Fri. Jul 31st, 2026

BakerAunt

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  • in reply to: 2026 Gardens #49784
    BakerAunt
    Participant

      That's quite a set-up Mike.

      We have yet to get any large tomatoes, although there are two green ones. We are doing well with cherry tomatoes. We have had a first picking of green beans, and more are on the way. The pickling cucumbers are doing well, and I just made my second batch of refrigerator dills from our garden. However, my husband forgot about two in the garden, and they have yellowed skin. I will see if I can peel them and use them in another way. We have some small green peppers on all the plants. The pumpkin plant has finally formed some flower buds, but it looks like they are all male flowers. We may have a repeat of last season when most of the pumpkins developed too late. The potato plants have really grown, and my husband had to cover up a potato or two that had started to show.

      in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49783
      BakerAunt
      Participant

        I will remember that Italian Cook if I need a lighter olive oil. I like using the whole grain flours, and we particularly like barley flour, so regular olive oil for these cookies is fine for me.

        On Thursday, I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough I made last Saturday.

        in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49782
        BakerAunt
        Participant

          I made yogurt on Thursday. For dinner, we had more chicken and rice and finished the barbecue sauce. I sauteed green and yellow zucchini in olive oil, caramelizing it, to complete the meal. I made another jar of refrigerator dill pickles after dinner. They will be ready when we finish consuming the current jar.

          in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49775
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            Baking is a wonderful gift for people who help us, Joan! I'm sure they appreciate you.

            After dinner on Wednesday, I baked Lemon Oatmeal Barley Sugar Cookies, which is becoming a signature recipe for me. I have learned that even though I replaced the butter with olive oil, it is still necessary to chill the dough for a couple of hours. I also have learned that the white whole wheat flour and barley flour are necessary to prevent an olive oil flavor. I used the remaining three lemons that I got from my sister when we went to California at the end of April. They kept well in the refrigerator. I am hoping the 35 cookies (one is rather small) will hold us for the next week if not a couple days longer.

            in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49774
            BakerAunt
            Participant

              I made a mixture of brown and wild rice on Wednesday to go with the leftover barbecue sauce from the pork. We also had leftover roasted chicken and microwaved fresh broccoli.

              in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49770
              BakerAunt
              Participant

                I ate the last Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie today, so I need to bake cookies again.

                After yesterday's rain, we had a somewhat cooler day, although the humidity stuck around for most of Tuesday. I baked a full recipe of my adaptation of Shipyard Galley's Zucchini Muffins this morning--12 regular-sized ones to eat over the next few days and 5 large ones to freeze for future breakfasts.

                In the afternoon, I baked Bittersweet Blackberry Brownies using puree frozen from last year. After they rest in the refrigerator overnight, we will begin having them for dessert tomorrow.

                in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49769
                BakerAunt
                Participant

                  At the grocery on Tuesday, we found a package labeled "half chicken," which I think means a practice cut by a novice meat cutter that did not go as expected. We never quite know what cuts the package will hold, although usually it is a breast or two and a good buy. It turned out to be two large breasts and a back. I rubbed them with olive oil, sprinkled generously with Penzey's Justice blend and roasted at 425 F for 45 minutes. We had them with the last ears of corn and microwaved frozen peas. We have enough chicken for additional meals, which is what I like.

                  in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49764
                  BakerAunt
                  Participant

                    On Monday, we drove to the county seat to run errands and to shop for groceries. I am thankful that tonight we had the leftover pork with sauce for dinner, along with salads, and an ear of corn for each of us. That made for an easy meal.

                    We had 1.06 inches of rain this afternoon, which we greatly needed.

                    in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 19, 2026? #49763
                    BakerAunt
                    Participant

                      Thanks, for giving the dimensions, Len. My oven does seem to be about the same size. I will need to check my collection of pizza pans. I know that I have some smaller ones tucked away.

                      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 26, 2026? #49760
                      BakerAunt
                      Participant

                        Sunday night's dinner was an experiment. We had a 1 ¾-lb. package of country style ribs (means boneless), and I wondered if I could find a crockpot recipe for cooking them. I located one for crock pot barbecued ribs, by Alyssa Rivers at "The Recipe Critic," then proceeded to change it to use the same ketchup-based sauce I used for stove top barbecued chicken. I made the rub last night, deleting spices Scott cannot eat, and favoring what we like. I let them sit covered overnight in the refrigerator, then started them in the crockpot with the sauce at around noon. That was later than I had hoped, but Scott and a partner were doing lake monitoring testing this morning, and I went along so that we could go blackberry picking afterwards, and we returned home later than anticipated.

                        The recipe stated 6-8 hours, and I let it go for 7 ½ hours. They were tender, but slightly dry, so next time, especially for a lower fat cut, I would probably cook for an hour less. For spices, I used brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in the rub. I halved the garlic and onion powder but next time would use the full amount and double the paprika. For the sauce, I used ¾ cup ketchup, ¾ cup water, 3 Tbs. cider vinegar, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 4 Tbs. brown sugar, and 1 tsp. celery seed. I will play with the seasoning next time, as I feel some flavor is missing, although Scott thought it was fine. With the pork, we each had an ear of sweet corn, and I sauteed another zucchini in olive oil. to caramelize it.

                        in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 19, 2026? #49759
                        BakerAunt
                        Participant

                          Thanks for showing how you do your pizza in the toaster oven, Len. Your toaster oven must be larger than mine., but maybe I will give it a try with smaller pizzas. All this talk of pizza makes me want one, but we are in another hot spell, so I will have to wait.

                          in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of July 19, 2026? #49747
                          BakerAunt
                          Participant

                            I made Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Cracker dough on Saturday. I will bake the crackers later next week.

                            in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 19, 2026? #49746
                            BakerAunt
                            Participant

                              For dinner on Saturday, we had more sweet corn. I made roasted salmon with a pecan-maple-Dijon mustard topping. I also sauteed a golden arrow zucchini, cut into quartered slices, in olive oil. I lightly caramelize it, and that gives it great flavor.

                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 19, 2026? #49744
                              BakerAunt
                              Participant

                                I made yogurt on Friday. I also made another four half-pints of blackberry jam. After dinner, I made a jar of refrigerator pickle spears.

                                For dinner we ate the rest of the turkey-zucchini loaf, and the rest of the green bean salad on lettuce. We also had sweet corn, a gift from our neighbors who grow it on their farm. They gift us sweet corn every year, so I reciprocated this year with a jar of black raspberry jam and a jar of blackberry jam.

                                in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of July 19, 2026? #49742
                                BakerAunt
                                Participant

                                  What a great dinner, Joan.

                                  We repeated last night's dinner with more roasted potato chunks.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 8,661 total)