[BakerAunt]

I made yogurt on Monday.

We had more of the Turkey, Mushroom, and Kale Lasagna. Thanks for the information about spinach having more water, Mike. Scott and I agree that when kale is available, I will use it in this recipe.

[BakerAunt]

I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Monday from dough I made last week.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner on Sunday night was Turkey, Mushroom, and Kale Lasagna. The recipe calls for spinach, but the vendor had such nice kale at the farmers market that I used it instead. I also included two of our red bell peppers that have ripened inside. I think the lasagna worked better with the kale than with the frozen spinach, in that it firmed up faster. We both like this variation on the recipe.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner, we had the remaining two pecan coated pork slices with roasted honey nut squash chunks, the rest of the applesauce, and microwaved frozen mixed vegetables.

[BakerAunt]

I baked a crumb-topped apple pie on Friday evening, using the original Winesap apples. I made the crust with half whole wheat pastry flour and half regular pastry flour, instead of just a third of the whole wheat pastry flour. Eventually, I want to see if I can make the crust with only whole wheat pastry flour, since Bob's Red Mill has stopped selling either kind of pastry flour. I do have another source for the whole wheat pastry flour, and I have plenty of it on hand. I am pleased with how the apples in the filling baked, although we will not slice for a taste until tomorrow. I now know the ask for original Winesaps, not "traditional," which is what I got last year and found do not make good pies as they do not soften very much.

Saturday note: We sliced the pie for afternoon tea (for Scott) and coffee (for me). It is delicious and exactly as I remember a Winesap apple pie should be.

[BakerAunt]

We repeated the pecan coated pork slices from last night, but I roasted sweet potato chunks to go with it, and we had microwaved broccoli, as well as more of the applesauce.

[BakerAunt]

Yum, yum, Joan!

[BakerAunt]

For Thursday night's dinner, I made pecan coated boneless pork slices. I also cut up a honey nut squash, cut it into chunks, tossed it with olive oil, then roasted them in my countertop oven. We had microwaved peas with the meal, as well as applesauce, from last year, from the freezer. It was an easy meal, which was needed, as we did our big shopping run to the very small city about 30 minutes away, then in the afternoon, took our dog Annie for a walk.

[BakerAunt]

I made dough for Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them next week.

[BakerAunt]

I made chicken broth on Wednesday from accumulated bones from chicken breasts.

We had leftovers from last night, as well as a few leftover roasted potato chunks from the night before.

I'm glad to hear that your weather is now above freezing, Joan!

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked Soft Ginger and Molasses Cookies, a recipe that I adapted from King Arthur to use avocado oil rather than butter. I also use white whole wheat flour and add milk powder. It made 34 cookies, so I hope that they will last a week. Three are already gone, as I had one and Scott had two for dessert.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--I think that your weather was colder than ours!

I made yogurt on Tuesday morning. For dinner, I used the leftover roasted chicken in a rigatoni pasta dish. I used most of our last cherry tomatoes in the sauce. I sauteed red bell pepper, green onion, sliced celery, carrots, and mushrooms in olive oil. I added ¼ tsp. of Penzey's Ozark Blend and some garlic granules, along with freshly ground black pepper. We had an open container of crumbled goat cheese, so I stirred it in at the end. Scott and I both liked this creation, and we have enough for leftovers tomorrow night. Like Joan, we do not get tired of eating the same food.

[BakerAunt]

CWCdesign--When I use my Emile Henry baking dish to bake bread, I grease it with Crisco then coat it with farina (cream of wheat). I have no problems with it sticking. You can also use semolina, but the farina is less likely to overbrown or burn.

On Monday, I baked my Spiced Cider Pumpkin muffins for breakfast. I did not have cider, but I had some frozen apple juice from when I made applesauce last year, so I used that.

I also baked three loaves of my Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread. Three loaves is a bit risky since two will need to be frozen, and we are planning a big grocery run for later this week that will perhaps involve a turkey that will need to go into the freezer. The loaves took about 15 minutes longer for each rise due to the colder weather.

[BakerAunt]

Len, I once cooked a chicken in a regular pot and was disappointed. Roasting just gives it better flavor.

We had leftover roasted chicken on Monday, but I roasted potato chunks to go with it. We also microwaved the rest of the cauliflower with the rest of the broccoli. We had more lake effect snow, and Scott had to knock the snow off of some of the tree branches as some trees still have a lot of leaves.

[BakerAunt]

I made turkey and butternut squash chili on Sunday for lunch from a recipe I adapted a couple of years ago. I made a double batch, which was almost too much for my 6 ½-quart Le Creuset pot. For the doubled recipe, I used 2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. allspice, and 1 tsp. Penzey's Resist blend. I also used three cans of Del Monte chopped tomatoes with Hatch chilies, so that is just enough heat for me. Scott, of course, is not eating this chili. I also used a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of tomato paste, and a cup of chicken broth from the freezer. I used two medium-sized butternut squash, two long red bell peppers, celery, and onion, as well as 30 oz. of black beans and their broth that I cooked yesterday. I had some for a late lunch, and it was wonderful, especially as we are having the first snow of the year, and it has been heavier than predicted. I froze six one-cup servings for future lunches and put the rest into a container for lunches during this week.

For Sunday dinner, I roasted two bone-in chicken breasts, seasoned with Penzey's Justice blend. In the countertop oven, I roasted two, cubed honey nut squashes. We had some fresh cauliflower from a previous farmers market, so Scott microwaved it to go with the dinner.

[Author]

Posts