[BakerAunt]

We had leftover pork and sweet potatoes accompanied by a salad made with lettuce and spinach that my husband has grown on our enclosed porch with the Grow Lights.

[BakerAunt]

I baked Pumpkin Oat Muffins for breakfast on Thursday. I made the recipe as six large muffins and froze five for quick breakfasts. In the afternoon, I baked my Lime Pecan Biscotti, using the last of the limes from this past year.

[BakerAunt]

I had bought some napa cabbage at the farmers' market--a new ingredient for me. I decided to improvise a stir-fry dinner using it on Thursday. I started with an online Martha Stewart recipe for "Stir Fried Chicken with Bok Choy." I had leftover chicken from the one I roasted on Sunday, so that cut the preparation. I sauteed chunky mushroom slices and chunky pieces of a yellow bell pepper in avocado oil. I then added the sliced napa cabbage and cooked it down before adding the leftover chicken. I adapted the sauce by replacing rice wine vinegar (which I do not have) with white wine vinegar and increasing the light brown sugar from 2 tsp. to a full tablespoon. Instead of using fresh, I mixed ¼ tsp. garlic powder and 1/8 tsp. ground ginger into the sauce. I almost forgot to add the water, since Martha Stewart recipes never list it as an ingredient but only put it in the instructions. I whisked in 4 tsp. cornstarch, since I was not doing the step of dredging uncooked chicken breast in it. My stir-fry then took on a "Fusion Cooking," vibe when I stirred in some cooked farro (1/2 cup dry before I cooked it). My husband is not an adventurous eater, but he really liked the meal, so I will be making it again.

[BakerAunt]

Happy Birthday, Joan!

[BakerAunt]

My husband pan cooked pork on Wednesday, and I roasted sweet potato chunks to go with it. We also had microwaved frozen peas and carrots.

[BakerAunt]

Like Joan, I baked a pie on Tuesday, but mine was an apple pie with crumb topping. I have enough Winesaps for one more pie.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I cooked bulgur in broth again, but this time I mixed it with sauteed celery, red bell pepper, and sliced mushrooms. We had it with more of the roasted chicken and microwaved fresh broccoli.

I also made yogurt on Tuesday, using my new ChefAlarm, which arrived yesterday. It was much easier monitoring the temperature of the milk as it was heating and holding for ten minutes, and I also used it to monitor the temperature until the milk had cooled enough to be added to the starter yogurt. I am pleased with it, so thanks to Mike Nolan and CWCdesign for their recommendations. It has made my life much easier.

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover roast chicken, bulgur cooked in chicken broth, and microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

We need a Challah thread!

[BakerAunt]

I roasted a chicken for Sunday dinner and also roasted sweet potato chunks. We had it with microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

Over proofed dough can sometimes be punched down and allowed to rise another time (not as long), but as Mike notes, it will not rise as high. I have done this with a set of loaves when we did not get back from a walk in time.

I usually get my lame wet when slashing breads. It seems to help.

Skeptic--I will post the oat cake recipe. They do require Bob's Red Mill Scottish oatmeal, which has a different texture from rolled or steel-cut oats. I adapted the recipe from one on the bag to avoid the butter. These are only faintly sweet, and people biting into one the first time usually expect more sweet. They are somewhat like a cracker. They would do well with cheese, and I also like a smear of jam on them, but plain is fine as well.

[BakerAunt]

For breakfast on Sunday, I made Cornmeal-Pumpernickel Waffles. I froze the leftovers for quick breakfasts.

[BakerAunt]

I agree that the braiding looks good.

[BakerAunt]

We were running out of bread, so on Friday I baked two loaves of my Buttermilk, Whole Wheat, and Grape Nuts Bread, which is probably my husband's favorite. I cut the salt a bit more and used a 1/2 cup more whole grain flour. The house was cool, so the first rise took 90 minutes, and the second about 75 minutes.

While the dough was rising, I baked my Oatcake recipe. Instead of circles, I cut them into small hearts, which resulted in 29 heart-shaped cookies and one leftover blob, whereas I usually get about 16. I baked them for 20 minutes instead of the usual 25 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

I still have two spaghetti squashes from the fall. For lunch on Friday, and for the next few days, I roasted one to make Spaghetti Squash Turkey Lasagna/Casserole, in which the pasta is replaced by spaghetti squash. I made a half recipe, since my husband cannot eat the tomato-based sauce, and it would be just for me. I used ground chicken rather than turkey, and I improvised a sauce with onion, celery, sliced mushrooms, garlic, a can of no-salt chopped tomatoes, parsley, a bit of fresh spinach, some tomato paste, Penzey's Tuscan seasoning, and pepper. I also add some flax meal to it. It was too little for a 9-inch square deep dish, and my next deep dish was about 7-inch square. I ended up with a bit of overflow in the oven, which I had to clean up, but the faux-lasagna turned out well. I will have to keep my eye out for an 8x8, 3-inch deep, ceramic baker--one not made in China.

We had more Lima Beans, Ham, and Rice for dinner.

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