[BakerAunt]

Cass told me that for bread, adding the oil at the end prevents it from coating the gluten strands and weakening its strength during the kneading process. I've been using that technique with my yeast breads and pizza crusts with good results. However, I'm less certain as to why it would be used when baking a cake. I'll have to ask Cass.

[BakerAunt]

I guessed correctly.

[BakerAunt]

I fed my sourdough starter again and made up a double batch of dough for my lower saturated fat version of my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I’ll bake them in a couple of days.

Joan--King Arthur has an interesting sourdough cinnamon roll recipe that I'm tempted to try.

[BakerAunt]

We've added a bell pepper plant, beans, and snow peas.

The lime tree, which bloomed while inside because it was warm, only had one lime to show for it. However, there was just enough cold after it was moved outside for the summer that it was stimulated to bloom again, so I'm hoping more limes will develop with the pollinators around.

We have some black raspberries coming on our terraces. Once again, the north side has set fruit, and the south side has not. My husband plans to pull those up and put in other berries--maybe strawberries? Our several little blueberry bushes also are looking good.

[BakerAunt]

I can see the Martha Stewart crowd going for serving them in the Mason jar rings as part of the "I am more rustic than thou" attitude.

[BakerAunt]

I gave up on my subscription because there were too many recipes that I would never be cooking or baking. Sometimes I buy the special issues. I will make a note to snoop in the August issue in the store.

[BakerAunt]

I got it, as I was remembering how much lemon juice I usually get.

[BakerAunt]

I bought a rectangular cube sponge from KAF a few years ago that works well to clean muffin tins. I later found them at T.J. Maxx and bought a couple more.

I fed my sourdough starter on Monday. I made pan pizza with my usual sourdough pizza crust. For sauce, I mixed some tomato paste with water and spread it on, before sprinkling liberally with Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset (salt-free blend) and garlic powder. I topped it with browned ground turkey, 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms, red bell pepper, green onion, 4 oz. Mozzarella, and Parmesan. We had it with a salad.

[BakerAunt]

I’ve been yearning for some yellow pea soup. Yesterday was cold and rainy and Monday morning rather cool, so I made a big batch and had some for lunch. The recipe, posted years ago in an e-newsletter by Nordic Needle (a stitching business that is no longer what it was), calls it typical of Swedish pea soups. I used split yellow peas, and so I did not have to do an overnight soak. I always add celery and carrots. I replaced the salt pork (too salty for my dietary needs) with some chunks of ham shank—with some bones—that I found at the store yesterday. At the end of cooking, they are removed, the meat cut from the bone, then replaced in the soup. It’s seasoned fifteen minutes before it is done with thyme and marjoram. I estimated on the water, and I would use a little less next time, as I like a very thick soup, but it tasted delicious, and I’ll be eating it happily the rest of the week,

[BakerAunt]

I got it too. I'm curious as to why it is safer to add the bleach to the water rather than the water to the bleach.

[BakerAunt]

Len--Could you add a question mark to the title of this thread, so that it matches the other "What" threads? I'm thinking long term being able to find it on this site. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

It's an appliance apocalypse!

[BakerAunt]

A cookbook editor remembers Maida Haatter:

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/remembering-maida-heatter-article?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=epi&utm_mailing=EPI_CTN_060819_INACTIVE&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5c93032824c17c329bff212e&cndid=44882808&esrc=bounceX&utm_term=EPI_CTN_Inactive

[BakerAunt]

When my Maytag washing machine--stored two years in the shed--could finally be moved into the house and hooked up, it had developed a problem: it cannot go past the wash and initial spin cycle. It is stuck on that time, and repeats the cycle. I had to call Maytag to find out who could repair it, and they gave me the number of a company that works in this area. The guy came out on Wednesday, but according to his "test" program, the machine is fine. However, it is still unable to advance to the rinse cycle and beyond. He left, promising an answer for me, which I hope will come this week. I suspect that two years in the unheated and uncooled shed has mucked up the central processing unit. I may have to calculate the cost-benefit of an expensive repair versus replacement. It's a Maytag Epic front loader I bought eleven years ago.

So much for the legendary Maytag repairman.

The guy did fix the dryer in the stack unit in the garage apt., so at least we can do laundry out there.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Me too.

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