[BakerAunt]

Farro does have a different taste from barley, so it might be worth a try. I assume that you have tried different kinds of lentils. While the brown ones are the ones I usually use, the red ones have a different taste--and usually dissolve in a soup. I have a package of green lentils that I also plan to try.

What about split green or yellow peas?

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Location is definitely an issue for that restaurant. It was, until about 16 years ago, a family restaurant run by locals, and Pinder's was quite popular with the locals. They retired and sold it. The next incarnation did not last, nor did the two breweries. It is off the main part of town, so it gets missed. Also, while the local private boarding high school does bring in the parents during the school year, the season is Memorial Day to Labor Day, with some people showing up at spring break or occasionally Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The market may be saturated as well. There are two coffee shops which also serve breakfast and lunch--and one does evening meals; a very expensive new Italian restaurant with an artistic chef, another regular Italian restaurant, a cheaper Pizza place, and a larger restaurant that is across the street from the town beach/park. Oh, yes, there is a Subway in the convenience store/gas station.

We rarely eat out because we like our own cooking, and we have a wonderful view, which no local place's atmosphere can match. When we eat out, it is usually because we are away from home, as on my birthday in Florida, and if we do fast food, it is Subway, as it was yesterday after a shopping trip/car recall issue (reprogramming the media system) in South Bend. We did eat at a nice restaurant in a former mansion in South Bend last fall with my husband's cousins after we toured the Studebaker museum. They were about to open a microbrewery there in the spring.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Mike--have you tried using Farro instead of barley in soups? I tried it recently (there's a post from me with a link to Oprah's soup), and it seems easier on the digestive system than barley. I bought mine from Bob's Red Mill.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt. Reason: corrected spelling of Farro

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for posting the link, Mike. Given the issues, maybe JAMA needs to look at its review process for articles.

Since I started my low-saturated fat way of eating, what I've noticed is the huge amount of butter in so much baking. I subscribe to Bake from Scratch and I buy KAF's Sift. With BFS, I'm lucky if there are two recipes per issue that do not require copious amounts of butter, and these are the kind of recipes where oil substitution is unlikely to work (most cookies, scones, brioches). I can usually get a few more recipes from Sift by substituting oil into some of the bread recipes.

Cheese is also a major source of saturated fat. I'm still trying to locate a 2% cheese in my vicinity. Until then, I use Mozzarella made with part skim milk.

I bought a recent magazine issue on Heart Healthy Recipes, which includes some recipes that I plan to try. Since one of the consultants is with the Mayo Clinic, I decided that the information is likely to be reasonably accurate. In addition to discussions on food myths about avoiding eggs and all fats (healthy fats are needed), it surprised me with a discussion of Vitamin K2, which is not the same as the Vitamin K listed on my multivitamin. The discussion of Vitamin K has been split. K1 comes from plants. K2 comes through animal foods. It then listed item such as full-fat dairy, beef, egg yolks, fermented cheeses (arent' they all fermented?)--especially Gouda--goose liver (!), and miso. I looked online, but did not find a lot about K2--perhaps I was not looking in the right place--although one site mentioned dark chicken meat. There was also discussion that the milk, beef and eggs needed to come from "pasture-fed" cows and hens. K2 needs fat to be absorbed.

OK--most people will not be able to get the grass-fed beef and dairy, and for some, cost will be a factor. The only item on their list that I do eat regularly is eggs--mostly in baking and occasionally as a one-egg omelet. We also do a lot of chicken thighs, but I doubt those are chickens eating the requisite food.

The study that I found online was touting K2 as good for LOTS of issues. I take that as likely overreach, since we saw that with Vitamin D claims on heart health, cancer, etc. that have now been called into question. My latest issue of Consumer Reports On Health even claims that there is not strong evidence that the Vitamin D my doctor prescribed and I have been taking will even help with bones.

Vitamin K2, according to the magazine that sent me on this online search, is the element that helps Vitamin D do its work with calcium. I've heard that before, and one of the articles I examined made that case, but in the past it was only listed as Vitamin K. Looking at K1 and K2 as separate seems to be more recent.

I am now thoroughly confused, so I will continue keeping the saturated fat low in baked goods by using butter sparingly, and I'll eat a varied diet, as the article that Mike posted suggests.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

There is a brewery-style pub restaurant in South Bend called The Evil Czech. It for a time also had a place in Culver, Indiana, where I now live. My understanding is that they used some of the spent grain from brewing to make their pizza. I never ate there, as neither my husband nor I care for beer.

The prices were also a bit high for the off-season clientele, so the owner shut it down to focus on the South Bend location. Another brewery-pub-restaurant took its place in town, but it lasted for maybe a little over a year, and the place is for sale. Again.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked my favorite cornbread, which is a healthier version of the usual cornbread. I used ½ cup white whole wheat flour for half the AP flour. I have some coarse grind cornmeal that I need to use, so I used ¼ cup of that with ¾ cup of fine ground cornmeal. It did not rise as high as one with the fine ground cornmeal, but it still did well, and it had a delightful slight crunch. It was excellent with our soup this evening.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse--once again, great minds think alike!

On Monday, I made a vegetable-mixed peas and lentils band barley soup. I used ½ cup Bob’s Red Mill Hull-less Barley (an older form). I know from experience that it needs to cook a long time, so I cooked it in 1 ¾ cups water by itself for an hour, then let it sit as I began to assemble the soup. I sautéed chopped onion, red bell pepper, celery, and carrots. (The carrots are from our garden. They were covered all winter, and my husband only just got around to digging most of them out.) I added ground turkey and browned it, then I added sliced mushrooms, then garlic. I had about 1 cup of crushed tomatoes left over from another recipe, so I added those, along with the barley, and 6 cups of turkey stock (frozen from our Christmas turkey). I used the Bob’s Vegi-soup blend of brown and orange lentils and green and yellow split peas with some barley alphabet letters. I seasoned it with 2 tsp. poultry seasoning (salt-free from Penzey’s) and a bit of sweet curry. We liked this variation.

[BakerAunt]

I like the idea of being able to post follow-up comments or questions to the quiz of the day. Of course, today I did not have any, so I have not tried out this new feature.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner on Friday—and for the next couple of nights—I again made One-Pot Tarragon Chicken, Mushrooms, and Rice, a recipe that I tried earlier this year. This time I was careful not to overdo the liquid, and I increased the brown rice to 2 cups uncooked. I also cooked it in a larger rectangular roasting pan, which made it a bit difficult to bring the liquids to a boil initially. We had this entrée with steamed broccoli, done in the microwave.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday afternoon, I baked “Fresh Apple Cake,” from Recipes from the Old Mill: Baking with Whole Grains, p. 213. I used four of our dwindling supply of traditional Winesap apples that we have stored in the garage. I baked this cake last fall for the first time, and I made the same changes. I substitute ¼ cup barley flour for that much of the AP flour, add a tablespoon of flax meal, and ¼ cup powdered milk, and use buttermilk instead of yogurt. I used pecans in the topping.

It was still slightly warm when we cut into it--a nice dessert for these still cold days.

[BakerAunt]

I need to try that recipe, especially since you have had such success with it.

[BakerAunt]

It's not just the mileage but the Indianapolis traffic, not to mention the lack of detour signs for road work and last minute lane announcements.

[BakerAunt]

I baked the KAF Baker’s Grain Sourdough Bread on Thursday. I’ve baked it before but this time I stayed closer to the recipe. Instead of ½ cup Ancient Grains Flour, which I do not buy, I used ¼ cup dark rye flour and ½ cup spelt. (I increase flour in KAF’s sourdough recipes by about ¼ cup per cup of sourdough, as my starter is not as thick as theirs.) I also added 1 Tbs. flax meal and cut the salt to 1 ½ tsp. from 2 tsp. I used 1 tsp. regular yeast and 1 tsp. special gold which I’m trying to use up.

KAF’s directions on wholegrain breads seem to me to set home bakers up for failure. First, I doubt that a recipe that uses high gluten flour will work well in a bread machine--and this is a thick dough. I don't think it would get kneaded enough. I used my stand mixer. Second, after proofing the yeast in the water with the honey (my personal preference). I added the sourdough starter, the Harvest Grains blends and the combined wholegrain flours and potato flour. I mixed these in, then let them sit for 20 minutes, so that the wholegrains could absorb the liquid. I then mixed in the 2 Tbs. oil before mixing in the combined high-gluten flour and salt. After switching to the bread hook, I found that I needed about 8 minutes of kneading on speed 3 of my Cuisinart stand mixer to get the windowpane. The first rise took an hour and the second 50 minutes before I slashed the loaf. I baked it in the Emile Henry long covered baker, following the given baking instructions. I always grease the bottom with Crisco and coat it with farina (cream of wheat). I took the lid off after 35 minutes and baked another 10 when it registered 198F. (I think 190F is too low.) The bread had nice oven spring.

We cut into the loaf for sandwiches the next day. It is delicious and of a lovely light texture inside. I think it’s better than what KAF has pictured.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner on Thursday, I made salmon and couscous flavored with Penzey’s Greek seasoning. (Great minds think alike, Chocomouse.) We had steamed green beans on the side.

I made a one-egg omelet for lunch on Friday. I used Penzey's Bavarian seasoning (a freebie) to season it. I also used chopped onion and a piece of low-fat Mozzarella string cheese. I ate it on a slice of the bread I baked yesterday.

I mostly make smashed potatoes these days, especially when I can leave the skins on.

Chocomouse--I, alas, have never lived close to a Penzey's, nor does it (like Trader Joe's!) seem to lie along any of our travel routes.

[BakerAunt]

Yes, the cake was drier on the outer portion than the center. I've made a note on the recipe next to the oven temperature to put the cake strips into soak when I pre-heat the oven. I've used them in the past, and they work well. The pans I used were the USA pans.

Yes, I will have a Wolf dual fuel range when we get the kitchen finished. I'm looking forward to baking in it. The electric range in the apt. is one that was here when we bought the place.

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