[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I made my Spaghetti Squash-Ground Turkey Casserole [Lasagna]. I made my own sauce using 3 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, and adding garlic, dried onion (my husband is still avoiding fresh onion); Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset, tomato paste, sugar, black pepper, a bit of leftover red wine, and Worcestershire sauce. We had it with microwaved fresh broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

We had the bread for sandwiches. We both find it rather "blah," with not particular stand out taste. I don't know if the substitution of buttermilk for yogurt made that much of a difference--and the recipe was not specific as to what kind of yogurt. It is a nicely firm bread and holds sandwich filling well, but it does not seem to stand on its own in terms of taste.

[BakerAunt]

I had no idea, and my guess was incorrect.

[BakerAunt]

I add kale usually at the end of a recipe, but I haven't noted a problem when I've reheated items that include it, other than it isn't as bright in color.

That's a good point about the pie crust's being crisp on top but soft on the underside. I still have a supply of butternut squash, so I'll put this recipe on my list to try with an oil crust. I note in the comments that people state that the 8-inch skillet is on the edge of being too small, so I need to see what I have by way of a 10-inch one.

[BakerAunt]

I'm not sure why Ginsberg says to cool the bread in the pan. It was an unusual instruction, so I followed it. However, when I pulled the loaf out after it had cooled, there was condensation all over the pan, and especially on the bottom of the loaf. Of course, I then had one of those "Duh!" moments. I've put the loaf on a rack to dry out. Next time, I would take it out after 10-15 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

That's an ambitious project, Mike! I'll be reading avidly. Maybe it will tempt me to consider making a rye starter. I wish that I had tried the crispbread recipe before I learned that I have cholesterol issues. Sigh.

On Monday, I baked Yogurt Rye (Chleb Misezany) from Stanley Ginsberg’s The Rye Baker (pp.293-294), a recipe from Poland. I do not have regular yogurt in the house, so I used an equal weight of buttermilk. The recipe is for a single loaf, and as has been the case for small recipes that use rye, my 7-qt. Cuisinart dough hook tends to drill down into the dough, which sticks to the sides of the bowl, and I must keep stopping the mixer and repositioning it to assure even kneading. When kneading for a long time, as these recipes require, that gets old quickly. If we like this bread, I plan to try the dough in the bread machine (the Zo) next time. Instructions for the second rise are to let it rise “well over the top” of the 8x4-inch loaf pan. Sigh—I do not find such instructions all that useful. In the end, it was about 3 ¾ inches above when I put it into the oven, and as I suspected with this kind of bread, there is not much if any oven spring. The bread needed the full 50 minutes to bake. There is an unusual direction to let the bread cool completely in the pan before removing it to cut. (In checking the internal temperature, I put the thermometer in from the side instead of in the bottom of the loaf as I usually do.) The aroma is very nice, so I look forward to slicing into it tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked Yogurt Rye (Chleb Misezany) from Stanley Ginsberg’s The Rye Baker (pp.293-294). I'll put the details on Mike's Coming Through the Rye thread.

As bread was baking, I began rolling out the dough I had in the refrigerator for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. That way I was able to take advantage of the already hot oven (after turning it up another 45F) to bake the crackers.

[BakerAunt]

I did not know this information and so missed it.

[BakerAunt]

To go with our leftover chicken for Sunday dinner, I cooked ¾ cup bulgur in 1 ½ cups of turkey broth. We also had microwaved frozen peas and carrots.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Last year, I pulled out a recipe that I had printed from a now defunct website: Mini Apple Bundt Cakes with Marscapone [sic] Bourbon Cream,” by Brooke Jackson. I thought that I was baking six (1-cup) Bundt cake, but the recipe made a LOT more batter than that, and I was grabbing extra small pans left and right. I baked the recipe again, and this time used a Nordic Ware “Quartet” pan, that makes four small cakes and holds about 8-9 cups of batter. It worked perfectly. I made some changes by substituting ¾ cup barley flour for that much AP and reduced the sugar by ¼ cup. I add 2 Tbs. each of Bob's Red Mill milk powder and flax meal. I probably used more than 3 cups grated apple (about four apples). I wasn’t sure about ¾ cup olive oil. Last year I used ¼ buttermilk, ¼ olive oil, and ¼ cup canola. I don’t use the mascarpone cream topping when serving, which is not needed, but I’m sure would be delicious. The cakes bake 45 minutes in the Quartet Bundt pan.
I baked the recipe again on Sunday. I kept all my changes except that I used ½ cup olive oil and ¼ cup buttermilk. I used Jonathan apples this year. It’s a wonderful cake, and I’m looking forward to having a slice for dessert tonight, even though I should probably let them mellow overnight. At least, with the quartet pan, I only cut into one. I’ll probably freeze at least two cakes. Using the typo in the title (which is why I’ve left it here), Rottiedogs was able to find the old website last year and post a link here at Nebraska Kitchen to the recipe.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made pancakes or breakfast, using a free mix that Bob’s Red Mill sent me. (Can you tell that I’m a good customer?) It’s an all-in-one mix that includes powdered egg and milk, so all it needs is water. It would be good for camping, or even for quick morning breakfasts for busy people. It makes light fluffy pancakes, which a lot of people prefer. We, however, prefer pancakes with substance, so next time, I’ll probably stir in some quick oats and flax meal

[BakerAunt]

I chose the correct answer. All those years of drinking Earl Grey tea have paid off. As Captain Picard would say to the drink machine, "Earl Grey, hot!"

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I roasted chicken thighs for dinner on Saturday. We had it with leftover farro and butternut squash and microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

I answered correctly. While I've never eaten it, I'm pretty sure that I have read about it. I should look at a recipe. It sounds like something that I'd like when eggplants come back into season, although I'd need to make it for lunch, as I doubt my husband would eat it.

[BakerAunt]

I have my doubts about FedEx. KAF has used FedEx Smart Post, and it seems to take a long time for packages to move. An order from another place suddenly disappeared from the tracking. I inquired from the seller, and it turned re-appeared on the tracking--apparently sent back from Michigan to Ohio (or never sent in the first place), and then sent back to the same place in Michigan, where it finally was dropped off with the post office, who got it to me quickly. I had a similar problem with a book from Barnes & Noble last year.

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