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Mike--How much headspace did you leave before canning?
Aaron--King Arthur is (was?) running a special where some of its unusual flours were on sale for $4 off the regular price. I had some Bakers Bucks to spend, so I ordered some of those flours yesterday, including another bag of the Italian-style. I'm not sure if the sale is still on for today.
I was irritated with King Arthur, in that they were offering a free spatula yesterday, with a minimum purchase amount. However, I was told that I am not allowed to use a Baker's Bucks coupon and a free spatula code on the same order. I politely declined the spatula, which the rep. said was the better buy, as it normally costs $16, and my BB coupon was for $10. While I would have been happy to pick up another spatula for free, I preferred to use my coupon. I'm considering writing a complaint to King Arthur, as that should have been spelled out in the email.
The crackers still look good, Mike. With the sheeter, you may be able to get them thinner than I can by hand--about 1/16th inch.
I always rotate the tray halfway through, even on the convection setting. In my oven, I bake the crackers on the third rack up, but I think that a lot depends on your oven. I also make sure the tray is towards the front of my oven. When all else fails, I quietly consume the overly brown ones!
On Tuesday, I made dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them at the end of the week.
We had leftover pork tenderloin, applesauce, and mashed potatoes from last night for Tuesday's dinner, along with roasted chunks of honey nut squash--the first we have eaten from our garden.
Aaron--the original recipe for the flatbread has an egg in it, which I have sometimes added. Once I forgot it, and the crust was crisper on the flatbread. I might try the cracker recipe again without the egg. If you are interested, I can post the basic recipe that I have developed so far. I've been making it in the bread machine, since my mixer does not handle small amounts of dough well. The King Arthur Italian-style flour really does make a difference in crackers, although I use half whole wheat for the nutrition. I only tried the Italian-style because one of my sisters sent me some in a King Arthur goodies package for Christmas a couple of years ago. I've made a King Arthur recipe with it, but it is one where the dough rests for about 12 hours in the refrigerator, and after baking, the crackers are left in the oven overnight after it is turned off. It's the second part that is a problem, if I am baking in the afternoon and want the oven for making dinner.
Skeptic--That is the same kind of game that Consumer Reports plays; they charge extra for access to their website, which is why I no longer subscribe.
On Monday, I baked Lime Pecan Biscotti, using two limes from my tree.
I'll be interested in how your apple butter--and apple scrap jelly--come out, Mike.
It was a busy Monday in the kitchen. I cooked a batch of chickpeas and used some of them to make a big container of hummus. It goes well with the flatbread crackers I baked yesterday. For dinner, I made Maple-Glazed Pork Tenderloin and muddled mashed potatoes, which we had with a container of our green beans that I froze this summer.
My elder bonus son arrived for a visit on Sunday morning. After his father picked him up at the airport, they arrived here at 10:30. I put together brunch featuring my adaptation of King Arthur's Butterscotch Apple Sweet Rolls. I had made the filling last year and frozen it, so it was easy to put them together this morning. We had them with scrambled eggs.
Ken Haedrich has a recipe for Yeasted Olive Oil Dough that he uses for flatbread or crispy pizza crust. I modified the recipe, so while I use his suggested variation of half whole wheat flour, I replace the remaining AP flour with King Arthur's Italian-Style flour and add 2 Tbs. semolina flour. In the early summer, I used the crust to make one giant flatbread, which we broke into crackers and ate with soup. On Sunday, I made the dough again, but to control the baking better, I divided the dough in half, and once I had rolled out a half, I brushed it with avocado oil, then cut the piece into 5x5 cm crackers. I also baked each pan at 375F convection, on the second rack up (middle of the oven) for ten minutes, turning halfway through the time. After removing it from the oven, I separated all the crackers, then carefully pushed them off the parchment onto the still hot pan and let them cool there without touching each other. I have not sampled any tonight, but they are crisp and should be thick enough to hold up to being spread with hummus or dipped into it without breaking. I will be making hummus tomorrow and testing them. The taste, I noted, last time I made them, is not assertive, so they should go well with a variety of toppings or dips.
I'm not sure those spices would be to my taste either, Mike.
With the arrival of my elder bonus son, who had an overnight flight, I wanted to make scrambled eggs for brunch on Sunday. I have always been hit or miss on scrambled eggs, but I bought a Green Pan 10-inch skillet at Home Goods on Friday, so I thought that I had a better chance of success. I also pulled out my copy of Kenji Lopez-Alt's The Food Lab and followed his directions. The scrambled eggs came out perfectly! My only changes were to use 1% milk and to cook them in avocado oil rather than butter. I will be following this recipe any time I make scrambled eggs.
For Sunday dinner, I made roasted chicken breast, which we had with the leftover noodles, mushrooms, turkey, and peas from last night.
I baked three loaves of my Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread on Saturday. We had to subsist on a store-bought loaf these last few days, since we arrived home on Thursday and did not have any bread thawed. If there had been a bakery along the way, I would have bought a loaf there.
Joan--Are the people you treat to your pumpkin pies surprised to learn that you make them with your own pumpkin puree? When I tell people that I do, and that is why the pies are so good, they are amazed.
Len--let me second Joan's admiration for your lovely pan of buns. When I make your recipe, I usually make ten buns because we like them smaller--and I need an even number for the two of us.
At the Cousins' Reunion, we always do a Thanksgiving meal, so that means a turkey. No one wanted the meaty bones, so we froze them and brought them home in a cooler. On Saturday, I made broth with them and some chicken bones I had in the freezer. Before I made the broth, I cut off about two cups more of turkey. I used it to make a throw-together dinner tonight of sauteed mushrooms, leftover frozen gravy that was made for the reunion with a vegan "chicken" broth (I think seaweed is involved), a bit of the broth I had simmering, the leftover evaporated milk from the pies and sweet rolls, and some cooked spinach noodles. With the addition of frozen peas and some freshly ground pepper, we had a great one-dish meal based on what was in the refrigerator.
We had leftovers from last night for dinner on Friday. It takes a while after getting back from a short vacation to get organized again, especially when others were doing most of the vacation cooking!
I look forward to hearing about the crackers, Mike.
Navlys--Did you use the King Arthur Blueberry Pie Bar recipe? I've baked it several times and loved it but have not baked it since I cut the butter in my baking to almost none.
The vegan almond cake is delicious. The texture is hard to describe. It is spongier than a regular cake but in a pleasant way. It would go well with berries. I will keep the recipe in case I have leftover almond milk. Probably it would work with regular milk or buttermilk as well.
We enjoyed the dinners at my husbands' cousins' reunion. Monday night was grilled pork tenderloin, Tuesday was our "Thanksgiving" meal with turkey. One cousin's wife makes wonderful stuffed baked potatoes that my husband and I look forward to all year. Wednesday night was a "eat the leftovers" meal. Some of us did go out for lunch on Tuesday to a restaurant in New Buffalo called The Stray Dog. I had a delicious grilled Ruben on Michigan swirled rye bread and onion rings. It was a dietary indulgence.
We are back at home on Thursday. Dinner consisted of some leftover turkey from the reunion that we brought back with us, and I roasted some potato and carrot chunks tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with Penzey's Justice blend.
Joan--congratulations on the great thrifting finds!
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