[cwcdesign]

Sunday I made a half batch of curried butternut squash soup and had some with cheese and crackers

[cwcdesign]

I'm envious of your kayak trip, BA. Soon I'll be able to do that again

I roasted some Brussels sprouts and added a sliced shallot and a thinly sliced chicken sausage to add some protein. I have enough for dinner tomorrow

[cwcdesign]

I'll have to get some of the 6-grain mix - I noticed a difference in my Irish Oatmeal bread. Since KABC offered me free shipping on my next order I can get that and some orange oil too.

[cwcdesign]

Tonight I decided to use some of the IKEA meatballs I'd gotten for the freezer prior to my surgery - obviously we never used them. Had them with noodles and roasted broccoli and I have enough for a few more meals.

[cwcdesign]

I know BA, I'm always critical of my own cooking.

Re: orange oil - I went to the health food store and yes he had orange oil, but it turns out it's orange oil and safflower oil from Frontier Co-op and of course safflower oil is the first ingredient - I bought it anyway just in case. I'm sure I'll find something to use it for.

My orange juice is all in the freezer for when I get some proper orange oil

[cwcdesign]

I made a loaf of Mrs Cindy's Irish Oatmeal Bread that I have tweaked a little bit - I'm very pleased how it came out.

A much better result than the KAF Brownies I made on Friday night - I got started and had to run out to get chocolate chips. Then Will called me in the middle and I couldn't run the mixer while I was talking with him. Then I started rushing and didn't cook the butter sugar mixture long enough to completely melt the sugar. The final kicker was I forgot to make myself a note to shorten the cook time on my oven. Just a tad too long. My friends were happy and the brownies are OK. They took most of them home and I put a few in the freezer

[cwcdesign]

I had placed an order for other things at King Arthur right before we had this discussion 🙄 we have Home Goods and TJMaxx on the mainland and like you I save up for bigger trips - don't need anything else right now, so I'll probably order online

[cwcdesign]

I had to go to HT today - I looked for orange oil, but they didn't have any - they did have "pure" orange extract - it had sugar in it. Needless to say, I didn't buy it.

[cwcdesign]

You're right BA! When I see a recipe I'd like to try in The NYTimes, I always go straight yo the comments, especially if the directions look a little convoluted.

Joan, I'm glad your friend's pup is OK

[cwcdesign]

Thanks BA - I'll have to get some orange oil - I hope Harris Teeter sells it. Glad to know I can freeze the juice.

[cwcdesign]

I tried a recipe for chicken fajitas in a skillet. The recipe called for chicken tenders which is what I usually use. It was easy and pretty quick to put together. Instead of tortillas or rice, I had it over sweet potatoes. I have enough for a couple more nights.

There was one direction, that when I followed it, I thought that is stupid. It said to heat the oil, toss in the chicken and the fajita (or taco) seasoning and stir to coat before laying the chicken tenders flat in the pan. Well duh - the chicken started sticking to the pan and cooking before it could get tossed with seasoning. I should have realized that before I put the chicken in. I've already made a note to toss the chicken and seasoning before putting in the pan. This was a recipe from the Washington Post a few years back.

[cwcdesign]

I had bought a bag of mandarin oranges because I like to peel and eat one after dinner. Now, this particular bag had small ones in it but they were rounder than the usual ones I buy. I tried to peal one and the peel was hard to separate and it was so juicy that the sections were just falling apart. That's when I took to heart the fact that all clementines are mandarins but not all mandarins are clementine - some are even small juicy oranges. I decided to juice them to use the juice for baking. I came out with three cups of juice.

I'm thinking about making the barefoot contessa's orange pound cake, but that only uses 3/4 cup juice and also requires zest from 6 oranges that I don't have. I thought maybe I could sub some orange juice for some of the buttermilk. Any thoughts? Or suggestions for what to do with all this juice? It does taste really good.

[cwcdesign]

Yesterday, I made our friend's Irish Brown bread which is a very quick one - it's still good, but the crust is a little dry. I made 2 mistakes - didn't allow the ingredients come to room temperature which made it harder to combine and I forgot to set the timer. I think I could have baked it a bit 5 minutes less. Lessons learned - don't rush it🤪

[cwcdesign]

Yesterday I made an Irish Chocolate Cake for a friend who helped me rip shelving out of my closet before I had a new closet system installed. He came back to install the small corner pieces of baseboard. It's one of his and his wife's favorite cakes.

I can't remember the last time I baked a cake, probably over a year ago and I sure made a mess of the mixer with the chocolate - I tried to stream it into the bowl while the mixer was running and I should have dumped it in all at once 🤣

[cwcdesign]

It's been a while since I posted and even since I've checked out the threads. My cooking and baking has been sparse as well. I tend to make a meal that lasts for several days, so usually not much to report. I've also been reworking my schedule at home to create more time for my art and my classes - that part is going well And I also do my PT 6 days a week- lots of improvement there, but I'm told it will probably take another 6 months before I'm completely done.

Last night I made a pot of tortellini en brodo which I will enjoy for a few more nights.

[Author]

Posts