[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made my Broccoli, Cherry Tomato, and Quinoa Salad, using cherry tomatoes from today’s farmers’ market. My husband cooked pork in a pan, and we also each had an ear of sweet corn. Due to this salad, my husband is now willing to include a cherry tomato plant in next year’s garden or in a separate pot.

[BakerAunt]

Joan's Cinnamon bread has my mouth watering, but since we are out of regular bread, I needed to focus on what could be used for sandwiches. I made another attempt at adapting the recipe for Whole Wheat Sourdough Pan Bread, from an old Sunset cookbook titled Bread (first edition, not revised one). It seemed a little dry back when I tried it on May 20, so I adapted it further by increasing the sourdough starter further to 1 1/4 cups. I used the same proportion of whole wheat and dark rye that I did in my previous adaptation, but I used just the Bob's Red Mill artisan bread flour, and I increased my olive oil substitute to 3 Tbs. I inadvertently may have cut salt by half rather than by a third as intended. I preheated the oven to 400F, then turned it down to 375F once I put in the bread. The loaves got nice oven spring. They are cooling now. I look forward to slicing into one at lunch tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

I think that some parts of the country are more likely to carry self-rising flour than others. Joan may have an advantage living in the south. I do not recall seeing it in Texas (admittedly, I wasn't looking), but west Texas is more of the west than the south. I do not think that I've seen it here, but it may be that I did not look. I'll report back after our next shopping trip to the town to the north.

[BakerAunt]

Great looking bagels and bread, Mike. Oh, for a taste....

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover spaghetti squash-turkey "lasagna," microwaved frozen peas, and two ears each of the last sweet corn of the season (the farm is sold out as of this afternoon). It is delectable--the best we have eaten this season.

[BakerAunt]

It's amazing to me how this recipe has evolved. How I bake it now--and some of the ingredients--is not the same as three years ago, is not how I baked it two years ago, and is not how I baked it one year ago. Some of that was forced on me when I had to cut most butter out. Some of it is due to my new oven with its convection mode. Some of it was trying to increase flavor and health value. Some of it was discovering new ways of proceeding.

The one problem that I haven't solved is the "rapid consumption of the product." 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--I've now posted the recipe as "Scottish Style Scones (Barley)". At some point, I will likely try it with whole wheat pastry flour, and if successful, also post that version.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do your pumpkin biscotti recipe!

[BakerAunt]

Ah, once again there is no way to go back to the previous comment (on previous page) without advancing the next page.

I know that I've not ever had self-rising flour in the house. The closest I got, back in my early baking days was Bisquick.

[BakerAunt]

Of course, if those people are not baking frequently, then there will be major disappointment when they use expired self=rising flour.

Bags probably have an expiration date? From what Corriher says, self-rising flour does not use the same kind of baking powder that we do.

[BakerAunt]

We had a discussion on vegetable stock once, but no recipe came out of it or was mentioned. Sigh.

[BakerAunt]

I use some whole wheat pastry flour (Bob's Red Mill) in my pie crust. I use 1 1/4 cup AP and 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour for a single deep dish pie crust. I started using Bob's because it was less expensive and works well.

Added Note: This is an oil pie crust with some buttermilk. I have used a small amount in a butter crust, back when I was making butter crusts, but I think that I kept it at about 25% of the flour.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse--I usually use just half whole wheat pastry flour when I substitute it into a recipe. The same is true for barley flour. They give a more tender result, but alone I do not think that they have the structure to hold the final scone together.

On Wednesday, I baked a version of the KAF recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bars—the one made in the food processor. I changed it by using 5.9 oz. zucchini, reducing the brown sugar from 1 to ¾ cup, reducing the oil from 1/3 to ¼ cup with buttermilk added to make it 1/3 cup. I used the white whole wheat flour option. I replaced the 2 cups of chocolate chips with about 1/3 cup (60g) cinnamon chips (I still have a substantial stash in the refrigerator.), and I added 1 tsp. cinnamon and deleted the vanilla. I baked them in a glass 13x9 inch dish on the third rack up in my oven for 28 minutes. I am avoiding acidic ingredients in my USA pans. They seem to do ok with items that are removed immediately but the finish seems to suffer when the baked item is stored in them.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner for tonight is salmon and couscous with Greek seasoning, along with microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

I'll post it later today, Skeptic. They remind me a bit of biscuits.

I use 1/3 cup canola (or sometimes olive oil) in place of butter. Of course that does not work for every recipe. (I've had to give up a lot of cookies and shortbread.) Butter is a big one, since a single tablespoon contains 7 g saturated fat, and most women should limit themselves to 11g per day. I try to make sure that the saturated fat that I do consume includes some healthy fats. Canola oil has 1 g saturated fat per Tablespoon, and olive oil has 2 g, but both contain other healthy fats. Ditto with eggs.

For cheese, I stick with small portions of 2% pre-grated cheese (I can't get it ungrated where I live) or low-fat mozzarella (no more than 3g per oz.). Some low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks are 1.5g saturated fat, and they do give a nice calcium boost, so I include those as snacks. I drink 1% milk. While I use about 3/4 cup whole milk when making yogurt, it gets combined with 1% milk and some milk powder, so the saturated fat remains low, and I do need the dietary calcium.

I still use some butter--in streusel toppings, but I usually halve the streusel and keep the butter to a minimum.

We do not eat much beef, and we stick with less fatty pork. We eat a lot of chicken, as well as tuna and salmon. I cook my chicken on a rack and pour off the fat and do not eat the skin. (I do however roast whole chickens on potatoes and carrots, so some fat is included there.) I try to incorporate more beans, but my husband and most beans do not get along, so I do most of those recipes for myself for lunch. We do a lot of lean ground turkey, which I try to pair with ingredients that will make it not so bland.

I eat steel-cut oats for breakfast almost every morning. My cholesterol was 25 points lower last year (and that was with having eaten breakfast). I'm curious as to what it will be at my next doctor's visit.

[BakerAunt]

I, too, searched the Nebraska Kitchen site, and I concur with Mike's assessment that the recipe is not here.

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