On Wednesday, I used our bounty of green beans to make, again, the salad that I made last week (posted a link for it) from Edible Michiana. We really like it. As I did last time, I replaced the chickpeas my husband cannot eat with black-eyed peas, and I used 1 tsp. Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle in place of 1 Tbs. fresh oregano. I added a sliced scallion this time in place of shallot. We had it with leftover Tarragon Chicken with Rice and Mushrooms.
I made buffalo meat balls (ground buffalo), had it with some pasta and the last of the tomato sauce I made last week and broccoli. I need to make a new batch of tomato sauce and freeze some.
On Monday, I seeded the rest of the blackberries, which came to about 1 cup, then mixed them with 3 pounds of frozen strawberries that I had thawed and drained. I made four more jars of jam and canned them. I had enough that I could have canned an additional jar, but I am out of jars, so I will use it for another purpose (see baking thread).
Monday’s dinner was Tarragon Chicken, Mushrooms, and Rice, with microwaved frozen peas.
What a splendid haul from your garden, Len!
As of last week, we have been getting tomatoes. Although not as sweet as the ones we got last year, they are superior to what we could get in stores. I have been happily eating turkey bacon and tomato sandwiches.
Hybrid Squash Report: the yellow squash is now orange. It is looking more and more like some kind of pumpkin. The other one is still green with lines (no ridges) and it also looks like some kind of pumpkin. Those would be elongated, fat pumpkins.
Snow peas are done for the season. Green beans keep coming. Pepper plants in pots have peppers. Pepper plants in ground have not done so well.
What I hated about the side-by-side that came with this house (not a built-in) was that I could not put a baking tray or even a pie plate into it because it was too narrow. That was a problem in my butter days when I was baking scones and butter pie crusts. It would not be an issue for me these days.
It's a symphony when the jars seal!
My husband and I have been feeling the need for a sweet, crunchy little goody, me to have with tea in the afternoon, and he to have as a snack. I found a recipe for Spiced Biscotti that I printed from Cook’s magazine. (When I first had my new oven, Wolf gave a 6-month free access to the Cook’s site, and I scoured it for non-butter cookies.) I used the option of three whole eggs rather than 2 large eggs and 2 yolks. I made two changes: I replaced 1 ¼ cups of the AP flour with white whole wheat flour, and I added 2 Tbs. Bob’s Red Mill milk powder. I sprinkled Penzey’s cinnamon-sugar over each log before baking as an added touch. I baked them on the third rack up in my oven, which is just slightly above center.
On another note: I found my 40 cm ruler (inches on the other side) that comes in so handy when I make crackers. I mentioned back around January that I had misplaced it. I found it this week. I had put it in the drawer with the oven mitts instead of the drawer with my scale and various spatulas. I stumbled upon it while looking for a specific mitt, and there it was, nicely set against the side of the drawer.
I know where the defrost timer is on our freezer, as well, but we've had other issues with it and with the refrigerator, averaging about one a year lately. After 25 years, I think it is time to replace it.
Frigidaire makes a refrigerator/freezer pair designed to go in the same space that the SubZero 501 pair took (the newer ones from SubZero are 14 inches taller, because the compressor is at the top), their website even promotes this as 'replace without remodeling
Our SubZero freezer appears to have a problem (probably the defrost timer--again), and now so does the SubZero refrigerator, so I'm thinking it may be time to replace the pair, they're both 24+ years old and it seems like one or the other needs work about once a year.
The current SubZero built-in models are taller (85 vs 72) inches because they moved the cooling unit to the top, which would mean losing the storage space above them, and getting someone to do the remodeling work might not be either quick or cheap.
It looks like Frigidaire makes a 72 inch tall refrigerator and matching freezer that would fit the space, they're actually a few inches narrower but maybe an inch or two deeper. Maybe not quite as 'built in' of an appearance, but a third the price!
I made blueberry pie filling on Thursday from 5 cups of blueberries. I froze it in three separate containers rather than canning it (not that there was much to can!) to use as filling for sweet rolls. Canning blueberry pie filling destroys the great blueberry flavor.
Dinner on Thursday was the rest of the turkey-zucchini loaf, fresh green beans from our garden, and our first sweet corn of the season, which was a gift from our neighbors’ farm.
-
This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by
BakerAunt.
Thanks, cwcdesign! I will make it soon.
Yesterday I made candied orange peel, using a recipe and detailed instructions from Mrs. Chiu on the old Baking Circle. I keep them in the freezer, and use in muffins, coffeecakes, etc whenever I want an orange or tropical fruit flavor, and in the much loved (or dreaded) Christmas fruit cake.
chocomouse, here are the proportions if you're interested. Original recipe was for a creamy lemon squash pasta
3 tablespoons butter
recipe called for herbs, 2 garlic cloves (I used 4 cuz that's just us) and lemon zest
1 pound pasta (I used a fun shape)
2 shredded summer squash (original was 1 zucchini, 1 summer) mixed in at the same time as the pasta
4 cups stock, or you could use water
1 cup ricotta (or plain yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese or a combination)
½ cup cheese - I definitely used more
Regarding yogurt - I use the Fage 5% which is actually whole milk. I find it not to be as sour as some of the other Greek yogurts -YMMV and I sub it into anything that uses mayonnaise - about half and half - none of us notice the difference except that things like chicken salad or ranch dressing taste "lighter"
I wish your wife speedy healing, Mike, or at least the patience to deal with the process for healing.
I made my turkey-zucchini meatloaf with peach-Dijon glaze for dinner on Tuesday. Given the heat and humidity, I was glad to be able to cook it in the countertop oven.
For a side dish, I used our beans to make a Green Bean Salad, using a recipe from a seasonal magazine, Edible Michiana (Summer 2018). The magazine used to be free at the grocery store. I found the recipe I used online here:
https://ediblemichiana.ediblecommunities.com/recipes/green-bean-salad
We have plenty of green beans from our garden. The recipe uses garbanzo beans, which my husband dislikes, so I substituted black-eyed peas. (He also does not care for black olives, but I just have him throw those my way.) I used a bit of dried shallot and replaced fresh oregano (he dislikes it) in the dressing with some Penzey’s Salad Sprinkle. We liked the salad, and I will make it again.
Mike, I'm sending healing thoughts to your wife - shoulder/arm issues are no fun. I'm just glad she was able to get help quickly.
We've watched High on the Hog on Netflix (highly recommend). The recipe for macaroni and cheese that came from Jefferson's household is interesting in that you cook the macaroni in milk and water. I gather it gives a whole new flavor to the macaroni.
For my pasta dish the other night, I adapted a one pot pasta dish that I thought looked delicious. My version came out so well, I'm creating a recipe of the basics because it could be adapted all kinds of ways.
Saute garlic, herbs, whatever in butter, toss the pasta in the butter and then add chicken or vegetable broth (I used vegetable). When the pasta was almost done, I added leftover eggplant, peppers and onions from the pizza and some capers chicken sausage. Let that cook for a few minutes and then add (recipe called for ricotta) some whole milk Greek yogurt and some cream and cheese and stir until melted. It was so good! In place of the ricotta, you could also use sour cream, cream cheese or anything else you can think of with a similar profile.
An explanation: I copied this recipe from a KAF New Baking Circle mincemeat thread. Someone was looking for a filled mincemeat cookie, and this post is by Carol (no last name), who took it from an Old Baking Circle thread on mincemeat by tneil; it was never in the recipe section. I will type it in as posted:
Filled Mincemeat Cookies
The recipe for the cookie dough came from "Better Homes and Garden Cook Book, circa 1980/81. The filling is different. For filling I use a jar of nun such [sic] mincemeat, or usually I use a lb. of bulk mince meat. Makes 3 dozen.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint Mixed-Fruit mincemeat
Combine flour, soda, and 1/2 tsp. salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter and shortening for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until fluffy.
Add egg, milk, and remaining vanilla. Beat well, then add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating well.
Divide dough, cover, and chill at least 1 hour.
On lightly floured surface, roll out to 1/8" thickness, cut with 2 1/2" round cutter. Place 1 tsp filling on a round, spread to 1/2" of the edge, cover with another round, and seal with a fork.
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet 10-12 minutes at 375F.
I flew to Philadelphia last Wednesday for the US Chess business meetings, because the person who took over as Parliamentarian after I retired in 2016 passed away earlier this year, at only 59. (I don't think it was COVID related.) Originally I was planning to drive, with my wife accompanying me, and she'd stay with our son and granddaughter in Pittsburgh while I went on to Philly. But since she's supposed to start work back at UNL full time next week, she didn't want to wear herself out traveling just a few days before then.
Early Thursday morning, my wife was getting out of bed and tripped, dislocating her right shoulder against a set of doors. Fortunately, she was able to reach a friend by phone who has a key and she helped Diane up and then called 911.
I was scheduled to come back today, but shifted my reservation to Sunday, then ran into weather issues in Chicago and didn't get home until after 2 AM. This afternoon I took her to the orthopedic specialist to find out what treatment regimen she needs, since there are some bone chips in her upper arm. So far, surgery isn't indicated, but they'll look at her in a month after she has some PT. She might eventually need a shoulder replacement, but we'll see how it goes. She's still hoping to start work next week, but from home (like she's been doing since March of last year) until she feels her arm is healed enough to drive.
Anyway, tonight I made macaroni and cheese, trying the suggestion to use some Greek yogurt instead of milk. It totally changes the flavor, and we won't be doing that again. Fortunately, I only made about 1/4 of it that way.
