[BakerAunt]

I found a site that people might want to check out:

https://www.everythingkitchens.com/

They actually have that 5-well perforated sub roll pan that KAF sold years ago.

[BakerAunt]

Most of the restaurants in our little town have continued on with take-out, and with the people coming in to their second homes to ride out the pandemic, which is a problem in other ways, the restaurants at least have a customer base. One restaurant has limited itself to weekends, but one coffee shop has hours every day, as do the other three. Only one is completely shuttered.

To second Aaron's other point, before the pandemic hit, two of our restaurants did fund raisers for the local Boys and Girls club. Two also stepped up and did fundraisers when a family of six lost everything due to a house fire. The local coffee shop has also been generous to local causes.

[BakerAunt]

I've been reading and hearing stories about the farmers and animal people who produce for restaurants and schools. They suddenly have food that they cannot sell, and a lot of it is being dumped (milk) or plowed under because they cannot afford to pick it without having a place to sell it.

I wish that there were a group assigned to try to deal with diverting some of that waste to people in need, not to mention to the groceries. I know that it is complicated to try to change supply lines, and there will be lost food, but I worry about how it will impact us over the months ahead, and if it will make it more difficult for the restaurants to re-start.

[BakerAunt]

I've done the cut and paste, but some recipe sites make it so difficult--only allowing you to catch a certain amount of text at a time (and I think BA is one of those annoying ones)--that I usually give up and just print.

Epicurious--which I think BA took over--actually does a pretty good job with printing.

What I would like is for my printing program to allow me to edit then print. I'd get rid of the ads, and the annoying lists I don't need, and save paper and toner.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I'm sure that you brightened that family's quarantine, Mike.

I enjoyed a freshly baked and just cooled Hot Cross Bun with glaze last night. I was surprised that this morning, the flavors seem to have come together, and they are yet more delicious.

I may have to try the Fat Dadio pan. I was hoping for the straight sides, as on the USA square pans, which I have in 8x8, 9x9, 10x10. When there were more small cooking stores out there on the internet, it was easier to find the odd-sized pan. Occasionally, KAF has a non-standard size, so it's a buy when you see it there.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I guessed wildly and missed.

[BakerAunt]

My Hot Cross Bun recipe makes sixteen, and I bake them in an 11x11 inch pan that I bought from King Arthur years ago. I wish that I could find that size of pan again, since I sometimes do a blueberry Hot Cross bun in the summer, and I've discovered that the acidity in the blueberries takes the finish off the pan (it's not a non-stick). I had a similar occurrence with apples in an apple cake in my USA pan.

I used a simple glaze (the one from my Cinnamon Roll recipe) this time, except that I used Half and Half instead of milk. It worked very well. I ate one tonight, and my husband, who was out eradicating invasive plants in his woods, was hungry and ate two.

[BakerAunt]

It's Good Friday, so I am making Hot Cross Buns. These are my own wholegrain version, and I think that I have the recipe fine-tuned now. I use the Zo bread maker to do the mixing and kneading, and it handled the amount of dough well. I kneaded in golden raisins after the first rise, and I'm waiting on the second rise, in our somewhat cold house before they go into the oven.

[BakerAunt]

I have some date sugar, which I bought for a recipe. The recipe noted that if substituting regular sugar, additional flour would be needed.

[BakerAunt]

I missed it. I've seen "date syrup," which I now assume is the same as date molasses.

[BakerAunt]

I had no idea, and so guessed wildly and incorrectly.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Today I baked the Barley-Rye Crispbread that is becoming a standard for me. I thought of trying that rye cracker recipe from the Swedish book (Fika), but it is more complicated than this recipe. I’ll put that off for another time.

[BakerAunt]

Wednesday night’s dinner was stir-fry using leftover pork, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, broccoli, and soba noodles. Mushrooms would have been nice, but the ones at the store on Tuesday did not look good.

I gave the wrong name: it's Penzey's Salsa & Pico. The ingredients are: shallots, cumin, garlic, black pepper, Mexican oregano, paprika, cilantro, Jalapeno pepper, chipotle pepper. I think that I also used it in a chili that I made. I find a little goes a long way. I have it because of a special Penzey's offer in the past. I agree that it adds to beans.

[BakerAunt]

Last night I made millet and deliberately made extra, so on Wednesday, I used it to make lunches for me for the next several days. I pulled out some black beans that I’d cooked and frozen a while back. After sautéing some onion and garlic in olive oil, I added a can of tomatoes with chilis. I added the beans, then the millet. I realized that I needed more sauce, so I added a second can of tomatoes with chilis. I also put in ¼ tsp. Penzey’s Pico & Gallo seasoning. I consider my creation to have a “kick,” but people who like very hot and spicy likely would disagree. I have enough for several more lunches, and it will satisfy my urge for spicy for a while.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

We usually have a maple-glazed tenderloin with mashed potatoes for Easter dinner, a tradition that I started when I met my husband because he does not care for ham. I have a tenderloin in the freezer, but we were able to get a turkey a couple of weeks ago, and my husband, who loves turkey, suggested we have it instead. We've done that once before when I was returning from a conference, and he needed to cook the dinner. We likely wouldn't have had a turkey to roast had it not been for restaurants closing, which resulted in an excellent price at the local grocery.

We will still have mashed potatoes. The grocery store had Russet potatoes in abundance when we shopped yesterday.

For the first time in two years, I know where my lamb cake mold is (that was due to remodeling). I can't make my former butter-laden cake, with its butter-laden frosting, and that would be the case any time we don't have others here to help eat it. I'm thinking of trying an oil-based Bundt lime cake recipe in the mold and making a lime glaze to drizzle on it.

I will be baking Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. I'm also looking for an Easter cookie and may try an Italian Knot Cookie that uses oil, a change that is also due to dietary not pandemic constraints.

My husband sometimes likes to dye a few eggs, although he is not a fan of eating hard boiled eggs, but this year, we will save out egg supply for baking.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

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