[BakerAunt]

That slice looks great, Mike!

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover pizza and bean salad.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I made dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them at the end of the week.

[BakerAunt]

Later this week, I might see if I can engineer an oil-based version of the Soft Barley Cookies in the King Arthur Cookie Book. I had to stop baking them due to the butter content, but I, and particularly my husband, think longingly of them.

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover pasta and some more of the Green Bean salad for dinner tonight. We took my bonus daughter and boyfriend to the airport--a 6-hour round trip for us with traffic, and a train that stopped across the tracks when we were not far from home. I wish that a company would re-establish bus service to and from Midway from Michigan City or another mid-sized city that is closer. Finishing the double tracking of the South Shore Line, would also help.

[BakerAunt]

Tomorrow, my bonus daughter and her boyfriend head back to San Diego, so for our last dinner of the visit, I made sourdough pan pizza with homemade tomato sauce and the usual toppings, except that I left off the black olives and green onion.

Earlier in the day, I baked blueberry cobbler for dessert. It is traditional that she will eat some for breakfast tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

To go with pizza for Saturday night dinner, I made Green Bean, Cherry Tomato, and Goat Cheese Salad.

[BakerAunt]

I baked Oatmeal Date Muffins for breakfast on Friday.

[BakerAunt]

We took a trip to the Indiana Dunes on Friday, had a picnic, and hiked. For dinner that night, I made my Oven Crispy Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce, which we had with microwaved broccoli from the farmers' market.

[BakerAunt]

That's great, Len, that you have figured out how to have your pizza and not heat the house up.

We took a boat ride in the late afternoon, so we did an easy dinner of leftover vegetarian lasagna and leftover pasta from last night. My husband and I also had the last of the cantaloupe.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for the input, Mike. I use the convection setting for crackers and get a more even result. I also use it for all my pies, although my pies are streusel-topped these days. I cover with foil for the first 45 minutes, then remove it to brown the streusel and let the pie finish in 5-10 minutes. I will report on how the convection setting works with cookies.

On Thursday evening, I baked a batch of the Whole Wheat/Rye/Semolina Buns (AKA Len's Buns) as 10 buns. We are planning a picnic tomorrow, so we needed buns for sliced turkey sandwiches.

I forgot to mention that on Wednesday morning I baked Pumpkin-Oat muffins. I did not think they were among my best, as they had a craggy appearance, but they tasted good, and they had disappeared by Thursday afternoon, so the rest of the family did not let appearance deter them.

[BakerAunt]

Oh, Skeptic, that is horrible! They need to get back to your house and install the oven correctly. Remind them that if they do not install the anti-tip device, they will be liable for accidents.

On Thursday, I baked a double recipe of Big Lake Judy's Best Ever Molasses Cookies.

I have been noticing that when I bake cookies, the second batch is baking faster than the first batch. I cut a bit of time off of the second and third trays of cookies, and since the fourth tray had just five cookies, I cut the time by 2 minutes. Those five burned. Next time I bake cookies, I am going to use the convection setting, as I do for crackers, and reduce the heat by 25 degrees.

[BakerAunt]

Wednesday's Dinner was Cherry Tomato Sauce. Vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, red and yellow bell pepper, green onions, and mushrooms), and Rigatoni, with the addition of leftover roast chicken.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, yes, the test drive!

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover vegetarian lasagna, leftover turkey loaf, leftover stuffing, and an ear of corn each, as well as more birthday cake!

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