[BakerAunt]

Dinner on Thursday was “One-Pot Tarragon Chicken Mushrooms, & Rice,” a recipe that came from "The Splendid Table,” and which I’ve now made four times. I use half brown rice and half mixed wild rice (for a total of 2 cups) and adjust the broth accordingly. I was cooking six chicken thighs, so I reduced the rice to ¾ cup of each. I do not have shallots, so I used 1 Tbs. Penzey’s dried onion that I rehydrated. I decided that ¼ tsp. dried tarragon per piece of chicken is a good ratio. I was able to cook it in my Chantel casserole dish (from when Chantel was made in Germany about twenty years ago), which moves nicely to the table as the serving dish. I like making this recipe for us, but it would also work well for a dinner party. We had microwaved fresh broccoli as well.

[BakerAunt]

I missed it, but then I haven't eaten soft-boiled eggs since childhood. Now I know.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday afternoon, I made the KAF recipe for Maple Granola with my usual changes of deleting the vanilla (why cover up the flavor of maple syrup?!), cutting the coconut flakes in half, using just ¼ tsp. salt, and adding ½ cup pumpkin seeds. For the fruit, I stir in 2 cups raisins. My husband eats the granola almost as fast as the cheese crackers. I like it as a topping on my Greek yogurt, and occasionally as a breakfast cereal.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday afternoon, I made chicken broth from the remains of our rotisserie chicken.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--Cass told me that when substituting buttermilk for regular milk to replace 1 tsp. of the baking powder with 1/4 tsp. baking soda because baking soda has 4x the rising action of baking powder. That is also what Shirley Corriher says in her books. If I'm replacing regular milk with buttermilk in a recipe that already has baking soda, then I don't change the baking powder or add more baking soda.

I made browned butter frosting once for an apple cake--oh, that was so, so delicious. I'd make that recipe again, if I could assemble enough people to help eat it that I only ate one reasonable slice.

I agree that some items are best with a day or two of rest. I assume that the cooking an baking shows are indulging in fiction. The producer of one show admitted that in order to heighten tension, they set up the kitchen so that the contestants will run into each other. It's rather like the home renovation shows and open concept: the producers like open concept because they believe certain men will only watch the show if walls get smashed.

[BakerAunt]

I chose one correct answer and one incorrect answer. These days the only beef I cook is the occasional stew meat in a stew and lean hamburger in my stroganoff recipe.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--That does seem like a lot of buttermilk for the dry ingredients that you list. What was the fat content of the buttermilk? I buy buttermilk that is 1 1/2% fat (or sometimes 2%), but I've seen higher percentages, as well as some recipes that call for "full-fat" buttermilk, which ought to be an oxymoron.

To go with beef stew for Tuesday dinner, I baked cornbread in my scone pan again, using the cornmeal we bought at Spring Mill.

[BakerAunt]

That's good news, Joan.

Tuesday night’s dinner was beef stew, so it was an afternoon project, although hands-on time is limited. I use Penzey’s beef base. For vegetables this time, in addition to onion and garlic, I used red potatoes from the local farmers market, “baby carrots,” red bell pepper, and mushrooms, and peas. For seasonings, I used some red wine, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, rosemary, allspice, Penzey’s sweet paprika, 2 bay leaves, freshly ground black pepper, and a Tbs. of sugar. I thickened it with ½ cup water and 3 Tbs. Clearjel. I added a bit of salt at the end to balance the flavors.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt. Reason: added information

[BakerAunt]

The PBS News Hour reported last night that Borden's has filed for bankruptcy. That's another major dairy organization.

Meanwhile, the Bon Appetit staff, in their January cooking month e-mail specials, are emphasizing little or no dairy as a way to "save the planet." While I don't mind having recipes that don't rely so heavily on cheese and butter, I'm not sure their alternative choices are superior, either nutritionally or in terms of saving the planet. (Almonds for example require a lot of water to grow, and almond milk wastes a good deal of the nut.) I wish that they would also look at the need for calcium in the diet, and if they want to do no dairy, make a concerted effort to insure that calcium needs are met with as little supplementation as necessary.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, it was time for the Leftovers Turned into Lunch Challenge. On New Year’s Day, I cooked a bag of black-eyed peas. Although my husband purports to like them, he loses interest after two meals, and there I am with a pot to eat by myself that has no additional seasonings or ingredients. Before we got married, I always cooked them with rice and ham. So, I decided to turn the pot of black-eyed peas and their liquid into lunches for the rest of the week. Since I’m planning to make a dinner tomorrow that uses rice, I tried 1 cup farro, cooked in 2 cups of the bean broth. While the farro cooked (30 min.), I diced some onion, sautéed it in some grapeseed oil, then added a package of cubed ham from the grocery. I added the leftover beans, and whatever liquid remained, along with some minced fresh parsley and some freshly ground black pepper. I mixed in the cooked farro. As I was sitting down to lunch, my husband, who had eaten his usual sandwich decided it smelled good, and that it might be something he could also eat, which a taste with a spoon confirmed. I was hoping for that outcome, which is why I restrained myself from adding a dash of red pepper. I expect that he will eat it at one meal, at least, with me.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse--there is a recipe here in one of the Baking Circle saved threads. It was from Baker Irene. I've not tried it.

[BakerAunt]

I guessed incorrectly. I've never used it.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--maybe it is a temporary setback, which sometimes happens on the road to recovery. I will keep you both in my prayers.

[BakerAunt]

I know this one.

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday afternoon, I baked my adaptation of “Fresh Apple Cake,” from Recipes from the Old Mill: Baking with Whole Grains (Sarah E Myers and Mary Beth Lind), p. 213, using four of the Jonathan apples that we picked last November. It will be a delicious dessert for Twelfth Night--and beyond.

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