[BakerAunt]

Tuesday morning, I made soup for lunch on the wood stove. I used 4 cups of turkey drippings and about 2 cups of regular broth. I used 1/2 cup hull-less barley (available from Bob's Red Mill), 1 cup mixed lentils and peas, two chopped carrots, two chopped stalks of celery and a 1/2 tsp. of Penzey's dried garlic. I cooked the hull-less barley for 40 minutes in the broth before adding the lentils and the vegetables to cook for another 30 minutes.

It was a delicious soup on a cold day.

[BakerAunt]

Rascals--Of course you should stay here and read and comment. You are one of our community. I will keep you in my prayers.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked a new recipe, Corn Chip Crackers, from Sift (Fall 2015), p. 67. I used coarse ground cornmeal, so it did not need to cook as long as that step of the recipe stated. I used the whole wheat option for the rest of the flour. I omitted the dash of tabasco sauce, as I do not keep that condiment in the house. For the topping, I reduced the salt from 1 Tbs. to 1 1/2 tsp. but kept the other spices the same. It was an easy dough with which to work. The crackers, rolled to 1/16-inch, only just fit on the baking sheet, and I needed to use my large parchment. I baked for 15 minutes, turning the sheet half-way through, then for the additional 2 minutes. They seemed not done to me, so I gave them 2 minutes more. (These are my heavy baking sheets.) I then used a knife to make sure that all crackers were separated from each other. I let them cool on the baking sheet, so that they would continue to crisp. They were not quite as crisp as I would have liked. With this oven, I worry about burning crackers. The flavor is good, and my husband and I both like them. Next time, however, I will cut the salt in the topping by another 1/2 tsp. and let the spices do the talking.

[BakerAunt]

Monday night, I made my adaptation of a KAF recipe that appeared in one of those emails that they used to send out, but it was never put onto their site: Town Meeting Chicken Pie, using leftover turkey. I do not recall if I posted my version here. If I did, I cannot find it.

[BakerAunt]

That recipe looks good, S. Wirth. It's not the same as the one I used, but my chocoholic husband will like sampling one with chocolate chips, so I will make a note to try it.

For dessert tonight, I'm making Apple Crisp to use up the last four Cortland apples. I'm making half a recipe of the "Apple Crisp" in the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, pp. 310-311. The crisp has oats in it, and I'm using the quick ones, since my husband complains about thick oats in a topping. The recipe itself does not specify quick or old-fashioned.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

In the oven this evening, I have "Polenta Asiago Bread," a new recipe for me from Sift (Fall 2015), p. 69. I used my bread machine to mix it, and I added a tablespoon of bread flour. It was a somewhat wet dough, so I did not try braiding it, as the recipe instructed, even though the accompanying picture shows a loaf that was not braided. It does not appear to be getting the same rise as the one in the picture either.

While I'm waiting for it to bake, I checked the KAF website, and there it is:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/polenta-asiago-bread-recipe

Apparently others also have found that the dough does not turn out as it should. Maybe I needed to cook the polenta longer?

I'll report back tomorrow on my results.
Note: See separate thread on Polenta Asiago Bread.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I needed a side dish to go with leftover turkey. I began by cooking six sliced mushrooms in about 1/2 Tbs. butter and 1/2 Tbs. olive oil. I removed them from the skillet. I added another 1/2 Tbs. of butter and mixed it with 1 Tbs. of flour. I added 1 cup of turkey broth, then 2 Tbs. heavy cream. I heated to a low boil, and cooked until it thickened. In the meantime, I cooked 6 oz. of a spinach fettuccine. I drained it (reserving a cup of the pasta water), then put 6 oz. of frozen broccoli (that I had sitting out in a strainer) atop it in the colander. When the sauce was done, I added the fettuccine, broccoli, and mushrooms to it, then added a 1/2 cup of pasta water that I had saved. It was delicious.

[BakerAunt]

S. Wirth--Thank you for finding this thread. 🙂

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

That is a great story about the frog, Italian Cook. I've had Geckos when I lived in Texas. We actually had a bat in the house here, about a month after we moved in. I was typing at the computer, and my husband heard it before he saw it. The next thing we know, the little critter was flying back and forth. I held onto the dog, who was showing no interest, but I wanted to make sure that she continued showing no interest. My husband opened the back door, and I yelled at the front of the house, and the bat sensed the open door and flew out.

We then tried to figure out how it had entered. I suggested the dryer vent to the outside. Sure enough, the flap was broken.

[BakerAunt]

I would only set a trap in the house if I saw a mouse. I think that I had three in the six year I had my first house. My husband's house was more mouse prone than mine was. Here, we have been fortunate. The mice are so far a problem only in the pole barn across the roadway.

[BakerAunt]

I would only set a trap in the house if I saw a mouse. I think that I had three in the six year I had my first house. My husband's house was more mouse prone than mine was. Here, we have been fortunate. The mice are so far a problem only in the pole barn across the roadway.

So, Italian Cook, if you do not see them or evidence of them, relax. Make sure that any holes they can enter are covered or stuffed with steel wool.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I'm glad that people are enjoying the site. It's a treasure.

If you click on "select year" in the archive, you will find most of their cook booklets going back to 1932. It would take a long time to go through all of them.

[BakerAunt]

In honor of the day, I made a turkey sandwich for lunch!

[BakerAunt]

I'll remember to dole out some leftover Butterfingers, from the no-show Halloween trick-or-treaters, to my husband, who cannot be trusted with any chocolate that is in plain sight.

[BakerAunt]

Navyly--as I found out when I tried a Sift recipe for rye bread with fennel seed, a little fennel goes a LONG way. I like using a bit on pizza, when I use cooked ground turkey, in order to imitate a sausage flavor.

On Thursday, I am making turkey broth, in a large Staub oval pan, on the wood stove, using the bones from yesterday's turkey.

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