[BakerAunt]

Hi, Italian Cook. I actually do not buy vanilla from Penzey's, although I have received it as a gift on occasion. I do buy other spices from them, so I signed up for their emails, which sometimes have special offers (and occasionally, free shipping for $20 worth). That is how I found out about the vanilla crisis in the spring.

I used to buy a quart of vanilla from KAF, then fill my smaller 16 oz. jars. I won't be doing that again for a VERY long time, but I did have a half bottle or so. I like the Nieman-Massey (spelling?) which is what KAF carries, but for a while I was able to find it at T.J. Maxx in small bottles. I did stock up on another brand at T.J. Maxx as well.

On the KAF site, a member named Livingwell (Cass called her Penelope) did use the double strength, but I seem to recall that she used half in recipes. I'm not sure why they make the double strength.

As I recall from our discussions, we decided that real vanilla--no matter the brand--was about the same.

[BakerAunt]

Today I roasted three butternut squashes. I cut them in half and baked them at 375F for an hour and 20 minutes on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment. After they cooled a bit, I scooped the squash out of the skin and used my food processor to get a smooth puree. I got 7 cups. I froze one 3-cup container to use for soup, and kept one out to make soup this week. I froze a 1-cup container to use for a butternut squash Bundt cake recipe I want to try.

For dinner, I split a boneless chicken breast lengthwise, rubbed it with mayonnaise, then dipped it in Panko mixed with some garlic powder, onion powder, and chives. I would have mixed in grated parmesan, but I found that it has molded, so I had to throw it away.

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

[BakerAunt]

Bev--maybe 1 cup of margarine and 1 cup of oil are not equivalent?

[BakerAunt]

I also stocked up on vanilla back then, after reading a warning from Penzey's, even though we were preparing to move. I just hope that all of us can outlast the vanilla shortage until the price gets more reasonable.

[BakerAunt]

Bev--My guess would be that the oil in this cake is what gives it the texture you are describing. I'll add the link here, so that others can weigh in on it.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pumpkin-cake-bars-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe

[BakerAunt]

I was thinking of trying out the soba noodle recipe to which Mike gave a link, but first I googled "how to cook soba noodles" and ended up here:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-soba-noodles-from-scratch-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-191038

Fresh ones only cook in boiling water for about 60 seconds.

This article states that only two kinds of Buckwheat flour work for noodles (or at least for this site's recipe): the buckwheat from Anson Mills and a brand called "Cold Mountain" sold in Asian supermarkets. One poster says that Bob's Red Mill does not work for this particular recipe. There seems to be an implication that buckwheat flour for noodles is processed differently. I will need to do some additional research.

[BakerAunt]

There is a holiday market of some sort here in November, but I'm not sure what kind of food is sold, as we have never been here for it. Today's market did not have a particularly wide assortment. I came home with one more pie pumpkin and an organic tomato. I still have apples from previous weeks in the refrigerator, so there will be another apple pie in the coming week.

[BakerAunt]

Saturday evening, I baked the KAF Maple Pumpkin Rolls. The recipe works well kneaded in a bread machine. This is the second time I have baked this recipe, so this time I know that for the filling it is best to beat together the cream cheese and maple sugar BEFORE beating in the egg, extract, and flour. We will have them for breakfast tomorrow and into the week. I keep plenty of pumpkin puree frozen for use throughout the year, but I particularly like pumpkin and spice in the fall.

[BakerAunt]

Like Mike, I brushed the spaghetti squash with oil and baked it on parchment, but my recipe said 375F for 40-45 minutes for a 2 1/2 pound squash. I think that my spaghetti squash was too wet, and that is why it was so mushy when I tried to use a fork to pull it out in strands. I'll try again one of these days, but the last local farmers' market of the year was today, so I probably won't be tempted to try roasting one again until next year.

[BakerAunt]

For a quick dessert for Friday dinner, I baked the brownie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book, (p. 219) and covered the top with Halloween sprinkles before baking.

[BakerAunt]

For lunch on Friday, I tried a new recipe that came in a Cooks' Illustrated email: Spaghetti Squash Salad with Chick Peas and Feta Cheese. I wanted something different from lunch, and I bought a spaghetti squash at last week's farmers' market. I ended up changing the recipe, as I did not have a lemon, so instead of lemon juice with 1/4 cup olive oil, I used a bottled vinaigrette. I did not end up with particularly "stringy" spaghetti squash, so it mostly mooshed together. Maybe it was my technique as I tried to scrape it out with a fork. I decided to mix in chopped onion, as we had no green onions. I like the taste of the dressing and the chick peas with the onion and the feta. There is no much if any taste from the squash. The result is edible, so I'll be eating for lunch the next couple of days, but it looks like a mess, so I will not make it again--unless I use pasta rather than squash.

[BakerAunt]

Today I am baking up the dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers.

[BakerAunt]

While I haven't done chicken fingers, I have done chicken thighs in the oven. I used to skin them, rubbed them all over with mayonnaise, then rolled them in Panko. I put them on a parchment-lined sheet pan and baked. I've also added grated parmesan to the panko.

[BakerAunt]

I spent the afternoon shelling some of our pecans, and on Wednesday evening, I baked "Cherry Granola," a favorite recipe of mine for many years, although I have not made it in a while, that originally appeared in Bon Appetit (June 1993). I always cut the sugar in half. I will post it.

[BakerAunt]

Tuesday afternoon I baked a half recipe of my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

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