[BakerAunt]

For lunch on Monday, and for the next two days, I made Lentils with turnip greens and tomatoes with Hatch chilis. I cooked 2/3 cup mostly brown, and a few red lentils in 2 cups of turkey broth for 30 minutes, while I sauteed onion and celery, then the turnip greens, and onion in another pan in olive oil. I added the garlic, then a can of tomatoes with Hatch chilis, Penzey's Arizona blend, and a bit of chili powder, pepper, ½ tsp. sugar, and ½ tsp. cider vinegar. I added the cooked lentils and simmered briefly. I am working to incorporate more beans and pulses into my diet to see if that helps my cholesterol numbers. I have had to start taking a statin, but I want it to be a low dose. Having beans and pulses as part of my lunch a couple of times a week allows me to do so, since my husband's digestive system cannot tolerate most beans.

On Monday afternoon, I made a chunky tomato sauce using the rest of the tomatoes that were picked green and have turned red on the enclosed porch. I also had some green peppers that were picked before the freeze, and some of them were trying hard to turn red even though off the plant. I sauteed the green pepper with the onion in olive oil, added the garlic, then the tomatoes and cooked until the tomatoes were broken down. I added some rosemary, oregano, and basil, a bit too much Worcestershire sauce (oops), some sugar, and tomato paste from a tube. It is tasty. I will freeze it for future lunches for me.

Leftovers are great, CWCdesign. We had the rest of the beef stew tonight, and I have leftovers from last night for the next two nights.

[BakerAunt]

It is always nice to have more people for whom to bake!

Years ago, King Arthur had an eggnog cake recipe for an odd mold the company was selling. I took that recipe, made major changes, and perfected my eggnog cake, which now uses no butter and also has a cup of barley flour. I had a one-cup container of frozen nonfat eggnog, so on Sunday, I baked the eggnog cake using my two Nordic Ware nutcracker pans (four nutcrackers per pan). They look quite nice. We will start eating them tomorrow, since it is best to let them rest overnight.

[BakerAunt]

Sigh. I miss making my caramels.

On Saturday, I found a package of six chicken thighs on sale for 99 cents per pound, so for Sunday dinner, we had roasted chicken thighs. I cooked some farro in the remaining chicken broth from last week, then mixed it with sauteed celery, colorful carrots, and mushrooms, along with a bit of sage and thyme. We had microwaved broccoli as well. The carrots are the young ones, in a rainbow of colors, that I bought at the farmers' market last week. At $5 a bunch, they are bit pricy, but oh, so good.

[BakerAunt]

That is why I bake a gingerbread cake in Nordic Ware molds!

I baked another batch of the Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne) on Saturday. I will hide them for a couple of days as they improve with age. I also hope to put a couple on a cookie platter I want to do for neighbors. I had refrigerated the topping that I used the first time and mixed it up and brushed it on. I noticed that it is not as sticky, nor as shiny as the first time.

[BakerAunt]

This one is for Aaron, the Gingerbread House baker:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/comics/curtis-by-ray-billingsley/ss-AA15nVS3?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=eaf51093ea044630adc0bea7c11bf2c0#image=1

[BakerAunt]

I am so sorry for you and the family, Chocomouse. At times like these, we focus on what is needed.

[BakerAunt]

They still look delicious, Mike!

[BakerAunt]

Friday s dinner was mostly assembled from leftovers. I cooked bulgur in some of the chicken broth I made earlier this week, while I sauteed chopped celery in avocado oil, then added the leftover butternut squash, a bit more broth, and the chicken. I added some parsley and some dried sage and thyme. I mixed in the cooked bulgur, added a bit of pepper, and I had dinner for two.

[BakerAunt]

Your wife will have a fabulous birthday dinner, Mike.

On Thursday, I used the leftover mashed butternut squash to make soup by adding some chicken broth, yogurt, and sweet curry. It made lunch for tomorrow as well.

For dinner, we had leftover beef stew and the Seeded Squash Bread.

[BakerAunt]

For some reason, I had a large bag of natural cocoa. The biscotti recipe that I baked today called for it, so that is another dent in the "use it up" stockpile.

[BakerAunt]

In my quest for more cookie variety that fits a low-saturated fat way of eating, on Thursday I baked Biscotti al Cioccolato, a recipe from a small cookbook, Biscotti, by Lou Seibert Pappas (pp 26-27). I probably picked up this book from the marked down rack at Barnes & Noble some years ago. These chocolate-hazelnut biscotti do not require added fat, just three eggs, and the recipe uses natural cocoa, which I have but do not use enough. I made two slight changes. I replaced ¾ unbleached AP flour with that much white whole wheat and used the King Arthur AP for the rest. Instead of 1 Tbs. powdered coffee, I used 1 tsp. of the King Arthur espresso powder, which I think is stronger than instant coffee. With slightly damp hands, the dough was easy to form into logs. I have tasted some of the crumbs and think these will go well with either milk or coffee. My husband is not overly fond of them; he does not appear to be a hazelnut fan, but I doubt that will stop him from eating them.

I also made dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Thursday. I will bake them sometime next week.

[BakerAunt]

Specialty ingredients always disappear when you need them, Aaron! I look forward to pictures of the gingerbread house.

I baked an apple pie on Wednesday with a crumb topping.

I also baked a new recipe, "Seeded Squash Breadsticks," from The Healthy Baker, an ad-free magazine I picked up in CVS last week. It seems to be assembled by Food to Love, a company that carries some specialty and organic grains and flours. What caught my eye is that the recipes do seem to be healthy and not fads.

This recipe was almost half whole wheat and used butternut squash puree. I cut the salt from a tablespoon of sea salt flakes (I assume they meant kosher salt) to 1 tsp. regular sea salt. I used the bread machine to mix the dough. After I shaped the dough, I put on the egg wash before the rise and pressed on some pumpkin seeds, although the instructions were to let them rise, brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and poppy seeds. However, since there were sunflower seeds in the dough, and poppy seed does not go well with my husband, I left out the last two. Rather than breadsticks, these are more like six small, narrow loaves of bread. The dough did shrink back from the 12-inch ropes to about 10 ½ inches. Possibly, a rest period before shaping would help since bread flour is used. We split a warm one with our stew. They were good, so I expect they will be even better when properly cooled.

[BakerAunt]

We have had a rainy, windy Wednesday, which I mostly spent in the kitchen. I roasted a butternut squash for puree for a baking recipe. For dinner, I made beef stew with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, red bell pepper, dehydrated onion, garlic, and peas, as well as other seasonings. I used ground oats as the thickener. It was perfect for today, and there are leftovers for at least two more meals.

[BakerAunt]

Egg prices here were in the $2.50 range for the longest time. As more places in Indiana are hit with bird flu cases, the prices have increased.

[BakerAunt]

I also noted higher egg prices at Aldi's today. I think that I paid $3.34 per dozen. Chicken prices are higher as well.

I did not notice a shortage of products at Aldi's, Walmart, or Kroger today, except that Kroger had an excellent price on King Arthur AP flour, which is probably why there was none left on the shelf. That has happened before, so I think it is a stocking issue.

I was hoping to order some almond paste from King Arthur, but they do not carry it anymore.

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