BakerAunt
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On Wednesday, I baked two loaves of Len’s Rye/Semolina/Whole Wheat Bread (the buns recipe, doubled for two loaves). I made my usual tweaks of mostly buttermilk in place of the water and added some special dried milk. I also preheated the oven to 400F, then turned it down to 375 after putting in the loaves. We will slice one loaf tomorrow, and the other will go into the freezer
Kimbob--I've posted the Pfeffernusse recipe. I used the Americanized spelling for the title, so it should be easy to find, but I used the German spelling of the name in the recipe itself. Enjoy!
December 23, 2020 at 12:11 pm in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of December 20, 2020? #27948I made another large soup at lunch time, similar to the last black bean one that I made, but this one had the rest of the potato water from last week, and I upped the old cayenne to 1/4 tsp. and added 1/8 tsp. cumin. It hits the spot on my need for something spicy and gives me lunches for the rest of the week.
Joan--They definitely get better over the next couple of days! Enjoy!
I hope that your friend will be ok, Kimbob.
My younger stepson caught Covid-19 before Thanksgiving, after going out to dinner with one of his house mates who was not feeling well. He has recovered. I also found out that my dentist, who is very particular about health and safety, contracted the virus and was hospitalized. He is at home now and recovering, but that one shocked me.
On Monday, I continued refining my maple cookie recipe (no butter). I used the same proportions as last Halloween, but I added a tablespoon of granulated sugar. I refrigerated the stamped cookies for an hour before baking. I am pleased with the taste and texture, so I am ready to put this one in my low-fat baking book.
I also baked No Butter Cranberry Scones. The original recipe is from Biscuits and Scones, by Elizabeth Alston. I used half Irish Wholemeal flour from KABC and half King Arthur flour. I reduce the baking powder by 1 tsp. (4 tsp. always seemed too much) and cut the salt in half. I combined the dry ingredients, then in a measuring cup whisked together the oil, buttermilk, and egg. I bake the scones in my scone pan. To make them festive, I sprinkled the tops with red and green large crystal sugars.
Skeptic--You could assign a certain amount of exercise to each treat you consume....
I'm glad now that I bought a bag a few months ago.
The problem, Italian Cook, is that I took the ruler out of the kitchen. After baking, I have been assiduous in replacing it in the side of the drawer in the kitchen where it lives. However, I wanted to see the length of a Dutch cross stitch pattern that is given in centimeters, so I took the ruler into the living room where my stitching items are and ascertained how large the design would be and what kind of material I would use. What I did with the meter ruler after measuring the pattern remains unclear because I was focused on the stitching project. Clearly, I did not bring it back to the kitchen. I will need to do a thorough search, and if I find my beloved ruler NEVER take it out of the kitchen again.
Ah, those holiday parties we are not having this year:
December 20, 2020 at 5:52 pm in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of December 20, 2020? #27906We had leftovers tonight.
On Sunday, I roasted two more pie pumpkins, scooped it out of the skin, pureed it, and set aside enough for my Christmas pie. I froze another container with enough for another pie, a container with enough for sweet rolls, and 2.4 oz. that was left to be used with something later on.
I'm planning maple glazed pork tenderloin for Christmas day. Christmas Eve used to be a time when we would do crackers, cheese, beef stick, carrots, etc. I have had to drop that wonderful food. I may set it up so that we have something leftover for that night.
Kimbob--For Pfeffernusse, you need high quality candied citron, which is difficult to find. King Arthur carried an excellent European one a long time ago, but of course they stopped carrying it, as they have done many specialty items. The citron I used is special ordered from a place I cannot recall. At least it keeps well refrigerated (five years old). The other critical ingredient is anise extract, which is not always easy to find. I have been using the King Arthur non-melting sugar to coat them, but after reading the ingredients, I think that I shall return to regular powdered sugar, even if it does sometimes get soaked into the cookies. The King Arthur non-melting sugar also seems not as white as in the past, which makes me wonder if it has been re-formulated.
If you would like the recipe, I will post it. There are a great many varieties of Pfeffernusse--I have a small cookbook that is only Peppernut recipes, each one different. I wanted one that was like the cookies someone mailed to us when I was a child. After a couple of disappointments, I found a recipe in the Los Angeles Times that hit the memory taste and texture exactly. These cookies keep well, which is good, as my husband does not care for them.
I find it amazing, CWCdesign, how many recipes leave out all those vital details. (And they wonder why some people give up on cooking and baking after having a failure because they did not have that background knowledge, and the recipe did not give it.) Thank you for adding your notes.
I had already begun holiday baking back on December 13, when I made my Lucia Buns. I made Pfeffernusse (and forgot the pepper!) later that week. Pumpkin pie for Christmas dinner is my husband's tradition, so I will bake one on Christmas Eve.
I'm still thinking about other cookies. I splurged on the Pfeffernusse and used butter, so I need to confine myself to oil-based ones.
I do not have any Breville appliances. I do have a countertop oven and a toaster oven in other brands. The two serve different purposes, and for me, are not interchangeable.
I have a Cuisinart countertop oven. It is 16 inches long, with interior 12 x 10 1/2 inches. I bought it at Tuesday Morning five or six years ago when my kitchen oven was down for repair for about a month. I probably paid $99. It's convection, as are most small countertop ovens. I was able to bake some cookies and breads, although not a high-rising bread, as it might hit the overhead heating element. It did not get used much after that, but I brought it here and decided to give it precious kitchen space, and it has earned its spot. I've roasted halved acorn squash and small butternut squash. I particularly like roasting potato or sweet potato pieces in it. It came with a pan and a rack. The pan is deeper than most, so it takes advantage of the oven's inner dimensions.
It is handy for when the big oven is being used for another project, and it heats up faster, being smaller, and cools down faster.
I am not in love with how the time gets set, as for minutes I have to keep punching the minute button, which is a hassle when I want 50 minutes. When I set it for an hour, it always sets for 1 hour 5 minutes for some reason.
I'm glad that I have it, and it has performed well. I leave it unplugged when not in use.
I also have a Krups toaster oven, which I bought at Tuesday Morning back when I bought my first house in 2001 and did not yet have an oven. It does not do well for baking, even though it has an oven setting. The door does not seal well, which is typical for most toaster ovens. I like it for toasting cheese on bread and for warming up leftover pizza. It does not get counter space; I pull it out of one of the utility closets when I need it.
I find that the toaster oven and the countertop oven are not interchangeable.
December 19, 2020 at 6:07 pm in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of December 13, 2020? #27884I made another batch of yogurt on Saturday.
To go with leftover Turkey-Zucchini Loaf for Saturday's dinner, I cooked 1 cup of farro in 3 ½ cups of chicken broth from the freezer. I find it works best to bring the broth to a boil, then add the rinsed farro, return to a boil, then set the burner to medium boil for 30 minutes, leaving the pot uncovered. After the farro was done, I let it rest while I sautéed chopped red bell pepper in olive oil, then added 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms. I added the farro and ½ tsp. reconstituted dried onion (my husband cannot tolerate the fresh, sigh), then added 1 cup frozen peas that I had microwaved. It was delicious, and the red and green colors made it festive. It made enough to go with the rest of the meatloaf tomorrow.
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