RIP Kitchen Aid

 I killed my mixer. Right in the middle of some experimental cinnamon chip bread. Aargh!

My mixer wasn't more than 10ish years old, and had recently started making some interesting noises. I knew it may die on me. And. it. did.

I bought a loaf of cinnamon bread at Great Harvest Bread Company in Lawrence, KS, but it was $6, and I have a little problem spending that much on a loaf of bread when I know how to bake. So.. the last few weeks have been spent experimenting on how to closely replicate that recipe in my own kitchen.

Here is a batch raising.....










and splint into 3 loaves, freeform, as I suck at getting all the air bubbles out and the loaf into a bread pan..
Sorry, there is no picture of the finished product, I will do that next batch, but in the meantime enjoy the recipe.


A few months ago, my mother brought a pork loin to my house to "store" in my freezer to make into Canadian Bacon. Huh? I didn't know that you used pork loin to make this. So, I had to do a little research online and came up with a brine to marinate the loin in: 

• 1 gallon water
• 1 ¼ cups mortons tender quick
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
• 1 ¼ ounces gin (opt)
• 2 tablespoons whole
• black peppercorns

  **This method is using approximately a 5 pound pork loin.

I mixed all the ingredients with about half of the water, then used ice and water to equal the rest of the gallon to cool it down. Place pork loin in brine and brine for 5-7 days. Make sure the loin is all the way submerged. I also turned this about halfway through the week.

After the 5-7 days, remove from the brine, rinse well under running water, discard the brine, and either smoke the loin for 3-4 hours, or oven roast until temperature reaches 155 degrees.  I chose to cut the loin in to chunks, and thick slices for use either in breakfast sandwiches, diced up, or ground for hash. I also think this would taste good mixed with ground beef in meatloaf. Enjoy!