I use Sundays as a day to prepare so the rest of the week isn’t so hectic.  This time of year, I make a big pot of soup and portion it out for the week’s lunches.  Both Jeff and I brown bag it and we don’t mind leftovers, so we generally have soup with a sandwich and some fruit for lunch the entire week.  Today I made Asian Turkey Noodle, I used up some turkey that was in the freezer, leftover from Thanksgiving, homemade chicken stock, green peppers that were in our freezer, and some carrots, noodles, onions, fresh ginger, and soy sauce from the store (all in my pantry).  Having the soups already portioned out makes more quick weekday morning packing.  I also generally portion out the fruit on Sunday’s as well and just make sandwiches in the morning before work.

Today, we’ve also done laundry, various cleaning projects and just general puttering around.  I updated my etsy shop, too, based on some recent interest in my lunch tote bag / flatware roll sets.  These sets are in a little less flashy colors and hopefully more appealing to more folks.

Generally on Sundays,  I also bake some bread.  I’ve been wanting to experiment with rye and pumpernickel breads and today chose to play with pumpernickel.  I looked at various sources and books for recipes and basically came up with my own that was a combination of many recipes. 

Kathie’s Pumpernickel

In a blender combine:

  • 1/2 C Carob Powder
  • 1/4 C Instant Coffee
  • 1/4 C honey
  • 1 TBSP salt
  • 3 TBSP butter
  • 1 C Boiling Water

Blend until smooth, pour into a bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon caraway seeds and 1 heaping cup raisins.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Create a sponge with 2 Cups water, 1 Tablespoon yeast, 1 Tablespoon honey, and 1 1/2 Cups flour.  Allow to rise about 30 minutes.

Stir the carob mixture into the sponge.  Add 3 cups of rye flour and enough all-purpose flour to form a dough (about 3 cups for me).  Knead until smooth ball.  Allow to rise 1 hour.  Punch down, shape into oval loaves and let rise on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brush the loaves with an egg wash and sprinkle on sesame seeds.  Slash the loaves with a razor and bake for about 40 minutes (until hollow sounding when tapped).  Allow to cool on wire racks.

Note: If you are a big fan of caraway you might want to add more, for me 1 teaspoon is plenty.