[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked a new recipe, "Glazed Pumpkin-Pecan Cakes," from a Better Homes and Gardens special publication, 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes (p. 12), that I picked up in Barnes & Noble last fall. I baked them in two Nordic Ware swirl mini-Bundt pans. I made two changes: I added 1 Tbs. of flax meal, and in place of 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, I used 1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ginger, and 1/8 tsp. cloves. I used the orange juice glaze. We liked them a lot--although I realized after baking that I'd left out the 1/4 cup of oil. Oops. The texture is still surprisingly good. I will make them again--and use the oil, but I may cut back on the water by 1/4 cup, since I make and freeze my own pumpkin puree.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Cwcdesign. That cake is perfect for using up a lot of my frozen lemon juice. I'll likely delete the glaze.

Yes, Cindy would have liked baking it. I seem to recall that Michael likes the taste of bourbon, which is why she tested out that one bread recipe--which did not turn out so well, so she saved all of us trying it. I miss her intrepid experimentation in the kitchen. It was always so fun to read her accounts, and I learned a lot, too.

I wish that Marianne would pop in here sometime. My variation of her Grape Nuts Bread has become my husband's favorite bread.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Hi, Len. The problem is that I have a lot of lemon juice in the freezer. I do not seem to have recipes for using much of it at one time.

[BakerAunt]

Hi, Rascals. I've made it before, and we like it a lot. It's a nice moist cake. I brushed it with sugar water about half an hour after I took it out of the pan, and that kept it nice and moist.

[BakerAunt]

The link for the webpage no longer works.

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I baked the one-bowl brownie recipe from a package of Baker's unsweetened chocolate, but I doubled the vanilla and added a teaspoon of espresso powder. I scattered chocolate sprinkles on top.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I cooked a combination of brown and black rice in chicken stock in the rice cooker to go with roast chicken. On Wednesday, I cut up leftover pork and combined it with sautéed vegetables (red bell pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, and the saved drippings from the pork. I mixed it with mushroom fettucine, some of the pasta water, and added sliced green onions before serving. On Thursday, I made broth from the bones from two turkeys and two chickens. I also roasted a butternut squash and pureed it. I'll use the puree in soup tomorrow with some of the broth.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Bronx, for letting us know. I submitted my request in January, so I hope to see it in late May or early June.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked Oat-Flax Buns (recipe at KAF site) to use for Sloppy Josephines. I substituted in 3/4 cups of buttermilk for 3/4 of the water and omitted the special dried milk. I also reduced the honey to 2 Tbs., the yeast to 2 tsp., and the salt to 1 14 tsp. salt.

[BakerAunt]

My older stepson arrived this evening to visit for the week. For Saturday dinner, I needed something flexible, since we were not sure of the time, so I made Sloppy Josephines.

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I fed my sourdough starter and made the dough for a double batch of Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them over the weekend. The dough handles more easily if it has a couple of days in the refrigerator, and it gives the crackers a bit of a zing.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Yesterday, I baked two loaves of my Buttermilk Grape Nuts Bread.

[BakerAunt]

For Wednesday dinner, I combined leftover roast chicken with sautéed vegetables, drippings from the chicken, and buckwheat noodles. I added a few shakes of fish sauce.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Susan Purdy's recipe was not the issue. It's a great recipe. The cake came out pretty well, in spite of my inexperience and actually seemed better after sitting an additional day in the refrigerator. On my notes to myself, I'm writing down that with my Cuisinart mixer, I should use speed 8, and that I should work toward a wide ribbon.

[BakerAunt]

Let's all meet for coffee/tea time at Joan's!

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