[BakerAunt]

I was pleased with the crust on the pecan pie bars. I used white whole wheat pastry flour in the crust, and it is firm but tender.

On Friday, I baked my version of Ron's Irish Porridge Bread, which I adapted from a recipe that King Arthur published from a customer. I use steel-cut oats, substitute in whole wheat flour and use bread flour for the rest. I used honey this time instead of maple syrup because I wanted to clean out a honey jar. I also cut the salt. Instead of 1 cup of water, I use a cup of buttermilk plus ¼ cup of water, but I needed to add an additional 3 Tbs. of water. It is hard to judge with cooked oatmeal and the whole wheat requires more water. Additional water also works better with my mixer. One loaf is for the freezer, and we will start slicing the other one for lunch tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

I made another batch of yogurt on Friday.

[BakerAunt]

We had a muggy Thursday morning, but I still baked Pecan Pumpkin bars, because I have been craving them, and because I need to make some room in the freezer. That will take care of dessert for five nights. The afternoon cooled down after we had some intermittent rain. Tomorrow should be a good baking day.

[BakerAunt]

Your avocado shrimp salad looks so good, Joan!

For dinner on Thursday, I made Crock Pot Barbecue Country Ribs, a recipe that I tried earlier this summer and re-named since I altered the one I found online. I played around with the spices a bit, and we liked the flavor better. I let it go for 8 hours on low instead of six, and that was maybe a bit too long as much of the sauce evaporated, and the meat was a bit dry. However, the taste was excellent, so next time, I will cut the time to 7 hours and add ¼ cup of water with the ketchup. We had it with a mixture of brown and wild rice, and I chopped up the leftover meat and added it with ½ cup of water to the rest of the rice, so that we can warm it up for another dinner. I made caramelized yellow zucchini to go with it.

[BakerAunt]

Your green beans are looking good Len. Our green beans got some kind of bug infestation, perhaps because we had all that rain and humidity. The bugs destroyed the leaves, so this year there really are no more green beans.

Our pumpkin plant has produced a long vine with male flowers. When a female flower showed up, there were no male flowers to pollinate it. If any were to form now, it would be too late for them to develop. My dental hygienist had the same issue with their pumpkin plants.

As of today, I have another Dester Indiana tomato, and another two developing, but I am out of turkey bacon, which I cannot get locally. I will probably break down and buy regular bacon. I have Canadian bacon in the freezer, but that is not going to give me the taste I crave.

[BakerAunt]

I made dough for Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Wednesday. I will probably bake them early next week.

[BakerAunt]

I made chicken vegetable soup on Wednesday using chicken broth, carrots, celery, purple and orange bell peppers, zucchini, and the last of the green beans from our garden. I added a can of dark kidney beans and a can of chopped tomatoes. I added some dried onion and parsley and some freshly ground black pepper. I added some pasta in the shape of pumpkins and leaves. It is somewhat bland, but by leaving out the regular onion and basil, my husband will be able to eat it. I had it for dinner while Scott finished the turkey and noodles.

[BakerAunt]

We had more turkey and noodles.

For some reason, I'm craving pizza. I can't imagine why. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Great pizza, Mike!

We had leftover turkey, vegetables, and pasta for dinner on Monday.

[BakerAunt]

We caught a break in the weather on Sunday. It cooled down last night and cooled down the house. I celebrated by baking my version of Oatmeal Scotchies that uses avocado oil and golden wheat flour, with some milk powder and flax meal added. I used half the butterscotch chips this time, which made them easier to incorporate and made the final product taste better, as the chips were overwhelming the other ingredients. As a bonus, it further reduces the saturated fat. I increased the water from 2 to 3 tablespoons, which helped the consistency and let them flatten in the oven. I only had a third rather than a half cup of sunflower seeds. I did not realize I was running out, so I made another Vitacost/I Herb order today. I ended up with three dozen cookies.

Fun fact: Nestles butterscotch chips are now in an 11 oz rather than a 12 oz. bag. Perhaps that happened a while ago, but I just noticed the shrinkflation.

[BakerAunt]

We had the other two ears of sweet corn and large salads with roast turkey pieces on top for dinner, same as last night.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--our phones were six years old, and we didn't realize that they were not working properly because they were no longer supported. Of course, the technology changes in six years, and unless a young person is available to explain, it's a process of discovery.

I found sweet corn at the farmers market this morning, so Saturday's dinner was an ear of sweet corn for each of us, along with a salad that featured a greens mix from the market, our cherry tomatoes and some chunks of turkey. We also put crumbled Greek cheese on it, and I added sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and black olives to mine. I pulled a small zucchini Bundt cake out of the freezer, which I glazed for dessert.

[BakerAunt]

I found sweet corn at the farmers market this morning, so Saturday's dinner was an ear of sweet corn for each of us, along with a salad that featured a greens mix from the market, our cherry tomatoes and some chunks of turkey. We also put crumbled Greek cheese on it, and I added sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and black olives to mine. I pulled a small zucchini Bundt cake out of the freezer, which I glazed for dessert.

[BakerAunt]

Mike, I second Joan's good wishes for Diane's retirement.

For Friday night's dinner, I used some of the roasted turkey breast in a penne pasta dish. I started by searing chopped yellow zucchini until the pieces had some caramelization. I then moved them to a bowl. I sauteed chopped celery and red bell pepper, then added sliced mushrooms. I returned the squash to the pan and added the leftover turkey gravy and some chicken broth. I seasoned it with freshly ground black pepper, some celery salt, and dried parsley. I undercooked the penne so that I could add it to the vegetable-turkey sauce to finish cooking in it. We will have leftovers for at least two more nights and maybe three.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--The ways of computers and phones are strange. Scott and I got new phones this summer, and it took a while to figure out as much as we have figured out.

Your baking looks so good!

[Author]

Posts