[BakerAunt]

I baked an Apple Crisp on Tuesday. The recipe comes from Baking Illustrated (2004), p. 290. I made a few changes. I used a combination of Jonathan and Winesap apples instead of Granny Smith and McIntosh. I decided not to peel them. I reduced the topping by about 25%, slightly more for the butter, as I used 3 Tbs., reduced the salt to 1/8 tsp. and used Penzey’s Apple Pie spice (a free sample). I also used whole wheat pastry flour instead of AP flour. I used my pastry cutter, not the food processor, to incorporate the butter, and I used ¼ cup pecan meal in place of ¾ cups nuts, which would have been ground in. Instead of a 9x9 inch pan or a 9-inch deep pie plate, I baked it in a ceramic 8x11 rectangular dish. We had it with some frozen low-fat vanilla yogurt. We enjoyed it tonight and will enjoy it for the next two nights as well.

[BakerAunt]

Given all the problems that have arisen, that new labeling standard is long overdue.

[BakerAunt]

Monday afternoon was devoted to cooking up a lot of the formerly green tomatoes that we picked before the first freeze. We cut the vine branches and left them attached, which seems to have helped the ripening. We’ve had them in the front room where they can get some sun, and where the woodstove keeps them reasonably warm during the day but not hot. I did have to cut out some bad places, and toss a few that were too far gone, but I was able to use close to four pounds, and we still have some to ripen.

I made the ones I cut up into sauce, by adding them to some onion and minced garlic sautéed in olive oil, then cooking them down. I used that sauce to make spaghetti sauce by adding some tomato paste, cooked ground turkey leftover from last night. I sautéed chopped celery, red bell pepper, and mushrooms in olive oil, then added those to the pot. I used 2 tsp. Penzey’s salt-free Tuscan Seasoning and simmered with a bay leaf. I did add 1 Tbs. of sugar, as these were not as sweet as the ones that mostly ripened on the vine. I added ¼ cup red wine in the last 40 minutes of cooking. I mixed it with 12 oz. whole wheat penne.

[BakerAunt]

I bought marked down bananas at the grocery yesterday. The store sells them for 69 cents a pound, but when they begin to turn, they are marked down to 29 cents. Given how many of their bananas end up marked for reduction, I’m not sure why they don’t just lower the price to a reasonable amount before they go brown.

Usually the ones I get are fine for eating, but these were a little too ripe, so I used two on Monday morning to try a new recipe for Oat Bran Banana Bread, from North Dakota State University Extension Services. It's one that Italian Baker might like because it uses baking soda for the leavening, not baking powder.

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/foodpreparation/recipes/grains/oat-bran-banana-bread/files/oat-bran-banana-bread.pdf

As usual, I modified it. I ground the oat bran in the food processor, and I substituted in ½ cup of whole wheat flour for the 1 cup of AP specified. I added 4 Tbs. powdered milk. I used buttermilk instead of skim milk. I left out the optional salt. The recipe didn’t specify a pan size, so I used a 9x5 inch loaf pan. It’s not an overly high quick bread, so possibly 8x4 inch would work as well. I sprinkled the top with demerara sugar. It baked in 50 minutes in my oven in a USA loaf pan coated with THE grease, and it released beautifully. We had some for dessert this evening, and we like it. I might add some walnuts next time.

The loaf has about 8.75 g saturated fat and 222.5 mg calcium.

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

[BakerAunt]

Although we still have leftover soup and some slices of turkey, for Sunday dinner I made acorn squash halves stuffed with a combination of bulgur, cooked ground turkey, mozzarella, sliced mushrooms, onion, parsley, and sage. We had steamed broccoli on the side.

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

[BakerAunt]

I found a review of the Wolf and the Viking, which seems to indicate they are comparable:

https://www.remodelista.com/posts/remodeling-101-viking-vs-wolf-ranges/

[BakerAunt]

Oh, no! For those of you reading, who were not on the KA Baking Circle, you can find a number of GinaG's recipes in the recipe section. She is an extraordinary baker.

[BakerAunt]

We are almost out of bread, so I baked two loaves of my Buttermilk Barley Whole Wheat Grape Nuts bread. One will go into the freezer.

[BakerAunt]

For Friday night’s dinner, I tried a new recipe, “Oprah’s Kale and Farro Soup,” which I got from an email sent by Tasting Table. I tweaked it slightly, in that I cannot find leeks in the grocery store here. I also did not have a 3-inch Parmesan rind to add. I used close to 3 rather than 2 lbs. of butternut squash. I deleted the can of tomatoes because tonight I felt like a non-tomato soup. I didn’t add any salt. It seemed to be missing something, so, taking a hint from a barley-butternut recipe I like, I added 2 tsp. cider vinegar. It made a very chunky soup, but we like chunky soups. It’s the first time we’ve tried farro. It is chewy and mild. We had the soup with a turkey sandwich (our hosts and hostess last night kindly sent some turkey home with us) on a yeasted pumpkin roll.

Here's a link to the recipe:

https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/recipes/oprah-kale-farro-soup-recipe

And in case you are wondering what the heck farro is, I did some googling. I'm not sure that this story explains it, but it is a start:

https://www.npr.org/2013/10/02/227838385/farro-an-ancient-if-complicated-grain-worth-figuring-out

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

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--I'm glad that your pumpkin pie turned out well.

I also found that the standard butter--what Aldi's sells--is perfectly fine in baked goods. Of course, for now, I'm not using much butter. Sigh. The canola oil at Aldi's is a lot less expensive than what Walmart carries, so I buy that. I've been reluctant to move too far from name brands of extra virgin olive oil.

[BakerAunt]

When I bake pecan pie--which I have not done for years, I use the recipe in Bernard Clayton's pie or pastry cookbook. (I can't check it right now because that is one of the books still packed.) My only change is to use half light and half dark Karo, which is what my mother claimed was the secret to her pecan pies, which I think were the recipe on the back of Karo.

I will only use Karo for corn syrup recipes, just as I will only use C&H or Domino brown sugar. I tried a cheaper brown sugar once, and yuk--too molasses tasting.

[BakerAunt]

I sympathize with you on the pie crust, Mike. In my case, it was those two "not pie pumpkins" that put me behind on preparations. At least you will be able to use the first crust in another way.

This Thanksgiving morning, I baked Stella Parks’ Yeasted Pumpkin Bread as twelve rolls, following her directions, except that I baked them in a 9x9-inch pan rather than in a cast iron 10-inch skillet. Of course, I used my stand mixer, added 3 Tbs. flax meal, used white whole wheat flour (1 1/2 cups and made up the rest of the weight with the bread flour), and added 2 1/2 Tbs. special dried milk. I used grapeseed oil rather than butter. I will take these to the friends’ house where we are invited for dinner tonight. The pumpkin and maple should make a delicious accompaniment to the traditional dinner.

[BakerAunt]

Enjoy your pie, Aaron. Remember--taste makes people not think about shrinkage.

You may need to order the drip catcher at their online site and have it delivered to the store.

The bread flour is probably not helping the crust. In bread, I know that when using bread flour, the dough has to rest about 10 minutes after the first rise and being punched down, or it resists.

Have you looked at Ken Haedrich's Pie Academy online?

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

[BakerAunt]

I roasted two pumpkins, which turned out not to be pie pumpkins. (See details in the "Is there Pumpkin in Your Pumpkin Pie? thread). After throwing it out, I roasted another pumpkin that is a pie pumpkin, and this one I made into puree.

[BakerAunt]

OK, the single pumpkin that I roasted is indeed a sugar/pie pumpkin. Whew.

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