[cwcdesign]

Your timing is impeccable, chocomouse. Our new refrigerator came last week and Will claims the freezer doesn't hold as much but he got it all in. We've decided to buy the flour containers from KABC that are made in New Zealand and hold a 5lb bag of flour. But first, we'll put the flour in the freezer for 24 hours just to make sure any potential critters are gone.

Then I discovered my "dead" bananas were in there so I made 2 loaves of whole grain banana bread, one for us and one for work. They had a comment in the tips about subbing some maple syrup for some of the brown sugar and they mentioned that you needed to add an extra tablespoon of flour (per loaf). I did that and am really happy with the results. They were baked in the new oven which is great! Will baked sourdough today.

I also have a full bag plus a partial one of the sprouted wheat flour that's taking up room.

[cwcdesign]

I've been meaning to report back on the Broccoli Cheddar Casserole with Pretzels, but it has been a busy week -so what else is new.

Anyway, I took the dough and the casserole/soup out of the refrigerator about an hour before I wanted to cook. I should have shaped the dough at that point as it would have come to temp sooner. While it was a fun recipe, I would not make that particular one again. We like the version of Panera soup that we have been using forever better. As for the Pretzels, I would make them smaller and bake them separately as they were too much like a dumpling for our tastes. The top definitely pretzel-ed, the inside cooked, but the bottom was dense. Oh, and to answer Mike's question - yes, the recipe says to boil them in a baking soda solution for about 30 seconds - which may also have contributed to the bottom problem. Photo attached.

The appliances were delivered on Thursday - the stove is installed and so far, Will has made chicken thighs and stir fry on the stove and baked focaccia in the oven. Everything was delicious. It is an induction - my new pans work just fine. The oven temperature is accurate. It has a convection feature which Will did not use at my recommendation - I told him we needed to research what works best in convection. It will also convert traditional baking temperatures to convection and has a convection roast setting. It has an air fryer setting and a steam cleaning setting as well. My contact at the appliance store says that the other people who have gotten it are happy with it. I think we will be too.

As for the refrigerator, when the delivery people went to take the doors off to bring it in, he discovered that the waterline was cut - they even brought me out to put me on the tail lift to see it. They had called the warehouse manager first and then I talked to him. They took it back and are getting me a new one - it takes less time than ordering the part. I should have it by Wednesday - this is not the first time they have seen this. As a matter of fact, the last time, they discovered when they turned the water on in the fridge. I only have an icemaker, not a water dispenser (my choice).

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[cwcdesign]

I added a can of tuna to my leftover rice/artichoke salad in order to stretch it. It actually is quite good.

Will is coming home today and I have to work late so I made the parts of a recipe from HBH and put them in the fridge. It is Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Casserole with Garlic Butter Pretzels. I made the pretzel dough in the bread machine just through the kneading and popped it in the fridge. Then I made the "casserole" which is more like a thick soup.
We will take them out about a hour before cooking so they can come up to temp. Then I will shape and boil the pretzels to put on top of the casserole before it goes in the oven.

[cwcdesign]

I hope you stay safe Mike - fires scare me more than hurricanes.

I made half a recipe of a rice, artichoke, green olive salad that I haven't made in a long time. It was good, but I used brown rice instead of the white rice called for in the recipe - I think it's better with white rice which absorbs the dressing better.

The windows and slider are all in and are beautiful and tight - my bedroom is warm and I can't hear every single noise outside. The white trim inside (since they were very old Andersen windows, they were brown metal inside as well as out) makes the whole condo brighter.

[cwcdesign]

I made Dan Dan noodles last night. I'm hoping that flavors developed overnight. I enjoyed them, but they were a little bland. I subbed in teriyaki sauce for the oyster sauce -hoisin would probably have been better and Worcestershire for the fish sauce. I added the sesame oil to the sauce by mistake, so I had to use more oil for sautéing.

My windows arrived today! Three are in. The one they are taking out next has some rot, but they had to leave because of the rain. They'll be back tomorrow. Since the inside sashes are white - they look so much better and brighter.

[cwcdesign]

Interesting Len, I did not know that they processed all the fat out. I assumed that the processing was for 2% and skim and that the whole milk was what they started with. I forgot that when we got milk from the local dairy when I was a kid, we had to shake to combine the cream on top with the milk below. But then again, the milk was still really good on it's own.

Thanks, Mike - I think I will leave the egg out next time. I'm thinking that part of the reason it's there is to add "fluffiness."

[cwcdesign]

I guess that's my bad on the whole milk - I remember being told probably 15 years ago that whole milk was 5%, but I just looked it up and it concurs with what you said, Mike. But whole milk Greek yogurt - at least Fage which is what I use is 5%. Whatever the percentage, I prefer it.

My question still is - with 2 cups of milk would that make up for some of the protein in the egg, if I took the egg out of the recipe?

[cwcdesign]

Thanks Mike. The recipe does have 2 cups of milk that you heat with the steel cut oats and then add in the harvest grains, honey/maple syrup, salt and butter. When that mixture cools, you add it to the bread machine with the egg, flours and yeast to make the dough.

I always use whole milk which is 5% fat

[cwcdesign]

Question about the Irish Oatmeal Bread. It uses one egg - does that add to the softness of the bread? If I leave that out, instead of omitting some milk, will it be denser? I prefer denser breads most of the time.

[cwcdesign]

Thanks Mike, I have Macs and I didn't mean to upload it twice.

[cwcdesign]

I made a loaf of Mrs. Cindy's Iris Oatmeal Bread this morning going back to the changes I had used before. I just realized the only change I didn't make this time was reducing the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Oh well, next time. I used 2 tablespoons maple syrup and bread flour instead of AP. I don't use the whole grain bread improver and I think I will leave it off when I make a new copy of the recipe. I used 2 teaspoons regular yeast. It was also cooler today than the last time I made it.

It did not rise as high in the bread machine which is a good thing, but it was still pretty sticky. Would you reduce the liquid a little bit to compensate? I let it rise for 30 minutes which was just perfect. I forgot to start the oven so I had to wait 5 minutes to put the dough in - it even rose a little in that amount of time. I checked it at 25 minutes and it was done. I like the taste and the texture better this time, but still softer than I prefer.

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Mike, those look better than the ones we get from the in-house bakery! I'm on team double-chocolate.

[cwcdesign]

I have a pasta salad recipe that I got from a friend years ago. I pulled it out this summer when Will had asked for some salad ideas. I had remembered that it made a LOT and was also time intensive. When I reread the recipe, I noted that all of the vegetables were sautéed in batches, hence the time.I decided the next time I made the recipe, I'd roast the vegetables.

So, today I wanted to make a farro salad and I thought I could adapt the pasta salad to the farro. I had to go shopping so I picked up some vegetables from the recipe. I roasted portobello mushrooms, red and green peppers, onion, asparagus and zucchini. I ended up not adding all the veggies to the farro (saved them for another time) but the salad was good and filling. I'll have it for a couple more days.

[cwcdesign]

I made the No Knead from KABC again with much more success this time. First, it helps if you actually read the ingredients - I had used AP when the recipe called for bread flour. Then I just mixed it with the dough whisk instead of the stand mixer - the mixer was quick, but more to clean up. I also wonder if it over mixed the dough. I also used regular yeast.

The dough rose and bubbled nicely by this morning. I shaped the dough and put it in the pan. It was cooler today and I set the timer for 40 minutes for the second proof - I gave it additional 10 minutes, put the lid on (no scoring) and put in in the oven for the minimum time. At 45 minutes, it was up to temp and golden. It definitely rose more, but it's not a high loaf - the texture and flavor are much better.

[cwcdesign]

Wrong thread

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