[BakerAunt]

I also knew the correct answer, in part because the greenhouse attached to the biological sciences department where my husband worked had a vanilla plant in its greenhouse, and the manager did harvest the vanilla beans.

[BakerAunt]

To go with leftover turkey-zucchini loaf and microwaved broccoli, I cooked ½ cup bulgur in 1 cup of chicken broth. It’s tasty and faster than making rice.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I made chicken broth from the bones of that rotisserie chicken. For dinner on Tuesday, I used that broth to make a Lentil-Vegetable-Farro Soup. The vegetables were: a 14-oz. can of no-salt added diced tomatoes; onion, mini-yellow and orange bell peppers; celery, carrots, garlic, zucchini, and parsley. I used 1 ¼ cups brown lentils and ½ cup Farro. I added an additional ¾ cup of water (rinsed out the tomato can). To season, I used 2 tsp. Penzey’s Forward (a no-salt spice blend), 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce; 1 Tbs. tomato paste; and 1 tsp. sugar. I had about 5 cups of chicken broth. The soup is delicious.

[BakerAunt]

I know this one.

[BakerAunt]

But why increase the amount of saturated fat in a product like buttermilk, which by its nature should be low in saturated fat?

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--Call it American Mash-Up.

[BakerAunt]

I got it because I assumed condiments from a particular cooking culture would need to last without refrigeration. That said, I refrigerate everything because I do not use certain ingredients that quickly.

[BakerAunt]

When I was speaking to Cass last week, he asked about my current baking. I told him about this recipe, and he said that olive oil and orange complement each other nicely. I might try part olive oil next time I bake the cake, since I too worry that on its own, that much olive oil would be overpowering.

[BakerAunt]

I missed it too, but then I've never tasted cognac nor had it in the house.

So, what is the difference in taste--just in case I ever do have a reason to buy it?

[BakerAunt]

Welcome back, Joan!

Saturday night’s dinner was a stir-fry featuring the last two boneless pork chops, now cut up, and onion, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli, and soba noodles, along with the drippings from when the pork chops were cooked. I am out of white wine, so I used a bit of apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan, and it gave a nice taste to the stir-fry and complemented the pork. I don’t think that I’d use it with chicken.

[BakerAunt]

I just learned that Bob's Red Mill is also discontinuing its Ivory Wheat flour--white whole wheat flour. I liked the taste better than KAF's white whole wheat, so I'm sorry to see it happen. According to an answer on the BRM website, the Ivory Wheat was not selling well.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you, Rottiedogs! Zester was a great site, and I was sorry to see it disappear. After seeing great sites disappear, I do a lot of printing of recipes.

There are some other recipes in the link Rottiedogs posted, which also look good, so I encourage people to look at all of them.

[BakerAunt]

Got it.

[BakerAunt]

I baked a new recipe Friday afternoon: “Mini Apple Bundt Cakes [with Mascarpone Bourbon Cream]” attributed to Brook Jackson in 2015. I had printed it, but did not write down the source, and I have been unable to locate the recipe online. My printed version has the misspelling “Marscapone,” but the recipe does not come up either way. I put the last part of the title in brackets because I am not going to make the Mascarpone Bourbon Cream.

It was supposed to make six mini-Bundt cakes and two cupcakes, but there was at least another two cups of batter, so after filling my 6-cup mini-Bundt pan (after rooting through the storage shed and finding it), I also prepared two freestanding little Bundt pans I picked up once upon a time at T.J. Maxx. I still had batter left, so I grabbed a mini-loaf pan and put the rest in it.

I think this recipe would work for a 9-10 cup Bundt pan. I made some changes: I replaced olive oil with canola and reduced the amount from ¾ to ½ cup, then added ¼ cup buttermilk. I reduced the sugar from 2 to 1 ¾ cups. I replaced half the AP flour with a cup of white whole wheat flour, and I added 2 Tbs. BRM powdered milk and 1 Tbs. flax meal. I probably used closer to 3 ½ cups grated apple (Jonathans) rather than 3 cups. I used THE Grease to prepare the pans.

The little cakes are cooling, and we will have some for dessert. With my changes, I can claim the recipe as my own, but I will wait to post it until I’ve made it again and have a better sense of which pan would work best.

Note: The cake has great texture and taste. It's a keeper for next apple season--or maybe to use up the remaining four or five in the refrigerator.

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

[BakerAunt]

My husband says that would be true of ocean salt water, but he is not certain it is true of water to which we add salt. (OK, I tried to "cheat" by asking him, and when the answer came up as wrong, he was puzzled.)

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