[chocomouse]

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.

[chocomouse]

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.

[chocomouse]

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.

[chocomouse]

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.

[chocomouse]

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.

[chocomouse]

Tonight my husband had a BLT. I had thick slabs of tomato on fresh whole wheat bread.

[chocomouse]

Dinner was chicken thighs on the grill, steamed summer squash and zucchini, and beet greens. I grew the beets in a large wooden box on the deck railing, an experiment for beginning to do most all of my gardening on the deck next year. I think I'll also try growing them inside under lights this winter - beet greens are so tasty.

[chocomouse]

Burgers! and the sweet pickles I made yesterday -- delicious and crunchy! I'll make these again for sure.

[chocomouse]

BLTs on our menu tonight. This afternoon I made a batch of refrigerator sweet pickles with cucumbers from our garden. They are supposedly ready to eat in two days.

[chocomouse]

We had leftovers tonight, almost cleaned out the refrigerator.

[chocomouse]

Last year, I started putting chopped cauliflower into my tomato with meat sauce. It looks and tasted just like ground beef. When my children were young, I put whole carrots in meatloaf, laid lengthwise nestled among the meat. When sliced, there were pretty orange rounds, which they loved. I recall my husband telling me that his doctor once asked if he ate 8-9 (not sure of the exact numbers) vegetables a day. My husband answered, "Well, no." But later told the doctor "When my wife makes pasta salad, she puts a lot of vegetables in it."

[chocomouse]

Dinner tonight was kielbase, potatoes, onions, and cabbage, all sliced and cooked together in a cast iron fry pan.

[chocomouse]

I may have made 14 last time! The 4 cups of flour makes 12 huge muffins. The rings are 3 3/4 inches diameter, and mine rise about 2 inches high. If I recall correctly, each muffin used 96.6 grams of dough (although I wasn't terribly fussy about the .6!)

[chocomouse]

Dinner tonight was quesedillas, made with leftover pork sliced thin, onions, green peppers, cheddar-mozarella cheese, and salsa. I used mango-pineapple-ginger salsa on some, and tomato salsa on some.

[chocomouse]

Skeptic, I used the KAF recipe for whole wheat muffins (2 cups whole wheat, 2 cups AP) and it made 12 muffins. I have 12 rings (thanks to you, instead of 8!) but cannot fit all 12 on my griddle at one time. As soon as they are cooked enough to remove the rings, I can place them staggered and closer together to fit all 12. I had one for breakfast this morning with fresh raspberry jam. And one for lunch yesterday, with honey mustard dressing, a thin slice of deli ham, and a slice of cheese - toasted first and then nuked to melt the cheese. I might try one as a hamburger bun, thanks for the idea.

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