My Great-Grandmothers Lost Potica Recipe

Over the past few days I've scored the inter webs for the correct Eastern European potica/orechovnik or nutroll recipe.  When I was a little girl, my family would drive to my Grandmothers house in Nebraska from Texas every fall and winter. I vividly remember the many hours my Grandmother and mother would spend in the kitchen trying to re-create my Great Grandmothers nutroll recipe.  

We would watch as they baked and would be in absolute Heaven at the finished product, yet my Grandmother and mom would be overly frustrated because 'it just wasn't right'.  I, however thought the endless nutrolls were to die for and quickly accustomed them to the Holidays at MY Grandma's house!  (It's funny how things come full circle isn't it?) 

Needless to say, after three consecutive years of attempting to nail the recipe, they finally gave up.

My Great-Grandmother immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia and was said to be an amazing baker!  So much so, that is what she did during the trying years of The Great Depression.  Her breads were sought after, which meant trading breads for ingredients, meat, clothing and potatoes.  At the time of her death, she had only written down a couple of recipes.  These recipes, however were in three different languages and used several different units of measure within one recipe.

So, THIS Holiday season, I will try my hand at the infamous nutroll recipe. I don't care if it's 'not right', because I never had the pleasure of tasting my Great-Grandmothers nutroll. I DID have the pleasure of the memories engraved in my head and heart from my own mom and Grandmother attempting to re-create it. I figure, at the very least... I am making some sort-of memories for my own children! That is 'right' for me...even if the recipe isn't!

 THIS is the recipe I will try this year around (unless my friends Vesna,or extended family, Anela & Nicola have a better suggestion)!???

Wish me luck and memories!

Over the Hump, Baking and Mice

Still pregnant folks!

I've been baking A LOT lately. I bake a lot regardless, so the fact that I am baking more than usual, says a lot. There is currently the following diet killers in my kitchen (it's ridiculous, really):

-Cranberry walnut zucchini bread
-Chocolate chip cookies (made with 1/2 butter & half shortening, for texture)
-Pumpkin chocolate chip bread
-I made ahead and froze cookie dough as well, just in case I'm out of commission.

This morning, I saw a mouse in broad daylight next to my stove and royally fa-reaked out! Aren't mice SUPPOSE to be nocturnal? ha ha Funny thing is, mice don't particularly bother me as much as bats do. We tend to see a mouse or two every September/ October. We live next to a massive community garden and when the weather begins to get cooler, the mice have a go at our townhouse.

I hate mousetraps and refuse to use any type of loose poison; anybody have any mousetrap alternatives?