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We re-ran Monday's dinner menu on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow, we cook again.
I realized, as I made lunch on Wednesday, that we were running out of bread, so in the afternoon I baked my Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread. I gave my husband the choice of my two recipes that make three loaves, this one or Grandma A's Bread, and he said that he preferred my oat bran bread because to him the latter seems more like commercial bread. I wanted three loaves so that I could tuck two into the freezer. We are using up the loaves more quickly, because I am making turkey bacon and tomato sandwiches for lunch as I enjoy the tomatoes from the garden.
I made a batch of Maple Granola on Tuesday.
Speaking of oil in place of butter in recipes:
On a rainy Monday, I decided to see if I could adapt a recipe, "Cinnamon-Apple Bars with Peanut Butter Glaze," which is in the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking. I had made it back when I was still baking with butter and liked the bars, although I made a note to lose the topping which was too sweet and overpowered them. I have leftover applesauce from last week's cookie experiment, and this recipe uses a cup. I replaced ¾ cup butter with ½ cup canola oil and ¼ cup buttermilk. I added a Tbs. of flax meal and 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder. I reduced the salt from 1 ½ to ½ tsp. Instead of grinding the oats to make flour, I used quick oats and combined them with the flour and dry ingredients. I used just ½ cup cinnamon chips (75 g). I baked in a 13x9 inch glass dish. I have started to prefer glass dishes for bar cookies or cakes. I baked for the shortest time, and they tested done. After the bars cooled, I glazed them with some glazing sugar that came from King Arthur long ago that I had in the pantry. King Arthur does not sell it anymore. It does not have cornstarch, so it dries with a nice glossy surface. My husband and I sampled them for dessert tonight, and I would certainly bake my adaptation again.
I bake Moomi's buns with olive oil all the time. Canola or avocado would also work for people who need to avoid olive oil. Baked goods made with olive oil do stay softer longer. Goods with butter go stale more quickly.
Your thoughts about the potato flour are intriguing, Italian Cook. I usually have a container of it in the freezer for he few recipes I have that call for it. My experience, however, is that it can sometimes absorb too much of the liquid in the dough, so I use it sparingly, and indeed, only use it in those few King Arthur recipes.
King Arthur has said that you can substitute instant mashed potatoes, although I do not recall the amount. I think it was on the order of 1/2 cup potato flakes for 1/3 cup potato flour.
Your stir-fry sounds delicious, Mike.
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen on Monday, but it was a rainy day, so what better place to be? I began by making yogurt.
I also cooked a pot of black-eyed peas that I had soaked overnight. When they were done, I drained 1 cup of beans and set them aside. I froze two containers of a cup each of black-eyed peas, and a larger container that I will use in a future meal. I used the one cup of black-eyed peas in the Green Bean, Cherry Tomato, and Feta salad that we both love, and that makes excellent use of the abundance of cherry tomatoes and green beans from our garden. We will be having it again, which is why I froze two one-cup containers of the black-eyed peas.
For dinner, to go with the salad, I made Turkey-Spinach loaf. We had it with an ear of sweet corn for each of us, as our neighbors gifted us with more of their corn this weekend. I think this loaf, which I have been making for about a year now, needs more zing. I had to delete the Italian spices, as my husband cannot handle those, but Penzey's Mural of flavor, even with 2 tsp., is not assertive enough. I will try one of their other blends, and perhaps experiment with a tomato glaze.
We had the last two roasted chicken thighs and the rest of the Cherry Tomato, Vegetables, and Pasta.
Mike--I wish that I could find some good peaches. The Michigan ones I bought from the guy at the corner stand peeled easily, and the pits came out easily, but the taste was so-so. I would like to make some peach jam to have for my zucchini-turkey loaf.
Navlys--I miss the Sprouts store where we shopped in Texas. They had great bulk nuts--and they were never stale or rancid.
Quick note: the zucchini oatmeal cookies were much better the second day.
On Saturday, I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from dough that I made earlier in the week.
I had a scant cup of grated zucchini left over from when I baked the Zucchini Oatmeal cookies earlier in the week. For lunch on Saturday, I sauteed chopped onion in olive oil, then added the grated zucchini and briefly cooked. I whisked an egg and poured it over the zucchini-onion mixture. After the egg set, I had planned to flip it, but I realized that would be difficult, so I settled for sprinkling ¼ cup of mozzarella over it, then folding it like an omelet. I put it between two slices of bread, after adding a couple slices of tomato, and it was an excellent sandwich.
To go with leftover roasted chicken thighs on Saturday, I made a mash-up of Kenji Alt-Lopez's "Fast and Easy Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce and Deb Perelman's "Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta." We have an abundance of cherry tomatoes, as my husband accidentally planted an extra one that he thought was a regular tomato plant. I heated 3 cloves of minced garlic in cold olive oil for about 30 seconds, then added cherry tomatoes--about 2 ½ cups. Although Kenji does not cut them, my experience is that they should be halved. While the tomatoes cooked for 10 minutes, I started 8 oz. of water for rigatoni. In a separate skillet, I sauteed red bell pepper and green onion in olive oil, then added sliced mushrooms, more olive oil, then chopped yellow and zucchini squash. I had a bit of leftover kale, so I threw that in. As the tomatoes got saucy, I added a bit of pasta water. I poured the vegetable mixture into the now saucy tomatoes and added a splash of balsamic vinegar. (That idea came from Deb.) I drained the pasta, reserving some of the water and added the pasta to the tomato mixture. I added just enough pasta water to make a nice sauce, then grated Parmesan over it and mixed it in. I grated extra Parmesan over individual servings. Cherry tomatoes make a great light sauce with just the right amount of sweetness. My husband is now glad that we will have so many cherry tomatoes.
We had some of a small loaf of zucchini bread from the freezer for dessert, so I have eaten a lot of summer squash today!
Dinner on Friday was roasted chicken thighs, the last of the sweet corn our neighbors gifted us from their farm, and microwaved fresh green beans from our garden. We have eaten a lot of green beans, and neither of us is tired of them.
Thank you, Navlys, Skeptic, and Riverside Len for the anniversary wishes. Navlys, we have been married 13 years. It took me a while to find the right guy, but he is worth the search.
On Thursday, I had my first turkey bacon and tomato sandwich of the season, using tomatoes from our garden. It was good, but I probably should have foreseen that the Pumpkin Rye Whole Wheat Bread with Molasses is not the perfect pairing for tomatoes and turkey bacon, as the bread overwhelms the filling.
Dinner tonight was the rest of the pork tenderloin, sweet corn, and more microwaved green beans from our garden.
Thank you for the good wishes, Chocomouse. Happy Anniversary to you and your husband! And to your daughter and her husband. And to your son and his wife! August seems to be a popular month for weddings. Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of a good friend and her husband. Tomorrow is the date my parents were married in 1950.
I have been wanting to try some kind of oatmeal zucchini cookie that does not use butter. I found two recipes and decided to try this one on Wednesday:
I followed the recipe except for adding 1 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder and 1 Tbs. flax meal. I got 12 cookies rather than 18, although I used my 1/4 cup scoop. I'm not sure how to describe the cookies. They are more like little cakes with a firmer outside. My husband and I agreed that they need more spice, so if I bake them again, I will double the cinnamon and add 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. They are low in sugar and completely wholegrain, but I will not rush to bake this recipe again.
On Tuesday, I made yogurt. I also de-seeded the last basket of blackberries. I only had about 1 ¾ cups of puree after I finished, which is not enough for another batch of jam, so I froze it and will use it in a future pan of brownies.
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