Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36866
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      I haven't made Big Lake Judy's molasses cookie recipe (which also has ginger in it) in a long time, but they're really good.

      See https://mynebraskakitchen.com/wordpress/forums/topic/biglakejudys-molasses-cookies/

      I especially like the fact that they're made with just whole wheat flour.

      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36857
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        Your salmon looks great, I like salmon, Diane does not. (Too much overcooked canned salmon as a kid, we think.)

        We had tuna melts with some of the tomatoes from the garden tonight.

        in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36849
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          The lows for the next 4 days here are:

          Saturday 43
          Sunday 29
          Monday 19
          Tuesday 20

          I think we'll get our killer frost soon.

          I've been known to pull up the plants in their cages and stick them in the garage, if there was space (which there usually isn't, garages are junk magnets.) I've also pulled all the green fruit and spread it out in boxes in the garage to ripen. We had tomatoes on Christmas once that way. But they're nowhere as flavorful as sun-ripened ones, and possibly not even as good as the ones in the stores these days, so I haven't been doing it lately and don't plan to do it this year.

          They work for chili, though, and if enough of them ripened at the same time they'd probably make OK tomato juice, but usually they ripen over several weeks, not enough at any one time to process.

          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36837
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            I made a big batch of piperade (sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes) today, then used a little of it with some mozzarella cheese to make some pizza bread for me for supper. I think Diane is going to have some soup, she was worried it might be too late in the day for the piperade.

            IMG_0347

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            in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36833
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              We're now showing a projected low of 25 Monday night. Brrrr!

              I've got a few tomatoes ripening, not sure I'll get enough by Monday to make juice, though.

              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36832
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                We had eggs for supper, and I also had a small salad.

                in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36827
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  Of the tomatoes I've grown regularly, First Lady (sometimes sold as First Lady II) is still my favorite. There's a First Ladies that isn't the same tomato, but seems similar. I had both this year, neither did especially well, though I think that was just how the season played out. I will probably do both again next year, if I can find First Lady seed, usually Reimer Seeds has it.

                  My Fourth of July plants were, once again, the most prolific tomatoes I had, but they only get about the size of ping pong balls or smaller. They make good tomato juice, though.

                  Having a tomato mill helps a lot, I can process 20 pounds of tomatoes in 60-90 minutes, including setup and cleanup. I do blanche them in boiling water for several minutes, that's supposed to help keep the juice from separating by deactivating an enzyme, but it doesn't always work.

                  For large tomatoes, I like Italian Heirloom and Amish Paste, both are determinates and are late ripeners and tend to ripen at the same time.

                  I've given up on Mortgage Lifter and Brandywine, they seem to shut down blooms faster in hot weather and crack a lot. My wife still likes Rutgers, but they weren't that productive this year, and the Celebrity were kind of a mixed bag.

                  in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36826
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    The lecithin from the egg might be more significant than the protein, there's probably enough liquid in the milk that the tablespoon or so of water in an egg isn't going to affect the recipe much.

                    Sometimes, however, leaving an ingredient out, or adding one by mistake, has unexpected effects. We discovered that you can make waffles just fine without eggs by forgetting to add the eggs once.

                    in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36818
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      The hydroponics teacher at UNL was harvesting some of his test crops, most of which usually go to the food bank. But he did bring some butter crunch lettuce over along with what I call frisee (see below), but my wife isn't sure that's what it is. (I might add it to the list of lettuces I grow in the Aerogarden, I'm also thinking of trying some dwarf pea pods.)

                      IMG_0345

                      She also brought a couple of tomatoes, the one below is nearly a pound.

                      IMG_0346

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                      in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36817
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        I see articles that say you can cook and freeze spaghetti squash, I've never tried it. I think you need to let it drain before freezing it, it does weep in the bottom of the bowl after you shred it. (I usually line the bowl with paper towels.)

                        in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36814
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          The tomato season was late getting started, no tomatoes until mid-July and not many until mid-August, but turned out decent, and I might still get another 2-3 weeks of tomatoes if the weather cooperates. (The two week forecast now has 5 days in mid 30's.)

                          The white eggplants were very productive, the purple ones much less so. Still not sure why I got so many yellow ones, though.

                          Both types of melons were something of a disappointment, but at least I've demonstrated that I can grow melons in the area to the north of the tomato plants.

                          I might try spaghetti squash next year, they say you get 3-5 squash per plant. Not sure what their shelf life is, though.

                          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36813
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Burgers on the grill tonight, getting closer to time to shut the grill down for the winter.

                            in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36811
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              5% does sound quite high for cultured buttermilk, but I'm one who remembers when the milkman brought real buttermilk, ie, the liquid that remains after churning butter, and it was maybe 2% fat, if that.

                              in reply to: 2022 Garden Plans #36809
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                I tore out my aerogardens today, most of the lettuce had bolted but the parsley was still doing OK. It'll take a couple of days to clean and sanitize them, I may get new gardens planted by the weekend.

                                BTW, parsley can grow some big roots, some of them were bigger around than my pinky finger!

                                in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of October 9, 2022? #36805
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  Most sources say the fat content of whole milk is 3.25% to 3.5%.

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