Having brought the breadmaker back from fides' place, we've been making extremely nice (although probably hellishly unhealthy) bread recently. Yesterday I managed to find polenta flour in the local tesco. As it turns out, though, the recipe in the little bread book that comes with the breadmaker doesn't use much polenta in its cornbread (120 g polenta and 540 g white flour) - so although it's nice, it seems more like white bread than the cakey cornbread I had in Boston).

I also got some walnuts to make walnut bread. According to the California Walnut Board, you can toast walnuts in the microwave (handy, because I'd burn them on the hob no doubt, and our oven is not really usable). Just stick them on a single layer on a plate, it says, then microwave for 5-6 minutes (stirring every 2 minutes). Tried it with a small plateful - it certainly toasts them, but I wouldn't say that it brings out a sweet nutty flavour. A burnt, bitter, rather unpleasant flavour is what it brings out, I would say.