[BakerAunt]

Some Greek yogurts are better than others. I like Chobani and Fage for eating, but I usually stir in some fruit or a bit of my homemade jam.

I bought two 2-quart jugs of low-fat buttermilk when we did our big shopping run yesterday, so I should be set until our next shopping trip.

[BakerAunt]

I tried a new recipe at breakfast this morning: "Oatmeal-Buttermilk Pancakes," from the Tres Joli Bakery Café in Oakton, Virginia. It appeared as a recipe request in the August 1999 issue of Bon Appetit (p. 30). I found it in my pile of to-try recipes. I halved it and reduced the salt by half more. The pancakes are mostly old-fashioned oats, with a ratio of 1 cup to ¼ cup AP flour. I replaced 2 Tbs. butter with avocado oil, and I used avocado oil on the pan. I let the batter rest for two hours, then cooked about 2/3 of it. They are fragile, although I managed to get them turned and onto the plate in one piece. (That may also be a problem with my old non-stick griddle, which has build-up I cannot clean off of it, and probably needs to be replaced.) The recipe says that the batter can be prepared a day in advance, so I will see how the remaining batter cooks tomorrow, when I will use a better non-stick skillet. The recipe says these are served with lingonberry preserves, or with blueberries and whipped cream, which is likely why the batter contains vanilla. I used s bit of maple syrup and might omit the vanilla next time. I'm not sure that I will make the recipe again; it depends on the texture and taste when I cook the rest tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

We decided to do a big shopping trip to the larger town northeast of us on Tuesday afternoon, so I needed a quick dinner, which meant the stew that I had planned would not work. Instead, I made a turkey-spinach loaf and roasted sweet potato chunks. We also had coleslaw.

I started the meatloaf, which cooks for an hour at 350, then added the pan of sweet potatoes chunks fifteen minutes later. After I took out the meatloaf, I let it stand. I turned up the heat to 375F and roasted the sweet potato chunks for another ten minutes. They came out really well.

We were supposed to have snow today, which is why we did not do the big shopping trip this morning, but our area just got some blowing flakes, and they started predicting the snow for Thursday, so we decided just to go today.

Kroger had turkeys at 69 cents a pound for people with their card. I also found Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour for $4.99, and the King Arthur was on sale and much cheaper than the price at Walmart.

[BakerAunt]

I made coleslaw on Monday, which we had with Oven Baked Crispy Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar sauce.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse--I recall that I also used pecan meal in the cinnamon chip biscotti recipe that King Arthur had some years ago. I found it easier than trying to slice the logs with pecan pieces.

[BakerAunt]

It's leftover pizza night for our Sunday dinner.

[BakerAunt]

We were out of bread, so I baked two loaves of that great Semolina Rye Bread recipe that Len posted at Nebraska Kitchen. That's one loaf to begin eating tomorrow and one for the freezer.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough I made on Monday.

[BakerAunt]

I made a quick grocery stop today and found three packages of chicken thighs (two per package) that were $1 off each, which brings them down to the old price I recall paying before the pandemic. I bought all three and froze two. Thus, on Saturday evening, we are having roasted chicken thighs, which I started first, then after 20 minutes, I added next to it a pan of cut-up Honey-Nut squash from this year's crop that I had tossed in olive oil. We also had fresh broccoli from the farmers' market.

[BakerAunt]

Yes, I did add garlic when making the sauce. Oregano, basil, etc. do not work for my husband's digestive system. I do use them in the special lunch dishes I make for myself. I also find that a bit of sugar helps.

The cherry tomato plant is now living on the enclosed porch, where the fruit is ripening slowly. We still have a few green peppers in the garden, since my husband protected that plant. He plans to harvest them before we get another freeze--probably this Saturday night to Sunday morning.

[BakerAunt]

I baked my sourdough pan pizza, with the usual toppings for dinner on Friday. We had it with a small salad that featured cherry tomatoes from our plant. The sauce for the pizza was made with our tomatoes--the ones that look pretty and taste blah, although cooking improves them. I also used one of our red bell peppers.

[BakerAunt]

We had the rest of the chicken for dinner, along with bulgur cooked in turkey broth and microwaved fresh broccoli. I also made yogurt on Thursday.

[BakerAunt]

For lunch on Thursday, I tried something new. I like eating the salad turnips from the farmers' market raw. They are delicious. However, I never want to waste the turnip greens, which are high in vitamins and minerals such as calcium. I have usually put them into soups, but I recalled reading a recipe somewhere for "greens and beans." I thought it might be in the Washington Post's "Eat Voraciously," but the site does not appear to be searchable, and the recipe I found required more ingredients than I had on hand. However, the Google search also showed one for "Smoky Beans and Greens," from Food & Wine, which was more a general technique. This morning, I cooked the cup of dry white beans that I had soaked overnight. Using olive oil, I sauteed a shallot I wanted to use up with a small red bell pepper from our garden, added some minced garlic at the end for about 30 seconds. I added a bit more olive oil, then sauteed the cut-up turnip greens. I added the cooked beans with their liquid, about 2 Tbs. tomato paste, and about 1 ½ cups of turkey broth that I had thawed. I seasoned with ½ tsp. of Penzey's Smoked Spanish Paprika and a bit of fresh pepper and simmered for a few minutes. I had some, as recommended, in a shallow bowl, topped with Parmesan. I have enough for two more lunches. I will use this Beans and Greens recipe as my base recipe.

[Quick Note for people reading this post: skip the turnip greens if you take a blood thinner.]

[BakerAunt]

That's a lot of cinnamon rolls, Mike. They should go well with all that chili you made!

[BakerAunt]

We are having leftover roasted chicken thighs, a bit of leftover butternut squash and a freshly roasted Honey Nut squash, and microwaved frozen peas.

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