Lars - You open the lid of the bread machine after it's been going for about 5 minutes and check the condition of the dough by looking at it or touching it, and adjust the hydration accordingly, if necessary. What you want is a nice soft, sticky, well-formed ball. Just as in traditional dough making, it's still about the "feel" of the dough. Ingredient measurements in bread recipes are always just a good guess because protein count in wheat/flour and the moisture the flour has absorbed during storage all affect the dough. Flour is usually very dry during the dry winter months, and contains more moisture during humid weather and amount needed often changes because of that. A hard dry dough will end up a bread "brick", so it's necessary to add liquid. If the dough is crumbly and not formed in a ball, add more water. If the dough is loose, sticking to the sides or bottom of the pan, add a bit more flour. From years of experience, I know if I add dry multi-grain cereal or oatmeal at the add-in beep (towards the end of the kneading cycle), it's best to have a dough ball that is a little slack because the dry ingredients will absorb the additional hydration during fermentation. I want a slack dough if I want a holey type of artisan bread. I also want a slack dough for English Muffins to maintain that traditionally holey crumb. I also add chia gel (chia seeds + water) to all my loaves, and I always have to adjust the hydration because of this addition. I also use a liquid sweetener instead of sugar (agave nectar) and it's possible to need a little flour because of the additional liquid from the agave nectar. Hydration requirements changes because of the protein level of the flour, and that will vary with each bag of wheat I purchase, or bag of flour. I recently purchased some hard white winter wheat that is 13.1% protein. That tells me I'll need to some liquid because the higher protein level (gluten) will absorb more hydration. It's just a machine that does the work in bread making. It still needs a human to assess the dough condition. -Grainlady

Kim, you really should explore the world of seafood, as it is ideal for fast meal prep. The whole secret with cooking shrimp, scallops, and other shellfish is to make sure you don't overcook it. But the particular critter usually gives you a clue. Shrimp turns pink when it's done. Scallops turn opaque. Clams and oysters curl at the edges. The hard ones are calamari and abalone. But even they give you clues. To clean shrimp you need to remove the shells and the mud vein that runs down the back. This can be done before or after cooking, depending on recipes. Hint: Shrimp cooked in their shells are more flavorful. There are special tools for prepping shrimp. But a regular table fork works just as well. Stick one tine into the shell from the head end, pointing into the mud vein. Then push the shrimp onto the tine. The shell and vein will pop right off. If you look at the Nuts & Bolts thread I've posted a simple recipe for Shrimp & Sausage Carbonade that you might want to try. Finned fishes, too, can broaden your choices. Fish does not require a long cooking time in any recipe (the rule of thumb is to cook ten minutes for each inch of thickness). Virtually any cooking method---from poaching to deep fying, baking to barbecuing---can be used for fish cookery.

Pumpkin Muffins 1-3/4 c. rye flour (almost any flour, or combination you like) 2 t. baking powder 1-1/2 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. ginger 1/4 t. nutmeg 1/4 t. cloves dash salt 1/2 c. raisins or currants 1/3 c. apple juice, or other fruit juice, or milk substitute 2 T. coconut oil (or vegetable oil) 2-4 T. agave nectar (a honey-like sweetener from catcus) Egg substitute equal to one egg, or you can also leave out 1 c. pumpkin puree Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a muffin tin with vegetable oil, or use cupcake papers to line the muffin tin. Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix in raisins. Combine juice, oil, and agave nectar in a 2-cup nonmetal measuring cup or small bowl. Heat liquid ingredients briefly (20 seconds) in the microwave to soften the honey. Add egg substitute and pumpkin puree to liquid ingredients. Mix well. Add liquid ingredients fo dry ingredients and mix briefly. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and bake 20 minutes. Immediately after removing from oven, loosen muffins with a fork, and turn them sideways in the cups to cool.

here's a muffin...the hodgson's mill site has several recipes... Basic Bran Muffins 1 1/2 c HODGSON MILL UNPROCESSED WHEAT BRAN1 c milk1 egg1/3 c soft shortening1 1/2 c HODGSON MILL UNBLEACHED WHITE FLOUR, SIFTED1/2 c sugar3 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. salt Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the wheat bran and milk in a mixing bowl. Let stand 2 minutes or until most of the moisture is absorbed. Add the egg and shortening. Beat until well blended. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bran mixture and stir just until all are moistened. Spoon the batter into oiled muffin cups (3/4 full) and bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve hot. NOTE: For Blueberry Muffins add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries to batter. Makes 12 servings. Each serving: 163 calories; 4 g dietary fiber; 26 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 6 g fat; 19 mg cholesterol; 309 mg sodium.