[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I understand your frustration. You've worked hard putting recipes on this site. Maybe people are busy with out-of-town guests. I've spent the last 2-1/2 weeks getting ready for guests and entertaining them. I think that for northerners, summer is a busy guest season as people don't want to travel when there might be snow or ice.

I bake as much during the summer as I do the rest of the year. But I bake in spurts. I may bake a lot (for me) in one week and do no baking the next. As for cooking, I've been in a lazy streak and have made do with simple foods that really don't qualify as cooking. So I don't always have something to contribute to the What Did You Bake/Cook posts, but I sure enjoy reading what you and others have been doing. Those posts motivate me.

[Italiancook]

From ATK's "The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook," I made Minute (Cubed) Steak with Garlic-Parsley Butter.

I also made my second favorite meal -- beef liver with mashed potatoes 'n gravy and tomatoes. Bought the tomatoes at the farmer's market, and they tasted good.

My favorite meal is the liver, gravy & mashed potatoes with slow-cooked green beans. I bought the green beans at the farmer's market, but by the time hubby brought back the cottage ham from the meat market, it was too late to start them. I'll cook them today.

[Italiancook]

I had a bag of limes, so I baked Lime Meltaways from "Martha Stewart's Cookies."

[Italiancook]

Cass, I am inspired by the grateful attitude you display in your post. Thank you for sharing.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, BakerAunt, for your expertise and recipe suggestions. Like you, I use pearl barley in soups. I appreciate you for giving me a source for barley flour. I probably would not have known about refrigerating/freezing it if you hadn't told me!

[Italiancook]

We haven't officially "met," KidPizza, but I enjoyed and learned from your posts on the BC. Didn't post; just read. I also wish you a Happy Birthday!

[Italiancook]

Thanks, BakerAunt, for the lemon curd cake filling thread. As a result of your recommendation, I've ordered "The Perfect Cake." I want to make the lemon cake.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I didn't know about this technique. Thanks. I'll try that next time I want a lemon curd filling. As the top layer was slipping and sliding off the plate, I thought, "There has to be a trick to this." Now I know!

[Italiancook]

I haven't cooked. Been eating prepared meals from the freezer. My only from-scratch endeavor was tomato-basil bruschetta for dinner last night. Delicious! Hubby planted herbs in containers on the patio. It was great to harvest fresh basil. For some reason, we kill off all the herbs we try to grow in the house.

[Italiancook]

Banana Bread.

From "Martha Stewart's Cakes" I baked Vanilla Layer Cake. It was my second time baking it. The icing for it suggested in the cookbook is delicious, but I prefer chocolate icing on white and yellow cakes. So this time, I used lemon curd between the layers and didn't ice it. The problem was that the top layer slid off the bottom because of the slippery curd. I cut the cake into serving pieces and "flash froze" them before putting them in a freezer bag. Of course, when microwaved to thaw, the top will slide again. But it's a good cake that's quick to pull together.

Wonky, I didn't make the Raisin Bread. I cut my thumb and didn't want to put it in bread dough. Instead, I made Peanut Butter Cookies for a family with children. I didn't have to touch the dough. For the first time, I used a recipe that calls for Crisco, not butter. I disliked the dough. I don't think it had enough fat. Next time, I'll go back to my tried and true recipe that uses butter. But, the cookies tasted good, and the children will enjoy them.

[Italiancook]

Of course, Mike. Metric measuring spoons. That's what I need to search for. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I've purchased a metric scale for these recipes. And, a metric beaker. So metric measuring spoons has to be correct. Thanks!

[Italiancook]

You may reassure him, Mike, by telling him there's a new poster who is almost totally ignorant about technology. If I can figure this out, so can he. When I was reading but not posting on the BC, I liked his posts. I hope his health improves to the point he can join us.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Wonky & BakerAunt for your help. I'm planning on making this raisin bread on Saturday. I'll let you know how it turns out when BakerAunt posts her weekly, "What did you bake." Of course, if I flop the recipe, I may not want to mention it.

[Italiancook]

I'm not a big bread fan, so I only make it when I want something specific. If I'm hungry for tomato-basil bruschetta, I make Cuban Bread. If I want a sandwich with Italian deli meats, I use KAF Tuscan-Style Bread with Herbs. Now, you have me yearning for raisin bread. I haven't had a good loaf of raisin bread since we left Chicago.

In total, how long do you knead the dough in your KA? You say 5 minutes after addition of raisins, but how long prior to that? I ask, because I make bread infrequently and haven't yet mastered kneading in the KA.

Thanks.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike & BakerAunt, for all the posts about food recalls. The article you linked us to is interesting, Mike. I had wondered why there were so many recalls.

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