[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked my adaptation of Pumpkin Tea Bread from Beatrice Ojakangas' Quick Breads (pp. 22-23) I substitute in a cup of whole wheat pastry flour, add 1/2 cup of powdered milk, and 1 Tbs. flax meal. This time I baked the batter in a Nordic Ware pan that makes four decorative loafs (each 2 cups), and a small Kaiser Bundt pan (holds 2 1/2 cups). The little Bundt cake will be for dessert for tomorrow's dinner. The loaves are for after service social time at church tomorrow.

I also tried a new recipe, Oatmeal Macaroons, from Quaker Oats Recipe Collection (1996), p. 14. I like that it uses 3 cups of oats. I substituted in 1/4 cup of white whole wheat flour (total flour is 1 1/4 cups). The recipe said to bake for 8 minutes, but on my heavy, parchment-lined cookie sheets, they needed 12 minutes. I used the Zeroll #40 (tablespoon) scoop. The yield was stated as "about 4 dozen, and I got 51. The cookies are also for after service social time tomorrow.

Addendum: The cookies soften overnight and are soft and chewy.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday, I made that Deluxe Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole again, but this time I used some mozzarella cheese as well, as I did not have enough Gouda.

[BakerAunt]

Len--as it turns out, I posted it on January 8, then forgot that I did it. You can find it in the recipes.

Although I have a mountain of work to trudge through, I seized time on Thursday and baked the KAF Barista Biscotti Bites in order to use up part of a bag of cappuccino chips. (I noticed that I have another full bag in the refrigerator that I will need to use up before we move at the end of June.) As soon as these cool, I will dip a third of each in chocolate ganache then let them sit until it hardens. I substituted 2 oz. of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet chips and used 4 oz. of their semisweet ones.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 9 years ago by BakerAunt. Reason: Added information

[BakerAunt]

Len--If you subscribed to the now defunct The Baking Sheet, issue 13.1 (Holiday 2001), pp. 18-19, has a great recipe for Rye Crisps. I particularly liked them with a thin slice of cheese, but other options are possible. Even my husband, who is not keen on rye, liked them. I played with the recipe a bit, so if you are interested, and do not have it, I can post it.

[BakerAunt]

Hi, Molly, and welcome to Nebraska Kitchen! I'm glad that you enjoyed the recipe.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I pulled out some frozen brown rice, some frozen turkey, and a cup of frozen stock. I sautéed vegetables in the fat from the stock. Then I added the rice and the turkey, as well as 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning. It is good to have options after returning from a trip.

On Tuesday, I made Dilled Salmon and Couscous.

[BakerAunt]

I, too, stay logged in as long as allowed.

[BakerAunt]

I baked yet another recipe of my Scottish Cinnamon Scones because I realized that I left the brown sugar out of the double batch I made! Aurgh! I'll give the batch that is done correctly to my sister and family, and my husband and I will eat the others, which will probably be like biscuits with cinnamon chips in them.

[BakerAunt]

Congratulations on getting your garden started, Bronx. I look forward to having one, probably not this year but next year when we live in Indiana permanently. My husband did do a winter garden in Texas. He harvested some small but sweet tasting carrots, and the lettuce and the spinach has been nice as well.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday, I made Oatmeal Fruit Spice Cookies by combining two recipes. The basic recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book, p. 190, where it was titled Apricot-Oatmeal Cookies. The other recipe was on the back of a bag of Bob's Red Mill Old-Fashioned Oats. I wanted more oats than the Bob's recipe, and some wholegrain and more spices and less sugar than the BH&G one. Here is what I did:

3/4 cups unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup AP flour (used Gold Medal)
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cups dried fruit
2/3 cups coarsely chopped pecans.

The dough was so thick that I ended up rolling it in balls about 1-inch thick (my scoop is back in Texas) and slightly flattening them with my hand. I put 20 per parchment-lined cookie sheet (recipe made 60) and baked at 375 for 10 minutes. They are small nugget-like cookies with a great taste. If I decide that I want them flatter, I think that I will need either to add another egg, or maybe a couple of Tablespoons of buttermilk.

I also baked a double recipe of my Scottish Cinnamon-Oat Scones. These, along with some of the cookies, will be for my sister and her twin girls when we visit then for breakfast on Sunday morning.

[BakerAunt]

I tried the convection feature on mine for doing two pizzas--years ago when I was still using pizza pans. The two were on different racks and did not cook evenly. I decided at that point to stick with the regular oven mode.

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I baked my Buttermilk Grape Nuts Bread, only I shaped it as 12 rolls in a 10x10 inch pan, instead of a loaf in a 8 1/2x 4 1/2 pan, and I baked the rolls for 30 minutes rather than the loaf's 45 minutes. I forgot to bring malted milk powder with me, so I had to omit it. I also did not have enough honey, so I used 3 Tbs. of maple syrup. I'm getting ahead for Saturday when we begin the trek back to Texas.

[BakerAunt]

I have a dual fuel stove in our current home. It's a Thermador that I bought in 2001. However, when it developed a stuck relay four years ago, the central panel could not be replaced because Thermador only supports its ovens for ten years. I would have been out of luck if my repair guy had not known about a place in Illinois that repairs central panels. He pulled it out, I shipped it to them, and they repaired it and shipped it back. I love my stove, but at the price Thermador charges, I expect more durability and product support.

My husband and I both like cooking on gas burners, so I could just get a gas stove. Sigh. Dual fuels are very expensive, and the oven is what would likely fail first, especially with the volume of baking that I do.

[BakerAunt]

This recipe is quite versatile, so the cook can change it up, depending on what ingredients are on hand. I used 8 cups of homemade turkey stock and 1 1/2 cups green lentils. I fried some bacon, then sautéed the onion and garlic in a bit of the grease. I used 2 tsp. of sage for the seasoning. The carrots look lovely with the spinach. I crumpled in the bacon.

Thank you, Cass, for a great recipe, and I will be making it again!

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

According to Aaron's list, March is, among other things, National Flour Month. On this site, it is safe to say that we are observing it!

[Author]

Posts