BakerAunt
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On Sunday, I made jam using black raspberries from our terrace and a few my husband gathered in the woods. It was a disappointing season for the berries, after a promising start, because we had too much very hot and dry weather. Some failed to develop and others dried up.
After crushing the ones that I have been picking, I realized that I only had 2 cups, and the low-sugar recipe requires 3 1/4 cups (usually I use at least 3 1/2 cups). I did not even have enough for the high-sugar version. I stopped work and went to the grocery and picked up a small package of blackberries and a small package of raspberries, which gave me enough for the low-sugar version.
I canned three (8 oz.) jars and one 4 oz. jar. I have a scant 4 oz. jar that I stuck in the refrigerator without canning. I think that the raspberries may overwhelm the black raspberry flavor.
On the terrace, the blackberries are turning red, so they should be ripening soon. We had two significant rains this past week, which helped the blackberries, but I am not counting my jam jars until the berries ripen.
I used to do baked potatoes in the microwave when they were not sharing the oven with the entre. I've never tried sweet potatoes. These days, I use the countertop convection oven for smaller amounts of sweet potatoes or regular potatoes.
Another thought on your crackers, Chocomouse: If your oven has a convection setting, use that when you bake crackers. In my oven it helps them bake more evenly.
Zucchini has arrived at the farmers' market! On Saturday, I made my adaptation of the squash oatmeal quick bread in Ken Haedrich's The Harvest Baker. I baked it in a 4-well Bundt loaf pan. I will freeze two loaves and let the other two rest overnight for Sunday and Monday desserts.
On Saturday, I made yogurt. I also made broth from the bones of yesterday's turkey and those from a chicken that I had in the freezer. Our dinner was leftover turkey and potato salad and microwaved frozen peas.
What recipe were you using, Chocomouse? Some work better than others. After I bake my crackers, I make sure that none are connected (cut apart with knife if needed), then slide them off the parchment and let them cool on the hot baking sheet. Make sure that none of them are touching each other, since a King Arthur tip once said that prevents their staying crisp.
I roll my sourdough crackers to 1/16th inch thickness.
A few weeks ago, we found a 10 lb. turkey at the local grocery store for $1.34 a pound, bought it, and stuck it in the freezer. [Remember how none of us could find a small turkey last Thanksgiving?] I put it in the refrigerator to thaw when we went away on our trip, and it was ready to roast for Friday nightâs dinner. I made the All-American Potato Salad to go with it (using green onion tops from the pot my husband is growing), as well as gravy from the turkey drippings, and we had microwaved fresh broccoli. Today was rainy and cooler, so it was a good day to roast a turkey
Sorry to hear about your house problem, Mike. Any chance of a permanent solution, or will you have to live with it continuing to occur?
My husband pan-cooked pork tonight. I made some bulgur cooked in frozen turkey broth, and we had fresh green beans from our garden.
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.
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