[BakerAunt]

That sounds really good, Joan.

We re-ran the Spaghetti Squash Casserole, but this time with microwaved frozen mixed vegetables.

[BakerAunt]

I baked a streusel apple pie. I made a mistake and instead of adding the filling ingredients to the apples, I added the topping ingredients (pre-streusel). I went ahead and added the filling ingredients, so there was 1/4 cup more sugar in the pie, as well as 1/2 cup of flour that would not be there. I made up more topping mixture. The pie still baked well and looks good. Next time, I will put the streusel mixture on the other side of the room.

[BakerAunt]

This one is for Mike:

https://www.thenew60comic.com/thecomics/2024/2/15/valenines-day-2024

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them next week.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I roasted my last spaghetti squash (a Golden Arrow variety), then used it to make a spaghetti squash "lasagna" (really a casserole) in which it is layered with a tomato meat sauce, then sprinkled with mozzarella and Parmesan before baking. The tomato sauce is from some I froze this summer. We had it with microwaved frozen peas. There is enough for two more meals.

[BakerAunt]

Here is the chocolate cookie recipe that I baked yesterday. It originated with the Tartine Bakery, but there are numerous iterations of it on the internet. Here is one:

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

My husband had one at tea time, and he--who watched my whisk mishap and helped clean up--proclaimed: These are SO WORTH IT. I'll add my review after I have one for dessert tonight.

My Review: WOW!

[BakerAunt]

We finished off the farro stir-fry for dinner on Friday. As there was not enough for two, we supplemented with roasted sweet potato chunks and microwaved fresh broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

Len, I suspect it would be like the time I was trying to buy a new work bowl for my food processor. While Cuisinart was helpful in aiding me in finding the part number, they no longer carried it. They would have given me a 20% discount on a new food processor, but I knew that my old one is superior to the new ones, and I was able to source the part.

There appears to be a design flaw in the Cuisinart hand mixer latching mechanism that causes it to break. I'm not willing to buy another one, even with a discount. I will make do with my back-up hand mixers and think about whether a small Kitchen Aid stand mixer might be a better investment.

[BakerAunt]

I baked a new cookie recipe on Friday, "Chocolate Salted Rye Cookies," from a 2013 email from Tasting Table, a site which may no longer be in existence. I did a half recipe because the cookies are rich and I wanted to be sure they are worth the chocolate. The half recipe took 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate. While the recipe said preferably Valrhona, I used 60% Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate. I replaced the butter in the half recipe with a scant 2 Tbs. avocado oil. My only other change was to add ½ tsp. of espresso powder. For this recipe, I ordered muscovado sugar the last time I ordered from Vitacost. As the recipe calls for using the whisk attachment (6 minutes at high speed), I had to use my 7-qt. Cuisinart. It did ok on the half recipe, but a smaller mixer would work better. I also made the mistake of not changing to the paddle before adding the flour. The recipe did not mention that, and I should have ignored it and gone with my instincts. I spent far too much time, cleaning the dough out of the whisk, and I ended up kneading in the rest of the flour by hand. The dough or batter was not "loose," perhaps due to a difference in their dark rye flour and mine (Bob's Red Mill). I did not need to refrigerate it, but I did allow it to rest in the bowl for about 15 minutes so that the rye could hydrate completely. I used a 1 Tbs. scoop (Zeroll #40) and ended up with 25 cookies, which is the number I could expect from a halved recipe. I did not put the bit of flaked salt on the cookies, but I pressed the cookies down a bit. I baked the first sheet for 10 minutes, and the second for 9 minutes. We will wait to sample one until tomorrow, since I think the flavor will improve with an overnight rest.

[BakerAunt]

Thursday was a day for a baking experiment. I have had two containers of almond pulp (2/3 cup and 1/3 cup) from making almond milk last year in my freezer. I had one recipe for using them to make crackers, but I was not going to bake them at 135 F for 20 hours until crunchy. I found another recipe, "1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Crackers," at the website Minimalist Baker that was a promising base recipe that offered an option for using spelt or another flour in place of the gluten-free flour. It used 2/3 cup almond meal but allowed for using leftover almond pulp from making almond milk. I did not find that I needed to dry it out in the oven, as it dries out nicely in the freezer.

Here is the link to the original recipe:

1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Crackers

I set out to make 1 ½ of the recipe and made some changes, such as adding 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder, using just 5 Tbs. avocado oil, and adding 3 Tbs. Penzey's Buttermilk Dressing mix in place of salt and rosemary and garlic powder. I needed just ¼ cup plus 1 Tbs. of water to bring the dough together. I rolled it out to 1/8 inch thick, then cut it into 4 x 4 cm squares, which gave me 80 crackers. I was able to slightly separate them on a large, no sides baking sheet lined with a large piece of parchment. I baked for 20 minutes at 325 F, turning the sheet halfway through the time. I then gave them another 2 minutes. I removed the parchment and let them cool on the hot baking sheet.
Verdict on the next day when sampled: they are a tasty, slightly chewy cracker. This recipe has potential, especially with leftover almond pulp, although almond meal could be used. It is a bit too salty from the Buttermilk dressing mix, but I like the spices. I would cut back to 2 Tbs. next time.

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover farro, chicken, vegetable stir-fry.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--Yes, I know that procedure, and it has been what I have used. However, the large beater no longer will hold in its place, and not the smaller beater will not do so either.

I have a whisk attachment, so I tried that in the proper slot, and it also would not attach. Thus, I have concluded that the problem is in the interior latching mechanism, which there is no way of accessing.

[BakerAunt]

The batch of applesauce I made on Sunday is not particularly flavorful, so I decided that it would work better as a baking ingredient. I froze 1 ½ cups for a muffin recipe and another cup for a second muffin recipe, and I used a cup to bake Quaker Oatmeal Muffins. The recipe comes from a Quaker Oats box, but the identical recipe appears in the cookbook from Murphy's Bed and Breakfast in Narragansett, Rhode Island, although the latter uses a maple glaze instead of the Quaker crumb topping. I alter it by using whole wheat flour, adding 3 Tbs. milk powder, cutting the brown sugar from ½ to 1/3 cup (my maximum for a muffin), and using a whole egg in place of just the egg white. I changed the mixing instructions by using old-fashioned oats and letting them soak in the applesauce and milk for 15 minutes before adding the sugar, egg, and oil, then the dry ingredients. I replaced 1 Tbs. of butter in the topping with avocado oil and used quick oats. The muffins are delicious.

[BakerAunt]

For Wednesday's dinner, I used leftover roasted chicken breast to make a stir-fry with farro cooked in frozen chicken/turkey broth, carrots, celery, red bell peppers, mushrooms, and peas. I included the kale my husband has been growing on the porch with a grow light. It was not a lot, but it added to the taste and nutrition. I seasoned the stir-fry with ½ tsp. sage and ½ tsp. thyme.

[BakerAunt]

What irritates me is that the motor is fine. It is the mixer attachments that won't stay in now. Len is right: there is no way to open the case. While I will have to trash the mixer, I will donate the attachments in the hope that someone can use them.

One of my friends had a mixer that would only hold one beater. She gave it to an artist in her neighborhood who used it to mix paints. It's nice to see a second use before the trash can. As neither attachment will stay in on mine, that is not an option.

I use the hand mixer to combine oil, sugar, and other wet ingredients when I make cakes or quick breads. It helps to emulsify the liquid ingredients before stirring in the dry ingredients by hand. For now, I will use the back-up mixer. I'm not sure how well it will handle thicker cookie dough. By 7-qt. stand mixer is just not good at small amounts.

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