[BakerAunt]

We got a good deal on bone-in chicken breasts at the local grocery today, but they needed to be roasted today, so I changed dinner plans. To go with the chicken, we had the last honey nut squash roasted as cubes and microwaved fresh broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked another recipe from Sarah Leah Chase's Year Around Cookbook (Nantucket Open House Cookbook, which is one of the two included in this joint volume), Cranberry Harvest Muffins. I replaced AP flour with whole wheat flour and 1 cup of melted butter with ½ cup of canola oil. I added 2 Tbs. milk powder and 2 Tbs. flax meal. I replaced the milk with buttermilk. I halved the white and brown sugars. I did not use her spices, which were 1 Tbs. cinnamon and 2 tsp. ground ginger. Instead, I used 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. allspice, and ¼ tsp. cloves. I could not find dried Calimyrna figs, so I followed an online suggestion to use dried Turkish figs instead. I am pleased with how the recipe turned out. The spices are just right, nicely complementing the fruit. I made one unintentional change. I planned to reduce the baking powder from 1 Tbs. to 2 tsp. However, I accidentally put in 2 tsp. of baking soda because I was thinking about something other than the task at hand. The baking soda was already in the flour, so I had to proceed. I put in ½ tsp. of baking powder (which should have been the baking soda amount) and deleted the salt. The muffins came out fine, but next time I will do it the right way. The recipe said it yields 20 muffins. I made 6 large muffins and 10 small muffins. I think it would make close to two dozen. I will freeze the large muffins for future breakfasts. Even Scott, who is not a cranberry fan likes the muffins.

[BakerAunt]

It is good to hear from you again, Aaron. I was wondering how your baking is going, since you had not posted for a while. Yes, mixers do a better job kneading dough. I was a holdout until about 15 years ago when I got my stand mixer, and suddenly, my bread rose higher and was lighter, and I made less of a mess in the kitchen. That's why, before we lived here, I bought the used bread machine for kneading while the stand mixer was at home. Then I discovered the bread machine was great for the small kneading jobs my mixer was not so good at. So, one discovery leads to another.

That is great that Violet is still baking with you.

[BakerAunt]

I made yogurt on Monday.

We had more of the Turkey, Mushroom, and Kale Lasagna. Thanks for the information about spinach having more water, Mike. Scott and I agree that when kale is available, I will use it in this recipe.

[BakerAunt]

I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Monday from dough I made last week.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner on Sunday night was Turkey, Mushroom, and Kale Lasagna. The recipe calls for spinach, but the vendor had such nice kale at the farmers market that I used it instead. I also included two of our red bell peppers that have ripened inside. I think the lasagna worked better with the kale than with the frozen spinach, in that it firmed up faster. We both like this variation on the recipe.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner, we had the remaining two pecan coated pork slices with roasted honey nut squash chunks, the rest of the applesauce, and microwaved frozen mixed vegetables.

[BakerAunt]

I baked a crumb-topped apple pie on Friday evening, using the original Winesap apples. I made the crust with half whole wheat pastry flour and half regular pastry flour, instead of just a third of the whole wheat pastry flour. Eventually, I want to see if I can make the crust with only whole wheat pastry flour, since Bob's Red Mill has stopped selling either kind of pastry flour. I do have another source for the whole wheat pastry flour, and I have plenty of it on hand. I am pleased with how the apples in the filling baked, although we will not slice for a taste until tomorrow. I now know the ask for original Winesaps, not "traditional," which is what I got last year and found do not make good pies as they do not soften very much.

Saturday note: We sliced the pie for afternoon tea (for Scott) and coffee (for me). It is delicious and exactly as I remember a Winesap apple pie should be.

[BakerAunt]

We repeated the pecan coated pork slices from last night, but I roasted sweet potato chunks to go with it, and we had microwaved broccoli, as well as more of the applesauce.

[BakerAunt]

Yum, yum, Joan!

[BakerAunt]

For Thursday night's dinner, I made pecan coated boneless pork slices. I also cut up a honey nut squash, cut it into chunks, tossed it with olive oil, then roasted them in my countertop oven. We had microwaved peas with the meal, as well as applesauce, from last year, from the freezer. It was an easy meal, which was needed, as we did our big shopping run to the very small city about 30 minutes away, then in the afternoon, took our dog Annie for a walk.

[BakerAunt]

I made dough for Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them next week.

[BakerAunt]

I made chicken broth on Wednesday from accumulated bones from chicken breasts.

We had leftovers from last night, as well as a few leftover roasted potato chunks from the night before.

I'm glad to hear that your weather is now above freezing, Joan!

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked Soft Ginger and Molasses Cookies, a recipe that I adapted from King Arthur to use avocado oil rather than butter. I also use white whole wheat flour and add milk powder. It made 34 cookies, so I hope that they will last a week. Three are already gone, as I had one and Scott had two for dessert.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--I think that your weather was colder than ours!

I made yogurt on Tuesday morning. For dinner, I used the leftover roasted chicken in a rigatoni pasta dish. I used most of our last cherry tomatoes in the sauce. I sauteed red bell pepper, green onion, sliced celery, carrots, and mushrooms in olive oil. I added ¼ tsp. of Penzey's Ozark Blend and some garlic granules, along with freshly ground black pepper. We had an open container of crumbled goat cheese, so I stirred it in at the end. Scott and I both liked this creation, and we have enough for leftovers tomorrow night. Like Joan, we do not get tired of eating the same food.

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