[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--it does count as cooking! It actually helps to see some of the simpler meals that people do. It gives me ideas, just as more complicated cooking does.

Joan and Cwcdesign--I wondered how you two were doing with the storm coming in. I hope that all will be well.

[BakerAunt]

Several weeks ago my husband planted a small garden. It is late in the season, but we hope to get a few vegetables from it. He planted bush beans, radishes, a few carrots, and lettuce. He made it narrow, with the idea that the deer do not like to jump into a narrow space, and put a short fence around it to deter our bunny rabbits. Well, the little deer did not jump in, but it did put its front legs over, and a couple of bean plants were eaten back. My husband then covered the vegetables with chicken wire. He thought he was ok, but a couple of days ago, some of his lettuce was eaten. We have a lot of old screens from the old windows for this house. He has now rigged them up so that they cover the garden. He can get in to weed and to water, and the sun gets in. We shall see how resourceful this yearling deer is.

[BakerAunt]

Hello, Cass. The recipe said 1/4 cup butter and 1/3 cup milk, so I didn't transpose it. However, that means I had even more liquid in it.

I'm wondering if part of the problem is that I used 1% milk. (The recipe merely states "milk.") I almost used buttermilk. When I try the recipe again, I'll hold back on the milk, and I may try buttermilk.

I don't think it was the flour measurement, since I tried another recipe from the magazine, and the proportions were fine, even with my substituting in whole wheat pastry flour.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday afternoon, I baked another recipe that issue of Comfort Cooking Recipes: "Walnut-Pear Sour Cream Coffee Cake. I used my last two pears from a previous farmers' market, which took a while to ripen. I did not have a problem with the flour in this recipe, although I substituted in 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour for that much regular flour. It baked very well in a 9-inch springform pan. I'll report back on taste and texture by adding to this post.

We very much liked the warm coffee cake. I'll keep the recipe for when pears are available again. The pears I used were organic, because the people keep bees and so do not spray. They are not "pretty" pears, but I realized this evening that they remind me of the pears that grew on the tree behind my grandmother's house in Tennessee. These pears baked very well.

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

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made a big pot of soup (yes, it is cool enough for soup here!), using 2 quarts of turkey stock from the freezer, ground turkey, onion, red and yellow bell peppers (from today's farmers' market), celery, carrots, the last of the Baby Bella mushrooms, a zucchini (from a previous farmers' market), and 2 cups of Bob's Red Mill Vegi-Soup blend. I used 2 Tbs. of Penzey's Bouquet Garni. Freshly ground pepper gets added at the end.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--try mixing in some plain yogurt to a serving. Yogurt can help tame the spice.

[BakerAunt]

For Friday dinner, I am making Dilled Salmon and Couscous. We will have it with a salad.

[BakerAunt]

I've not yet been blessed with a lot of tomatoes, so I've not used them for salsa. I will give you my canned tomato version, and maybe you can adjust it.

When I make salsa, I use the Walmart brand Great Value, no salt added, petite diced tomatoes. I chop some onion, dice 2-3 cloves of garlic, then add 1/3 of a 12-oz. jar of Southwestern 505 (medium heat) flame roasted green chile. (I brought two with me from Texas. I have not looked to see if it is available in our Indiana locations.) I mix it all together, then grab the On the Border tortilla chips, which are currently our favorites, as they are less salty than the Tostitos. In addition to coming in jars, I think this brand of chiles is available frozen. There are also canned ones of various brands. I've used Ortega and El Paso.

You will need to pay attention to if the chile peppers are mild, medium, or hot. It should say on the can. I prefer the medium ones.

You can buy fresh chiles. If you do, then wear gloves while you are seeding them, as it can burn your hands. (I've been told this. I've never worked with fresh chiles.) The seeds are what make them hot, I was told.

I've never put in cilantro, as I rarely have it around. After a post on the former Baking Circle about how some people have a genetic disposition for it to taste to them like soap, I stopped putting it in my black bean salad. I would now only serve it as an "add it yourself" ingredient.

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

[BakerAunt]

There are Mennonite/Amish communities in this area. I did go to a small store that was run by Mennonite/Amish, but it seemed to be for selling goods more to those not belonging to those groups--lots of baked pies, etc. They did have some grains, and I bought some cornmeal and some Irish oats there. However, the Dutch Jel that the sign claimed was the same as Clear Jel, was not, and it caused my blueberry pie filling disaster of last year. (That reminds me that I still have a pint jar of that to use up.) The prices did not seem much lower than in regular stores.

[BakerAunt]

I just realized that The L.A. Times article did not say how to cook the fresh soba noodles.

With the dried noodles I was using, the instructions were to put them in boiling water, then wait. When the water is about to boil over, add a cup of cold water. Wait for it to come to boiling again, then remove from heat, strain, and rinse. Perhaps with fresh noodles, they would be added to the boiling water, and be done more quickly?

I also wonder if it could be dried to use later, or if the noodles could be frozen.

[BakerAunt]

I enjoyed reading and following in pictures the experiment. How much honey did you use and how much did you dilute it?

Do you think this method might also work with whole grains sprinkled on top of loaves? Or do grains need a different approach?

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Mike. I have written down the recipe and instructions. When I try the recipe, I'll report back.

[BakerAunt]

NY Bakers also sells Queen Guinevere (KAF's bleached cake flour). I'm going to have to spend some time at their website.

[BakerAunt]

I've had mostly success with flour deliveries from KAF, but I've noted that UPS has more of a tendency to crush boxes these days. I recall a Baking Circle thread in which KAF sub-rius commented on UPS not following the techniques he had used when working temporarily at the company. He always had interesting baking threads. I wish that he had joined us here. I don't think that I've had a single box lately in a KAF delivery where one side has not been crushed. Fortunately, nothing was damaged.

KAF is very good about replacing damaged goods, and they always ask about the packing to see if it was at fault. I recently bought the large 2-sheet cake sized pan from them. The first one had scratches that went through the finish, but in that case, it was not the packing. They sent a replacement with no problems (even though UPS again crushed part of the box).

[BakerAunt]

We actually don't need gluten-free. We just like the taste of the buckwheat noodles.

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