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I made cornmeal pancakes for breakfast on Sunday, using Bob's Red Mill coarse grind cornmeal and white whole wheat flour. The recipe came from a package of the BRM coarse cornmeal--back before they were so focused on gluten-free. I make half a recipe, which is just right for the two of us.
Someone, I don't recall who, was looking for a pumpkin-shaped bread recipe. I mentioned that King Arthur has such a recipe. There was a link in today's KABC email:
Alas, Mike, for me it is not just about peeling off the skin after the chicken cooks, unless the chicken is on a rack that allows the fat to drip off. If I allow the fat to drip into the rest of the food that I will eat, it causes digestive issues. To get around the problem with another recipe, where the chicken cooks on a bed of rice (which meant the fat on the skin dripped into the rice), I skinned the chicken, then made a Panko coating. that protected the chicken from drying out but meant that i did not have the fat issue.
King Arthur also included a link to this discussion of increasing pumpkin flavor:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2023/10/04/simple-trick-for-better-pumpkin-bakes
I highly recommend the King Arthur Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars. While my cutting of the sugar by a third and replacing of 3 Tbs. of butter with avocado oil probably changed the texture to more cake-like than the original, the texture is fine, and the flavor is excellent. I was worried about what my husband would think about the espresso in the glaze, but it plays nicely against the spices, so he did not mind it. I did accidentally use water rather than milk in the glaze, but it still worked.
I suppose this recipe can count as my contribution to this month's recipe challenge.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pumpkin-spice-latte-bars-recipe
For dinner on Saturday, my husband had leftover roast chicken and the rest of the mushrooms and noodles. I also had roast chicken, but I made a pasta salad which included the last of the summer vegetables from the farmers market: small cucumbers, multi-colored cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, green onion, and Greek olives. I made a simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle. I used an interesting pasta that I found at Marshall's. It looks like little pumpkins, with one end more closed than the other, and half are orange and half are not colored. I needed to cook them at boiling for 7 minutes. (There were no directions on the package.)
Earlier today, I made applesauce. I used about five pounds of organic Rubinette apples. When I was putting the cooked apples through the food mill, I had too many tiny pieces of apple skin getting through. It was too much to pick out, so I grabbed my stick blender and pureed. That makes a creamier applesauce. I like the regular texture better, but it was the only way I could get rid of the little bits of apple peel. I am thinking of looking into an electric mill that can separate the peel and the cores after I cook apples.
I made the applesauce for my husband, as it is easy for him to eat while recovering from the dental procedure.
I agree that the chicken dish looks great, although I would have to skin the chicken. As for the Dijon mustard, I have found that it also works great in salad dressings as an emulsifier.
Our Friday night dinner was leftover roast chicken and leftover noodles with mushrooms. I have to avoid certain foods for the next two weeks for my husband, who has a "splint" in his mouth. He was warned to avoid rice, nuts, seeds, or anything that could get stuck in there, so farro and barley are also not on the menu.
Yes, Joan! I will be delighted if we have other bakers in the family.
On Friday, I baked a new recipe from King Arthur, "Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars," which was one of their "Bake of the Week" recipes in October. Several reviewers commented that it was too sweet. One reduced the sugar by ¼ cup. I reduced it from 1 ½ cups to 1 cup. I used avocado oil for the oil, and I used just 1 Tbs. of butter and replaced the rest with 3 Tbs. of avocado oil. I suspect that the change in sugar and butter will alter the texture, but without those changes, it does not fit into our dietary parameters. With 1 cup of sugar in the bars and 3/4 cup powdered sugar in the glaze, it's already a dessert on the edge for us.
I did not read the directions for the glaze and went ahead and mixed the espresso powder and salt into the powdered sugar, so I had to heat the water, then mix it into the glaze mixture. As the bars have to be cooled completely before the glaze is added, and then the glaze has to set, we will not be sampling these before tomorrow with tea. I will report tomorrow on taste and texture.
We had leftover black-eyed peas and ham. I also had some crackers and an Enterprise apple from the small bag I bought at last week's farmers' market. Enterprise is a good eating apple with some sweetness. I suspect that it would also make a good pie.
I pulled out some frozen black-eyed peas from the freezer and combined them with leftover chopped ham we brought home from the family reunion. Because of the dental procedure my husband had today, he had to let his cool to room temperature before eating it. He will be on softer foods for a few days.
By bonus younger son and daughter-in-law are taking the plunge and getting a bread machine. They want their son to have good, healthy bread but were dismayed by the cost. He asked about recipes, which gives me an excellent opportunity to try some single loaf recipes to send to them. I remembered that Zen had done a scaled version of the three-loaf recipe for Grandma A's Ranch Hand Bread (posted at Nebraska Kitchen from the defunct King Arthur Baking Circle), so I looked it up, then looked at how I had adapted the three loaf recipe and made some changes to the single loaf so that it is two-thirds whole wheat with some flax meal, as well as buttermilk and some special dried milk. I replace the butter with olive oil. I am not going to experiment with raising the dough or baking it in the bread machine, but if they want to do it, that is fine. At least they will have good bread! I'm giving them volume measurements but will also tell them about scales.
I have a second reason for this experiment. When we take our next extended trip, I plan to take along the small bread machine (a first generation one!), as it is lightweight and more compact than the Zo, even though the Zo does a better job and can handle more dough. That way, we can have good bread away from home. I will package up ingredients for the recipe and take along a small dough bucket.
I will add to this post after the loaf, which is on its second rise with the oven heating, has baked.
Addition: The loaf did not have the oven spring that this bread has when I bake three loaves, so I must have done something to affect that. I'll see how it is tomorrow when we cut into it. I know that Zen, in her notes on scaling it down mentioned that she had used just 1 1/2 tsp. of yeast but thought that 2 to 2 1/2 tsp. was probably needed. I used 2 tsp. If I try it again, I will increase the yeast.
It's fascinating. For me, it stresses yet again the need to find ways to re-use what would otherwise contribute to a landfill.
We found a whole chicken, marked down for quick sale, at the grocery, so on Tuesday we had roast chicken for dinner. I cooked basil pasta noodles in some of the turkey broth I made on Sunday, then added it to mushrooms sauteed in avocado oil with a bit of evaporated milk. Microwaved fresh broccoli completed the meal. I wanted a substantial meal because my husband has an in-office oral surgery tomorrow, which as such procedures go, should not be too bad. He has to fast after midnight.
We have leftovers, and like Joan and CWCdesign, I rejoice!
I baked Maple Granola today, as I ate the rest of the last batch for breakfast yesterday.
We had leftover stir-fry and boneless pork.
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