[BakerAunt]

Autumn is here, so on Tuesday afternoon, I baked Skeptic’s Pumpkin Biscotti, using white whole wheat flour.

Dinner on Tuesday was sourdough pan pizza (half-sheet pan). I topped with my own sauce, Canadian bacon, 4 oz. low-fat mozzarella, mushrooms, red bell pepper from our garden, green onions, black olives on my half, and Parmesan cheese. Dinner was about an hour late because with the cooler weather, the sourdough crust needed longer first and second rises.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday morning, I made pizza sauce from some of our tomatoes. It is for pizza tonight.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Chocomouse! Apple season should be here. We are trying to figure out how to drive to the nearby orchard and stay safe on the trip. The vendor who came to the farmers' market occasionally has not sppeared this year.

[BakerAunt]

I wanted to use up some limes that were drying out, so I grated what zest I could, then squeezed them for 1 ½ Tbs. juice. My tree produced these limes last year. My husband had had them in the apt. refrigerator, so they were overlooked. I decided that I would see if I could adapt Nick Malgieri’s Macadamia Lime Cookies recipe from Cookies Unlimited (p. 188). It was a favorite of mine back when I could eat buttery rich treats without a second thought. I made up a half recipe, using white whole wheat flour and replacing what would be 6 Tbs. of butter with 3 Tbs. canola oil and 1 Tbs. buttermilk. I added 2 tsp. water as I was shy ½ Tbs. lime juice. I mixed by hand. The dough was crumbly, and I realized after trying to do them as drop cookies that it would not work. Clearly, they need the fat the butter provides to hold together. I pulled out a glass 6x10 inch baking dish, greased it, then pressed the mixture into it. I baked at 350F for 23 minutes (checked at 20 minutes) on the third shelf up in my oven (above halfway).

We won't be cutting the bars until tomorrow, so I'll report then how they taste.

[BakerAunt]

A glass jar shortage could be behind Vermont Country Store not having the large jars. We buy honey from a local beekeeper, and he told us he has had to raise his prices due to the increased cost of the glass jars. We wash and return our jars, because as someone who makes jam, I am grateful when people return the empty jars. He was happy to get the jars back and gives us a discount on each bottle for the bottle returned. I have saved the Vermont Country Store jars because they can be used for canning, and sometimes a three cup jar is a handy size.

[BakerAunt]

Our weather is also predicted to be colder this week. My husband expects that we will have the first fire of the season in the wood stove.

I realized last night that we would be out of bread after lunch today, so I baked my more whole wheat version of Buttermilk Grape Nuts Bread. I decided to try the technique of heating the oven 25F hotter, then turning it down once I put the loaves in. I had a good result with the Whole Wheat Sourdough Pan Bread I baked two weeks ago with that technique. The Grape Nuts Bread loaves had superior oven spring, so I will continue trying this technique on most of the other loaves that I bake.

[BakerAunt]

Delicious leftovers from last night are on our menu.

[BakerAunt]

That makes sense. However, I did notice that the viscosity of the grapeseed oil that I am using now is less than that of the Aldi's grapeseed oil, so I'm not sure it is only about rounding up or down. For me, the choice is less about .5 or more grams of saturated fat and more about what works better in terms of brushing my crackers, browning meat, or sauteing vegetables. What I'm trying to figure out is why the two, from my observations, perform differently.

[BakerAunt]

I agree, Joan! So-called Thanksgiving food is good year around!

On Saturday, I made another batch of yogurt.

Saturday night’s dinner was Tarragon Chicken, Mushrooms, and Rice, a recipe that I adapted from John Waite’s One-Pot Tarragon Chicken, Mushrooms & Rice, which was featured on The Splendid Table website. I replace the basmati rice with a 50-50 mix of brown rice and Lundburg mixed rice, and I scale it so that I can do either six or eight chicken thighs. I found that the rice I use works better if I first bake it for 20 minutes, then add the chicken and roast for an additional 45-50 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

I checked, and the brand I currently used says "expeller pressed" and product of Portugal, Italy, and Spain.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I used leftover grated zucchini to bake my Squash, Whole Wheat, and Oat Quick bread, an adaptation of Ken Haedrich’s recipe in The Harvest Baker. I use a four-well Bundt loaf pan. I will reserve one for dessert and freeze the other three.

[BakerAunt]

You are winning him over to the baked-side, Joan! 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Our dinner on Friday night was Salmon and Couscous. I used 1 tsp. dill, ½ tsp. chives, and a bit of salt and pepper as the seasoning. We had fresh microwaved broccoli as well.

It was close to 80F today. The wind is blowing now, but it was still this morning, which made for perfect kayaking. It's the first time I've been able to do so since that ankle sprain over five weeks ago. That's because we have to carry the kayak down the stairs to the lake, and that requires both of us. After an intense week, I needed the peace of floating in the kayak.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for your thought, Mike. Next time I'm in Aldi's, I'll also read the label of their product and see if there is a difference in how the two are produced.

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I made another batch of tomato sauce (about 3 cups). As I cannot use the 4-qt. Calphalon pan anymore, due to the loss of its anodized coating, I looked around and realized that the 12-inch All-Clad round roaster pan, although not quite as deep, would work. It performed admirably and cleaned up easily. I expect these tomatoes were the last major batch, although some are still ripening on the vine. So far, the weather has allowed them to continue. If we get to where freezing weather is forecast, then we will pick any that remain and ripen them in the house.

For Thursday dinner, we had the remaining leftover Turkey-Zucchini Loaf with Peach-Dijon glaze, with one of the Queen squashes from our garden. I halved it lengthwise, lightly rubbed with olive oil, and baked for 40 minutes at 400F in my countertop convection oven. I then turned them over and stuffed them with a combination of bulgur and the leftover farro, mushrooms, and red bell pepper mix. I put a little bit of 2% cheese on top. These baked for an additional 20 minutes at 375F.

I realized that with the zucchini in the meat loaf, the Queen squash, and the pumpkin bread at dessert, we ate three kinds of squash this evening.

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