[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--I'm not familiar with Chinese Scallion pancakes, so I cannot compare. I rolled these out to a little more than 6 inches, using a small wooden rolling pin that came with a ravioli pan. These did puff up. Once cooled, they are a little flatter but they were still good when I warmed them in the microwave wrapped in waxed paper. I could see cutting these in quarters as part of a bread tray and being eaten cold, perhaps with a dip or cheese.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I had a yearning for biscotti. I have a cinnamon biscotti recipe from KAF. Its biggest problem is the 1 cup of cinnamon chips. These are not a problem because KAF no longer sells them; I had a lot of them tucked away in the refrigerator where they are taking up space. They are a problem because like all chips, they are loaded with saturated fat. I reduced the amount to 1/3 cup, which is still 14 g., but for about 34 biscotti, even accounting for oil and the eggs, it is ok as long as I confine myself to one or two per day. I also substituted in white whole wheat flour. The biscotti came out well. They are not quite as sweet, but that is fine.

Part of the low-saturated fat food plan is that biscuits do not fit into it. To go with soup for Monday’s dinner, I made a new recipe, “Buttermilk Scallion Flatbreads,” a recipe from Jennifer Beckman of Falls Church, Virginia, who won best recipe in whole wheat for a competition. It was printed in Sift (Fall 2017), p. 13, and is on the KAF website.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/buttermilk-scallion-flatbreads-recipe

I made just one change: I replaced the 3 Tbs. melted butter with slightly more than 2 Tbs. canola oil to accommodate my low-saturated fat requirement. My version meant that each flatbread had about .25 g sat fat as opposed to 5g in the original recipe. These are fantastic! My husband said, “You have to make these again!” They are easy and fast. They would also make good bread wraps.

[BakerAunt]

For Monday night’s dinner, I made a very big pot of soup, using the lentil/split pea/barley blend that Bob’s Red Mill sells as Vegi-Soup mix. I added some pearl barley, as well as onion, carrots from our garden (my husband has been harvesting them as we go and keeping them covered), sliced mushrooms, cooked ground turkey, and broth from the freezer that did not fit when we had to go from two refrigerator/freezers to one. We have plenty of leftovers for during the week.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--thanks for providing details about your soup. It gives me ideas for what I might cook.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Joan. I think that I will start a thread on "Member News" so that people can follow the renovation.

On Saturday, I again baked the lime cake that I developed on November 18. This time, I halved the recipe, incorporating my previous changes. I had an issue, since the recipe calls for three eggs. I decided to use two and delete 2 Tbs. of the oil. I also cut the salt to ¼ tsp., and I used ¼ tsp nutmeg, because I didn’t think there was enough last time. I baked it in a Nordic Ware snowflake pan, which is a 6-cup pan, so it fit perfectly and was done after 40 minutes. I will glaze it using the glaze recipe from the lime cake I baked on December 2. I thought that the Nov. 18 cake was superior, but the glaze for the Dec. 2 had superior taste, so I will have the best of both worlds. I used THE grease, and the cake released beautifully with perfect design detail. Now, if there were just a way to get the bits of residue out of the little nooks and crannies of the pan--maybe a toothbrush? I tried the brush tool that Nordic Ware makes and was very unimpressed.

[BakerAunt]

I made a stir-fry for Friday night’s dinner, using leftover pork chops, frozen broccoli (have you seen the high prices on fresh broccoli?!), mushrooms, green onions, drippings from when my husband cooked the pork, and soba noodles. We have enough to repeat the meal on Saturday

[BakerAunt]

I’m adjusting to baking in my very small kitchen space in our garage apt. It is a tiny space, so I do a lot of clean as I go. On Wednesday, I again made my adaptation of the Harvest Bread from an originally gluten-free one that Bob’s Red Mill posted. This time, I substituted additional barley flour, along with the AP flour. When I get the chance, I will post the recipe at Nebraska Kitchen.

I also baked an adaptation of KAF’s Oatmeal Toasting Bread that is different enough that I can call it my own. I used half bread flour and half whole wheat. Instead of oats, I used Harvest Grains, which I soaked in ¾ cup plus 2 Tbs. buttermilk. I used 2 Tbs. oil instead of butter, and I cut the salt to 1 ¼ tsp. I baked it in an 8x4 pan, which gave it good height. I’ll report tomorrow on taste and texture.

Because we are going to have just one refrigerator with freezer as of tomorrow, I only baked a single loaf, and used the bread machine to knead the dough.

[BakerAunt]

My husband cooked boneless pork chops for Wednesday dinner. I roasted some sweet potato chunks tossed in olive oil and maple syrup. We also had black-eyed peas from the freezer. There are enough leftovers to repeat the meal tomorrow, then I am thinking there will be a stir-fry.

[BakerAunt]

Navlys, I have at times used this substitution for 1 egg--back when they told us eggs are bad for us--but I'm not sure that I would substitute for ALL eggs in a recipe. It is a work-around if baking for vegans, but the resulting product will not have quite the lift it would get from using eggs.

[BakerAunt]

For lunch on Monday, I made a Lentil soup, using 4 cups potato water that I had frozen, 1 cup lentils, ¼ cup faro; 3 Tbs. defatted chicken drippings from last night’s chicken, chopped onion, celery, and carrots, parsley and thyme. I also made tomato sauce with the last of our now-ripened tomatoes (1 lb. 9 oz.), which I will use on the sourdough pizza I’m making tonight. Usually, I don’t make pizzas so close together, but I need to use up the mozzarella before it goes bad.

[BakerAunt]

I fed the sourdough starter on Monday, and I made my signature sourdough pan pizza crust. I’m still trying to get the kitchen in our garage apt. organized, but I’m making progress. I still have some kitchen items to move out, as well as the rest of the contents of the refrigerator and freezer, before Habitat for Humanity comes for the cabinets and appliances on Thursday.

[BakerAunt]

Tonight I watched GBBS Masterclass Christmas. It wasn't a competition but featured Paul and Mary making British Christmas recipes. Mary Berry's creations are not what I associate with Christmas. I'm not a pavlova or a trifle person. I did like Paul's Chelsea Bun Christmas tree and his puff pastry pie that used leftover turkey and ham. He had a lovely pie bird--larger than ones I've seen in the U.S.

While the show was interesting, most of the items do not connect with Christmas for me, perhaps because I come out of the rolled sugar cookie tradition, as well as the breads and cookies of Germany and Scandinavia.

[BakerAunt]

For Friday’s dinner, we had pizza with my signature sourdough crust baked in a half-sheet pan. I topped it with sliced tomatoes ripened from the green ones picked before the freeze, sliced mushrooms, browned ground turkey, green onion, Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset seasoning, mozzarella and Parmesan. It is a delightful dinner for a day that started with 17F temperatures and never got warmer than the mid-20s, and now the temperatures are headed down again.

[BakerAunt]

Yes, I use cookie sheets, often with parchment. It is important to grip the parchment as well as the pan when removing it from the oven, as the parchment can slide off with the contents. I have once or twice lost the occasional cookie, so I am careful.

I'm not sure that I like the ovens that GBBS contestants must use. First, there is no window, so they can't see just how their product is baking unless they open the door. (Paul likes technical challenges that will be ruined if you open the door.) The ovens are also rather low to the ground, and I think that might be one reason for the tipping of contents. I also think that the time limits are unreasonable.

Len--Thanks for the overview. I will have to start wrapping my head around it after the first of the year. For my husband, Formula One racing is a must-have. The only online streaming is from the SKY network, and it is too expensive. I've been watching a lot less TV, since the only place we get reception without cable is in the garage apt. We're moving into it this weekend and will live there while the house renovations are in process, so we shall see if proximity increased my TV time.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Interesting, Len. I think it would also have to wait for us to replace the television I bought twenty years ago. (It has a great picture, and I even had it repaired ten years ago--yes, I found someone who fixed televisions!) We're waiting on buying a modern television until the remodeling is complete. We also have never become Amazon Prime members. I'm going to have to investigate this brave new world of streaming.

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