[BakerAunt]

We had leftover turkey, leftover brown rice mixed with gravy, and microwaved frozen peas for dinner. It was good that I did not have to cook a new meal because I spent all afternoon on the phone with Tracfone, most of it on hold, and did not get the problem resolved of their website not allowing me to log into my account. I will give it a rest and try again tomorrow. I suspect their website is having some kind of major problem, but the people I talked to would not admit it, and they did not want to go off script to resolve the problem.

[BakerAunt]

For our Valentine's Day dinner on Monday, I made Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin, small red potatoes boiled in their skins, then tossed in olive oil and salt. We had microwaved frozen mixed vegetables. Dessert was two of the little Hazelnut Cakes I baked yesterday and coated with vanilla glaze and Valentine's sprinkles.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough that I made last week.

I also baked bread on Monday. The base recipe was the Pumpkin Rye Bread in Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet, and I had already done a major re-working when I baked it a few months ago to make it 2/3 whole grain. This time, I replaced 1 cup of the dark rye flour in my adaptation with pumpernickel, and I reduced the salt to 2 1/2 tsp. from the original tablespoon. As it made three rather small loaves in 8x4 pans, this time I used two 9x5 loaf pans. The bread rose well and filled out the pans nicely, so that was a good decision. I baked at 400F for 40 minutes, then an additional 5 minutes at 375F to get the internal temperature to 195F. The loaves were a bit dark on top. Depending on taste when we slice into them tomorrow, I may drop the temperature to 375F next time.

[BakerAunt]

Sunday was a busy baking day. I baked my Rye Barley Crispbread. I discovered that it is easier if I roll out the dough on my Silpat mat, with saran over the top, then flip it over and carefully peel off the Silpat and replace it with parchment paper, then carefully flip it back over and peel off the saran before proceeding.

I also baked Hazelnut Heart Cakelets, using half buttermilk and replacing ¼ cup of the oil with buttermilk. These are baked in a 6-well Nordic Ware cakelet pan. Tomorrow, I will put a vanilla glaze and some Valentine’s sprinkles on them. I was happy that I could locate this pan. Our contractor has had delays, and no doubt more lucrative projects, so the reno of the space above our garage has been dragging out since late summer, and our house is still piled up with items that belong out there.

[BakerAunt]

You are certainly spoiling your husband in a birthday week of treats, Joan!

I cut open our second Pumpkin-Spaghetti Squash hybrid from our garden. It has lasted well. It had a very hard shell, so it took some effort to get it cut into halves, so that I could roast it. This is the one that started out green (see 2021 Garden Thread), then slowly ripened in late August and early September. My husband cut it from the vine sometime in October. I will use 2 cups of it in bread I plan to bake tomorrow, and I froze a 2-cup and an 11.4 oz. container. My plan is to use it solely in sandwich breads, as it is fairly bland.

[BakerAunt]

I made yogurt on Saturday.

[BakerAunt]

I made "Stone Soup" on Friday for lunches into next week; in other words, I improvised. I sauteed some onion and garlic in olive oil, then added the leftover potato water from the potatoes I cooked on Wednesday, the broth I made from boiling the giblets, and the rest of the fluids that came out of the turkey that I had not used when I made gravy. I added sliced carrots and celery, chopped red bell pepper, ½ cup pearl barley, a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with Hatch chilis, and a 14 oz. can of kidney beans. After I had boiled, then simmered for 40 minutes, I added some kale for the last five minutes, then a teaspoon of cider vinegar and freshly grated black pepper. I sprinkled some dried basil on top of the soup in my bowl. It was a nice warm lunch on a rainy, cool day in the high 30Fs.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, yes, there was a bake of the week email today for purple sweet potato pie. I did not look at the recipe, as I am pretty sure it contains ingredients that I have had to stop eating.

[BakerAunt]

In January, I received an email from King Arthur with its "Bake of the Week," which in this case was a recipe for Rye Chocolate Coffeecake. It looked good, but the 4 Tbs. of butter in the topping and the 4 Tbs. in the cake gave me pause, as I try only to include healthier fats in what I eat. After looking the recipe over yet again today, I decided that I could device a healthier version, so I baked it on Wednesday afternoon. For the topping, I kept 1 Tbs. of the butter, which I melted and mixed it with 2 1/2 Tbs. avocado oil. That is my usual substitution for streusels; it gives the butter flavor, but the rest of the fat comes from the neutral avocado oil. For the cake itself, I increased the oil to 1/3 cup and used olive oil (which goes extremely well with chocolate), then added enough buttermilk to make a half cup. I also added 1 Tbs. milk powder to the dry ingredients. I changed the mixing directions. I whisked together all the wet ingredients, then used a cake whisk and spatula to stir in the combined dry ingredients. My other change was to cut the salt from 3/4 to 1/2 tsp. I baked it for 39 minutes, until the tester came out clean. We had some for dessert tonight. It is not an overly sweet cake, slightly crumbly and with intense chocolate taste we both enjoy.

I have not received other "bake of the week" emails from King Arthur, so perhaps it was a marketing experiment?

[BakerAunt]

My husband roasted a turkey for us on Wednesday. I made muddled mashed potatoes (yellow potatoes with the skins) and gravy from the turkey drippings, and we had leftover coleslaw as well.

[BakerAunt]

We have a turkey thawing (since last Tuesday!) that was not ready to roast for Tuesday dinner, so I made my healthier rendition of my mom's hamburger stroganoff, which we had over a mixture of brown rice and mixed wild rice. We also had microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I made dough for Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers, which I will bake next week.

The bread I baked yesterday came out well. We like it well enough, but I do not think it is worth buying the Six Grain blend from King Arthur to bake it. Once I use up the Six Grain blend, I will likely use the Harvest Grains, which we like a lot, but I would still add the honey.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked "Six-Grain Honey Sourdough Boule," from a recent King Arthur catalogue. The recipe is on their website as a Whole Grain Sourdough Boule; the only difference is the six-grain blend in place of the Harvest Grains and the addition of 2 Tbs. honey. I altered the recipe in that I added 3 Tbs. special dry milk and 2 Tbs. flax meal. I also cut the salt from 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 tsp. (KABC does love its salt!) I mixed it on the dough cycle of the bread machine and needed to add 2 Tbs. more water. The dough rose well both times. Instead of a boule, I shaped it into a long roll and baked it in my Emile Henry long baker. The catalogue recipe is baked in the bread bowl, but I think that it would be too much dough for the bread bowl. If I ever bake it as a boule, I will use my Emile Henry ceramic Dutch Oven with lid. I followed the website instructions for baking 40 minutes with the top, and an additional 10 minutes without. The loaf looks great and suitably impressed my husband. I look forward to slicing it at lunch tomorrow.

I have only tried the six-grain blend in one other recipe and was not overly impressed, so I am curious as to how the blend will taste in this bread. It was a good day to have the oven going, as the temperature never rose much above the low 20F. I have now figured out that the top of the wine rack, in which I store rolling pins, that sits on the counter, is right under one of the heater vents. It makes an excellent location for raising dough.

[BakerAunt]

That dinner sounds good, CWCdesign.

Monday's dinner was the Oven Crispy Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce, along with leftover coleslaw

[BakerAunt]

I thought about baking a dessert today, but then I pulled a frozen zucchini bread from the freezer.

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