In my opinion -- me, Alfie, speaking only for the personal opinion of myself -- the food rules should be: 1. Bring things you want to eat and use. If you want to eat food (last year, to the delight of my daughters, the sign said something like, "Food on the table, desserts on the counter"), bring food. If you want to eat meat, bring meat. If you want to eat vegetables, bring vegetables. If you want to eat dessert, bring dessert. If you want to eat off plates, using forks and spoons, and drink out of cups, and wipe your fingers on a napkin instead of your hair, bring those (unless enough other people are already bringing them). 2. Take the leftovers home with you, so Gardengranma doesn't get stuck with them (unless she wants to get stuck with them). Gardengranma, would it help you if somebody hauled away the garbage?

I have been a vegetarian for more than 2 decades. The books by Jeanne Lemlin are great. They don't require trips to special stores, and are easy to prepare. I'll link my favorite below. Also, not a book, but I absolutely LOVE this soup. It's even vegan. Very simple to make, so nutritious. Even my kids love it. For some reason, though, I don't like it as much when I double a batch. (You might like this site for other recipes, too, though I use them mostly for the rest of the family, as they aren't vegetarians.) http://www.melskitchencafe.com/creamy-spinach-soup/ I'm very interested in this thread, though, because I know what you mean . . .it's hard to find vegetable dishes prepared in exciting ways (in the US). Ethiopian and Indian cuisines are my favorites in that regard. They know how to use vegetables. Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetarian Classics

Hawk, to me, if it has milk it may be nice braided bread but it isn't challah. Traditionally challah is used at Shabbat and holiday dinners and that would usually mean a meat meal. Someone who keeps kosher doesn't eat milk and meat together so challah would not have milk. pkguy and Carol, at the point where I realized the recipe called for powdered milk, I had already added the liquid so substituting wasn't an option. If I did add milk I remember the earlier discussion about the need to scald because of the enzymes. In any case, I don't think the changing the amount of liquid in the recipe to milk would provide an equivalent amount of milk solids as 2/3 cup of powdered milk. I did wonder about substituting evaporated milk which would be closer. But because we keep kosher, I generally prefer my bread not to have milk so if the bread comes out fine without it I'd be happy with that. But we don't eat much meat so I could make it with milk and just not use it with meat.

Glenda- I generally do an overnight sponge (8-12 hours), but at least 2-1/2 hours if I'm doing a "rush" job. Even a 30-minute sponge will improve the dough, but according to "experts" 2-1/2 hours is better. I mill the flour and start the sponge just after supper in the evening, and wash everything up while I have a sink full of water after meal clean-up and dish washing. Place the remaining flour needed to add the next day in the refrigerator or freezer until I need it (take it out early enough to warm to room temperature before adding it to the sponge). I have a friend who does up to 24 hours, but half the time it's in the refrigerator, and half room temperature. Using a sponge method with freshly-milled flour will help to get a very light loaf. I mix my dough in a Zojirushi bread machine - enough for two regular loaves, or three small loaves. I only use the Zo for mixing and take the dough out of the machine as soon as the kneading is done and place it in a dough-rising bucket so I can control the rise (to just UNDER "double"). A bread machine rise is a timed rise and it's easy to over-proof dough in it. Dough rises not to the clock, but according to the ambient temperature, humidity level (air and hydration of the dough), and the strength of the yeast. Whole wheat dough doesn't have the extensibility that bread made with bleached/unbleached flour does, so that's another reason to keep the rise to just under "double". In a dough-rising bucket, I can see by the graduated lines on the container that there is one quart of dough in it, so when it rises the two quart line, I know the dough has doubled. The lid snapped on tight also keeps the dough from drying out for a perfect little environment. I oil my hands before handling the dough and patting it into the container so it doesn't stick to my hands. I also suggest adding 1/4 t. ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) powder per loaf to the sponge ingredients so you don't get those short, squatty loaves so common with 100% whole wheat bread when made using the direct dough method. There is a substance called glutathione in wheat germ that breaks down the gluten bonds. Adding ascorbic acid to the dough counteracts the effects of glutathione (helps prevent the gluten bonds from breaking down, and repairs gluten bonds that have been broken). The ascorbic acid helps the yeast to work longer and faster because yeast likes a slightly acidic atmosphere. You may also find recipes for whole wheat bread that include lemon juice or vinegar as the acid. I use 1/2 water and 1/2 homemade kefir, buttermilk, or yogurt in the sponge. These cultured milk products also provide lactic acid and lactobacilli that help break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins in the whole wheat flour. Soaking the flour using a cultured milk product increases vitamin content and makes all the nutrients in grains more available. -Grainlady