BakerAunt
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Our Friday night dinner was salmon and couscous with dill, along with microwaved frozen peas.
That was quite a morning, Italian Cook. I try not to bake anything too complicated before I've had my morning coffee.
I think that your eggs would still be fully cooked at 350F, as I have baked recipes with eggs at that temperature. The lower heat might have had more of an effect on how well the cake rose. My inclination, if I'd made the error would have been to increase the cooking time until the cake tested done rather than trying to do a late temperature increase.
This advice is being given from a woman who accidentally turned off the timer for what she was baking this afternoon instead of the timer for the cup of tea she was brewing. So, I guessed another 5 min. and took it out when it looked and tested done. Sigh.
We had some rain as well but are glad to get it, since our area is in drought.
Dinner on Thursday was pork chops cooked in a skillet by my husband, roasted sweet potato cubes, done by me, and a mixed greens salad with carrots, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms.
Yes, people who want to save the planet by giving up all beef will also need to give up dairy and leather.
We do not eat a lot of beef, and that was partly by preference as we prefer chicken, turkey, and some pork. Beef is on our menu as an occasional food--in my Mom's hamburger stroganoff or in stew, and in the latter, I double the vegetables and liquids. As we both need to watch our saturated fat intake, we have not explored more beef recipes.
I've noted that some of the cooking emails I get--some might be Epicurious--are big on "plant milks," but I have looked at the list of ingredients on plant milks, and I would not consume them. If people want to be vegan, that is their choice, but some of the workarounds that I've seen to make alternatives that are vegan strike me as less healthy, and perhaps also have negative impacts on the planet.
I am in favor of "saving the planet," but I wonder if the writers of Epicurious have looked at some of their other non-food habits that are likely more detrimental to the planet. Whenever Epicurious does a review of kitchen tools, etc., I often shake my head at their recommendations.
I have not joined the Kale salad or Kale Chips brigades, but I did find that kale works well when added in moderation to soups, a butternut squash tart that I make, and my Pork Loin Roast with Butternut Squash and Barley. In the latter, 2 tsp. of cider vinegar also get added, and I know, from the time I forgot it, that the vinegar somehow balances the kale. (Original recipe used Swiss Chard.)
I do recall having a spinach salad with a hot bacon dressing and liking it. However, I would not be eating or making such a dish with my current eating plan.
None of their recipes, of late, has appealed to me--too many strange ingredients.
Italian Cook--I keep my Grease in the pantry, but others on this site refrigerate it. I go through mine quickly, as I have been doing a lot of cakes. I do not make a huge batch at a time.
I've noticed that the Grease is not a good choice for a cake that is left in a pan, or for brownies. For those purposes, I use Crisco, as I do for loaves of bread.
Like, you, Italian Cook, I have learned A LOT from the people on this site. We have a great community of bakers and cooks.
Italian Cook--I use the Grease--and bless S. Wirth, who first posted the recipe, and Miss Cindy, who drew attention to it by writing effusively about it after I joined the Baking Circle.
The recipe is on this site, but let me quickly repeat it: combine equal volumes of flour, oil (I use canola), and Crisco. (Note: do not use weight.) I use my hand mixer and mix it well. I usually use 1/4 cup of each and store the leftover in a plastic take-out container that I reserve for that purpose. I use a fork to mix it up well each time before I use it. I have a silicone brush that works well for coating the wells of the pans. I also use the Grease when I make layers for cake.
I find that it helps not to let the cakes cool too long in these pans. A couple of minutes, and I invert them onto a rack. Rap the pan down, on the rack for any that initially seem to hold back.
Cleaning: First of all, do not soak the pan. It comes with a warning that prolonged soaking can damage the finish. I have soft sponge that I use to clean the pan. If there are spots that are hard to get to, I do use that tool--pointed end and the brush--to dislodge it. You can also use the tool before you get the pan wet to wash it.
I probably have far too many specialized Bundt pans, due to good sales at T.J. Maxx and Tuesday Morning over the years. I have a similar pan to this one that is ducklings. I have the seasonal Bundt pans in plastic tubs--two of Christmas, one for Thanksgiving and Halloween, and one for Valentine's and Easter. That does not even count the others, some of which I inherited from my Mom, who didn't use them but could not pass up a good deal and the idea that she COULD use them if she wished.
As my dessert options have shrunk since I eliminated almost all butter from my diet, it makes me feel good to be able to bake an oil cake in a fancy pan.
I suspect that the Bunny pan will continue to be available, but getting it on sale when you can is a good idea. I've noted that prices tend to increase from year to year. My Bunny Pan was $19,99 at T. J. Maxx after Easter. Williams Sonoma also often has good after holiday sale prices.
Garage sales can also be a good source of used bread machines. Both of mine came from different sales, the first from a sale in Texas, and the second from a sale here. I keep the first one because it is small enough to travel. I think the second, a Zo, kneads more efficiently and can handle a little more dough.
Italian Cook--can you make the pizza dough in your food processor?
I'm glad to hear that your tomatoes are perking up, Mike. My husband was surprised that the gardening stores did not have chelated iron, but I reminded him that these days, one never knows if stores will carry what we expect. (At least that is true of the grocery stores around here.)
Today, my husband started our tomato plants inside. We are having unseasonably warm weather today and probably tomorrow, but of course that could change quickly at this time of year, as it did last week when we had two nights of freezing temperatures.
On Monday, I made another batch of yogurt.
For dinner, we had Sloppy Josephines (ground turkey rather than ground beef) on the Wheat Oat Flax Buns I baked, with a mixed greens, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and green onion salad, and microwaved fresh broccoli.
On Monday, I baked Wheat Oat Flax Buns, a KAF recipe from a long time ago that I have adapted by replacing the water with buttermilk and the orange juice with water. I have found it works better if I cut the AP flour by 2 Tbs. I also use a whole egg and do not brush the tops with egg white. I add 2 Tbs. special dry milk. I cut the yeast by ½ tsp., and cut the salt from 1 ½ to 1 1/8 tsp. These got slightly overbrowned at the lowest baking time. Next time, I will put them on the third rack up to bake.
I also baked a double recipe of “Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies No Butter” from Jenny Can Cook. I added 2 Tbs. Bob’s Red Mill milk powder and 2 Tbs. flax meal. I reduced the brown sugar slightly to 2/3 cup in the doubled recipe. In addition to the raisins, I added ½ cup chopped walnuts.
Note: The cookies are ok with the lesser amount of sugar, but I will go back to the full 3/4 cup for a double recipe next time I bake them.
We had the last of the beef stew, and as there was too much for one person but not enough for two, I cooked some bulgur, and we had the stew over the bulgur.
I made another batch of my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Cracker dough on Sunday. I will bake the crackers at the end of this week.
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