[BakerAunt]

CWCdesign--I checked my various recipes and they all call for orange zest along with the juice. That seems to be a fact of life for citrus recipes, and one that I find frustrating, as I always have a lot more juice than zest. However, if you have some orange oil (Boyajian makes one), 1/4 tsp. replaces the zest nicely.

[BakerAunt]

I began Tuesday by baking a half recipe of Rory's Irish Scones that appeared in King Arthur's The Baking Sheet. These are somewhat like little biscuits, but they use just buttermilk and a half teaspoon of oil. I made them with half white whole wheat pastry flour and half King Arthur AP flour. It is a quick recipe. I cut them larger, so it made 16.

I also baked Pumpkin Butter Cinnamon bars, which is really a cake, another King Arthur recipe that came to me long ago in an email. (I miss those days.) It uses either apple butter or pumpkin butter, and I had a jar of pumpkin butter that needs to be used, so pumpkin it was. I have reworked the essay to use avocado oil rather than butter, and I used ¾ cup white whole wheat pastry flour and ½ cup King Arthur AP. I made my own glaze by replacing the butter and water with 1 ½ Tbs. of evaporated milk.

My last project, after we returned this afternoon from getting our Covid vaccine, was to make Maple Granola. I should be able to eat some of it after Friday when I get the permanent crown on my tooth.

[BakerAunt]

We-reran last night's dinner, but with microwaved frozen peas as the vegetable.

[BakerAunt]

CWCdesign--If you have orange oil, you can add 1.8 to 1/4 tsp. and get the zest flavor. I may have some recipe ideas for you, but I will have to look tomorrow, as it is getting late. You can freeze the juice.

Between cooking and baking, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen on Monday. I baked Maple Cookies, a butter-free recipe I created that uses avocado oil. I used the Nordic Ware Autumn square stamps. The cookie stamps are somewhat disappointing in that the acorn just does not stamp well, and the pinecone is not great either. However, the maple leaf leaves a nice clean impression. Scott was having a rough day with sinus and vertigo issues, but the cookies certainly cheered him up. I also made dough for Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers, which I will bake at the end of the week.

Note on yesterday's Oatmeal Bread: I'm really pleased with taste and texture. I've made a note to myself not to add more flour.

[BakerAunt]

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen on Monday. I made yogurt in the morning. In the afternoon, I roasted a spaghetti squash, which I then used to make Turkey and Spaghetti Squash Casserole, a kind of faux lasagna. Scott does not do well with Italian spices, so I have been experimenting. This time, I used Penzey's Northwoods seasoning, since I had an open sample, and the flavor is great. I had previously used it to season a bone-in turkey breast and some chicken breasts. We had some of the casserole with microwaved fresh broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday, I baked two loaves of Oatmeal Bread. I adapted this recipe form Ron's Irish Porridge Bread, a recipe that a King Arthur customer gave to the company. I was worried that the dough was too wet, but I held off adding more than a smidge of flour, and the dough was easy to shape after the first rise, and it came out with great oven spring. I look forward to having it at lunch tomorrow as I enjoy the last of the Dester Indiana tomatoes with turkey bacon in sandwiches this week.

[BakerAunt]

I made more salsa with cucumbers on Sunday to eat with tortilla chips. I am using up more of the yellowed pickling cucumbers. We grew two varieties, and we will not do this one again. I skin the cucumbers, scoop out the seeds and chop them up to add to the salsa. I bought the restaurant-style tortilla chips, and they are much better than the regular ones. They are slightly thicker and have more corn flavor.

For dinner, we had the last of the pecan coated pork along with large salads.

[BakerAunt]

We had the rest of the chicken and bulgur for dinner on Saturday, and I caramelized yellow zucchini chunks in olive oil to go with it.

[BakerAunt]

We went to a town hall on Friday from 5:30-7 for a candidate for our congressional district, so we had a late dinner of leftover pecan coated pork slices as sandwiches. I had meant to make a pasta salad earlier in the day, but I got caught up in other activities.

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday afternoon, I baked a half recipe of my adapted Shipyard Galley Zucchini Muffins, so that I can have them for breakfast the next few days, and Scott can have one at teatime.

[BakerAunt]

I made two jars of refrigerator dill pickles on Thursday afternoon. I have enough of the pickling cucumbers to make one more jar in a few days, then that will be it for the season, as there are no more in the garden other than the variety that goes yellow too fast. I may do some more salsa to use some of them.

For dinner, we had more of the apple butter chicken thighs and bulgur, along with a nice big salad.

[BakerAunt]

CWCdesign--if I had a nickel for every time I've forgotten to set the timer....

On Wednesday, I baked eight mini-loaves of Chocolate Zucchini Bread, using the King Arthur pan with wells for each loaf. I used grated yellow zucchini that I had left over from an earlier cooking project. I'll freeze four of these loaves for later. Half of one is a serving.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner on Wednesday, I made the pecan coated pork slices and roasted a honey nut squash that I had cubed and tossed in olive oil. We also had microwaved fresh broccoli. I ate the stalks and left the flower part for Scott, since I can only do limited flossing around the tooth with the temporary crown. Between last night's chicken and tonight's pork, I have the main protein for the next four night's meals.

[BakerAunt]

We bought some marked down chicken thighs on our weekly shopping trip to our local grocery store that I needed to use for Tuesday's dinner. I did some internet browsing and found this recipe for Apple Butter-Glazed Chicken Thighs:

Apple Butter Glazed Chicken Thighs: A Sweet & Savory Lancaster County Favorite

I mostly followed the recipe except for the salt and the red pepper flakes. I also used avocado oil in place of the butter and in place of olive oil for browning the chicken, which I also skinned. Once I moved it from the stove top to the oven, it cooked fast, needing only 20 minutes before I added the rest of the glaze. We thought it was pretty good, but the apple butter glaze needs something more. I might add either celery seed or celery salt when I make it again. We had it with bulgur cooked in chicken broth and microwaved frozen mixed vegetables.

[BakerAunt]

I made yogurt on Monday. For dinner, I made salmon and couscous, which we have not had for a while, along with microwaved frozen peas.

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