BakerAunt
Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
We had a handful of snow peas from our garden to use in last night's stir-fry. We have enough green beans to include in tonight's meal. Tomato and squash plants are flowering or about to flower.
I think that the egg I used in the cookies was on the smaller side. The cookies call for an extra-large egg. I used a large, but I have noted that some of the "large" eggs I have been getting recently are closer to what I would say is a medium size.
The remains of last night's rotisserie chicken went into a stir-fry for Wednesday's dinner, along with red bell pepper, celery, carrots, green onion, mushrooms, and the first snow peas from our garden. I used soba noodles and some Penzey's chicken base, since I did not have any drippings to use. As I was making a larger amount, I pulled out a large, flatter Calphalon Dutch oven that I rarely use these days. It was easier to crisp-cook the vegetables, and much easier to incorporate the soba noodles. I got the idea from an episode of "The Splendid Table" that featured the author of some Chinese cookbooks. She said that flat-bottomed woks work better on American stoves.
On Wednesday, I baked Big Lake Judy's Best Ever Molasses Cookies, a recipe that I have been meaning to try ever since Mike Nolan first praised it. I used a #40 scoop and ended up with 25 cookies, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. I baked each tray for 15 minutes, turning halfway. The second tray may be slightly overbaked. I worked out the grams weight by using the function on my scale that allows me to switch back and forth between ounces and grams. I find it easier to work in metric. We had some of the cookies for dessert tonight, and we agree these are excellent. I would probably bake no longer than fourteen minutes next time, and possibly a little less.
If anyone is looking for the recipe, it is under "BLJ.s Best Ever Molasses Cookies."
CWCdesign--I grease the Emile Henry long baker with Crisco, then I coat it with farina (Cream of Wheat). That will prevent sticking, and the farina will not burn the way that semolina will.
I have a couple recipes that I can post for you while you are at your meeting next week. We just returned from a trip, so I'll need a couple of days to get back in the swing of things.
We returned Tuesday afternoon from a two-day trip to Spring Mill State Park, undertaken so that we could be in a fireworks-free zone for July 3 and 4. The town fireworks were July 3. Our neighbors to the south do theirs on July 4. My stepson stayed here, and he said they were still setting off extremely loud ones at midnight. He was trying to sleep and not amused.
I picked up a rotisserie chicken and potato salad at the store, which we had with microwaved frozen vegetables for dinner tonight. It is very hot and humid outside, and after the long drive home, I was in no mood to cook.
When we go to Spring Mill, I usually pick up a couple of 2 lbs. packages of their stoneground cornmeal. We were disappointed to learn that the mill has been out of commission for the past year, and they have only just found someone who can make the parts they need to fix it. 1817 flour mills require special expertise. I'm glad that I still have a bag of the cornmeal in the freezer.
Our World War II dramatization began Saturday night, accompanied by a very loud party that was not even close to us, but the bass reverberated anyway. We had to turn on all the fans full blast to try to soothe the dog.
Joan--Your husband does not know what he is missing!
At least the buns freeze well.
For Saturday night dinner, we had salmon and couscous with Penzey's Greek Seasoning and microwaved fresh broccoli.
On Saturday, I baked my versions of the Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies No Butter (double recipe) from Jenny Can Cook and Ellen's (Moomie's) Buns as twelve rolls.
I made yogurt on Friday.
For Fridayâs lunch, I used leftover brown rice to make a combination dish. I sauteed onion and celery, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil. I added a can of diced tomatoes with hatch chilis, along with 1/2 tsp. Penzey's Tuscan Seasoning, a few shakes of chili powder, and freshly ground pepper. I added a can of chicken and the leftover brown rice. My older stepson had the rest of it for dinner tonight, while my husband and I finished up the black-eyed peas and ham. That clears out all the leftovers.
I saw two snow peas on one of the plants tonight. It also looks like there might be a green bean or two. The tomato plant I bought at the farmers' market has grown and is flowering. The two that were stunted by the grow light--or did not get what they needed from the grow light--are now growing, but they are small. The honey-nut squash plants may be about to bloom.
We cut into the loaf of sweet potato bread that I baked yesterday. It is excellent, with a slight density, and a reminder of the sweet potato texture. I will bake Ken Haedrich's recipe again, with my changes, whenever I have leftover sweet potato to use.
Thanks for the information, Mike. It makes sense that the breed of cow and food would make a difference in calcium content.
I get discouraged trying to keep up with nutritional information, and as we have noted in other threads, it is not an exact science, or maybe there have not been enough well-grounded research. I am bemused by the articles on nutrition that suggest certain foods but do not take into consideration that some of those foods are seasonal, and that where and how they are grown may make a difference.
I live in something of a produce desert, except when the farmers market finally gets going.
Joan, your apple turnovers sound delicious. I also like your statement of a food item in the fridge that is not getting eaten that you did not want to waste. In my case, there was a small amount of cubed sweet potatoes in the refrigerator, left over from two dinners last week. I do not like food going to waste, especially more expensive organic sweet potatoes.
I did some searching for recipes that use mashed sweet potatoes and settled on the Spiced Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Bread from Ken Haedrich's The Harvest Baker (p.55). I halved the recipe, since I had about 3/4 cup of mashed sweet potatoes and baked it in a 3x7 pan, coated with The Grease in my countertop convection oven for about 50 minutes. I reduced the salt by half and added 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder. I omitted the chocolate chips but included the pecans. I slightly reduced the granulated sugar from 1/2 to 1/3 cup. The pan was perhaps slightly small, as the sides rose above the pan, but the loaf still baked nicely. When I bake the recipe again, I might look to see if I have a slightly larger pan.
I will add a note to this post once we slice and taste the bread.
-
AuthorPosts
