Search Results for '("C'

[Mike Nolan]

I did try Ginsberg's Danish rye bread recipe, mainly because there was a BBGA forum thread on it that piqued my interest, but I had several problems with it that I attribute to things I did incorrectly. (I also ran short on a couple of ingredients.) I'll try it again before I write a formal review of it here.

I do want to get back into testing Ginsberg recipes more frequently. Hopefully this will re-start the project.

[BakerAunt]

Sounds delectable, Mike!

Saturday brought some rain and cooler temperatures, so it was an excellent day to try baking bread in the cloche that I acquired through Skeptic last fall. I checked online and decided to season the bottom with avocado oil (high smoke point to 500F). For the recipe, I started with the Crusty Cloche Bread at King Arthur but proceeded to change most of the ingredients to make it more whole grain and to include buttermilk. I let the bread machine do the mixing and kneading. After the first rise, I sprinkled the cloche bottom with farina, then shaped the loaf and put it in the cloche to rise for 30 minutes. The King Arthur recipe uses a cold oven, so I decided to try that way. After I slashed the loaf, I put it into the mostly cold oven (was still warm from seasoning the cloche bottom), set the temperature to 400, then started timing. After 35 minutes, I removed the top and let it go another 10. The loaf was beautiful. We had some with dinner tonight, and we all agreed that it is delicious.

I had looked at a video at Breadtopia about using clay bakers, and I think it helped me with shaping the boule. The video also gave suggestions on how to transfer a loaf from a banneton to a hot surface, so if I try preheating the cloche, I will also try those techniques.

[Mike Nolan]

We had some of the chocolate genoise with strawberries and a little milk, and then tried drizzling some chocolate ganache on it, too. Both very good. The chocolate in the genoise could be a little more assertive, I may try either using dutch chocolate or increasing the amount of cocoa. (We're kind of spoiled by the CHOCOLATE in crazy cake or Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake.)

The plan for tomorrow is to make some pastry cream and try cake, pastry cream, cake, ganache and strawberries. (It needs a fifth component, maybe some chopped pecans?)

I'm probably going to freeze half of what's left (12 pieces roughly 3x3.)

[Mike Nolan]

This Ginsberg recipe (Danish rye or ragbrot) starts with an overnight scald/soaker of rye flour, sunflower seeds and flax seeds, so that may soften the flax to the point where some of it can be digested.

I'm also planning to make semolina bread today and a chocolate genoise sheet cake (to go with some fresh strawberries.) Taking advantage of the weekend's cool temperatures!

[BakerAunt]

I baked my Scottish Scones (no butter, just a bit of oil) recipe on Thursday, this time using half whole wheat pastry flour and half regular pastry flour, with a tablespoon of avocado oil rather than canola oil. We had them with leftovers at dinner.

I also made dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them sometime next week.

[Mike Nolan]

I did half of the tomatoes last night, the rest this morning.

I didn't do any melons last year, and I did a lot more eggplants this year than last. I have 24 tomato cages, but I dropped several varieties from last year (including Mortgage Lifter and Brandywine) and did more of our favorites, including Italian Heirloom and Amish Paste. I also put in two Celebrity, which I didn't do last year.

I've already got soaker hoses running all through the garden, including where the melons and eggplants are, so I should be in good shape other than things like weeding. I'm hoping that the 4th of July will have some fruit ready by their namesake date.

[Mike Nolan]

My garden is planted, 24 cages of tomatoes, 11 eggplants (2 varieties), 5 melon plants (2 varieties) and 4 melon hills that didn't sprout under the lights but might in the ground.

The 5 leeks went in one of my wife's pots, along with some French tarragon and sage.

[BakerAunt]

That is good that you are taking the time to make good meals for yourself, CWCdesign.

That chicken finally thawed, so dinner on Wednesday was roast chicken. I used the giblets (yes, this one had giblets) to make broth that I used to cook bulgur to go with it. The star of the meal, for me, was the first asparagus of the season. I cut it into 1 1/2-inch pieces and mixed it with half a pound of thick-sliced mushrooms, and a container of cherry tomatoes. I tossed the vegetables in olive oil and a bit of garlic powder, then roasted for 15 minutes at 450F on a parchment-lined pan. I sprinkled Penzey's Sunny Paris over it and put it back into the oven for another three minutes. My stepson and I enjoyed it, but my husband, who is not an asparagus fan, had microwaved broccoli instead.

I am now out of Sunny Paris and wish that I had ordered it. However, I have some samples of Fox Point, so I will give that one a try next time.

[BakerAunt]

My husband planted out the two bell peppers that overwintered in the house. He also planted beans, spinach, and lettuce. He planted some bell peppers in a pot (these will likely end up overwintering in the house). He also started some regular tomato plants and one cherry tomato plant. We ordered some honeynut (the small butternut squash variety) seeds today, and some of those will be planted as soon as they get here.

[Mike Nolan]

I moved most of my plants (7 varieties of tomatoes, 2 varieties of eggplant and 2 varieties of cantaloupe) outside Sunday afternoon and will start planting them late this afternoon. There are some temps in the low 40's forecast for this weekend, but I think I'll risk it. I've already got soaker hoses set up winding through the garden.

[Mike Nolan]

I waiting until last night to make my banana nut mini-muffins because I was waiting for a new mini-muffin pan to test.

It is a CasaWare pan with a ceramic coating on it ordered through Amazon. I used it for all 5 batches last night (120 mini-muffins), lightly buttering the pan before each batch, and it worked great, they all came out cleanly and I can wipe off the excess off the top with a soft cloth. I'm ordering another one soon and the old ones will be retired.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--We do seem to have a knack for picking some of the same foods or meals. 🙂

I do my stew completely on the stove top in a heavy Le Creuset pan, either the 5 1/2 - qt. or the 71/2 qt., depending on how much. After I brown the meat in avocado oil (low smoke point), I add minced garlic for about 40 seconds, then a cup of red wine to deglaze the pan. I return the meat to the pan, along with water, the spices, and the seasonings, except for the tomato paste, bring it to a boil, then let it simmer covered for two hours on the stove top. I think that the wine and the long simmer help tenderize the meat. I then add the carrots and potatoes, bring to boil, then cook on low medium heat (how exactly do I describe it?) for about 40 minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms, before adding the peas an hour after the potatoes and carrots.

I can see how it would work well in the oven, since that is what I used to do when I would make pot roast.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday morning, I baked my Pumpkin Snacking Cake, which should keep us in dessert for three days. Given that the weather has cooled, and it was only in the 70s today, I also took the opportunity to bake another batch of the orange pecan biscotti, so that I can take advantage of the zest from my remaining Cara Cara oranges. I also baked Dutch Oven rolls (2/3 whole wheat) to go with the stew we had for dinner

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse, your husband is definitely a grill fanatic.

I had planned roast chicken for Monday's dinner, but the chicken, which had been in the refrigerator for three and a half days was still not thawed. We needed to make a trip to the grocery for water (we refill our large bottles), so I checked out the meat section and found two packages of stew meat that were marked down for quick sale. I made a big batch of Beef Stew. As there are three of us for dinner (and Millennial males have a hearty appetite), I made the recipe with double the beef but three times the vegetables. I use the Penzeys beef base for flavoring, along with rosemary, and half teaspoons of their Tsardust Nights and Roasted Spanish Paprika, along with two bay leaves. I also added 1 Tbs. sugar, 2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce, and 2 Tbs. tomato paste.. I also used some garlic and rehydrated onion. The vegetables were carrots, yellow potatoes, mushrooms, and frozen peas. I thickened it with 1/3 cup Clear Jel and 1/2 cup water.

It was one of the best stews I have made.

[BakerAunt]

With my older stepson staying with us through later July, and doing some of his own cooking, I needed to make room in the apartment freezer for him to store food, so I have been using up items in both the house and the apartment freezer sections. On Sunday, I used the last of the tomato sauce I froze this summer, and the 2 cups of black beans I froze a couple of months ago to make a sauce with onions, carrots, celery, and kale. I seasoned with Penzey's Tuscan Sunset (2 tsp.) and 1/4 tsp. chili powder, some red wine, and some Worcestershire sauce, and a bit of sugar. It did not taste quite right, so I looked at the Tuscan Sunset ingredients and knew what I was missing was rosemary, which my mother always put into her spaghetti sauce, so I added it. I had about 2 oz. of leftover whole wheat tubular pasta, so I cooked and added it. It is much more a sauce with a bit of pasta, but that is what I wanted as part of my plan to increase vegetables and beans in my lunches. I have enough for about four more days of what is more like chili with a bit of pasta.