[BakerAunt]

Saturday dinner was Salmon and Couscous with Penzey’s Greek Seasoning. I also microwaved the contents of one of the bags of green bans that I froze this summer. The beans were good, so I’m glad I took the time to freeze several packets. I've added the result to the "Freezing Green Beans" thread.

[BakerAunt]

Tonight (November 9), I pulled out one of the packets of frozen green beans. I emptied the beans into a glass dish with a lid, then microwaved on high for 2 minutes. I stirred the beans, then microwaved for another 2 minutes.

Note: We are using an old microwave (a new one is on my list) that does not have a lot of power.

Results: The beans will never be as crisp as fresh ones, but the texture held up better than frozen ones we've bought at the store and not bought again. Freezing them individually is a good technique. The flavor is good. We will definitely freeze beans again when we have a bumper crop.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday afternoon, I baked my variation on Skeptic’s Pumpkin Biscotti. I sprinkled the log with mixed Autumn colored sugars.

[BakerAunt]

You make a good point about where to put a Zo. My other bread machine is small enough, and light enough, that I can put it on a shelf in one of the utility closets and pull it out as needed. The Zo is longer and a lot heavier. It probably needs a dedicated space on a counter or cart--and I've already filled all of it up.

You could allow your dough to rise in the machine. The second rise, in the pan, would be the issue. If you could put the loaf pan in a plastic box with lid near the stove, that would give it a warm, safer place to rise. I recall that Frick, from the KAF Baking Circle was a proponent of plastic containers for this purpose, and I actually use a plastic cake box for my loaves while they rise.

Note about kitchen remodels: Never assume that the person who does not use small appliances in the kitchen (my husband, for example), knows anything about location of electrical outlets. I did catch his attempt at one end of the kitchen, where we have a freestanding cabinet, to put the outlet down low. I pointed out that I needed to be able to plug in the countertop oven and my food processor. However, I didn't realize that he would still tell the contractor to put it 2 inches (corrected measurement) below where the cabinet top is. That is also why I do not have an electrical outlet at the other end of the kitchen, at the far end of the peninsula. It never occurred to me that someone (my husband) wouldn't realize that of course there should be an outlet there, especially, since before we extended the peninsula there was an outlet there that I used all the time. (Clearly, he didn't use it.) That omission limited where I can put the stand mixer. (My mixer controls are on the right as I face it--next to the wall and overhead cabinets. Because the cabinet at the far end of the peninsula is where the contractors would need to go to put in an outlet where I need it, the fix would be difficult and expensive. The best I could do there was to have a joint switch and outlet flipped at the peninsula's other end, and that extra inch helps, but it's still a pain.

My scientist husband can be attentive to many things, but he also missed that the light that had been outside next to the sliding glass door needed to be moved to the location of the new door. The contractor didn't see it either. I noticed after the siding was on, I turned on the light at the door, and wondered why there was no light. Well, there was light but four feet over!

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

[BakerAunt]

I answered correctly, probably because Scotch eggs were featured in an episode of The Durrells in Corfu on PBS. That was the episode where the mother inadvertently gave the villagers food poisoning because she didn't realize Scotch eggs would not hold up in a warm climate.

[BakerAunt]

I'm curious, S. Wirth. Why did you never give it a try?

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--the main flavor of the black bean soup is the black beans, but the cumin has a nice blending with the beef stock and the tomatoes. The pumpkin doesn't really come through for me. If you make the soup, you might want to make a half recipe, as it makes a lot.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday, I roasted a small “peanut” pumpkin—the only one I was able to buy at the farmers market this fall. The growers’ field was attacked by mice, and their pumpkin of choice was the peanut pumpkin. It needed to sit for a while to get its orange color. It was small enough that I cut it horizontally rather than vertically and roasted it in my larger Calphalon roaster.

On Friday, I also made chicken broth with the remains of the rotisserie chicken we ate earlier in the week.

[BakerAunt]

I wonder if it would work with an oil-based cake.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--Few things are as sad as burnt brownies.

It takes a while to get used to a different oven. I'm still learning about my new one and where to put the rack for different items. I've not tried the convection feature yet. My small countertop oven is a convection, so I check much earlier than I otherwise would.

In my family, rye bread was a treat that my Mom would buy around the holidays. We looked forward to it. Of course, once I began baking my own rye bread, it was a revelation how much better it was than the commercial store breads.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you S. Wirth. I have heard about the browning issue and know that newer machines have the top element. I don't know if I will ever bake bread in the machine--although a hot summer might well change my mind!--but I will tuck away that foil idea for if I ever do so.

Skeptic--With my current Welbilt bread machine, I proof the yeast in the water, add any additional wet ingredients (except oil), then add the dry ingredients and start. After 5 minutes, the machine has a 5- minute rest period, and I add any oil at the end of that. I've never had a problem--in spite of the instructions stating that the yeast goes on top of the dry ingredients.

With the Zo, my understanding is that it has a "pre-heat," and that might be too warm for the yeast. From what I read, however, I think it is possible to turn off that function. Your thinking is along the lines of mine: try it with proofed yeast on the bottom, then see what happens.

[BakerAunt]

I missed it too.

[BakerAunt]

I didn't explain it very well. What I meant is that my oven will bake at a lower temperature than 250F, but that the oven fans don't bother cooling the oven down, once it is turned off, when it was used for low temperature baking.

[BakerAunt]

Oh, no! Mike, what is the rationale for the ban?

[BakerAunt]

When I turn my oven off, if it is over a certain temperature, the fans come on to cool it down. It would work with 250, however, since the oven doesn't bother with a temperature that low. (I had to explain that to my husband when I cooked granola, turned off the oven, and he didn't hear the fan.)

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