[BakerAunt]

I missed it, but I'm glad to have the information.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for the tip about the chilis, Mike. I will look into it.

I made broth this Monday afternoon from the bones of the rotisserie chicken we had last week.

For dinner, I made salmon and couscous, using Penzey's Greek seasoning.

It seemed a little cooler this evening than it has been. We may try to pick blueberries tomorrow at our favorite place.

[BakerAunt]

It doesn't involve using the stove, but I'm putting this entry under cooking;

On Monday afternoon, I made salsa. Although tortilla chips are usually banned from this house due to saturated fat, they have entered while my stepdaughter is here. I will control myself. I made salsa as well, using my recipe of two cans Walmart brand no-salt diced tomatoes, chopped onion, minced garlic, and my last jar (12 oz.) of 505 Southwestern Hatch Valley Flame Roasted Green Chiles that I brought with me from Texas. I can’t find anything comparable here in our area of Indiana. After having these, no other brand will work.

[BakerAunt]

I did not get it correct. I've never used a thermometer to see what temperature warmed up leftovers have reached. We use the microwave.

[BakerAunt]

The white-chocolate-butter-cream cheese frosting, with a bit of vanilla worked very well with the Neufchatel cheese. It does not harden as the frosting with the regular cream cheese does, but stays soft. We actually liked it better this way--and we cut down at least a bit of the saturated fat.

I forgot to mention that, in the cake recipe, I replaced 1/2 cup of the 2 cups of AP flour with 1/2 cup barley flour. I didn't use the instant Clearjel or cornstarch. The cake was tender and delicious. I often substitute some barley flour into cakes, and I think it makes the cakes more tender.

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

[BakerAunt]

With the continuing hot, humid weather, we've decided to have leftover quinoa salad for dinner tonight.

[BakerAunt]

I baked this recipe as buns. They were as soft as Len says and the taste is wonderful. My only changes is to proof active yeast with the honey in 1/4 cup water, replace the rest of the water with buttermilk, and add 2 tbs. special dried milk. This recipe kneads beautifully in a bread machine. (I do the rest without the machine.)

I've now baked it as an 8x4 braided loaf, using an 8x4-inch USA pan. I baked it at 375F for 38 minutes to 203F. The recipe should also work nicely as a free-form loaf.

[BakerAunt]

I knew this one, even though I've never baked this kind of bread--at least not on purpose. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked in my new Wolf oven for the first time. I baked Len’s Wheat/Rye/Semolina roll recipe as a braided loaf in an 8x4-inch loaf pan. I baked it at 375F for 38 minutes, to 202F. I’m looking forward to cutting into it tomorrow.

I also baked KAF’s Favorite Fudge Birthday Cake. I won’t be using that frosting, however, as this cake is for an “early birthday” for my stepdaughter, who is visiting for a few days. The real star of the cake for her will be the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. I’m trying the frosting with the Neufchatel cream cheese, so let’s hope it works well.

[BakerAunt]

For Saturday’s dinner, I made a quinoa salad, using a recipe from Bob’s Red Mill. I omitted the cilantro. It came out well, but as I made a large recipe, it could use a little more feta. It makes a great vegetarian entrée, or it can also be a side dish.

[BakerAunt]

I figured it out by process of elimination.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, Navlys--I remember my own pre-move strategies to use up ingredients before our move two years ago!

For dinner on Friday, we had stir-fry. My stepdaughter is visiting, and she is now following more of a vegetarian diet, so I did the vegetables first—green onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, snow peas (including the first three from our garden!), mixed in a bit of soy sauce, then mixed in the cooked soba noodles. I had her take our her serving, then I mixed the remainder with the chopped, leftover pork and the de-glazed drippings I saved from the pan. It worked out well.

[BakerAunt]

I got it, and I didn't even ask my husband!

[BakerAunt]

I asked my husband. Why have a plant physiologist in the house if he isn't useful? 🙂

He said the next step is to name enzymes in plants that split sucrose into these two components....

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

[BakerAunt]

It is July 10, and we will move into the house--in a way--by Thursday. On the interior, they are still working on the sun porch. A company of three people working three different jobs in three places does tend to inch forward. On the exterior, there is still a fair amount of siding to go. At least we will be able to entertain my stepdaughter in some style when she arrives on Friday for few days.

My appliances--refrigerator, stove hood, and range--were delivered a couple of weeks ago, but the stove installation had to wait, since someone misunderstood that I wanted the hood to vent to the outside, not recirculate. That was a job for our contractor, who had to order a piece from the company in California--a $6 piece with $10 shipping. It came, he installed the hood, then we had to wait until the appliance company was back in our neck of the woods. That happened today. My Wolf dual-fuel range is now installed, but our contractor needs to rotate the electrical plug 90 degrees, so that the oven will go flush against the wall and engage the anti-tip device. At the moment, the oven is doing its one hour burn-off, and then it will be ready for use. It's time to read the manual!

For the refrigerator, I chose an Amana because I wanted one with the freezer on the bottom. I would have preferred the freezer have a door, but they are all made with a drawer now. My husband misses the door slots for cans of frozen juice.

I've not chosen a microwave yet. It will be a countertop. I'm looking at Sharp because they now make at least some where the light does not come on when the door is open, only when it is cooking or re-heating. That, and longer-life bulbs should keep my husband from leaving the door open and burning it out. If anyone has microwave recommendations, please post them here.

When I finally get the kitchen together, I will try to post those before and after pictures.

A member of the oven-installing team said that he was glad that someone had bought one of these ovens who is actually planning to USE it rather than having it for show. I told him yes--I'm a serious baker and both of us like to cook with gas.

Now that the oven is in place, we can get the freestanding bookcase and buffet into place. I've started playing with what goes into what cabinet, and where the shelves should go. I was nonplussed to learn that the cabinets only came with half shelves for the lower ones. I'm not yet sure how I feel about that. I may need to get more shelves for some of the upper cabinets; I'm surprised that there are so many different sizes, so they cannot be switched between. That may be because of the space in which we had to work.

When I finally get the kitchen together, I will try to post those before and after pictures.

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