What are you baking the week of July 14, 2019?

[Mike Nolan]

I need to make banana nut muffins today.

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[chocomouse]

Today I had a Breakfast Party at my house, with all of my immediate family as guests. I've been preparing for it for several weeks, so it really was not a ton of work, although my husband did the heavy work with setting up a large canopy, tables, and chairs next to the front flowerbed. Mother Nature helped out by delivering perfect weather for us! I made lemon blueberry cornmeal cakes (KAF corn cakes recipe), tropical fruit muffins, maple nut scones, maple walnut fig bread, and cinnabons; plus egg cups (really just scrambled eggs with sauteed onions, peppers, cheddar cheese and baked in muffin tins); fresh cherries, grapes, melon; assorted juices and mimosas.Some of the guests also brought food. We had 2 grandchildren, new college grads about to start their first career (both teachers) jobs, 1 grand-daughter starting sophomore year in college, 1 grand-daughter starting freshman year in college, and 1 grand-daughter a rising senior in high school but about to start her freshman year in the Early College program. What a blast! Love those teens!

[skeptic7]

Chocomouse, that sounds like a great party. I am so glad that the weather cooperated with you and all the grand children could come.

I did blueberry scones again but it was so hot I baked in the slow cooker this time. I cooked it on high for 2 hours. It was only 160 degrees but a knife inserted it it came out cleanly. Its more moist than the recipe baked in a cast iron frying pan, and has a thinner crust.

I'm still working on my attic, which seems to have been going on forever. I wished I had tried to find someone who would be willing to do the air sealing and attic baffles for me. First I didn't think it would take this long, and second DIY means that you only have to deal with one person's dumb ideas.

[chocomouse]

Skeptic, I'm so sorry that attic project is still ongoing; I know you wanted it finished by summer! Are you able to keep your living area relatively cool now? I've never tried baking in a slow cooker, but reading about your successes has me thinking about trying it.

[skeptic7]

Chocomouse;

I am running the air conditioning anyway and just hoping the electric bill won't be too outrageous. I am also spending time in my basement which is cooler.

[BakerAunt]

We took advantage of cloud cover and went blueberry picking on Tuesday, coming home with 20 pounds of blueberries. After dinner, I made blueberry cobbler, using my mother-in-law’s recipe as the base recipe. I am trying to make a healthier version, so I substituted in 25% barley flour, added 1 Tbs. powdered milk, used buttermilk rather than regular milk and adjusted baking powder and added baking soda. I reduced the salt. I reduced the sugar in the topping from ½ to 1/3 cup and the sugar in the cake part from 1/3 to ¼ cup. I reduced the butter from 4 Tbs. to 3 Tbs. I expect it will be sampled at breakfast tomorrow.

[Italiancook]

I've been going through my recipe boxes and trying recipes I haven't tried but sound interesting. Today, I baked one of them: Apple Oaties (cookies). I put the recipe in the recipe section.

Mike, I have no idea where this recipe came from. It's at least from the 1970s. If you feel uncomfortable having it here, feel free to delete it. I didn't know whether or not to post it, but they are good.

[Mike Nolan]

Recipes fall into an interesting area under copyright law, as I understand it. Facts, ie, the list of ingredients, cannot be copyrighted. However, the specific instructions for how to make something is copyrightable. But a little rewording of it usually gets around that.

So post away.

[skeptic7]

Its horribly hot today. I baked pizza with fresh tomatoes yesterday evening after a storm had knocked the worse of the heat off.
I don't know if I can cook anything today but I would really like an apple crisp. I'm trying to imagine cooking this in a crock pot, but the top would probably come out soggy. Am I wrong? Could I cook apple crisp in a slow cooker?

[BakerAunt]

I suspect that you are correct: the top would be soggy. What you need is one of those small ovens that does not heat up the entire place--or else the ability to cook the apple crisp in the slow cooker, then crisp the top in the toaster oven.

[BakerAunt]

I baked cornmeal seeded crispbread on Thursday morning. I had planned to bake bread, but I got caught up in unpacking more of my cookbooks, as well as arranging some of the shelves in the kitchen and unpacking and putting in some of the dishes.

[skeptic7]

I did blueberry gingerbread in my slow cooker yesterday. It turns out moister than baked in an oven but still good. There is a carmel overture to the bread as if the long cooking made the taste deeper. The blueberries have a more cooked and liquid texture than occurs when baked in an oven.

[chocomouse]

I have two loaves of Len's Semolina-Rye-Whole Wheat bread rising. I'm about to make a sheet cake so it will be baked just before the bread needs to go in. And then I will make raspberry jam, some of which will be used to make the raspberry poke for a potluck tomorrow. I need to get all the baking/cooking done before the temperature rises to the 90s around noon.

Baker Aunt, you must be having so much fun putting away books and dishes! Does this mean you are moving things from your temporary quarters, or are you unpacking things that have been in boxes for ages?

[BakerAunt]

Friday morning I baked my standard "knead in the bread machine" bread. For the grains this time, I used 3/4 cup rolled 5-grain cereal and 1/4 cup malted wheat flakes and 2 Tbs. wheat bran--all of which I soaked in 1 cup buttermilk. I further reduced the salt to 3/4 tsp. and the honey to 1 Tbs. I used 2 Tbs. olive oil. I've had hydration issues with this recipe, so I used just 1/2 cup water, but I needed to add 2 Tbs. more. I've realized that this bread bakes better at 375F for 40-45 minutes. We will use it for sandwiches for supper tonight.

Chocomouse--We were able to move back into the house a week ago yesterday. I'm moving items from the apt., but I'm also unpacking items that I haven' seen for two years. It's rather like Christmas!

[Mike Nolan]

A year or two ago my wife found a piece of glassware that we had packed up when we moved into our current house in 1997, we were delighted to rediscover it. But I still have no idea where a cookbook I had in the kitchen disappeared to about 8 years ago. Fortunately, I've found a replacement for the recipe that I had written in it for sponge candy that actually works better than the one I lost. And I found a copy of that cookbook at a used book sale, so I've got the book again, too.

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