BakerAunt
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Dinner on Monday was stir-fry, made with leftover pork, soba noodles, green onion, carrots, celery, red bell pepper (from our garden), mushrooms, broccoli, and the deglazing from when the pork was cooked. We have enough left over for dinner tomorrow.
Hmm, Arron. I think that I should have named them "Disappearing Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers." I'll probably make more dough this week, just to try to get ahead. I also think its time for some Rye -Barley Crispbread--a recipe that I've posted and highly recommend.
We have leftover pork from last night and will have it again with Queen squash stuffed with leftover farro. I roast the squash in the countertop convection oven.
For a special Sunday breakfast, I made Cornmeal-Rye Waffles (a half recipe) from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking book. I highly recommend it. I do cut the salt in half and replace the melted butter with canola oil--about 2 1/2 Tbs. for a half recipe. I had to use 2 Tbs. AP flour, as I was short on cornmeal.
Our weather has been warmer as well, with one day near 80F but most days with a high in the 70s and lows in the mid to upper 50s. I'm hoping the large green peppers will start turning red, so that we can pick them before the first freeze. Our drought continues. We need the lake level to rise from a good week of rain so that we can get the boat off the lift and put away for the winter.
My husband cooked boneless pork in a skillet on the stove. I roasted the halves of a Queen squash from our garden, then filled it with cooked farro mixed with ½ tsp. Penzey’s Bavarian seasoning.
On Saturday, I pulled more pumpkin out of the freezer and baked a pumpkin cake in my Nordic Ware Baby Pumpkin Cake pan. My starting point was the recipe that came with the pan, but I made some changes. I replaced 2/3 of the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I reduced the sugar from 1 1/3 cups to 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. I reduced the salt from ¾ to ½ tsp. I replaced 1/3 cup butter with ¼ cup canola oil plus enough buttermilk to make 1/3 cup. I added 2 Tbs. BRM milk powder and 1 Tbs. flax meal. Since I was using homemade pumpkin puree, I deleted 1/3 cup water. I also omitted the pecans. I also changed the mixing directions, since if an oil cake is beaten as much as a butter cake would be, it tends to be tougher and drier. I baked it on the third rack up (above center) in my oven.
Instead of 28 minutes, my cake took 45 minutes. That is likely due to the pumpkin puree being more watery, so leaving out the additional water was a good call. The two halves domed a bit more than I would like. I might consider reducing the baking soda from 1 tsp. to ¾ tsp. next time. I cut off the domes and we each had one for dessert tonight. There is plenty of sweetness, so I might further cut the sugar to 1 cup next time. The only spice is cinnamon, so there is just a hint of it, and the pumpkin stars. I will make a glaze and “glue” the top and bottom of the pumpkin together with it for a festive cake for tomorrow’s dessert.
Only an advanced baker ought to try this loaf. Maybe they think it is approachable since it is broken down into steps with some long and some shorter times separating them, but that means whoever bakes it must have two or three days clearly organized in order to do what is needed at the required times.
No, Skeptic, you would not be hoarding if you buy more pumpkins and apples. I say this as someone who has six pie pumpkins and two peanut pumpkins waiting to be processed. Most people really do not know how to deal with pumpkins, so in buying them, you are doing a useful service to the growers. The seller from whom I buy at the farmers' market knows me as "the lady who likes to bake with pumpkin," and had thoughtfully brought along an extra peanut pumpkin last week in case I wanted it. (Of course, I did!) Their sales are mostly decorative pumpkins--most of which will end up in the landfill.
As for apples, if we can get to an orchard, we will be stocking up as well. The apples keep pretty well in the garage (heater is at 39F). My husband likes to eat them plain, and I do a lot of baking with them. I hope to find some for applesauce. I'm also considering canning apple pie filling.
Cases are spiking in our state, and there has been a sharp increase in the cases reported in our county over the last few days.
I made another batch of yogurt on Thursday.
I've noted that ground turkey prices at Aldi's have been particularly good the last two times we've shopped there (about $1 less than usual.
On Thursday, I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers, using the dough I made last week.
On Wednesday, I made two more containers of pizza sauce from more of our garden tomatoes. I will freeze them for now.
To go with leftover roast chicken on Wednesday, I cooked freekeh in turkey broth from the freezer. I sauteed carrots and celery and mushrooms, then added the freekeh. We also had microwaved frozen peas.
To my surprise, the local grocery had Gold Medal unbleached flour for $2.59 per bag, so I was able to get an additional bag. I wonder why unbleached flour has been so hard to find.
Thanks, Skeptic. I'll report on the voting experience once the location opens in my town (only for two Saturdays in October). I, too, liked the feeling of being part of a great day and until the last election always voted on election day.
We did our big grocery run to the next town this morning. We included Walmart--only the third time we've been to Walmart since the first weekend in March. That meant stocking up on extras. The local store charged me $4.99 for mayonnaise a couple of weeks ago. I paid half of that at Walmart and so bought two. At Kroger, I was able to snag a bag of blue label Pepperidge Farm Dressing mix. I'm not taking any chances of not having it for Thanksgiving.
Has anyone else noted a shortage of unbleached flour--Gold Medal or Pillsbury? Neither Walmart nor Kroger had it. They did have King Arthur, but sometimes I want the lower protein. There was plenty of bleached flour and even White Lily self-rising flour, as well as whole wheat (KABC and BRM). I did buy another small bag of Arrowhead Mills spelt flour.
Other than the unbleached flour, I came home with everything on my list.
Note: post is corrected to say Gold Medal.
I'm baking a pumpkin pie this Monday evening. While it might seem that I am copying Joan, the occasion is my husband's cousins' reunion, happening tomorrow night via Zoom. We all agreed to cancel the usual fall reunion, because, hey, in the time of Covid-19, what possibly could go wrong with people traveling from Florida, California, Michigan, Virginia, and Indiana?
One of the highlights of the reunion is an early Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. So, for the Zoom call, people are choosing pie, wine, or turkey leg to get into the spirit. My husband is pleased that he is getting pumpkin pie, which is his second favorite pie.
For dinner on Monday, I roasted a chicken with cut-up potatoes and small carrots, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with Penzey’s Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix. I also rubbed the dressing mix on the chicken. I put the chicken up on a silicone rack and distributed the vegetables around it, since the vegetables under the chicken do not roast as well. The result was excellent, and I will employ it again. We had the chicken and vegetables with the last of the green beans from the garden, or so my husband tells me, but he has said so before, and yet we end up getting more. With the weather getting colder and less sun, however, it may truly be the end of the green beans. We have leftovers for the next few days.
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