BakerAunt
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My lime tree had a rough start toward producing fruit this year. It bloomed during the two weeks when we were away for my bonus daughter's wedding, so it did not get pollinated, as it was inside because we could not be sure there would not be a freeze while we were gone. However, Scott put the tree out (it overwinters in the Annex) after we got back, and it bloomed again and formed fruit. I have a harvest of six limes. I used two of them on Thursday to bake Lime Pecan Biscotti, which is a nice addition to teatime.
In the evening, I baked cornbread to go with pea soup for dinner. I wanted to use my Nordic Ware 12-well pumpkin pan. A regular muffin recipe does not fill it, so I made 1 ½ a recipe of my cornbread, which worked well. I used the Vegalene spray, which has been great for other recipes, but to my surprise, the muffins initially stuck and had to be gently loosened, with one having a chunk break out. (I gave it to Annie.) I had lowered the cornbread temperature from 400 to 385 F and baked it for 22 minutes, at which time they tested as done. They were good, but the pan cleaning was not the usual easy one I expect when using this spray. One possibility is that I should lower the temperature to 375 F. It might also be that there was residue on the pan from previous bakes when I used "the grease." Another possibility is that Vegalene does not work well with cornbread.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I have a hazy memory that the Grease did not work well with cornbread.
Skeptic--I have a pork loin roast recipe that I got from America Test Kitchen that simulates using the oven as a "slow cooker." One thing that helps is to put a piece of foil, shiny side facing down on top of a Dutch oven, then put the lid on it. That reflects the heat back into the pan. I recall that I increased the oven temperature from the recipe, as it did not cook enough at the very low temperature. If you want me to look up that temperature I will.
I made split pea soup on Thursday, using a ham bone that I had in the freezer. Our weather is cooling, but we are having more rain. This summer was the fifth wettest on record for Indiana, going back to 1885, according to the Indiana climate report that my husband received today. It certainly played havoc with our tomatoes and green beans.
That dinner sounds wonderful, Joan.
Chocomouse, you are more daring than I getting all three vaccines at once. I space them out two weeks apart. I'm always a little tired that day and the next, but no problems.
I found a pound of green beans at last Saturday's farmers market, which I used on Wednesday to make our favorite Green Beans, Cherry Tomato, and Feta salad. As we lost our green beans to insects after only having it two times this summer, we were very happy, even though I had to use grocery store cherry tomatoes. We had it for dinner, along with Crispy Oven Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce, a recipe that I have not made since last spring, but the weather is cooling down, so favorite meals that warm the house are returning to our table. I helped Scott take his wooden rowboat out this afternoon, and it is now stowed in the garage for winter.
I baked Rustic Sourdough Wholegrain Bread in a Cloche on Tuesday. It came out just as well as last time, so I am confident that I was correct in using ½ cup of King Arthur's rolled six grain mix with ¼ cup of the Harvest Grains. I increased the boiling water in which I soaked the mix until cool enough to add to the other ingredients from 5 to 6 oz., which was perfect.
For dinner on Tuesday, we finished the roasted chicken and the pasta salad. We got our flu shots this afternoon, and there was quite a line. People seem to be taking to heart the advice to get the shot now because our area has confirmed cases.
Enjoy your time in Dallas with your great-granddaughter, Joan!
Sorry, Skeptic, I've never cooked lamb, so I don't have an answer to your question.
I made the last jar of Refrigerator Dill Pickles for the season on Monday. I also finally made a Greek Pasta salad, although sadly without cherry tomatoes. I made one last salsa with cucumber, after we found one more yellowed dill pickle cucumber in the garden. (It's my excuse to eat tortilla chips.) I also made my yogurt, which I do every six days.
Tonight's dinner was more roast chicken, the pasta salad, and caramelized yellow zucchini pieces.
You cannot go wrong with chocolate, Joan.
I baked zucchini cake on Saturday, using that recipe that I first tried a couple of weeks ago. This time, instead of toasted walnuts, chopped fine, I toasted a half cup of pecan meal and used it. (That was laziness.) The recipe specifies a 10-cup Bundt pan, so I used two 5-cup pans. One is the traditional Bundt shape, and the other is a flatter Bundt design. The flatter one was done after 30 minutes, but the larger one needed another 8 minutes. While the original recipe uses a lemon sugar crunch glaze, I will use a vanilla glaze for the one we start eating for dessert tomorrow. The other one is slated for the freezer. We are at the end of zucchini season, but I still have a couple of other baking projects planned with what I bought at the farmers market.
That squash recipe looks delicious. Len. Maybe that would be a way to get my husband to eat acorn squash.
I roasted a "split chicken" for dinner on Saturday. The package consisted of one large half breast, and two smaller half breasts with the wing still attached. Scott had an interesting time carving them up after I roasted them. We also had leftover pasta and goat cheese from last night, along with microwaved frozen peas and carrots.
We finished the pecan coated pork for dinner on Friday. I made pasta with goat cheese as well and caramelized yellow zucchini. I had planned to roast some potatoes, but Scott did not get the next hill dug out of the garden. More importantly, the weather was in the low 70 Fs, and the lake was calm, so I went out in the late afternoon in the sit-upon kayak and paddled around for a glorious 40 minutes.
Dinner on Thursday was pecan-coated boneless pork chop sandwiches on the bread I baked on Tuesday. We also finished the coleslaw.
We still have potatoes to harvest. The volunteer green tomatoes are hanging in there. One green bell pepper and scattered cherry tomatoes remain. The pumpkin plant is suddenly putting out a massive number of male flowers. Too bad, guys, you missed the few female flowers that developed. Next year we plant (and protect) the pumpkin plants earlier.
Quick note: It should be rolled 6-grain mix, not 5. The bread came out with great texture and taste, which is what I remember from my early times baking this recipe.
I baked four small loaves of Squash, Whole Wheat, and Oat Quick Bread on Wednesday. I adapted this recipe from Ken Hadrich's The Harvest Baker. I use a Nordic Ware Bundt pan that makes four small loaves. As it is a dark pan, I reduce the temperature to 325 F and bake for 3 minutes. We each had a slice from one loaf for dessert tonight. I plan to freeze the others.
For dinner on Wednesday, I made pecan meal coated boneless pork chops. These were three thick ones that were marked for quick sale at the grocery store. They needed 28 minutes in the oven at 350 F. We cut one in half for dinner tonight, and we will halve the others at subsequent dinners. I roasted more honey nut squash cubes to go with it, and we had microwaved frozen peas and carrots.
On Tuesday, I baked Rustic Sourdough Wholegrain Bread in a Cloche. The finished loaf is so beautiful that my husband is impressed. The recipe has not been coming out as well the last few times. I finally realized that King Arthur has changed their Harvest Grains mix. It has broken grains and seeds but no rolled grains anymore. My mind had registered that something was different, but I thought it was just the end of the bag, I experimented this time by mixing ½ cup of their rolled 5-grain mix with ¼ cup of the Harvest Grains, which I then covered with 5 oz. of boiling water and let cool. I had to add an extra tablespoon of water to the dough at the start of kneading. I already reduce the bread flour by 30 grams due to the Ankarsrum. I am looking forward to tomorrow's slice.
Note: I should have written rolled 6-grain mix, not 5-grain.
I started my bread baking late, so instead of the planned meal, we finished the rest of the pizza for dinner on Tuesday, with more coleslaw on the side.
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