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Skeptic--The Squash, Whole Wheat, and Oat Bread came out great. This time I used half white whole wheat and half AP. If you would like my version of the recipe, let me know, and I will post it.
BTW, I took the temperature of the center of one of the small loaves with my instant read thermometer after 43 minutes, and it read over 200F. I've never used it for quick bread before, but after CWCdesign mentioned doing so, I decided to do so.
Mike--I had wondered about putting blueberries and zucchini together, as it seemed an odd pairing.
On Tuesday, I baked the Rye Blueberry Bars from King Arthur that were one of their July Bake of the Week. I made some changes that I do not think affected the outcome in that I replaced the AP flour with white whole wheat and the 10 Tbs. of butter with 1/3 cup avocado oil plus 2 Tbs. water. I cut the vanilla in the crust from 2 tsp. to 1 tsp, and I did not use cardamom in the crust and topping.
I think that the filling is a problem. I'm not sure why it uses maple syrup, as I could not really taste it. At first, I deleted the salt, but I added ¼ tsp. after tasting it. I also ended up adding the stated amount of vanilla, in part because the filling was rather blah. I stirred in ½ tsp. allspice, and that helped.
The recipe called for making a slurry with 3 Tbs. cornstarch and 2 Tbs. lemon juice. That did not work well. It was not enough liquid to combine with the cornstarch, and I should have added more lemon. Instead, I added it to the jam mixture, and I had to break up or fish out, clumps of cornstarch. I think that I will use Clear Jel next time or use enough lemon juice to combine thoroughly. I might try lime juice next time as well. There will be a next time, if they hold up over the next couple of days, as my husband likes them, and I think they have promise.
I wonder, however, if the recipe developer at King Arthur was trying hard to offset the blah filling by adding all that vanilla and cardamom. The other thought is that they were trying to feature as many products that they sell as possible.
My other baking project on Tuesday was Squash, Whole Wheat, and Oat Quick Bread, a recipe that I adapted from Ken Haedrich's The Harvest Baker. I baked it as four small loaves in the 4-loaf Bundt pan I have.
Thanks for the idea about fingerless gloves, Chocomouse. We are planning a big shipping trip in a couple of days, so I will see what I can find at Lowe's or Tractor Supply, if not Walmart.
As our blackberry bushes are wild patches in the open area of the woodland--mostly in the additional 15 acres that we bought in 2019--they are a gift rather than an intention. My husband has planted some of his trees amid the blackberry bushes, as the deer avoid blackberry plants.
When I pick, I wear jeans (and am looking for even thicker pants), and I have a heavy hemp overshirt, so my arms and legs are mostly protected, but my hands are pricked and scratched, and the leaves of the plant are itchy. My husband commented that for a plant that spreads best when helped by going through an animal's gut, it sure resists giving up those berries.
A major danger is stinging insects. I'm not sure what stung me last Wednesday, when I thought I had pricked myself, but I realized at the end of last week that the "mosquito bites" that were popping up on me were actually a case of hives, probably from a stinging insect.
I do not usually roast chicken again right after having had chicken for three days, but at the grocery this morning, there was a lovely 4.25 lb. chicken marked down to 99 cents per pound. Dinner tonight was roast chicken (the dog is not complaining), some leftover farro stir-fry from last night, and microwaved fresh green beans from our garden.
I'm planning on baking the Rye Blueberry Bars, which was a King Arthur ""Bake of the Week," in July:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/rye-blueberry-bars-recipe
The recipe seems to me to use way too much vanilla--1 tsp. in the filling and 2 tsp. in the crust. I think the vanilla would cover up the blueberry flavor rather than complementing it.
I plan to replace the cardamom--not my husband's favorite spice, although I love it--with allspice, which is what I use in my blueberry pie. I will replace the butter in the crust with canola or avocado oil and perhaps 2 Tbs. water.
Chocomouse: When you or your husband are picking blackberries, how do you protect your hands? I have really had the blackberry plants do a number on mine. Berries have to be picked with fingers, but I am wondering if a gardening place might make fingerless gloves. I did a brief internet search but what came up were bicycle and motorcycle gloves.
To go with the last of the roasted chicken thighs on Monday, I made a farro stir-fry with farro cooked in broth from the freezer, and red bell pepper, mushrooms, yellow squash, and snow peas sauteed in avocado oil. The snow peas are from our garden.
This morning, I picked another 3 quarts of blackberries, so I will be processing those in the next two days.
On Sunday, I de-seeded another quart of blackberries. I had enough to make and can another three (8 oz) jars and one (4oz) jar of blackberry jam.
For dinner, we warmed up chicken thighs from last night in the microwave and the roasted vegetables in the countertop convection oven. Leftovers are great, as they free me to do other cooking and baking projects.
We had a little more than 3 inches of rain last night into this morning, which has cooled us down nicely, as well as helped the plants. It was pleasant enough to open the windows, so I felt able to use the oven again.
For Saturday dinner, I made roasted chicken thighs on one pan, and on the other, I made roasted vegetables, following directions online from Eatwell 101 and Betty Crocker. I found lovely red potatoes as well as some carrots from my other favorite vendor, who is now back for the season. I tossed the chunks of potatoes and carrots in olive oil, and after the chicken had roasted for 20 minutes at 400F, I put in the pan of potatoes and carrots. After another 20 minutes, I added chunks of zucchini and some cherry tomatoes that have been in the refrigerator for a bit too long, after tossing them in oil. After another 20 minutes, I removed the pan with the chicken, but I let the vegetables go another 5 minutes. I would have liked to have seasoned the vegetables, but my husband's gut is giving him trouble, so I settled for sprinkling some Penzey's Forward (a salt-free blend) onto mine. I am iffy about this seasoning, which came in a gift box.
For dessert, we again had the Bittersweet Blackberry Brownies, which improve each day. The recipe is a keeper.
Yum, yum, Navlys!
Although a rainstorm cooled us down on Friday morning, the weather soon became very hot and humid, so we were not moved to turn on the oven for dinner. I made quinoa salad with lima beans and corn and feta, and that made a nice dinner by itself. The recipe came from Bob's Red Mill, although I use the Penzey's French Vinaigrette for the dressing.
We cut into the brownies a bit early, having only refrigerated them for about 40 minutes. They have a strong, bittersweet chocolate taste, with hints of the blackberries. I wish that I had remembered to add some espresso powder. I used natural cocoa, since the recipe used 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. baking powder.
The next test will be how they taste tomorrow. I am refrigerating them due to the blackberry content.
Our Thursday night dinner was Salmon and Couscous with Greek Seasoning, accompanied by microwaved fresh green beans from our garden.
Mike is looking for ways to use up zucchini in baking, while I am searching for ways to use blackberries that I de-seed, since my husband's digestive system cannot tolerate them. I had a sudden idea about chocolate and blackberries on Thursday, so I googled brownies, and I found one recipe that uses blackberry jam and another that uses blackberry puree, although they did not de-seed their blackberries. Since we have so many blackberries, I decided to start with this one:
(note: it's behind a paywall, but you do get several free articles--or looks at the same article). It is from The Vegetarian Times.
I have mostly kept us away from chocolate, but since I'm taking a statin, and I had a 4 oz. bar of unsweetened chocolate in the refrigerator, I decided to try the recipe. (My husband's face lit up when he saw the unwrapped chocolate bar on the counter.) If the recipe comes out well, I will post my version, which uses white whole wheat flour, adds 1 Tbs. flax meal and 2 Tbs. milk powder (which yes, makes them non-vegan but still vegetarian). I also replaced the 2 Tbs. of coconut oil with 2 Tbs. avocado oil. I'm baking them in the countertop convection oven because it is too hot to turn on the big oven. Since I am baking them in an 8x8-inch glass dish and using the convection oven, I dropped the baking temperature from 350F to 325F and will bake for 20 minutes rather than 18.
After they cool, they are to be refrigerated for an hour before cutting. We hope to try them tonight, and I will post about the results.
I never have a problem finding a use for black raspberries. Most years there are so few that I am fortunate to get 3-4 cups jam. The taste of black raspberries is superior to that of blackberries IMHO. I would love to have enough black raspberries some season, so that I could bake a pie with them.
The blackberries tend to be more prolific in our area than the black raspberries. My husband's digestive system cannot tolerate the seeds, so I remove them. I did find a recipe for a blackberry pie made with the pulp from de-seeded blackberries, but I wondered why so few recipes for ANY blackberry pie, even with seeds, exist. Maybe it's not popular? Most recipes mix blackberries with blueberries and/or strawberries.
I once baked an all-apricot pie after finally finding a recipe. I quickly learned why apricots are always combined with other fruit in a pie. Apricots should not have the solo role in a pie but should be accompanied by other fruit.
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