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For Easter dinner, we are having roast turkey, as we had one in the freezer that we bought for an excellent price in January when Aldi's was selling them at discount. I even have a blue bag of Pepperidge Farm stuffing, which I am making as dressing. I will make gravy from pan drippings. We are not having cranberry relish, but I thawed applesauce that I made last fall to go with it. We will also have microwaved frozen peas.
Lunch was a ham sandwich and a slice of cherry pie. We find that we prefer to eat our pie earlier in the day.
I baked a Cherry Streusel Pie on Saturday to have for Easter dessert tomorrow. I used three jars of Morello cherries, which I got from Aldi's. The recipe is my adaptation of the Cherry Lattice Pie in Cook's Illustrated Baking, with the streusel topping from the blueberry streusel pie I adapted. My version, of course, also uses an oil crust. Usually, I bake some kind of Easter cake, but the cherry pie is a treat for my husband.
I did not cook on Saturday. When we shopped at Aldi's this week, spiral-cut hams were 40% off, so we bought one. I threw away the glaze packet--too much stuff we do not want in it. We had ham sandwiches on Mostly Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread, and the combination is exquisite. We had salad as well, using some of my husband's grow-light lettuce and spinach, as well as winter carrots from the farmers market and mushrooms from the grocery. I used Penzey's Ranch to make the dressing.
Thanks for calling attention to this article, Mike. I've never understood all the time and money people put into lawns. My husband is devoted to native plants and trees, so he is in charge of whatever is planted. In an area with increasingly suburbanized lawns, we are an isle for the butterflies and birds.
On Good Friday, I baked Hot Cross Buns and continued experimenting with this recipe which originated in the Los Angeles Times cooking section about forty years ago, but which I have modified many times. I used more whole wheat flour this time, pairing it with some bread flour, and the rolls came out well. I used golden raisins, but I think they could use a bit of lemon zest or candied lemon peel. I always frost mine rather than making a cross. I tried to use some nonpareils to make a cross, but the glaze had set, so it only worked on the first two, and the rest just have a festive sprinkle.
I had one, and my husband had two for dessert tonight, but they will be breakfast on Saturday and Easter and possibly Easter Monday. Unlike in Mike's neighborhood, our neighbors are mostly non-resident at this time of year.
I made Oven Crisp Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce for dinner on Friday. We also had microwaved fresh broccoli.
I baked my Pumpkin Snacking Cake on Thursday, using a cup of frozen "peanut" pumpkin puree. I sprinkled multi-colored nonpareils on top to give a hint of spring to the autumn flavor. Due to its wholegrain content (buckwheat, spelt), I do not bake this cake when the weather gets warm. Right now, that is not a problem.
I made yogurt on Thursday.
After a morning of thunderstorm and tornado watches on Wednesday ended, I celebrated the quiet afternoon by baking a double recipe of Almond Date Breakfast Bars from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, by Deb Perelman. I made two minor changes by halving the salt and adding 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder. I baked them in a parchment-lined 11x11" pan for 25 minutes. I cut them into 32 bars. My husband had two at dinner and was much more favorable than in the past. I had not baked the recipe since before we moved here nearly six years ago. I think that using the 11x11 pan rather than a 13x9 pan works better. The recipe is for an 8x8 pan, so that area would be 128, and the 11x11 pan gets closer than the 13x9. The zest from a Cara Cara orange that I used this time gives a lovely flavor superior to the typical Navel orange. We will not be eating them for breakfast but with tea in the afternoon.
I hope that everyone in tornado areas is staying safe.
Navlys--When people gift you their unused food, do you feel like a contestant on Chopped? Your pizza sounds delicious.
For Tuesday night's dinner, I improvised a soup using the rest of that bland broth mixed with a container of my regular broth. I sauteed red and yellow bell pepper and mushrooms in olive oil, browned some ground turkey, added the broths, 1 cup of brown lentils and ½ cup of red lentils, before adding cubed butternut squash. I added a teaspoon of sage and some dried parsley before letting it come to a boil then simmer for 40 minutes. My husband liked it a lot, as did I. It was a good way to use butternut squash from autumn. I have two more to go. I am pleased at how well they have kept in a cool location.
We had the leftover turkey, vegetable, and farro stir-fry for dinner on Monday, so for me, like Joan, no cooking tonight!
Aaron--My understanding is that the King Arthur milk is heat treated so as not to interfere with yeast bread rise.
I have a hazy memory that the BRM milk powder is not so treated. I know that the one time I mixed the BRM into my yogurt AFTER I had heated the milk to between 180-190F, and kept it there for the required ten minutes, that the yogurt was runny. That suggests to me that the BRM is not the same. That is my one-time observation; others may have a different experience. I cannot use the KA special dry milk for yogurt because it needs to be mixed in with dry ingredients as it does not reconstitute.
I keep both the KA and the BRM milk powder in my cupboard, but I reserve the first for yeast bread (mostly to add additional calcium even if I am using buttermilk) and the second for non-yeast baking and yogurt.
Groan!
I started Sunday by making Cornmeal Pumpernickel Waffles. My waffle iron, which I bought in 1990, has developed some sticking issues, but brushing it with canola oil before each waffle does the trick.
I also baked a new recipe on Sunday, "Cinnamon Roll Baby Bunny Cakes," which came from the Nordic Ware site, and which is designed to use their 6-well bunny pan. I made changes by using half barley flour and half King Arthur AP and adding 2 tsp. Bob's Red Mill milk powder. I replaced the ½ cup of butter with 1/3 cup canola oil. Since the butter is melted for the recipe, I knew the oil would work. I replaced regular milk with buttermilk and added 1/16th tsp. baking soda to balance it. For the filling, I used the Penzey's Chinese cinnamon, which is a little stronger than my regular cinnamon. The cakes took 23 minutes to bake and came out beautifully, thanks to The Grease. I was particularly pleased at the definition. Although we should have waited, we did split one this evening. I do need to do a better job getting the cinnamon filling more toward the middle. I am not a great judge of how much batter I have put in, particularly with more decorative pans.
For Sunday dinner, I made a stir-fry. I cooked a cup of farro in the bland chicken broth I made for my husband last week. In a large pan, I browned ground turkey, removed it, then stir-fried baby carrots from the farmers' market, the rest of the celery, half of an orange bell pepper, a red bell pepper, and 8 oz. sliced mushrooms. I returned the ground turkey to the pan and added the farro. My husband still needs to take it easy on spices, or I would have added some sage or thyme, particularly with the bland chicken broth. Although my palate missed the spices (his did not), at least I had different textures.
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