:

Solid Eggs

For solid eggs, just add the eggs to the pot and simmer for 12 - 14 minutes.

For solid eggs with texture, wrap tightly in hose or cheesecloth to get a woven texture.

Marbled Eggs

Pack dry onion skins into a knee-high stocking or piece of pantyhose. Nestle the egg into the skins and pack tightly with skins before tying off the hose. Tie tightly around with string to press the onion skins into the egg.

The more you pack, the lighter the egg. For pretty patterns and dark color, only use a few skins. Marbling comes from many small pieces touching the eggs in different ways, so nestle accordingly.

Imprinted Eggs

Dampen herbs, leaves, flowers, grasses or other solid flexible objects (stickers too or even wind string or rubber bands around the egg) so that they will stick to the egg. Carefully nestle the egg into a piece of pantyhose and tie very tightly shut.

Use bits of masking tape to draw lines on the egg. Anything covered by the tape won't dye, so this can be a great way to do several colors for a fantastic result. But, as you can see from our "flag" egg, you must make sure the tape is completely flat - any gaps and dye will seep in.

Speckled Eggs

Sprinkle damp eggs with used coffee grounds, raw bulgur or buckwheat groats, then nestle into a pantyhose and tie tightly. The more you use, the less dye you will have.

And finally...

A bit of vegetable oil rubbed on the dry, finished eggs will add a nice sheen to them, making them all ready for Easter morning.