[chocomouse]

I have 2 loaves of sandwich rye bread rising this morning. I used to make steamed brown bread years ago in a stainless steel utensil holder, but haven't made it for ages. Not sure what recipe I used, but I'm pretty sure it is in my old-fashioned, hard-copy, 3 x 5 card recipe box! 'Tis the season for it; I think it would be good with bean soup or chili.

[chocomouse]

I made pasta with a meat sauce, and a green salad for dinner tonight. I also prepared a batch of lemon ice cream, which is chilling now (I used eggs in the base, and chill it overnight) so I'll process it in the ice cream freezer tomorrow. And it's 50* here and I'm frozen! as I try not to turn on the furnace this early in the season.

[chocomouse]

Yesterday I made whole wheat bread. Today I had planned to make Mini Apple Pie Bites (using home-made dough instead of Pillsbury crescent roll pop-open dough) but I got involved cleaning out old paperwork in my file cabinet, so the baking will wait until tomorrow.

[chocomouse]

Last night we had chicken thighs on the smoker, with a potato and a broccoli salad. I have turkey soup in progress for dinner tonight, with stock from the freezer, with celery, carrots, onion, orzo; and wheat-oat-flax buns.

[chocomouse]

That is an interesting article. I have recently been thinking about the use of garlic and onion, and recognizing they are in almost all of my favorite dishes. And if a dish seems to be lacking in flavor, I reach for the garlic and onion. I do not use either when I cook Moroccan meals in my tagine, or when I have Korean foods (except in scallion pancakes!). I do use onions whenever I'm fixing a roast in the tagine. I grow and use garlic chives a lot in the summer, but they are pretty mild.

[chocomouse]

Today I made a chocolate zucchini cake. It is dense, and rich, and delicious. I made a ganache type frosting for it, which really isn't needed, but adds to the richness. I also used an extra cup or so of zucchini - the last one from the garden.
Yesterday I baked an herbed, cheesy zucchini bread, not yeasted. I used extra sharp cheddar, rosemary, thyme, and basil from my herb garden, and then at the last minute thought that didn't sound quite right, so added two minced cloves of garlic and some minced onion. A little garlic and onion is always good, right? It's OK but I would try different herbs next time. Somehow, the taste just isn't quite right.

[chocomouse]

We had ham steak cooked on the grill, potato salad, and broccoli. My microwave has a sensor cook option with "fresh vegetables" and it seems to cook every type of veggie perfectly - sort of al dente, cooked, but not mushy. I never steam any veggies any more. Last night I had some leftover pasta with sauce from the freezer, but there really wasn't enough sauce for the amount of pasta. So I slice and cooked up two Italian sausages, added a couple large spoonfuls of a medium-hot salsa, and some Velveeta cheese. It was delicious, and there is enough leftover for dinner tomorrow night.

[chocomouse]

I wondered where you were, Joan! You think those weevils must have come in to your house in the flour? I hope you get ride of them quickly.

[chocomouse]

Great that you didn't have to wait longer!!

[chocomouse]

I just froze the last batch of tomato sauce. And I now have a pork roast in the tagine, with sliced onions, boiled cider, honey, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, and cumin. I'll put apple slices, quartered potatoes, and carrots in soon. We'll get a couple of meals out of this. It's nice to be switching over to fall-winter type dishes, a complete change from veggies fresh from the garden cooked on the grill with a piece of meat/chicken/fish.

[chocomouse]

I made KAF's Sandwich Rye Bread today, with a few changes. It's a good, reliable rye that always comes out good.

[chocomouse]

Today I made apple muffins, the first of many fall-flavored foods to be made I'm sure.

[chocomouse]

That spaghetti squash casserole does sound good, and I will try it. It's a lot healthier than my usual Pizza Spaghetti Squash recipe, which is just the spaghetti squash with all your favorite pizza toppings dumping on top. I'm struggling to remember to buy veggies at the grocery store. Usually, I just pick from my garden until late October's frost, but not this year. Basically, all that survived the drought is winter squash and tomatoes.

[chocomouse]

I prefer a lumpy sauce, too. After using the blender, it seems to be more suited for a creamy soup. And I don't get any pieces of skin after using the blender.

Mike, I've been told the process I use deactivates the enzyme Pectose which causes tomatoes to separate. I cook a couple of tomatoes on high heat, for a minute or so, and then gradually add the remaining tomatoes - carefully stirring, as they do burn easily. That seems to have worked.

[chocomouse]

Baker Aunt, how did you like the tomato sauce that included the tomato skins? I've been making the sauce that I freeze with the skins on - it saves a tremendous amount of time to not dip in boiling water and peel. But -- I then whiz the sauce with an immersion blender, so the skins completely disappear. Last year I made some pizza sauce with the skins on, and did not puree the sauce; we did not care for the sauce with the pieces of skin in it. The texture is not very pleasant.

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