[chocomouse]

There wasn't much for dinner here last night, as our power was out due to the snowstorm and trees and electric wires being down. We finally ate cold meat sandwiches so we didn't exactly go to bed hungry.

Today I'm making a big pot of chili for the guys working a charity ice fishing derby tomorrow, when the temp is predicted to be a high of -9.

[chocomouse]

Mike, marjoram is one of my favorite spices, too. When I was purchasing herb plants for my garden quite a few years ago, I discovered that almost no nurseries carried it. And several nursery owners asked me how I used it. More recently, a few more nurseries have it, but a lot do not. Savory is also a favorite, and I most often use it with marjoram. And thyme is absolutely the best!

[chocomouse]

We are forecast to receive 10-18 inches of snow, with some shorter periods of sleet and/or freezing rain, over the next 48 hours, beginning at midnight. It will be our first big storm of the season.

To celebrate, we cooked chicken breasts on the grill, with smashed potatoes using Penzey's Foxpoint seasoning, roasted squash, and a green salad.

[chocomouse]

I made apricot cream scones from KAF. I made these to try out some whole wheat pastry flour that I was gifted for Christmas. They are OK, a bit dry and tasteless. I have a similar recipe that calls for cream cheese and butter, although about half the amounts KAF calls for, therefore lower in fat, but it uses AP flour and is much more tasty. I think I'll find another use for the whole wheat pastry flour.

[chocomouse]

After searching the net and a number of my cookbooks (including BBA and ABED), I decided to start with KAF's recipe called simply "Bagels". I made only 2 changes: I cut the salt from 2 to 1 teaspoon. And instead of 4 cups of bread flour, I used 2 of bread flour and 2 of AP (all KAF flours). I used barley malt syrup in the dough and in the boiling water bath. I did not use baking soda in the water bath because the recipe didn't call for it. I prefer smaller bagels, so I made 12 instead of 8 bagels, each weighing 81 grams, just slightly less than the 3 ounces Mike uses.

I'm pleased with the texture and the flavor. It's the wrinkly skin I don't like! But I've been looking more closely at photos online of bagels - and see imperfections in a lot of them, that I never noticed before. So, maybe mine are not so bad after all. I've also watched several UTube videos, and maybe I just need to practice.

Next time - I think I will reduce the boiling time to 30-40 seconds per side, as BakerAunt said Cass suggested. And I'll use brown sugar instead of barley malt syrup. And maybe add some baking soda.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

We had American Chop Suey with sauce made from our frozen garden tomatoes, ground beef, and chopped cauliflower, and a green salad.

[chocomouse]

Thanks for the encouragement, ItalianCook. They sure do taste good! And I'd like to suggest that you should give rye bread another try. It's my favorite. I've read that rye bread can be challenging, but I've not had much trouble, and have made a lot of really good textured and tasting rye. Try one of the simple ryes on the KAF website, like the Sandwich Rye.

[chocomouse]

Today I made bagels! My first time! I've resisted for years, I don't even like bagels -- they are hard and chewy and my teeth hurt when I eat them. But I gave in - competition with my sister. They are delicious - crispy on the outside, chewy but soft on the inside. Delicious with cream cheese and assorted savory seeds. They don't look much like bagels -- lumpy, creased, wrinkled, puffy but shriveled, not at all smooth like ones you buy at the coffee shop or grocery store. I'm sure practice will help, but meanwhile, any tips? I could take a class at nearby KAF, but I've not found their classes to be very helpful, and certainly not worth $80.

[chocomouse]

We had pizza -- hot Italian sausage, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, cheddar and mozzarella.

[chocomouse]

Len I was wondering if you meant soda, not powder. I do the same as BakerAunt.

[chocomouse]

I know this! Months and months going round and round with the federal government about the new requirement for maple sugarers to put "includes added sugars" on the labels for our pure maple syrup! We finally got that changed! No added sugars in pure maple syrup. High in sugar? Sure! But it's natural.

[chocomouse]

BJs has both AP and whole wheat in 12 pound bags for 7.99. I think their organic AP is 8.99, but not sure if that is a 10 or 12 pound bag.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by chocomouse.

[chocomouse]

Dinner was grilled salmon, rice with asparagus, and a green salad.

[chocomouse]

Happy Birthday BakerAunt! Nice that you have a delicious cake (with chocolate chips!) to help you celebrate.

[chocomouse]

Len, I use buttermilk in most of my breads/buns, and never add baking powder or soda to any yeasted doughs. And I almost always get good oven spring. I'm not sure why they didn't brown -- I usually use honey in yeasted doughs also, and I've noticed the browning varies a lot. I get better browning when I use sugar than when I use honey. I might be having some issues with my oven; I know I'm having issues with one of the burners, and my stove/oven is 35 years old. The last batch of cookies I made did not bake evenly. I use an oven thermometer, but think I'll clean the oven thoroughly before I go through the bother of moving it around to check the temp. Anyway, we did like the buns and I'll make them again - thanks for sharing your recipe!

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