chocomouse

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Viewing 15 posts - 2,071 through 2,085 (of 2,651 total)
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  • in reply to: The 2019 Gardens #18149
    chocomouse
    Participant

      I do "lazy composting", having tried all possible methods over 35 years. I have 3 open bins: 1. building this year's pile 2. sitting for a year 3. ready to use. I don't turn then, use a thermometer or worry about the brown-green ratio, just let them sit knowing it will take a year (they don't breakdown over the winter in Vermont). I collect garbage in a special small composting bucket on the kitchen counter, and transfer it when full to a 5-gallon pail on the deck, and then to the garden pile. We rarely have a problem with critters scavenging in it, not since the first few years (and after we stopped growing corn!). I do not put meat scraps in it, but do compost egg shells. Vermont has a new law in effect that we must compost all food scraps, including meat, we cannot toss them out with the trash, so I am searching for a commercial composter who will take my meat scraps.

      in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of September 8, 2019? #18147
      chocomouse
      Participant

        Joan, we like beets but love the greens even more, with a splash of white vinegar. I like them best with a tiny round beet on the end. I'm going to try growing them inside this winter. It works for spinach, lettuce, etc. and herbs under grow lights attached to a baker's rack in our passive solar sun room.

        • This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by chocomouse.
        in reply to: 100 ways to cook an egg #18145
        chocomouse
        Participant

          Seems that you all had some egg-cellent fun that I missed out on yesterday! I think I can add to your egg-tensive collection of ways to use eggs in cooking:
          -- as a wash for baked goods to aid in browning and shine; or help seeds, etc to stick to the top of baked goods; and to help the edges of dough stick together when baked, such as on turnovers.
          -- in bibambop, one of my my favorite Korean dishes

          • This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by chocomouse.
          in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of September 8, 2019? #18117
          chocomouse
          Participant

            Our dinner last night was grilled pork chops, beet greens, summer squash and zucchini,and roasted potatoes. I grew the beets in a wooden box on the deck, and it looks like we have two more meals before they are all gone.

            in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of September 8, 2019? #18098
            chocomouse
            Participant

              Brats for dinner! With peppers and onions cooked on the grill, served on the sandwich thins I baked this morning, sliced lengthwise, and the hot pepper relish I canned this week.

              in reply to: Saw our first hummingbird of the season on Thursday #18097
              chocomouse
              Participant

                We have not seen a hummingbird here since early to mid-August. They began the long journey south in early August. But they'll return the first week in May.

                in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of September 1, 2019 #18080
                chocomouse
                Participant

                  I am making Hot Pepper Relish, using red bell peppers, jalepenoes, and onions. It's a recipe I created to "copy-cat" the Farmhouse Red relish that Stonewall Kitchen makes. I'm also making a pasta dish for dinner: bowties, with marinara, hot Italian sausage slices, peppers and onions.

                  in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019? #18048
                  chocomouse
                  Participant

                    Yes, Len! Great thinking!! And I've read that if your starter has been sitting for a while or is having a hard time waking up, to use some rye flour to get it moving.

                    in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019? #18033
                    chocomouse
                    Participant

                      I just posted the Sourdough Buttermilk Bread recipe that PaddyL (Lanctot) posted on the OBC many years ago. It begins with a detailed description of starting her "famous" starter "Brigid". She also describes making the dough into a raisin-cinnamon bread that her sister Sheila was so fond of.

                      Happy Birthday Mike!

                      in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of September 1, 2019 #18022
                      chocomouse
                      Participant

                        Dinner tonight was steak tips on the grill, zucchini and summer squash, tomatoes with sliced onions in Greek dressing, and corn on the cob.

                        in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019? #18019
                        chocomouse
                        Participant

                          Paddy, on the obc, posted her English muffin recipe using her sourdough starter, if anyone is interested. I've made it, and wrote on it that it is "good, use it".

                          Baker Aunt, I have that same splitter tool. Or, "had" it. Don't know where it is, probably threw it away!! A regular fork works as good for me. I also always use buttermilk, and sometimes use oil instead of butter.

                          Mike, I agree with you. I think a knife just ruins the surface.

                          in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019? #18011
                          chocomouse
                          Participant

                            That is an interesting article. I didn't know that crumpets are cooked only on one side and have holes on top. But you don't just "whip out" a batch of muffins - they take a long time to make and cook. I make a yeast dough muffin. At the English muffin class I took at KAF last year, we were told to have a very wet dough; it helps to develop the big holes. And, also, to not cook them thoroughly, that they would dry out when toasted. But I like mine completely cooked. I have to admit -- I'm a little OCD when it comes to my baked goods. I weigh my dough and use rings. I like my muffins (and buns, etc.) to look perfect, like store-bought! I just don't want them to taste store-bought.

                            in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019? #17996
                            chocomouse
                            Participant

                              Aaron, I had not thought of that, but a good idea; Thank you. I'll try it next time, probably in a couple of weeks, to use up more zucchini.

                              in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019? #17980
                              chocomouse
                              Participant

                                Today I made the KAF recipe for zucchini brownies, and doubled it for a 9 x 12 pan. I've make it before, and was not overly impressed, but I do need to use up more zucchini. I got the same results this time -- it's OK, not great, but more cake-like than fudgy. I've marked it to "not make again". I put a chocolate ganache on it, so it does have some redeeming qualities.

                                in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of September 1, 2019 #17979
                                chocomouse
                                Participant

                                  It's been a cold, rainy day here, so I pulled a container of baked beans from the freezer for my husband, and a container of Duchess soup for myself. With it we had Tropical Fruit muffins from the freezer.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 2,071 through 2,085 (of 2,651 total)