Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
I had half a head of cabbage left over from a recipe earlier in the week so I made Connemara broth from the Simon Pearce cookbook. It's a soup I really like and it's been cold here for Georgia - high 30's-low 50's. It was a nice dinner with the brown bread (see Baking thread).
Yesterday, I made a loaf of Ballymaloe Brown Bread from Simon Pearce's cookbook. It was originally his mother's recipe that she took to Darina Allen. I hadn't made it in forever, but remembered having some trouble with it. It's a yeasted batter bread so it's very easy to make. Molasses, yeast, water, salt and whole meal flour. He recommends King Arthur Irish meal in place of the whole meal from Ireland.
You put the batter in the pans and allow to rise for 10-20 minutes until it reaches the top of the pan and be careful not to overproof. I was afraid of over proofing - it was chilly and it took longer to rise, maybe 35 minutes - but before it got all the way to the top edge, I decided to put it in the oven. it did shrink back a little, so I may have over proofed a little. But the texture and flavor are good.
I had in the back of my mind a conversation I had had with one of the KABC bakers about using the Irish Whole Meal in yeast breads. Because of its lack of gluten, they don't recommend it as a stand alone flour, but it is fine in soda breads. So, I decided to go online and do some troubleshooting. The Ballymaloe version uses some AP or Bread flour and then I found a David Lebovitz article making that version. The AP or Bread flour is even used with the whole meal from Ireland. So I am definitely going to try their version and it might explain why I've had problems with this recipe in the past. We still have half a loaf for tonight and another in the freezer so it might be a while until my next experiment. It would also help if I got some more Irish meal from King Arthur.
There was a lot more compliance last week, but even though it's still bad, at least last night I was amazed at how many were mask-less in the supermarket.
On Friday, I made a stir fried vegetable noodle dish from a favorite website. It was the blandest dish I have made in a long time. The noodles were good, the veggies too but I was surprised at the lack of flavor. Last night we added frozen crisp chicken tenders which came out surprisingly well and added lots of lime juice, chopped peanuts, soy and some hot sauce. Much better. We have so much left over, I had thought about freezing it, but I might just pick out the veggies and toss the noodles. Not even going to try it again.
On Tuesday, I made some Korean style tacos from HBH which were fun, easy and good. I cooked the flank steak (short ribs were the other option, but too pricy) in a marinade in the crockpot, sliced thinly, then broiled to caramelize the sauce. The go withs were a cabbage slaw with cilantro, green onions, a little bit of pepper with lime juice, rice wine and soy sauce, a yum yum sauce and a slightly doctored salsa verde. I would definitely make them again. We had enough for leftovers last night.
I wish we had a Whole Foods nearby - sigh. You would think that living on the coast, we would get lots of good seafood, but even the stores that have their own boats mostly have shrimp which I can no longer eat. There is not a huge variety here. I think that is one of the things I miss the most about living in Massachusetts. We were so close to New Bedford and not only did our local store have its own boats, but they are also on the docks everyday to see what is freshest.
We sell it at the Market - it comes in twice a week from the Faroe Islands. It is the best salmon I have had, so I will splurge once in a while - it has gone up $8/pound in the last 4 months
Will's making salmon with roasted potatoes and shredded zucchini. The salmon is a splurge as it has gotten so expensive!
Joan, I am so sorry to hear you got COVID again! Aaargh on your behalf. I hope you get better quickly.
Love it, BA!
My cloth masks were custom made so I have elastics around my head. They are 3 layers with a filter fabric (non-woven) as the middle layer. There is a seam, but the maker overlapped the seams inside. They also have nose clips. I would like to get some KN95s but I'm trying to make sure that it is an approved brand with head elastics. In the meantime, mine work as well if not better than other versions.
I was supposed to leave for Atlanta tomorrow for the Retail Market. Needless to say, I told my manager on Tuesday that I was not comfortable going - the hotel where I was going to stay had even reduced the availability of amenities more. Fortunately, she and our director backed me up and then it turned out that the Retail Director and Head Buyer had also cancelled. I have been setting up virtual meetings in lieu of the meetings I had scheduled and a couple of reps will come here to see me in February.
I forgot - one rep said it was going to be one giant Petri dish and she is recovering from a bout over the holidays.
Happy New Year, Everyone!
December 27, 2021 at 12:01 pm in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of December 26, 2021? #32548I cannot edit on my phone.
Thank you BA for your good wishes - it means a lot to me
December 27, 2021 at 12:00 pm in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of December 26, 2021? #32547Thanks Mike - that’s excellent advice - I haven’t even started the process yet. But we have two local appliance stores which will help
On Saturday night I mixed the dough for English Muffins which I made yesterday. Last winter I had splurged on the Baking Steel mini-griddle for making them (and other things). It has a "moat" to catch the oil. It was the first time I had made them since I broke my wrist and I had a little bit of a learning curve with the griddle. I do now own an IR thermometer so I can test the temp on the plate.
I had gotten the griddle to the recommended temperature and added the avocado oil which slid to the back, did my test and it burned so I kept turning the heat down. The oil started smoking and I checked the temp and it had gotten way too high, so I kept turning it down and finally got it set on low. I ended up cooking the muffins for 2 ½ minutes on each side (supposed to be 5) and then baked for an additional 5. They might be overdone in the middle, but better than raw.
So my stove is not level in the back (I got out the level). I will move the griddle to the front burner, which is also smaller, next time and will just start heating on medium low. The problem with flat top electric stoves is that they don't adjust heat quickly. I've decided that I will splurge on an induction stove as to get natural gas would be way to expensive - there is not a line in the complex.
Today I will be baking fudge brownies with caramel in the middle for our celebration of Michael's birthday tomorrow. He would have turned 70.
Merry Christmas!
-
AuthorPosts
