Wednesdays are a day off the trails but busy as always. So let's naval gaze and look at some recipes.

 If this is a Day Off, how did I get so busy?

Was up at 515am. Ok, so for me, that is normal.  Got to walk the dog, get home, make coffee, start breakfast.

But today being Wednesday, I got started on "Things".

Before Sunrise I managed to get the dishwasher started, laundry started, and make a giant pot of Rice.  Need that to start on the dog food that the ingredients are thawing.

In case you are wondering - 2 parts water to a full boil with a little bit of olive oil on top.  1 part rice poured over top.  Stir and bring to full boil, then place lid on it.  Forget about the pot for an hour and you don't need a rice cooker.

But that big pot will get used for making dog food later so the rice has to be frozen and portion packed.

I tell people I am a 1950s homemaker.  I roast coffee, make soap, make and home can jelly and jam.  I am on a quest to make cream cheese - if it works I will put that recipe up here because I have no real long term memory.

You should not either.  Not with baking.  Sure, some things can be a little forgiving - like the Magic Shell I dropped online earlier.  That depends on the quality of the baking chips.  Good quality chocolate pieces need more Coconut Oil to help it get more melty, the cheaper flavored things like Butterscotch need less.  If it is waxy, add less to the mix.

But anything with a process and precise, like baking bread or making soap, require a proper recipe.

Excuse me, the washer wants my attention!

Hmmm, dishwasher's done too.

Oh well this way I've always got plenty of Mango Jelly and clean dishes to have it on.  Clean dishes are important.

Last year we had a long and late Mango season.  Into August there were still fruit falling from the trees.  A Freshly Fallen Mango can be one of the sweetest fruits you have ever had.  I chunked those mangoes up into 4 cup bags, and froze them.  Still had enough to make a batch a year later when I was chunking up this years early windfallen fruit.

If ever I get a chance and finish all that mango goodness, I really do want to try that recipe with peaches.  They have the same texture as a mango does.

If not, have you ever had a Mango Tart?  Basically a fruit pie made with Mango Jelly.  I have a lot of the stuff, and it's really nice on a Graham Cracker Crust.  I Know what I will have for my dessert after lunch.  It works incredibly well with the Lemon Curd recipe I have too.

All that athleticism is really just an excuse for me to eat sweets, right?  Don't tell anyone my secret!

I guess it's time to hop to it, right?  That coffee isn't going to roast itself and I can be a terror on full caff.  I am out of decaf and the regular is getting low.

No, seriously,   Caffeine is a performance enhancing drug.  It works like an oxygen uptake enhancer.  So if you are an athlete, getting a good amount of caffeine in your system can help you.  Sort of like that blood doping that you hear about but on the cheap and not as crazy as the olympic athletes are trying to get away with.

And at my age, well over 40, I need all the help I can get.

Usually with 3 sweets, and 4 cream to a tankard.