I chuckled when I saw this cartoon in yesterday's paper about baking:
https://www.gocomics.com/breaking-cat-news/2019/03/24
In the year leading up to my wedding, I decided that I would bake my own wedding cake. I had only done simple cakes before then, but I baked great bread, so I figured, how hard can it be? I had not yet found KAF's Baking Circle, so I struck out on my own and to practice, I selected a cake from The Cake Bible. I used two larger round cake pans, and all seemed well. I drove it over to my future husband's house for a family dinner, and the top slid off, and the cake broke into pieces.
However, the white chocolate frosting helped me along in developing a relationship with my future stepdaughter, who loved that frosting.
I ended up going much simpler for the wedding--a Wilton mini-tier three tier double layers cake, and three 8-inch layer cakes around it. (Too much cake actually, although the leftovers did get devoured.)
My cake baking skills have improved, although I've not attempted another large cake.
Chocomouse--once again, great minds think alike!
On Monday, I made a vegetable-mixed peas and lentils band barley soup. I used ½ cup Bob’s Red Mill Hull-less Barley (an older form). I know from experience that it needs to cook a long time, so I cooked it in 1 ¾ cups water by itself for an hour, then let it sit as I began to assemble the soup. I sautéed chopped onion, red bell pepper, celery, and carrots. (The carrots are from our garden. They were covered all winter, and my husband only just got around to digging most of them out.) I added ground turkey and browned it, then I added sliced mushrooms, then garlic. I had about 1 cup of crushed tomatoes left over from another recipe, so I added those, along with the barley, and 6 cups of turkey stock (frozen from our Christmas turkey). I used the Bob’s Vegi-soup blend of brown and orange lentils and green and yellow split peas with some barley alphabet letters. I seasoned it with 2 tsp. poultry seasoning (salt-free from Penzey’s) and a bit of sweet curry. We liked this variation.
For dinner we had turkey soup made from the Christmas turkey. With it we had deli rye rolls (a KAF recipe) also from the freezer. Making space, getting eager to garden soon.
Mike, we don't even have to think about marketing. Word of mouth works great! Last year we increased production quite a bit, although we didn't have all the new hi-tech equipment (plus, we need to tap many more trees) to reach maximum output. We sold everything we made, and gave away about the same amount we have been giving family and friends for years. Today, it looks like the season will be over after next weekend, as the forecast (which certainly could change!) predicts temperatures above freezing at night, so the sap won't run. For a couple of years, I have been selling syrup at the Sheep and Wool Festivals I attend throughout the year, in Illinois, Michigan, NY, Maryland and shows in New England - not so much for profit but as a conversation starter and promotion of agriculture.
Joan, that's very interesting about the cane syrup processing. It's sad to see the old methods disappear, but so much less work for the farmers. Of course, then there is the problem with "big" producers moving in and driving out the little guys. But maple sugaring is so much a part of our New England roots, and is promoted well by our state and local governments, it's a huge tourist attraction. Maybe the cane syrup industry is also in your area?
The Bicycling article is good. The WSJ article (behind a paywall) pointed out that the data was based on correlation not causation and as my mom used to say about things like this, publish or perish.
Len, your point was raised when the very first study saying eggs were bad was published years ago. There stories on the news showing people frying eggs in bacon fat talking about how bad the eggs were. 😉
Sounds great BA.
We have can lights in the kitchen (in fact throughout the house). I switched to LEDs when we were thinking about putting in a backup generator because we have nine cans in the kitchen alone and swapping out 65 watt bulbs for 9 watt LEDs makes a difference when spec'ing a generator.
There are all-in-one LED cans that are the light and fixture. They look cleaner than the standard can and are pretty straight forward to install. I did it and I am not handy. I've done 36 in the house so far and some day I will get to the rest.
Joan, we used to make it the old-fashioned way, probably the way your Granddaddy made it, with buckets hanging on the trees to collect the sap, horse and wagon (and then snowmobiles) to gather, and a wood fire which required hours and hours of logging to get the firewood. About five years ago, we started using plastic tubing hung from tree to tree, and a generator in the woods to pump the sap from intermediate gathering tanks up to the sugarhouse. Then we added a vacuum pump to literally "suck" the sap out of the trees, and last year a reverse osmosis machine to separate some of the water from the sap before boiling to evaporate the remainder of the water. Last summer, my husband decided to go commercial (he's 75 and retired 3 years ago from his paid job) so he and my son built a new huge sugarhouse (not finished, no roof yet) with an oil-fired burner and lots of sophisticated equipment.
We're not going make enough syrup to sell much this year - all the carefully laid plans were delayed, and we are lucky to be able to make any syrup this year, but after another summer of construction, it should no longer be a family hobby, but a viable business. We live about 7 miles away from the sugaring area, but he has all electronic equipment, connected to his iPhone/Watch so he can monitor it from home. It's hardly hard work any more! And he is healthy and happy and able to enjoy his new toys! I wish I could share the delicious syrup with all of you!
It appears any comments to today's quiz will appear under the quiz but not in the forums (unlike comments to blog posts), which means they aren't as visible as I'd like them to be. I don't know if this is a conflict between two plugins (bbpress and wp-quiz) that might be resolvable or just the way it works.
Baker Aunt, yes great minds do think alike! I also made a whole grain bread yesterday, and used KAF's Harvest Grains blend. It is one of my favorites, along with the new(er) Super 10 blend. I have a standard base recipe I use for most of my "daily breads", when I'm not trying out something new. I use 2 cups of regular whole wheat flour, 1 cup of AP, 1 cup of something else (rye, oats, or more AP or WW, etc) and a cup of grains and seeds (KAF or Bob's Red Mill or my own mix of whatever is in the pantry and needs to be used up). I always use buttermilk, and knead it in the bread machine, it makes 2 loaves.
Does anyone else use the Super 10? I'm not real pleased with it but haven't found the right changes to make it better (I've used the recipe on the bag and also my "daily bread" recipe). The bread is rather dry and crumbly. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Whole grain recipes are always challenging. The 100% whole wheat recipe that you make in the food processor is probably the most successful one I've ever tried. That's a part of the repertoire here now, we're on either our 3rd or 4th loaf of it.
I'm tempted to try the techniques of that recipe (a 2 1/2 hour autolyse and using the food processor instead of the mixer) on some of the other whole grain recipes I've tried unsuccessfully over the years.
I baked the KAF Baker’s Grain Sourdough Bread on Thursday. I’ve baked it before but this time I stayed closer to the recipe. Instead of ½ cup Ancient Grains Flour, which I do not buy, I used ¼ cup dark rye flour and ½ cup spelt. (I increase flour in KAF’s sourdough recipes by about ¼ cup per cup of sourdough, as my starter is not as thick as theirs.) I also added 1 Tbs. flax meal and cut the salt to 1 ½ tsp. from 2 tsp. I used 1 tsp. regular yeast and 1 tsp. special gold which I’m trying to use up.
KAF’s directions on wholegrain breads seem to me to set home bakers up for failure. First, I doubt that a recipe that uses high gluten flour will work well in a bread machine--and this is a thick dough. I don't think it would get kneaded enough. I used my stand mixer. Second, after proofing the yeast in the water with the honey (my personal preference). I added the sourdough starter, the Harvest Grains blends and the combined wholegrain flours and potato flour. I mixed these in, then let them sit for 20 minutes, so that the wholegrains could absorb the liquid. I then mixed in the 2 Tbs. oil before mixing in the combined high-gluten flour and salt. After switching to the bread hook, I found that I needed about 8 minutes of kneading on speed 3 of my Cuisinart stand mixer to get the windowpane. The first rise took an hour and the second 50 minutes before I slashed the loaf. I baked it in the Emile Henry long covered baker, following the given baking instructions. I always grease the bottom with Crisco and coat it with farina (cream of wheat). I took the lid off after 35 minutes and baked another 10 when it registered 198F. (I think 190F is too low.) The bread had nice oven spring.
We cut into the loaf for sandwiches the next day. It is delicious and of a lovely light texture inside. I think it’s better than what KAF has pictured.
For dinner on Thursday, I made salmon and couscous flavored with Penzey’s Greek seasoning. (Great minds think alike, Chocomouse.) We had steamed green beans on the side.
I made a one-egg omelet for lunch on Friday. I used Penzey's Bavarian seasoning (a freebie) to season it. I also used chopped onion and a piece of low-fat Mozzarella string cheese. I ate it on a slice of the bread I baked yesterday.
I mostly make smashed potatoes these days, especially when I can leave the skins on.
Chocomouse--I, alas, have never lived close to a Penzey's, nor does it (like Trader Joe's!) seem to lie along any of our travel routes.
ItalianCook, I'm never sure how to freeze zucchini, or how to use it in baked goods - I just wing it every time! I shred it fresh, let it sit in a colander (no salt, no squeezing) for an hour or so and freeze it in 2 cup amounts. When I thaw it, it is a mass of zucchini shreds plus a LOT of liquid. I drain and use the shreds but save the liquid. If the batter looks a bit thick and dry, I add some liquid, until it looks/feels right. Not very precise, but it works. And info I have found on the internet is very conflicting - so I don't know what works best. I know - I should keep records of my results. I keep using zucchini in my baking because I grow so much of it, and it makes the baked goods healthier. Maybe someday. How do you use it?
We had lavash pizza again tonight. (The lavash come 3 to a package.) Didn't have a tomato, so I put on some tomato sauce, which was an acceptable substitute.
Irish soda bread covers a wide range of breads. Some are sweet, some are not. Some have fruit and/or nuts in them, some do not. Some are light in color, some are quite dark. I've even seen some dusted with powdered sugar or a light glaze.
You can make them with a gluten-free flour, too. (Although I haven't tried that myself, I've made other GF chemically leavened breads, so I suspect they'd work well.)
