I think my newsletter was hacked!
Hacked!! Or Spoofed!
My newsletter was hacked or spoofed last week! I am not exactly sure what ‘spoofed’ means except that my stats report was way off! I knew something was wrong! So, if you got anything weird from me… please let me know! I got a very angry email from someone who may have actually been angry about an email they got or they spammed me! Either way this was pretty upsetting! Luckily I am on a very friendly & helpful Facebook page for Substack users & they helped me figure out what to do to prevent emails coming to me from everyone! Now, I will just get emails from subscribers. Seems a lot safer to me!
The online world is crazy in a way. The ‘stay away from strangers’ that we used to tell our kids (who are now adults) is impossible to do if someone opens themselves up on the internet. There are just so many ways for people to spam & take advantage of others. Most people are so trusting that if they get an email from someone in their contacts they might think it is a legit email even if it is odd. Like the emails going around lately that says ‘ have a look at this picture I found’ with a link to click. I keep getting that from certain people. I knew it was not real because they would not have sent me a picture. I find the best thing to do is not answer any emails from people I don’t know & if it is someone I know, I contact them to see if they actually sent me a picture! This helps them as well because then they can know that their email may have been hacked & to change their passwords! This issue can happen on other platforms as well as email. It is such a hassle to have to change passwords if one answers someone they should not have or if we get hacked. So, I guess we all have to be weary of things that just don’t look right!
Otherwise, not much is happening here. I put my kitchen back to normal from the changes I made for Passover. I found about a custom that I had never heard about a few years ago. Some people made a key shaped challah for the first Friday night, Shabbat, after Passover. Or some people put a key into a challah before baking it. These special challahs are called Shlissel challahs. There are several meanings for this but the one that I like is ‘an omen of good fortune’. Here is a picture of one I made last year.
Challah is such a delicious bread. IF you make bread I would recommend trying a challah. The bread is tender & rich, a soft crumb, perfect for toast, sandwiches & of course French toast! You can make this loaf in a bread pan so it is a sandwich loaf. I also like to shape this dough into buns, they can be in a knot shape, a plain round for a hamburger bun or a small log for hot dog buns! A very versatile dough. I have tried so many challah recipes & the one that I have landed on as my ‘go to’ is from Norene Gilletz. I made it in the food processor so there really is no need to knead! The machine does it all. I knead it briefly. You can make it in a mixer with dough hook or buy hand. Here is the link to the recipe that I use every week. Challah Tip: start with the least amount of flour called for in the recipe. Challah dough is a bit sticky. I usually use 3 1/2 cups of flour but of course it depends on your flour. I find that in the US the flour is different so I start with less & then add as needed.
This Week on the Blog
Sometimes an old recipe is just delicious & stands the test of time. This recipe for Edna’s Cherry Square is like that for me. The filling is a can of cherry pie filling. I use cherry pie filling for two of my fav recipes. This one & as a cheesecake topping. We had friends who lived in a small town in Northern Alberta. When we went to visit them Edna would make this cake.I always loved it so I needed to share it on the blog. I enjoy this cake for breakfast with a bit of yogurt on top or dessert with some ice cream or just as I walk by the baking dish I take some! If you do not like cherry pie filling I am sure that blueberry or apple would work great.
I continuously make Granola. I give some to my son Seth & we keep some. Since it lasts about 2 weeks I kept a some Granola on the counter & store most of it in the freezer, refilling the counter container as needed. I love this simple recipe. It is not too sweet but you can add more maple syrup to your liking. The recipe is easy with everyday ingredients. When I was first starting to make granola it seemed like a huge undertaking for some reason but it isn’t. One main thing to remember is if you see a recipe that has dried fruit, do not add it to the granola before baking! The dried fruit will get so hard & inedible. You can add chopped up dates, apricots etc to your finished granola. I don’t do that. We usually eat the granola with yogurt & fresh fruit or add it to cereal so I don’t need any dried fruit in it. You can customize this recipe if you want, I add walnuts but you can add any nuts or seeds you want. Just make sure the quantity is the same otherwise the we ingredients won’t be enough to coat all of the dry if you add too much.
This next recipe is for Bagels. They are not difficult to make but they take some time like every yeast dough. I like making these. One tip is that the recipe calls for Bread flour & this is important so you get the correct texture. Also, the recipe says 3 1/2 cups to 4 cups flour but whenever you see a recipe for bread, always start with the least amount of flour & adjust as needed. If you use too o much flour right off the bat then the dough will be too stiff resulting in bagels or breads that are heavy & hard to work with.
Thanks All for this week! Thanks for reading my newsletter! Please leave a comment
