[BakerAunt]

I didn't get as much rise out of this bread as I recall in the past. Possibly it was my alteration, but I also noticed less of a rise with the Grape Nuts Bread I baked two weeks ago. I'm wondering if I need to lower the oven rack, which seems to be above the middle, when I bake bread. I don't seem to be getting that final oven spring. The loaves seem the same size when they come out as when they went in, but I don't think that I've let them rise too long.

The bread tastes good. The crumb is good, but it is not as light as in the past.

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

[BakerAunt]

Darn! Missed it.

[BakerAunt]

This Saturday evening, I'm baking Bernard Clayton's Dark Grains Bread, from his New Complete Book of Breads, a recipe that I've been tweaking but have not baked since last September. I read over my notes and made a couple more changes. I'll add a note tomorrow, after we slice into a loaf for lunch, about taste and texture--and also about whether I'm ready to post my revision of the recipe.

[BakerAunt]

Today I froze three small packets (189g each) of cut green beans. That's the amount that I estimate the two of us would eat with a meal. I blanched each group in boiling water for 3 minutes, then put into ice water for three minutes. I put them in a salad spinner to dry, then wrapped them in a dish towel. There was still moisture. I spread each third on its own quarter-sheet pan lined with parchment and put the pans into the freezer for an hour. I don't know that the parchment was necessary, but I had visions of their sticking to the pans. After an hour, I put each third into a pint Ziploc freezer bag, squeezed out as much air as possible, then put them in the freezer.

When we get around to cooking them, probably in the fall, I'll add another post about how they turn out.

Thanks to all who contributed their suggestions and ideas. It's wonderful to have a community to whom I can turn with cooking and baking and preserving issues. You are the best!

[BakerAunt]

I got it. Years of listening to Garrison Keillor meant I would not miss it.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner tonight was sliced turkey breast, microwaved green beans from our garden, and sweet corn (the season is here!).

[BakerAunt]

I baked my Lower Saturated Fat, Whole Wheat, Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Friday morning, from the dough I mixed up last week. The extra flax meal doesn’t appear to have affected texture or taste.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, I knew this one. A new streak begins!

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, my husband roasted a turkey breast, and we had it with leftover macaroni and cheese and microwaved fresh green beans from our garden.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday evening, I baked the KAF recipe for whole wheat blueberry muffins. I made the following changes: added 2 Tbs. flax meal; added 1/3 cup powdered milk (the granular stuff I’m trying to use up); reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup; reduced the oil to ¼ cup; reduced the salt to 3/4 tsp. I had some leftover streusel in the refrigerator (not sure how old it was) that I sprinkled on top. The muffins are ok, but I will use a different streusel recipe next time. These made for a quick breakfast before we went blueberry picking again. These are the late blueberries, so they are not as full of water as the ones we picked in July. I will freeze most of these.

[BakerAunt]

Clearly the information a friend gave me years ago is WRONG, so my losing streak continues, but I am now correctly informed.

[BakerAunt]

Wednesday night’s dinner was stir-fry, using a leftover pork chop from Tuesday’s dinner. The vegetables I used are: green onion, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, three mushrooms (all I had), broccoli, and snow peas from our garden. I used I roll of soba noodles.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for the responses. My husband thinks that I should blanch them to kill any bacteria.

Most sites say to blanch for 3 minutes, then 3 minutes in ice water. One site said 2 minutes.

All sites agree that beans should be dry before freezing. Some people put them directly into the bags; others freeze them separately on trays for an hour or two, then freeze them.

[BakerAunt]

My husband cooked most of Tuesday's dinner: pan-cooked thin pork chops, macaroni and cheese (I've shown him how to make it with Vermont Cheese powder), and microwaved broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

I was able to work it out, although I have not had to focus on carb content in food. Am I correct that sweetness plays a role in whether a food is high in carbs?

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