[BakerAunt]

We had leftover pasta and some more of the Green Bean salad for dinner tonight. We took my bonus daughter and boyfriend to the airport--a 6-hour round trip for us with traffic, and a train that stopped across the tracks when we were not far from home. I wish that a company would re-establish bus service to and from Midway from Michigan City or another mid-sized city that is closer. Finishing the double tracking of the South Shore Line, would also help.

[BakerAunt]

Tomorrow, my bonus daughter and her boyfriend head back to San Diego, so for our last dinner of the visit, I made sourdough pan pizza with homemade tomato sauce and the usual toppings, except that I left off the black olives and green onion.

Earlier in the day, I baked blueberry cobbler for dessert. It is traditional that she will eat some for breakfast tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

To go with pizza for Saturday night dinner, I made Green Bean, Cherry Tomato, and Goat Cheese Salad.

[BakerAunt]

I baked Oatmeal Date Muffins for breakfast on Friday.

[BakerAunt]

We took a trip to the Indiana Dunes on Friday, had a picnic, and hiked. For dinner that night, I made my Oven Crispy Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce, which we had with microwaved broccoli from the farmers' market.

[BakerAunt]

That's great, Len, that you have figured out how to have your pizza and not heat the house up.

We took a boat ride in the late afternoon, so we did an easy dinner of leftover vegetarian lasagna and leftover pasta from last night. My husband and I also had the last of the cantaloupe.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for the input, Mike. I use the convection setting for crackers and get a more even result. I also use it for all my pies, although my pies are streusel-topped these days. I cover with foil for the first 45 minutes, then remove it to brown the streusel and let the pie finish in 5-10 minutes. I will report on how the convection setting works with cookies.

On Thursday evening, I baked a batch of the Whole Wheat/Rye/Semolina Buns (AKA Len's Buns) as 10 buns. We are planning a picnic tomorrow, so we needed buns for sliced turkey sandwiches.

I forgot to mention that on Wednesday morning I baked Pumpkin-Oat muffins. I did not think they were among my best, as they had a craggy appearance, but they tasted good, and they had disappeared by Thursday afternoon, so the rest of the family did not let appearance deter them.

[BakerAunt]

Oh, Skeptic, that is horrible! They need to get back to your house and install the oven correctly. Remind them that if they do not install the anti-tip device, they will be liable for accidents.

On Thursday, I baked a double recipe of Big Lake Judy's Best Ever Molasses Cookies.

I have been noticing that when I bake cookies, the second batch is baking faster than the first batch. I cut a bit of time off of the second and third trays of cookies, and since the fourth tray had just five cookies, I cut the time by 2 minutes. Those five burned. Next time I bake cookies, I am going to use the convection setting, as I do for crackers, and reduce the heat by 25 degrees.

[BakerAunt]

Wednesday's Dinner was Cherry Tomato Sauce. Vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, red and yellow bell pepper, green onions, and mushrooms), and Rigatoni, with the addition of leftover roast chicken.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, yes, the test drive!

[BakerAunt]

We had leftover vegetarian lasagna, leftover turkey loaf, leftover stuffing, and an ear of corn each, as well as more birthday cake!

[BakerAunt]

For my bonus daughter's birthday dinner, I roasted a chicken. I also made Pepperidge Farm Stuffing (blue bag) that I saved for this occasion, as it is her favorite, and she has not had it for a couple of years. We also had microwaved fresh green beans from the garden and homemade applesauce from the freezer. Dessert, of course, was the chocolate cake with the white chocolate cream cheese and butter frosting.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--I will have to post my adaptation of the cake recipe, which includes changing how it is mixed. To my surprise, it was not crumbly, so I wonder if changing the mixing technique helped. I used the mixer to combine the oil and sugar, then the eggs and vanilla, but after that, I hand mixed.

I did an initial "crumb coat," which is just a light coating of the frosting--does not have to cover as in a finished cake--then I did the main frosting coat over it.

I made a White Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter frosting from the recipe in Baking at Home, a book from the Culinary Institute of America. The trick with the frosting is not to let the butter get too soft, and to get the white chocolate at just the right temperature after melting it. Today, it all came together, and the frosted cake is in the refrigerator. The frosting is at its best when cold.

[BakerAunt]

I am so glad that you will soon have your new stove, Skeptic!

On Sunday morning, I baked Oatmeal Black Raspberry Muffins with black raspberries that I froze earlier this summer. I used an oatmeal blueberry muffin recipe that I like.

I also baked the King Arthur Fantastic Fudge Birthday Cake. I replaced the King Arthur flour with regular AP and the cornstarch with 2 Tbs. of barley flour. (King Arthur adds 2 Tbs. of cornstarch to tone down the gluten in their flour, so regular AP works well, and the barley flour was just to see how it comes out. I also replaced 2/3 of the oil with olive oil and added 2 Tbs. milk powder. I have changed the mixing instructions. I use my hand mixer to beat together the oil and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. I use my cake whisk to mix in the dry ingredients, then use it to slowly mix in the water. Finishing with my spatula. I find that makes for a more tender cake. Tomorrow, I will make a white chocolate, cream cheese, and butter frosting and assemble my bonus daughter's birthday cake!

[BakerAunt]

Mike--I second Len's suggestions. I've been using zucchini with tomato and pasta for the past month.

I had a busy day in the kitchen. I made yogurt. I also made a dent in the pile of tomatoes and made tomato sauce.

For Sunday dinner, I made a new recipe from Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats: "Summer Vegetables Lasagna with Zucchini, Squash, Eggplant, and Tomato. I had signed up for their emails, and this recipe was featured recently. I also found a lovely eggplant at the farmers market. I used a regular zucchini and a golden arrow zucchini, which is a lovely yellowish orange. While the recipe requires sauteing the slices in olive oil, I followed one commentator's suggestion and brushed them with olive oil and roasted them in a single layer at 400 for 30 minutes. My other change was to replace the butter with olive oil and use 1% milk for the white sauce. To thicken it a bit, I added 1 Tbs. flax meal. I also did not soak the oven-ready lasagna noodles, which is not necessary. That meant I did not put a final layer of noodles on the top. The lasagna was excellent, and perfect for a vegetarian meal.

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