[BakerAunt]

You have a good attitude toward the keto baking, Mike. I'm not sure that I would. I had enough trouble cutting the saturated fat in our menus. I suppose it gets easier the more one does it, but sometimes I just want to eat a large bag of tortilla chips with salsa.

My husband and I are both pleased with the Pumpkin Mixed Grains Bread that I baked yesterday. I'm not sure how much to attribute to my tweaks and how much to the cup of kabocha squash puree that replaced half the pumpkin. I will bake another two loaves with all pie pumpkin after these are consumed.

[BakerAunt]

I baked two loaves of Pumpkin Mixed Grains Bread, a recipe that had its origins in a Jane Brody recipe for Pumpkin-Rye Bread. My version is over two-thirds wholegrain, with whole wheat flour and dark and pumpernickel rye. I also added some of the King Arthur six-grain blend and this time increased it from ½ to 2/3 cup, as well as increasing the water I use from ¼ to 1/3 cup. (I substitute 1 ½ cups of buttermilk for the rest.) I found a 1 cup container of kabocha squash puree from two years ago in the freezer, so I combined it with 1 cup of pie pumpkin puree. I look forward to sampling the bread tomorrow. Just the way the dough felt and the baking smell tells me I am on the right track.

[BakerAunt]

I made yellow split pea soup for dinner tonight, adding some ham I had in the freezer. We have had about 1 ½ inches of snow since mid-morning, and it is sticking, so soup is perfect.

[BakerAunt]

Egg prices are up here, but it was about $2.18 a dozen at Aldi's when we shopped about ten days ago. Eggs usually go up as Easter approaches. but perhaps the hens do not lay as much in the winter in cold places.

[BakerAunt]

On Valentines Day, I baked Oatmeal Date Muffins for breakfast using some Valentines paper liners.

For dinner, I made sourdough pan pizza.

[BakerAunt]

I started a separate thread before I saw this one. Next time, I will read current posts before I post.

Thanks for fixing my mistake, Mike, by moving my post to this thread.

[BakerAunt]

Bob Moore, founder of the Bob's Red Mill company, has passed away. I first discovered the BRM flours when I needed dark rye flour for my Limpa bread. It was so much better than the rye flour that I found in the stores. Gradually, I began using more BRM products, as they often had flours, beans, grains, seeds, nuts, and dried fruits that I could not find elsewhere. I exclusively use their whole wheat flour, which I think has a slightly sweeter taste and works better than the King Arthur whole wheat.

I have been somewhat disappointed in the company in the last few years, as it stopped carrying some products important to me: the ivory (white whole wheat) flour, the barley flour, the unhulled sesame seed, the dried apples, the dried cherries. I am sometimes irritated by too much of a focus on the gluten-free crowd, but King Arthur does that also. However, Bob Moore's focus on wholegrains greatly influenced my baking.

https://pdx.eater.com/2024/2/12/24070041/bob-moore-bobs-red-mill-death-obituary?ueid=c2ffcf78ce760c4feca3d04b80fdc8a1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eater%20National%20-%2002/12/2024&utm_term=Eater%20Today

[BakerAunt]

Note: The Leckerli are delicious. I am not going to put apple into the container to soften them. They are just the right texture and go well with tea or milk.

On Tuesday afternoon, I baked Bittersweet Blackberry Brownies, which are now cooling on a rack prior to being refrigerated. They are much better after an overnight rest in the refrigerator, so they will be ready tomorrow for a Valentine's Day dinner. I found this butter-free recipe last summer when I was picking wild blackberries in our woods and tweaked it a bit. It uses just 2 Tbs. avocado oil. They are a cross between fudge and brownies in the very best way.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--I like your description of working a puzzle as "puzzling." Shakespeare, who did that sort of word play often, would be proud of you!

Tonight, my husband pan-cooked some boneless pork chops, and we had them with more of the barley, butternut squash, and kale.

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday, I baked Leckerli, which is a Tyrolean holiday cookie. The recipe comes from McCall's Cooking School (#11), with a publication date of 1983/1984. Although Leckerli is considered a Christmas cookie, the cut-out hearts of this recipe remind me of Valentine's Day. The first time I baked it many years ago, I had a lot of problems with the dough, probably because I did not have the almonds ground evenly, and the dough also stuck to the waxed paper horribly. I may have baked them another time, although I do not recall doing so. The recipe requires candied lemon and orange peels, which became hard to find once King Arthur stopped carrying it. (It was back seasonally this year.) I had a jar of candied orange peel, and I found a jar of candied lemon peel in the Annex refrigerator. When my older bonus son stayed with us a couple of years ago, he had moved it, so last year, I thought that I had none. (Really, putting it in the butter holder in the door?) I ordered another bag to be ready for this year, and of course I then found it.

Instead of grinding unblanched almonds, I looked a the King Arthur weight chart and found out that 1 cup unblanched almonds weights 5 oz. or 142 grams. I needed 1 ½ cups, so I used 213 grams of Bob's natural almond flour (made with the skins). That certainly makes for a dough that is easier to roll. I divided the dough into fourths, as specified, but instead of rolling it out onto waxed paper, I cut half-sheets of parchment in half, which fits rolling it out to the specified 9 x 8-inch rectangle, although the eight inches takes it right to the edge. I put saran wrap over it to roll and for the required hour of refrigeration. When I cut the hearts, I moved out the trimmings, and left them on the paper, rearranging a bit for spacing, which I moved to a baking sheet, so there were two on each sheet. That works very well. My heart cutter is larger than the 3-inch specified, so I got six hearts per rectangle rather than nine. [Why do I never have the exact size of cutter a recipe specifies?!] I re-rolled the trimmings and ended up with 34 cookies--the last one being a smaller blob.

It was hard to know when they were baked. The recipe stated 8-10 minutes, and because mine were larger, I gave them 12 minutes. I had to let them cool a bit before removing them to a rack for the glaze. I baked them on parchment rather than directly on the baking sheet (recipe says ungreased baking sheet, so that may have affected them as well. They were a bit soft when moved but have firmed on cooling.

The recipe makes 46, so a slightly smaller cutter--mine was about 3 ½ inches--would be ideal. I thought that it used a lot of glaze for the baked cookies, so I made a half recipe, which was perfect. I did not do the decorating with candied red or green cherries (have none) and citron, but the cookies do not really need that unless one is out to do a showstopper presentation at a fancy party.

We will try the cookies with tea today, and I will post about the taste and texture.

[BakerAunt]

We are among those who do not really care about the Super Bowl, so our dinner was leftover Pork Loin, barley, butternut squash, and kale from last night.

[BakerAunt]

I like the variety of your pizzas, Len! You are an inspiration to all of us to expand our pizza horizons!

For Saturday's dinner, I made one of my favorite winter meals: Pork Loin Roast with Barley, Butternut Squash, and Kale. I had bought the roast from a local farmers' market vendor in the fall, but the vendor from whom I buy kale has not been coming. So, I waited until we went to the nearby town last Monday and bought organic kale at Kroger. I still have a supply of butternut squash. The roast was small, so we will not get more than an additional meal from it, but I can probably pair the barley, squash, and kale mixture with a different meat for a third or fourth meal.

[BakerAunt]

We needed bread for tomorrow, so on Friday I baked my adaptation of King Arthur's Chewy Semolina Rye Bread in the Emile Henry long baker. I cut the salt by a third, but this time I used the full amount of yeast. As usual, I replaced 1 ½ cups of water with buttermilk and added 3 Tbs. special dry milk. I do not add dry onion or put the seeds on top, partly in deference to my husband, but also to allow the bread to work for a variety of fillings.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner tonight was Salmon and Couscous with Greek Seasoning, accompanied by microwaved fresh broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

Mike--While I'd like to be encouraging, I have to admit that I just don't understand the keto diet. It seems more a fad than rooted in scientific evidence. I will follow your attempt with interest.

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