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My husband did a big grocery trip yesterday. Because of Omnicron, we decided he should double mask and go to one store only. He says there were a lot of empty shelves. On the stocked shelves, the products were only 2-deep, not completely stocked from front to back. I read an article yesterday that said grocers are doing that to prevent hoarding. So it's impossible to know if our store is doing it for that reason or if they just don't have the product to put out.
He was unable to buy everything in the brand I want, but he was able to buy alternate brands. There wasn't any Jiffy cornbread mix. That disappointed me, because I'm hungry for bean soup, and I only like it with cornbread. The only time I want cornbread is with bean soup, so I don't stock cornmeal. Also, there weren't any grapes or kiwi. A friend who lives in another part of the community has been saying for weeks that there aren't any grapes at her store.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that fellow shoppers were wearing masks. He reported that they all had filled-to-the-top carts, like he did, so we're not the only ones trying to limit grocery trips.
Mike, you may have already thought of this and rejected the idea, but:
When I want soup from the freezer, sometimes I put the container on the counter for half an hour to loosen the sides of the frozen soup from the container. Then I dump the frozen blob of soup into a pan. I turn the heat on low, put on a lid, and let the soup slowly thaw and heat. This is not an instantaneous way to acquire soup, but for us, it usually beats waiting until the next day via the refrigerator.
I made cinnamon pancakes today. 1/4 cup cinnamon chips with 1 teaspoon cinnamon to 1-1/4 cups flour. We're almost out of milk and not eager to risk Omicron for a grocery run this weekend. Recipe calls for 1 cup milk, so I used 1-1/4 cup buttermilk. Batter was still too thick. I didn't add more buttermilk; I was afraid I'd throw off the formula for the 1 tablespoon baking powder. Yes, I used baking powder even though I shouldn't. I wanted to make pancakes for dinner, then store batter in refrigerator overnight to cook off in the morning for the freezer. I was afraid the baking soda/cream of tartar wouldn't fare well in the batter overnight.
Joan, I'm glad you feel well enough to cook and post. I hope your tiredness goes away soon.
Thanks, Len, for the Martha Stewart oatmeal cookie recipe. I am trying to reduce butter. Martha's recipe won't work; I can't eat whole wheat flour for medical reasons. I appreciate you sending the recipe to us, however. Maybe someone else can use it.
The cake sounds delicious, chocomouse.
Cass, my husband had your mother's bread with olive oil & pepper today. He says he liked it. I've never liked black pepper, so I didn't try it. Thanks for sending along your mother's recipe.
I made a batch of raisin oatmeal cookies, an internet recipe. I used half butter and half light olive oil. They were soft but had too much sugar. In the future, I'll stick with the Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Less sugar; better flavor.
If I could resist the temptation to eat both the pie with a fork and the frosting with a spoon, I would freeze them for a special treat.
I checked out the baking bowl, BakerAunt. I didn't even know they sell that. It bakes a 1-1/2 pound loaf. I didn't weigh the finished Portuguese bread, but I think it weighed closer to 2 pounds. Nevertheless, I'm thinking I may buy the bowl for a couple semolina boules that require an 8" round pan. First, I have to figure out where I'll store it. Thanks for thinking of it and posting!
Yes, "excellent baking adventures!" Happy and safe 2022 to everyone.
Thanks for the ideas, BakerAunt. I don't own a ceramic baking bowl or covered baker. I'll ponder the Dutch oven. My first reaction is that both my Dutch ovens are too large for the amount of dough. But, my 2022 Wish List is a smaller Dutch oven.
Thanks for telling us about Fat Daddio, Mike. I didn't find anything deep at Williams-Sonoma, but I read an interesting review at KABC. They have a recipe for a sweet Portuguese Bread. It calls for a 9" round pan. One reviewer mentioned using a springform pan. Offhand, I don't know whether I have a 9" or 10" springform pan, but I'm going to use it the next time I make today's Portuguese Bread. It's certainly deep enough.
Cass, I just reread your instructions for the Portuguese Bread. You suggested using a pan, and I completely overlooked that this morning! Without the pan, I ended up with a round loaf. It wasn't a pancake, but it wasn't far from it. I'm afraid my 9" round cake pan might be too small -- not deep enough. That's the largest size I have. The recipe calls for 4 cups of flour, and my guess is that I added close to another cup after the first rise. I'm thinking the dough might fall over the edge of my 9" cake pan. Hmm . . . could this be a reason to buy a 10" pan?! An excuse to browse William-Sonoma's website!
BakerAunt, I thank you again for posting the suggestions from Cass. I cut the bread tonight to make myself bruschetta. It has a crisp crust with small holes in the crumb that make it look light and airy. Yet, the crumb has body to it, which I like in bread with a crisp crust. I will definitely work on perfecting this recipe.
Cass, I baked the Portuguese Bread today. (1) I used half KA unbleached AP flour and half Pillsbury unbleached AP. Turned out my husband was wrong when he said he found Gold Medal unbleached. It was Pillsbury. (2) As you suggested, I used the stand mixer. Thanks for the much-needed suggestion. My mistake was that I used the kneading attachment. The paddle would have mixed it better. With all that water, it was a mixing, not kneading matter. I let it knead for 6 minutes after ingredients were mixed in. I wouldn't call this a dough -- it looked and acted more like a batter. (3) The recipe called for the first rise of 1 hour. That was more than doubled, and I don't know if that matters.
(4) I used a bench scraper to pull the beautiful risen batter that had turned into a loose dough onto the pastry board. I was grateful this wasn't my first rodeo, so I knew to use the bench scraper to work additional flour into the dough. I didn't want to overdo the additional flour, but I don't think I used enough. My finished product is only 3-1/2" high, which looks shorter than the picture. It is also much wider than the picture. The dough was luxurious and airy. It felt wonderful to work with. It reminded me somewhat of KA's Tuscan-Style bread dough.
(5) I didn't make a biga, Cass. I couldn't find anything in the KABC's blogs that told me how to make a biga out of this recipe. I called their hotline and didn't net an answer.
(6) My husband has plans for the bread -- he wants to use it for bruschetta. I gave him your instructions about oiling and peppering the bread. I'm sure he'll try that tonight with the Portuguese olive oil. I'll report back on Saturday about how it looks inside and on the taste.
Thanks, Cass, for your help with this. The recipe leaves out some important details, and I'm glad I wasn't a novice with this recipe. If I like the taste, I'll probably make it again, paying attention to how much extra flour I use on the board to make it into a workable dough.
I think it's cute you had a Christmas shrew, BakerAunt. I seem to remember a story about one. I can understand if you don't think it's cute.
One summer morning, I hopped out of bed. I happened to look over my shoulder and saw a green frog attached to the wall above the head of the bed. Having been raised in a rural area, I probably could have handled the situation. Instead, I walked out of the bedroom to find my husband.
He didn't believe me until he saw it with his eyes. He grabbed a rag from the rag bag. He wrapped the rag around his hand then climbed on the bed. He successfully cupped the frog and carried it to the backyard for release.
I called the contractor to find out how we ended up with a frog on the wall. He expressed astonishment. "Your house is tight as a drum!" he said. He suggested the frog hopped in when the garage door and door to house were open for taking in groceries.
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