Welcome to my kitchen! Relax, sit by the fire, enjoy a nice cup of tea and talk to me. I'm excited at the thought of having company come calling every month. Feel free to ask me anything. If I can help you, that's great. If not, you can still experience the warmth you once felt in your own grandmothers' kitchen. Here are some letters I received this month.

Hello Miramichi,
Great site, it makes me homesick. One thing I miss more than anything is the smell of home-made bread in my grandmothers' kitchen. I've often tried to recreate her famous bread using a bread machine (I'm not much of a baker) but it's not the same. Do you know where I can get an old-fashioned recipe for home-made bread with detailed instructions?
- Homesick in Missouri

Dear Homesick,
I bake bread often but the recipe is in my head. Almost everyone who makes bread around here doesn't have a recipe. You learn through trial and error. But, if you're not much of a baker you might want to start with something simpler. This should be an easy recipe for rolls, just try not to handle the dough too much.

6 cups lukewarm water
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 packages yeast
1 teaspoon salt

Soak the above ingredients for 10 minutes. Add 3 well beaten eggs. Gradually add flour until it can be kneaded easily. You should have at least a 5 lb bag of flour on hand. Oil a large bowl and put the dough in it. Oil the top of the dough. Let the dough raise to double its size then punch it down once. Let it raise again, about an hour, until double its size and punch it down again. Shape the rolls fairly large in pans. When they've risen twice their size, bake at 350° F for 35 minutes. Grease them with butter or margarine when they come out of the oven. Sometimes the crust will crack, but that's fine. We always said if the crusts didn't crack it meant the bread was no good. This recipe will make 8 or 9 dozen rolls. Don't worry, they freeze well.

Does anyone out there have the recipe that was circulated at the former You Can weight loss meetings, for peanut butter muffins? It was made with skim milk powder instead of flour.
- Above-Bored. (from the Mighty Miramichi online community forum)

Dear Above-Bored,
I don't have the recipe you're looking for but I did find a recipe for low-fat Easy Peanut Butter Cookies.

1 can (14 oz) low-fat sweetened condensed milk
¾ cup reduced fat peanut butter
¼ cup fat-free egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups reduced-fat biscuit mix
¼ cup sugar
In a large bowl, combine the milk, peanut butter, egg substitute, and vanilla. Mix at low speed until the mixture is smooth. Add the biscuit mix and mix well. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Coat two large baking sheets with no-stick spray. Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch between mounds. Sprinkle the cookies evenly with the sugar. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on wire racks.

When my hamburger turns brown in the fridge, is it still safe to eat?
- Poison Concerned

Dear Poison Concerned,
How brown are we talking about? If it's just a little brown, and it smells all right, and it's pink inside, I wouldn't be afraid to eat it as long as it's cooked at a high temperature. But the rule is, "If in doubt, throw it out!"

Until next time, remember I made it especially for you.

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing." - Michael Pritchard

Grammie is waiting for you in her kitchen, rocking in her favorite chair by the stove, knitting needles clicking away the seconds. Drop by and join her for a spot of tea, a warm molasses cookie and some wise advice. Every month she answers all your letters as only she can. So, if you have a kitchen-type question or comment for Grammie, send an email to editor@breadnmolasses.com and put Grammie in the subject line.