[BakerAunt]

Moving to this small town was quite a change from where I lived before. There I had two grocery stores that I shopped often, and a Walmart. Occasionally, I'd go to Target.

Where I live now, there is one grocery store in town. It has the occasional deals, as well as 10% off for senior citizens on Tuesday, but there prices on most items are rather high and produce is limited. The farmers market has been helpful with the latter; while not less expensive than the grocery, the produce is usually superior. There is also a CVS, and that is where I buy my milk, as well as a few grocery items (canned chicken, Healthy Request Tomato soup) when they are on special.

We drive to a larger town about 30 minutes away for big grocery trips, usually about every two to three weeks. We always shop Aldi's, which usually has good produce with the better prices and carries ground turkey, at a good price, which we cannot get locally. My husband gets his quick cooking oats there, and I've found their canola oil to be a good price. They had excellent butter prices, but I rarely buy it anymore. They have good prices on nuts, usually, as well as chopped dates, although the latter is a seasonal offering.

Across the highway is the Walmart. It carries KAF flour at a reasonable price, and we usually pick up condiments. They have a good price on frozen salmon. However, we seem to be buying less food there than we once did.

A short distance away is a Kroger across the street from a Walgreens. Walgreens often has good prices on some foods when they have sales (nuts, tuna, sugar), although lately they seem to be out of advertised items when we are there. The Kroger carries the soba noodles we cannot do without, and it's where I found peanut butter and almond butter without additives (although the almond butter is expensive). They have great prices on the peanuts my husband likes as snacks. Their yogurt prices often beat out Walmart, and there are the occasional specials on flours. I can get Bob's Red Mill products there, although I find the prices a bit high. (Note: CVS, Walgreens, and Kroger require free membership cards to get most sale prices.)

I do more advance menu planning now, as I need to have items on hand for several weeks of possible meals, even if I don't always know exactly when I will be making a specific meal.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you for the follow-up, Italian Cook. Sharing of information is one of the great advantages of this site.

Also, thank you to Mike for the explanation not just about brussels sprouts but about broccoli. It took some effort to get my husband to stop overcooking broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

I've seen such recipes, Italian Cook and wondered about them, since banana is such a soft texture. I tried a fresh peach bread once, with chopped fruit, and these breads are wetter and don't hold up more than a day or so. Even baking apples in breads tend to be better the first day or so.

Thanks for posting about trying this recipe and the results. I'll stick to my mashed banana recipes.

[BakerAunt]

I know this one.

[BakerAunt]

I made a “grain bowl” for dinner, consisting of farro cooked in homemade chicken broth, onion, roasted delicata squash; leftover rotisserie chicken, peas, and sage. The combination is delicious.

[BakerAunt]

I know this one.

[BakerAunt]

I'm taking notes on Len's experiments. I noted that a lot of the U-Tube videos brush the tops of the risen Kaiser rolls with milk and then dip them in a seed mixture (how do they not deflate?) or brush the tops with milk, then sprinkle the seeds on top.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I realized on Saturday that my husband had worked his way through most of the whole wheat sourdough crackers, so in the evening, I fed my sourdough and used what I removed to make the dough for my lower-saturated fat version of Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. The dough is divided in quarters, then refrigerated for 4-5 days. I’ll bake them next week.

[BakerAunt]

We're having leftover rotisserie chicken and quinoa salad.

[BakerAunt]

I know this one!

[BakerAunt]

Aaron makes a good point about fat in that we know that there are different kinds of fat and that to some extent it depends on individual physiology, age, and perhaps gender. Heart disease is actually the leading cause of death for women.

I'm still shocked that my cholesterol was so high, and that while cutting out most saturated fat (i.e.--staying below 11 grams per day) dropped it significantly, it's still high. My rule of thumb is that if I am going to eat an item with saturated fat, it must have other important vitamins and minerals. Thus, I have not cut out eggs or olive oil or canola oil or 1% milk, but I cut my butter consumption to a tiny amount. (I also gave up chocolate candies, tortilla chips, chicken skin.) When I bake, I use canola or olive oil, and occasionally, I use grapeseed oil for a more neutral taste. I tried nonfat regular yogurt, but I cannot get one here that does not have additives to thicken it, and the taste is not so great. I can get Chobani nonfat Greek yogurt, which does not have the additives and tastes good.

One of my concerns about the collapse of dairy--and a public perception that dairy is "bad,"--is that calcium is needed for bone development, and I wonder if the plant-based "milk" drinkers will be having issues with that down the road.

[BakerAunt]

More about Deans and the changing milk market:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/01/dairy-farmers-are-struggling-as-they-are-squeezed-out-of-a-changing-milk-market.html?utm_campaign=MMS_Newsletter_20191115&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc_Newsletter&utm_content=The%20end%20of%20cereal%20monogamy

[BakerAunt]

I baked a half recipe of Toffee-Pumpkin Snack Cake, a recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Fall Baking (p. 28), a seasonal magazine issue that I bought a couple years ago. I made it about a month ago as well, and that time I substituted half buttermilk for half the oil but did not like the result that much, so this time I just used 1/3 rather than ½ cup of oil. I added 2 Tbs. of Bob’s Red Mill milk powder, and I made my own “pumpkin pie spice” blend. I did use half of the “toffee pieces” in the batter. What I used was milk-chocolate toffee pieces, since I’m still in the process of using that kind of ingredient up. I did not, however, sprinkle them on top. Instead I used a sugar cookie decorating mix of brown, yellow, and orange elongated sprinkles. (It’s going to take me a long time to work my way through my special sugars now that I’ve had to forgo sugar cookies.) I don’t use the cream cheese frosting drizzle, although I’m sure it’s lovely, as the cake is delicious without it.

Addition: I like this version of the cake better than any of my previous versions in terms of taste and texture.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Leftover stir fry is on the menu at my house.

[BakerAunt]

I subscribe to a public radio newsletter (Marketplace). It mentioned the Land o' Lakes bankruptcy. I thought the following "By the Numbers" facts were interesting:

26%--how much milk consumption has declined

1.6 billion: money brought in by "alternative milk" products.

While some people have milk allergies or are lactose intolerant, and some may be vegan, I wonder if this is the equivalent of the carbohydrate scare that that shook up the bakery industry a few years ago. I've been surprised at the number of alternative "milks" at Aldi's and Kroger, even as I have to scrounge to find buttermilk. Most of the alternative "milks" don't have the calcium content of regular milk.

I'm wondering why butter is having such a hard time. I had to give it up, almost completely, due to high cholesterol, but most of the dessert recipes out there are rolling in butter.

I hope Land o' Lakes light butter-canola spread continues to be available because I don't see another option for me.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

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