BakerAunt

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  • in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of August 11, 2024? #43583
    BakerAunt
    Participant

      Here is a link to the original recipe for the Blackberry Jam Cake:

      The cake is delicious, but I think that the nutmeg is a little strong. I would cut it back to ½ tsp. or perhaps replace it with some allspice. I was a little surprised that the recipe specified nutmeg, as I do not think of it in connection with blackberries.

      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 11, 2024? #43577
      BakerAunt
      Participant

        The last two buns got moldy and had to be thrown out, so on Sunday, we had a half of a ham sandwich each on Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread. My husband still has to eat his sandwiches open faced because he cannot get his mouth opened wide enough for a conventional sandwich. He continues home therapy, and he has extended the width somewhat. We also had the last of the green bean, tomato, and feta salad for now, but I will be making more later this week.

        in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of August 11, 2024? #43576
        BakerAunt
        Participant

          This Sunday morning, I was searching recipes for a blackberry jam cake on Bing, and "Blackberry Jam Cake," from P. Allen Smith's website popped into view. I decided to see if I could modify the recipe to use avocado oil rather than butter. I also wanted to substitute half of a whole grain flour. When I later googled the question, "Do blackberries and barley go together," I found a scone recipe that uses whole blackberries and barley flour, so I decided the flavors would be complementary. I want to find ways to use my large stock of blackberry jam that has resulted from a couple of years of excellent harvests.

          This recipe makes a very large cake. As I am experimenting, and there are just two of us, I chose to make a half recipe. Given the ingredient amounts, I decided on a 10-cup Bundt pan (the "party" pan), and that was a good decision. Oil cakes tend not to rise a lot, but the batter came within an inch of the top. I think that the very largest Bundt cake pan could handle the full recipe.

          I replaced ½ cup butter with 1/3 cup avocado oil. I used half barley flour. I substituted English walnuts for the black walnuts that I do not have. I only have light brown sugar, so I used it instead of the dark brown sugar. I deleted half a cup of raisins. I used a cup of the blackberry jam that I recently made--from a jar where there was not enough to can, from a dish with not enough even to put into a jar, and from a jar that did not seal. I did not bother separating the eggs and beating the egg whites and folding them in. I think that it would not make as much difference with an oil cake as it would a butter cake.

          The recipe says to bake at 325 F for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours. That seems a rather long interval, but perhaps it depends on the consistency of the jam. I checked the cake after an hour, and, since it is a half recipe and therefore a smaller cake. It registered 210 F, and a Bundt cake is done at 200 F, according to the site I googled. After 15 minutes, it came out of the pan easily. I will let it cool and rest overnight to allow the flavors to develop, and we will begin slicing it tomorrow evening for dessert. It smells wonderful!

          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43562
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            Friday night's dinner was my Mom's Hamburger Stroganoff served over a mixture of brown and wild rice and accompanied by microwaved fresh green beans from our garden. The hamburger stroganoff is likely a 1950s recipe, and it was what she frequently served to company in the 1960s. I have given it a healthy makeover by using 93% lean ground beef and draining off the grease, using a pound of fresh mushrooms rather than canned, eliminating the butter and using a bit of olive oil, and replacing all of the sour cream with Chobani non-fat Greek yogurt. I also replace white rice with the brown and wild rice mixture. For my husband, I have to eliminate the fresh onion, so I substitute dehydrated onion. I still use the can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup, but I use the variety with less salt and fat.

            in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43557
            BakerAunt
            Participant

              Navlys--I refuse to squish garlic. Instead, I break out the garlic powder.

              We had another easy meal on Friday of ham sandwiches on buns and green bean, tomato, and feta salad.

              I heard that Vermont is getting a lot of rain, so I hope Chocomouse and her husband are ok.

              in reply to: Cleaning up my yard. #43550
              BakerAunt
              Participant

                That is wonderful that she stopped and helped you Joan! What a blessing.

                in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43536
                BakerAunt
                Participant

                  My husband used the last slice of bread at lunch on Thursday, so in the afternoon I baked three loaves of Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread. Two loaves will go in the freezer. We are having cooler weather, so today was a good day to bake.

                  in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43535
                  BakerAunt
                  Participant

                    I made yogurt on Thursday, a day early, as I will not have time to make it tomorrow. I also made green bean, cherry tomato, and feta salad again. We had it for dinner with the rest of the chicken salad on more of the rolls.

                    in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43527
                    BakerAunt
                    Participant

                      I baked Blueberry Sweet Rolls on Wednesday. It is a cinnamon roll recipe with the interior dotted with blueberries, then rolled up and cut the roll into slices. And yes, the blueberries like to roll out, but I just stuff them back. The recipe makes 20, with 12 in one pan and 8 in another, but I got distracted and realized I'd stuffed 15 into the first pan, so I cut the last quarter into six pieces instead of five and found a smaller dish for it. I decided to try lining the glass baking dishes with parchment to make for an easier clean-up, which Len mentioned a while back. I am now sold on using parchment for future batches of sweet rolls--no more scraping the spilled filling off the pan!

                      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43526
                      BakerAunt
                      Participant

                        Joan--My mother was a big fan of cold pizza for breakfast! Your pizza looks wonderful, and I approve of ALL the toppings!

                        I made minestrone on Wednesday for lunch for today and into the week. I have not made it in ages and had forgotten how good it is, especially with fresh green beans from our garden.

                        For dinner, I made chicken salad from the rest of the roasted chicken breast meat. We had it on the buns I baked yesterday, along with more of the green bean, cherry tomato, and feta salad.

                        in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43520
                        BakerAunt
                        Participant

                          We had used up all the sandwich buns in the freezer, so on Tuesday, I baked another batch of the Whole Wheat/Rye/Semolina buns.

                          Follow-up on the Oatmeal Scotchies: My version is very good, but I do miss that buttery taste and texture. I would still bake the revised version, as it at least gives the butterscotch taste.

                          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43519
                          BakerAunt
                          Participant

                            You are lucky, Joan! While I have access to a small weekly farmers market, it is often hit or miss as to what I will find there.

                            Dinner tonight was ham sandwiches on freshly baked buns with green bean, cherry tomato, and feta salad.

                            in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43509
                            BakerAunt
                            Participant

                              Stay safe, Joan.

                              For dinner on Monday, I made that green bean, cherry tomato, and feta salad yet again. We had it with an ear of corn each and more leftover roasted chicken breast. I like these easy summer meals.

                              in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43506
                              BakerAunt
                              Participant

                                I hope that Joan and CWCdesign are doing ok with the storms moving into Georgia.

                                Ever since Joan baked the Oatmeal Scotchies cookies, I have been wondering if I could develop a healthier version that I could eat occasionally. I needed a distraction on Monday, and we were going to be out of cookies after today, so I checked and found a half bag of Nestles butterscotch chips in the second refrigerator that have been there since before I gave up saturated fat in butter and chips, which I think was four years ago. I tasted one, and it was fine. (I suspect they will never go bad.) I worked out a recipe, with avocado oil and water replacing the butter and baked a half recipe this afternoon. I will allow them to rest overnight, with the idea that, as with cakes, the flavor will develop during the rest. If we like them, I will post the re-worked recipe.

                                The chips give them about 1.45 g saturated fat per cookie. There is a bit of additional saturated fat from the egg, avocado oil, and sunflower kernels, but as these ingredients also contain healthy fats and nutrients, I did not include them in the overall tally.

                                in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of August 4, 2024? #43498
                                BakerAunt
                                Participant

                                  Joan--I hope you get a chance to try it!

                                  Dinner on Sunday was ham sandwiches on WW/Rye/Semolina buns (the last from the freezer), an ear of sweet corn each, and the rest of the green bean salad.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 511 through 525 (of 7,756 total)