[BakerAunt]

We arrived home from our Florida trip shortly after 3 p.m. today. I pulled out soup from the freezer for dinner, and I baked my Healthier Cornbread to go with it. I do not recall when I have gone TWO weeks without baking.

[BakerAunt]

Sauteed mushrooms dress up any meal!

[BakerAunt]

My husband is cooking boneless pork chops. I'll steam some broccoli and cook some soba noodles, to which I will add sliced mushrooms cooked in the pork drippings and leftover chicken drippings from earlier this week.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Navlys!

[BakerAunt]

Monday evening I roasted chicken legs with small potatoes. I sprinkled it with Penzey's salt-free poultry seasoning, some dehydrated onion, a bit of salt, and some black pepper. I was glad the oven in the rental works well, but the oven light is burned out.

[BakerAunt]

Navlys--We will probably drive past there tomorrow on our way to Fort Desoto County Park to meet my husband's cousin and her husband. We are only here until Saturday, then it's back to the frozen Midwest.

[BakerAunt]

Hi, Aaron: For Instant Pot discussion, read the following. It has a bit of off language but does reveal some interesting points about the instant pot.

The Instant Pot Has a Honeymoon Phase

I've thought about the Instant Cooker, but I'm wondering if it really can do the tasks of three different appliances. I've noted that the more sophisticated rice cookers actually vary temperatures for different kinds of rice. One review of a Z. rice cooker mentioned that it nailed the longer, not as hot cooking conditions needed for brown rice. I'd be interested in knowing more about multicookers, particularly brands and how well they work for the different tasks.

We've always had pretty good luck with the places we rented, but most of those had been homes that the heirs were renting out, so all the kitchen items were there.

Navlys--My husband would have a fit if I were to buy any small electronics on this trip.

[BakerAunt]

I remember reading that rye breads need to sit about 8 hours, so overnight is what I do also.

[BakerAunt]

Here's an article on key limes:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/05/are-key-limes-worth-the-price.html#comments-227075

What I should have said is that key limes are NOT grown in Florida anymore.

Or perhaps I should say that very few key limes are grown in Florida:

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artkeylimes.html

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Many thanks for the good wishes! Some friends were in town, so after church, we went out to a late lunch at Guppy's, a restaurant in Indian Rocks Beach. I had a wonderful shrimp pasta with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, and asiago cheese, served with steamed green beans and almonds on the side. I also had the award winning Key Lime Pie, which was delicious, even though my husband reminds me that key limes were wiped out many years ago. The waiter served it to me with a birthday candle. It's been a rainy afternoon and evening, so there was no beach walking. I curled up with a mug of tea and finished reading Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man. (If you are a mystery fan and have never read it, do so.)

[BakerAunt]

There was only a tiny rimmed baking sheet in this kitchen, so we stopped at Tuesday Morning where I bought a 15x10 rimmed baking sheet so that I can do a sheet pan chicken and potatoes in the coming week. I would have liked the next size up, but I have to be mindful of packing the car for the trip home. The pan is Kitchen Aid, so it is nonstick and a good weight, not bad for $9.99. A foil pan would have cost $3.50, and I can use this one at home (and maybe take it with us on future trips).

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I made my Mom's Hamburger Stroganoff using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I added some dried onion as I did not have fresh. I also used a cup of full-fat yogurt instead of sour cream. We had it over a Bob's Red Mill Rice combo that I made in the rice cooker. I steamed broccoli for a side dish.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner last night was the last of a rotisserie chicken. We used whole wheat tortillas and made wraps with spinach, the chicken, rice, and Ranch dressing--simple but delicious. Tonight we will repeat using cooked ground turkey.

[BakerAunt]

And then there is Nebraska Kitchen:

Homemade Almonnd Paste by GinaG

The recipe is also posted under Janiebakes, but she attributes it to Gina, so it is the same recipe.

KAF was carrying a new kind of almond paste. I do not know if it is any good, since I still have a can of the other to use up--maybe for Valentine's Day since I did not get that Swedish Coffee Ring made for Christmas, New Years, or Epiphany.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I have spent Wednesday afternoon baking. I baked Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, a recipe that first appeared in Bon Appetit in February 1998. The original recipe calls for slivered, toasted almonds, but I used chopped pecans instead, which go nicely with the dried cherries and Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips. I deleted the almond extract and used a 1 rather than a 2 Tbs. cookie dropper, so the recipe yielded just over three dozen. I then baked my Oatmeal and Cinnamon Chip Scone recipe. The last project was to make Ellen's (formerly Moonie) buns as a dozen rolls. No, I did not try braiding them. 🙂

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