Fri. Apr 3rd, 2026

Mike Nolan

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Viewing 15 posts - 5,716 through 5,730 (of 7,912 total)
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  • in reply to: What are you baking the week of August 4, 2019 #17404
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      Do you have the KAF whole grains cookbook? It's got an excellent Hot Cross Buns recipe in it. It's a 50-50 whole wheat/AP flour recipe, though I've made it using 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 AP. I find it gets a bit chewy that way, though. I divide the dough into 32 parts rather than 24 and bake them in 6" pans, 8 per pan, so they're more of a snack. According to MyFitnessPal, they're 20.7 carbs and 128 calories each, not counting frosting.

      in reply to: What are you cooking the week of August 4, 2019? #17403
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        We had tuna melts made with marbled rye bread and tomatoes from the garden tonight.

        in reply to: The 2019 Gardens #17402
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          We're starting to get a trickle of tomatoes, I picked about 8 small ones again today, nearly all about the size of a ping pong ball, mostly 4th of July but a few Romas and one Better Girl. The plants aren't producing big fruit yet. I'm hoping the cooler weather we had last week triggered another round of blooms setting fruit, which will mean a good crop of tomatoes in late August or early September.

          I saw an article online today stating that Minnesota corn farmers, who got their crops in late, like nearly everyone else, are now worried about an early frost further cutting yield. There are signs of an early onset of cooler weather here too, and I'm told the ruby-throated hummingbirds are starting to show up, maybe a week or so earlier than normal, so I started to get the feeders ready today.

          in reply to: Request for Cole Slaw Recipe #17397
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            I can think of several chemical reactions that might occur with mayonnaise, mainly with the eggs. Do you remember what color?

            in reply to: Request for Cole Slaw Recipe #17396
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              Cabbage will weep after it is cut, so go sparingly on the liquids, including the salad dressing, because otherwise you'll wind up with soupy cole slaw a day later.

              The only cole slaw recipe I can find is a vinegar-and-oil one from my wife's aunt, where you heat the vinegar and oil, pour it over the cabbage, and let it mellow for 24 hours. It looks similar to the '24 hour cole slaw' recipe in the Nebraska Centennial Cookbook that my mother-in-law edited, published in 1967.

              in reply to: The 2019 Gardens #17385
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                We were out of town during black raspberry season this year, so I don't know how many there were, but I'm sure the birds enjoyed them all. But I was able to buy a jar of seedless black raspberry jelly at a small farmer's market on Saturday, so I'm happy. We've got some volunteer maple trees that seem to be crowding out the elderberries, I may have to get some more elderberry plants and put them along the east side of the house where the dogwoods are. Most of the dogwoods died off a few years ago when our gardeners cut them back, but they're trying to make a comeback this year.

                in reply to: Romertopf Bread Bowl #17376
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  I always thought Romertopf dishes were covered and this site seems to confirm that:
                  Breadtopia on Romertopf. BTW, it says that the bottom is glazed but the lid is not. The point, I assume, is that as moisture evaporates from the dough it is trapped as steam.

                  Have you tried contacting King Arthur to see if they have any recipes they'd suggest?

                  in reply to: Request for Cole Slaw Recipe #17375
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    What kind of cole slaw recipe are you looking for? There are two types, those made with mayonnaise and Carolina-style cole slaw, which uses vinegar. I think I've got my mother-in-law's mayonnaise-based recipe, but I haven't made it in a long time, as my wife doesn't like cole slaw. I'm more likely to use cabbage to make sauerkraut, and I haven't done that for a while, either.

                    in reply to: Daily Quiz for August 1, 2019 #17371
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      It appears the opposite is true, adding salt to water makes it boil faster, but not enough so to make much difference.

                      I remember my college chemistry professor, L Carroll King, spending most of a lecture on what happens when you boil something. He was legendary at Northwestern for his intro to chemistry lectures. For one lecture, there were two large balloons floating in the room. He told us one contained hydrogen and the other helium and challenged us to suggest ways to tell which was which. After going through a variety of methods, like releasing them to see which went to the ceiling of the large lecture hall faster (hard to tell), he said there was another easier way. He then took a long metal tube, attached it to the gas with a piece of rubber tubing, lit the gas, and touched the flame to the two balloons. One of them went BOOM!, of course. Class dismissed with a bang!

                      Boiling water is more complicated than it seems, the amount of dissolved minerals impacts the rate at which the water absorbs heat and the boiling point, and the the pressure at the bottom of the pot, which is a combination of the atmospheric pressure and the depth of the water is also a factor. A wide pot will boil faster than a narrower pot with the same amount of water in it, though the size of the pot also affects how much heat is transferred to it from the stove.

                      This article does a good job of explaining things, though it doesn't really go into why adding salt makes the water seem to boil harder. As I recall, it isn't that it's boiling harder, it's that it has smaller air bubbles due to the presence of the additional minerals, which make it seem more active. (The same thing happens if you add baking soda to a pot of boiling water.)

                      in reply to: Daily Quiz for August 4, 2019 #17361
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        I'm not sure there's a bad way to make eggs. 🙂

                        in reply to: What are you cooking the week of July 28, 2019? #17328
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          We're having tomato and salami sandwiches.

                          in reply to: Daily Quiz for July 31, 2019 #17315
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Not necessarily. Carbs are chains of sugar molecules, but not all high-carb foods taste sweet. Rice, oats and legumes like kidney beans and lentils, for example.

                            in reply to: Freezing Green Beans #17314
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              As I recall, my mother put a little salt in the water she used for blanching beans, though that's not something I've seen mentioned elsewhere.

                              in reply to: What are you cooking the week of July 28, 2019? #17307
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                We had cheese souffle and steamed broccoli.

                                in reply to: What are you baking the week of July 28, 2019? #17305
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  I made Vienna bread tonight and plan to make popovers for lunch tomorrow.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 5,716 through 5,730 (of 7,912 total)