[BakerAunt]

That's a cute cartoon. We were able to keep our local rabbits out of the garden with chicken wire around the bottom. It helped that they seem to like the variety of grasses and plants in our lawn, including some that my husband was pleased that they ate.

One of our farmers' market vendors has had a major problem this summer and fall with groundhogs. They ate their melons, radishes, turnips, and some other vegetables. He estimates it cost them at least $25,000 in sales. One groundhog even buried a bicycle when he tunneled into their barn. So far, the vendor has trapped SIXTEEN. He has much sympathy for the golf course groundskeeper in Groundhog Day.

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover beef stew. The flavor has improved overnight--as is true of all stews--but we still agree that I will go back to my standard recipe that uses red wine instead of cider and different spices.

[BakerAunt]

Mike--Here is the link to the KABC blog discussing the flour.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2023/11/07/the-flour-of-the-future

And here is the flour:
https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/regeneratively-grown-climate-blend-flour

At $5.95 for 2 lbs., methinks it is somewhat pricy.

[BakerAunt]

I love going to craft shows, Joan.

On Saturday, I experimented with using cider rather than red wine in my beef stew. I changed the spices. I used 2 tsp. dried rosemary, 2 tsp. cinnamon (added the second halfway through), ½ tsp. allspice, and ¼ tsp. cloves (halfway through). I used 2 cups of cider initially, then added another half cup when I added the potatoes, carrots, and bell pepper. I still used some tomato paste, which it needed. The stew is good, but I prefer my red wine version, which is fine by my husband who says it has too much spice. I think that it is missing something in the overall taste profile.

BTW, the pasta salad I made yesterday was great. I now have a use for those four jars of zucchini relish that I canned.

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover stir-fry for Friday's dinner.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse--the cheesecakes sound delicious. Phooey on the recipe author for saying not to grease the pans!

I baked a Pumpkin Pecan Loaf Cake Friday evening, using the Nordic Ware Pumpkin and Wheat Stalks pan. The recipe came with the pan, but I have adjusted it by using some whole wheat pastry flour, adding some milk powder, reducing the oil, and reducing the granulated sugar. I also omit the raisins, as I do not care for them in pumpkin bread. This time, I checked the internal temperature with my trusty instant thermometer. The cake will rest overnight, and we will start slicing it tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

This thread should have been titled: The Quest for Good Italian Beef. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Friday was a morning for cooking experimentation. I roasted a large butternut squash and pureed it in the food processor. I then added it to about 1 ½ cups of turkey broth from the freezer that I had heated. I tasted it, then decided to add a splash of apple cider, then another, probably about 3-4 Tbs. in total. I added 1 tsp. of Penzey's Now Curry. It is the best butternut squash soup that I have ever made. The apple cider gives it just a hint of sweetness, which plays well with the spice. I set aside some for tomorrow and will freeze one serving for the "What will I have for lunch?" conundrum.

Another experiment involved the 4 oz. jar of mostly liquid, but some vegetables left over from when I made that zucchini relish. This jar I did not process but refrigerated. I found a recipe for pasta salad that uses cider vinegar on the internet at Preppy Kitchen, by John Kanell that I could adapt. I had some pasta in autumn shapes (leaves and pumpkins) and I cooked about 1 1/2 cups of it. I combined the contents of the relish jar with 1/3 cup olive oil, chopped red onion, and a minced clove of garlic. I added 2 tsp. of honey to get a tangy but mellow taste. I also added a small green bell pepper that we picked before the freeze that will not be turning red, and ½ tsp. Penzey's Salad Sprinkle. I mixed that with the pasta, then halved and added some of the cherry tomatoes that have ripened in the house. I will let it rest overnight. I may add feta to it tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

I made stir-fry on Thursday, using leftover pork from last night, along with soba noodles, de-glazing from last night's pan, carrots, celery, red bell pepper (from our garden), broccoli, mushrooms, and some green onion tops from my husband's pot of green onions on the porch.

I am having to order my soba noodles from Vitacost, as the Kroger in the next town has stopped carrying them.

[BakerAunt]

I roasted some purple potatoes from the farmers' market, cut into chunks and tossed in olive oil, for dinner on Wednesday. My husband pan-cooked pork, and we microwaved fresh broccoli as well. Earlier in the day, I made my first batch of applesauce from a medley of some of the seconds we bought at the orchard yesterday. I froze two cups of it, but we had some with dinner tonight.

[BakerAunt]

My favorite vendor is back, but only every other week, at the Saturday Farmers' Market. Among the items that I bought from her was a large, lovely eggplant. I had recently seen a recipe at The Washington Post for Eggplant Parmesan Sandwiches that I thought might be worth trying, so that is what I did today for lunch.

The recipe is rather involved, especially if making it for just one person. I had to substitute for some ingredients, as I did not have chili flakes or a can of crushed tomatoes for the sauce. I used sweet paprika and Tuscan seasoning and diced canned tomatoes. I did not have Italian breadcrumbs to combine with panko, so I used just the panko. I only had pre-grated Mozzarella. I also did not want to put olive oil on the pan; unlike the Post recipe staff, I am my own clean-up person, so I used parchment, with a new piece every time. I was not familiar with my broiler, having never used it, but it was easy, although mine might be more powerful than what the recipe developer used. I burned the Panko on one side of the eggplant, but fortunately, the burned stuff fell off when I turned them over. I assembled the sandwich using half of one of the sub rolls that I baked last night.

The sandwich is ok. Maybe if the eggplant were well breaded, I would like it better, but I think the upshot is that I do not like eggplant in a starring role and prefer it as part of the cast, as in the lasagna I made this summer or in ratatouille, which I have not made in a while because my husband cannot eat it. I will have the leftovers as a sandwich tomorrow, but I will not be making this recipe again.

[BakerAunt]

I sympathize with Violet. I recall having braces and eating after they were tightened always was painful, as there were lots of kids in my family, and my mother could not plan menus around who had currently had her or his braces tightened.

Applesauce was an excellent idea! I'm about to make a batch today.

[BakerAunt]

Congratulations, Joan!

Finding ways to reduce some sugar seems to me to work better than trying to omit it. I cut down on sugar in my tea from 1 tsp. to 1/4 tsp., and these days, I enjoy it without sugar, although I admit to having a cookie with it. Part of cutting it from tea (I never put it in coffee) was drinking a better quality of tea.

I find a lot of recipes are too sweet for me, so I often cut back the sugar and do not miss it.

I roll my eyes when dieticians or nutritionists say that a piece of fruit can be equally satisfying. No. I like fruit, but it does not replace cake, quick breads, cookies, or candy. It is good to see an article such as this one that does not repeat that nonsense.

[BakerAunt]

I baked cornbread on Tuesday to go with leftover soup for dinner. I baked it in a 6-well Nordic Ware pan that features 2 leaves, two different pumpkins, and two acorns. I reduced the temperature from 400 to 375F, since Nordic Ware gets hotter than a regular baking pan, and that was the right move. The baking time was only slightly longer, about 23 minutes as opposed to 21 minutes. There was slightly too much batter for the pan, so the muffins had borders around the designs. Probably, I should have used a dish to bake a separate seventh muffin. We do like the crusty exterior around each muffin.

I also baked five sub rolls, using my sub-roll perforated pan and a modified wholegrain version of the recipe that King Arthur sent with it when I bought it some years ago. The dough was not as wet this time, so I think that I should have held back part of the white flour. I also used honey and some buttermilk. I baked it at 425F for 12 minutes, but there was some burning on the bottom of the loaves, and also a lot of smoking in the oven, which happens when I grease the pan with Crisco, which melts through the holes and onto the oven floor. I will need to clean the oven tomorrow.

Next time, I will hold back some flour, check the baking loaves earlier, and possibly lower the temperature to 400F after putting them into the oven.

[BakerAunt]

I made a frittata for lunch on Tuesday to use up some leftover brown and wild rice mix from the freezer. I was pleased with how well my recently purchased ceramic skillet performed. I was able to invert it onto a plate, then slice it back into the skillet. It came out well, although I should have used three rather than two eggs or else less rice. Mushrooms, chocolate and yellow bell pepper, red onion, and a spinach-like green (Tatsumi?) completed the dish. I saved some of it for breakfast the next day.

For dinner, we finished the ground turkey, lentils, and vegetable soup.

I also made yogurt today.

[Author]

Posts