[BakerAunt]

For Friday, I made "Simple Pot Roast," using the recipe printed in Cook's Fall Harvest Recipes." I wanted to use my Le Creuset pot in the oven because I remember getting more even cooking than in my crock pot. A cold day is perfect for that. I used a round roast rather than a chuck roast. (My husband sees the fat and won't let me buy the chuck.) I sneaked in some chopped onion with the small amount of chopped celery and carrots in the broth. I also played with the spices by using dried rosemary, 1/4 tsp. smoky paprika from Penzey's, the Penzey's beef base with water, deleting the chicken broth, and adding 1 Tbs. tomato paste and 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce. For the vegetables, I used red potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms cut in half. The recipe requires the roast to be turned every 30 minutes, but when I added the vegetables after three hours, I did not turn it in the last hour. It was a wonderfully tender roast, and the vegetables were just right. It reminds me of why I prefer this method to using my old crockpot.

[BakerAunt]

I have used up all of the Cinderella pumpkin. It is rather bland, so it worked well in more highly spiced baked goods. I prefer the flavor of the pie pumpkins or the peanut pumpkin, where I can taste that I am eating pumpkin.

[BakerAunt]

This Thursday evening, I have been baking two loaves of my Buttermilk Grape Nuts bread. One will be for lunches over the next week, and the other one will go into the freezer for now. My husband does not mind my experimenting with other breads, as long as I regularly bake this one, as it is his favorite.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Thursday morning, I baked "Onion Parmesan Cracker Bread," from Sift (Fall 2017), p. 9. The recipe was entered by Rosemary Leicht of Bethel, Ohio, in The National Festival of Breads, a competition held every other year, in Manhattan, Kansas. Although the recipe stated to bake at 450 on a baking stone for 8-10 minutes, the first one burned, mostly around the edges, but even further into the center. I baked the second and third ones for 7 minutes each. The second one did well, but the edge of the third one burned. I baked the last one for 6 minutes and 45 seconds, and it came out very well. I should note that I'm currently baking with an old, avocado green oven that does not regulate heat as well as it might, and which does NOT have a window. I also used my Superstone Baking Stone. It was my very first stone, and is about 1/2-inch thick, and only just big enough for these 12-inch flat breads. Perhaps I should have heated up the large Emile Henry one I use for pizza, but cutting the time did produce an unburned product. These are good with soup, and would be good with spreads or dips.

I wish that I could say that I will be baking recipes from the recently released Holiday issue of Sift, but as of Nov. 6, KAF is sold out (it was only released at the end of October), and none of the stores in the next town had it when I looked yesterday. Barnes and Noble is a much longer drive away, and they do not sell it on the internet site.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Tuesday afternoon, I baked a new recipe, "Pumpkin-Gingerbread Coffee Cake," from Better Homes and Gardens 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes" (p. 25). I followed the recipe, except that I eliminated a cup of dried cranberries. I prefer my pumpkin breads without dried fruits. I also did not use the Sherry-Cream Cheese Drizzle that would be put on after the cake cools for 30 minutes. We had it for dessert tonight, and it is yet another winner. That's three recipes from this special issue so far.

[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, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 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, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 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, 5 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.

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