[BakerAunt]

Wednesday evening, I baked Oat Bran Pumpkin muffins from a recipe I posted here. I made six large ones, so that we can have them for travel breakfasts. We stay at Day's Inns, mostly because they allow dogs, and there is a complimentary breakfast, but these vary. The first one really didn't have anything that we could eat. The second one had funny tasting oatmeal, which we both had. I had an egg, which must have been made from liquid eggs, as it was yellow and round, some orange juice, and a Yoplait non-fat vanilla yogurt. Then I went back to the room and had my own coffee and a muffin.

[BakerAunt]

My husband's cousins spatchcocked a turkey for our October family reunion. The cousin who cooked it also used a LOT of butter, and I think gauze was used, perhaps it was soaked in the butter then spread over the turkey? There were so many people in the kitchen that I kept out of the way. The turkey was delicious, but I did wonder what the butter was doing to my low-saturated fat diet.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked another recipe of the Easy Italian Honey Whole Wheat Breakfast Cookies. This time I again used ½ tsp. vanilla, but I only used 3 drops of the Fiori di Sicilia; I also baked the double recipe of Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough I made last week. As an experiment, I did not sprinkle them with Kosher salt. We will see if reducing the salt in this way works for us.

Thanks, Chocomouse. It's too late for this trip, but I'll check it out for baking when we get back. I've been buying my buckwheat flour (and much of my specialty flours and grains) from Bob's Red Mill by the case (four in a case), which reduces the individual package price. I wait to order from them until I'm buying enough for free shipping, and sometimes they run discounts.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--it is a cookie rather than a cracker, as it is soft on the interior. If you use the Fiori di Sicilia, you might want to use only 3 drops or so.

[BakerAunt]

Tuesday's dinner was a stir-fry using leftover pork chops that my husband cooked last night (along with the drippings), buckwheat noodles, red bell pepper, broccoli; mushrooms, celery, green onion, and parsley. I needed to use up all the vegetables in the refrigerator.

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday, I baked my wholegrain pumpkin bread (a recipe low in saturated fat). I baked it as 6 small loaves and froze there. I used the recipe Lemonpoppy posted on the Baking Circle, and that Rottiedogs kindly posted here, but I made the changes noted in my comments on the recipe.

On Monday, I baked Malted Whole Grain Rolls, a KAF recipe:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/malted-whole-grain-rolls-recipe

I substituted in 1 cup buttermilk and soaked the malted whole wheat flakes for 30-40 minutes before combining ingredients. I don’t think rolled grains work so well when KAF recipes just throw everything together and mix. I added 1 Tbs. honey to help prevent staling (a tip from Cass in the past). I reduced the salt from 1 ½ tsp. to 1 tsp. I used my bread machine to mix the dough. After the initial 5 minutes of mixing, I waited a couple of minutes (it has a 5-minute rest), then added the 2 Tbs. of oil. That was another tip from Cass, about a year ago. Although I own the “Tear and Share” baker, I’ve no idea where it is, and it makes huge rolls. Instead, I used a 9x9-inch pottery baker that also came from KAF, but it was made by an old, established family pottery Hartstone Pottery in Zanesville, Ohio, that went out of business a couple of years ago, probably due to cheaper ceramic bakers and dishes from China. The rolls baked beautifully. I'll add a note after we taste them.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I had to giggle, Skeptic, as I, too, often forget to include the prepping when tackling a recipe. We must remind ourselves that we have no sous chef!

Thanks for posting the result of your substitution of almond flour in the biscotti recipe. You might consider reducing it to 3/4 cups if it seems too crumbly.

[BakerAunt]

As of yesterday, all the new windows and the two new doors have been installed. We got rid of the sliding glass door next to the kitchen and put in a regular door so that we could gain some additional kitchen space. As the sliding glass door showed a view of the neighbor's solid wall, we sacrificed some light but no view. The door does have a window, and it's near a corner with another window. The change also makes use of what was mostly dead space.

We moved the door at the back of the kitchen to the side of the house, which will keep the cold wind from blowing into it in the winter. We put a window in the former door location. The new arrangement also makes it easier to enter into a mudroom area without congestion.

We are doing ash flooring in the kitchen--the last of the local Indiana ash that had to be lumbered due to the Emerald Ash Bore. It will be natural but clear coated to resist the spills that occur in all kitchens. The entry way in the back, which opens onto the laundry area will be tile.

[BakerAunt]

We are still eating delicious leftovers--no complaints about that!

We have had snow since this morning, and my husband is finally using the new snow shovel he bought in November.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday, I again baked the graham cracker recipe from Recipes from the Old Mill. As I did last time, I used graham flour, but I cut it from 3 ½ cups to 3 ¼ cups. That did make the dough somewhat easier to work, but it was still a bit crumbly, and I still needed to spray some water on it as I was rolling it out. I tasted one the next morning, and the taste and texture is improved. I may reduce the flour by another 2 Tbs. the next time I bake the recipe. I have hidden the container from my husband, because these are for our trip next week.

I tried a new recipe for Italian Breakfast Cookies, which I found on the internet at:
https://www.shelovesbiscotti.com/easy-italian-whole-wheat-honey-breakfast-cookies/

I followed the recipe, except that I used ½ tsp. vanilla rather than 1 tsp, and added 1/8 tsp. Fiori di Sicilia, in part because I did not have orange zest, and in part because I’ve only used my 4 oz. bottle of Fiori di Sicilia twice since I bought it a long time ago (yes, it is refrigerated). These are whole wheat and use honey and oil. I rolled the dough to an 8x8-inch square, then used a pizza cutter to make 16 (about 2x2-inches each). The next day, I found that they are a pleasantly soft cookie, with only .25g sat. fat. I had one with coffee at breakfast, after dutifully eating my usual steel-cut oats, but they would go well as a dessert or with tea. The Fiori di Sicilia is a wee bit strong. I’d likely cut it to a couple of drops next time, but they are still delicious.

I finished my Friday in the kitchen by mixing up dough for my Lower-Saturated Fat version of Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers (posted at Nebraska Kitchen) and feeding my starter. I’ll let the dough rest in the refrigerator for a couple of days, then bake crackers for our trip that I will need to hide from my husband until we travel.

[BakerAunt]

I roasted a kabocha squash on Wednesday morning, the pureed it. I may use some of it for pumpkin bread.

Navlys--I do miss cheese on this low saturated fat food approach. I let myself have some part-skim Mozzarella in some recipes, and occasionally I have a stick of low-fat string cheese. Sigh. When we go to Florida, I shall look for 2% cheese in the grocery.

We had our first real snow today since the one in early November.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday evening, I baked Skeptic’s Pumpkin Biscotti. I used white whole wheat flour, added 3 Tbs. Bob’s Red Mill nonfat powdered milk, and deleted the vanilla. I also reduce the cloves to 1/8 tsp. Like Skeptic, I use 2/3 C. sugar. The recipe really worked well this time; perhaps it was the consistency of the homemade pumpkin puree. I initially stirred it together with a dough whisk, then used a bowl scraper and my hands to knead it into a mass, before forming it into a 16-inch log. As always. I spritzed with water and demerara sugar before the first bake.

[BakerAunt]

Today I bought a 30-inch, 4 burner Wolf dual fuel range. To my surprise, both my husband and I decided that we like the red knobs. It has a three year warranty, since I'm having it installed by their trained people. We did find out that the gas and electric need to be very specifically located for Wolf stoves so that the stove can be pushed back against the wall. As we are installing the gas line and moving the electric, that is not a big deal.

I chose a Zephyr "Cyclone" hood. The Wolf hood was 1) very expensive and 2) would not fit under any cabinets in our kitchen, where we have 95 1/4 inches from floor to ceiling. It has a self-cleaning function. I'll let you know how it works once everything is installed, which will probably be early March, since the cabinets and the counter tops must go in before the stove. Countertops are not ordered until the cabinets are installed.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I checked out a friend's kitchen here, and he had a long fluorescent in the center of the kitchen area, which his father says is "too much light for me in the morning!" He also has various under the counter lights that are both plug in and work on a switch.

We decided on LED "can" lights, which will be inserted into the ceiling. We have two in one area of the living room, and they give off great light. I have arranged for one to be centered over the sink and one over the peninsula. I was going to put two over the peninsula, but it does not work with the roof angle. As I said, these are low ceilings. I will also have a light on the stove hood.

We head to South Bend tomorrow to check out paint color for the house siding, to buy paint for the interior, and to go by the appliance store so that I can get a look at the Wolf range. They don't have the dual fuel on the floor, but they do have that size in a gas model, so I can look it over. Depending on the contractor's schedule, I will have an idea of when to place the order. I need to order it before February 11, as there will be a price increase on that date. I plan to get the black rather than the red knobs. (They also have stainless, so I will look at those.)

I will look at stove hoods. Wolf makes one, but the hood does not necessarily have to be Wolf.

I'll look at refrigerators as well. Sub Zero is not in my price range, and we don't want a built-in, so I will see what else they have.

[BakerAunt]

I tried a new recipe on Monday, Braised Chicken with Apples and Sage (Gourmet, December 2005) from the Epicurious website. I used ten chicken thighs rather than eight, as that was what the package contained. My two other changes were to use onion rather than shallots and three Winesap rather than two Gala apples. I did not peel the apples. I served it with unpeeled, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and steamed green beans. It’s a recipe that I’ll likely make again next fall or winter, as we liked the change from our usual chicken entrees.

The dog, who charms food from my husband, also approved!

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