Bread!

Have you seen the commercials on television promoting high fructose corn syrup? It amazes me that the food industry is now lobbying the public for acceptance of HFCS. Although, from what I have read, the jury is still out on the affects of HFCS on the body (Mayo Clinic , Wikipedia) what is apparent is that too much consumption of sugar does lead to health problems; obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes ... What is also disturbing to me is the amount of sugar, usually HFCS, that is added to foods that we eat, often times without us knowing about it. I did a quick survey of our groceries and discovered HFCS in our yogurt, bread, ketchup, and mustard. I can understand people's interest in organic diets. It is nice to know exactly what you are putting into your body.
So, after finding out that some of our bread is made with HFCS, I tried to make homemade bread with very little success. I started with wheat bread, which was probably a mistake, since it takes a lot more time than white. The first loaf came out like a rock. I don't think I let it rise long enough in the pan before loading it in the oven. After a few failures, Jennifer and I went and bought a bread machine (see picture). This little thing is amazing. You can not only make bread for sandwhiches, you can use it to prepare dough for pizza, bagels, naan, and all sorts of cool stuff. I am going to try to never buy bread again!
Next I'll try homemade ketchup. I wonder if there is a ketchup machine.