[Mike Nolan]

Yeah, a Westphalian rye sounds like it might be the right sort of recipe. I wonder what it uses for leavening? I assume it must be using some kind of rye starter.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm still looking for an AUTHENTIC recipe for German/Russian black bread, one that doesn't cheat by using coffee or cocoa to darken the interior. I think the way it is done is that the bread is baked for a very long time, like 18 hours, at a low temperature. Not sure I want to crank my oven up for that long very often, but I'd at least like to try doing it once.

[Mike Nolan]

Small cuts always give me problems but top round can be especially challenging, depending on the portion you have and the size. The one I did a few weeks ago had a big fat/connective tissue ridge down the middle.

Meat charts don't always break cuts down into specific muscle groups, I've bought a few books on meat cutting and they seem to do a better job identifying the individual muscles. I need to see what the study materials are for the FFA meat judging competitions, I get the impression that to win those competitions they need to know each muscle. I think there are 3 or 4 separate muscles that make up the top round.

Anyway, I roasted it as one piece, but as soon as I started trying to slice it I wound up dividing it into two pieces, trimmed off the connective tissue, and sliced them separately.

[Mike Nolan]

The veggies might be better off at 300-350, simply because of how various temperatures affect the cooking process. (Baking has similar issues, you generally don't get the Maillard reaction below about 280 and you won't get much caramelization under about 350.)

There was a time when the food safety folks said that you couldn't cook ANYTHING in an oven set below 300, but with the advent of sous vide cooking and other low-temp techniques, I haven't heard that much lately.

[Mike Nolan]

I did about a 2.5 pound top round roast a couple of weeks ago, using the same technique I use for eye of round, starting it at 500 degrees for 7 minutes/pound then dropping the temperature setting to about 150 and essentially letting it coast for a few hours. (The original instructions say to turn the oven OFF and let it coast for 3 hours, but I find it cools off too much that way.)

It got done in under 2 hours, which was a good hour before I had dinner planned. I kept it at 150 until we were ready for dinner, but that dried the surface out a bit too much. I think if I was doing it again, I'd skip the time at 500, do the first hour at 250, and allow about 2 hours start to finish.

[Mike Nolan]

I usually roast it in the oven. Some recipes will tell you to do it at 350, others at 400. I prefer the lower temperature, I think it dries out less. You want it to reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees.

[Mike Nolan]

I used about 2/3 of what I had when I made banana muffins the other day, so I replenished it. Seems like this time it got a bit thicker, but I left the container sitting by the stove while I was making the muffins, so it was in a somewhat warmer place than the first time.

Followup: I checked my buttermilk today (Monday) and it's nice and thick.

[Mike Nolan]

I will be making pot roast with a 7 bone chuck roast this afternoon.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm making roasted bone-in skinless chicken breasts with rosemary, basil, sage and thyme tonight.

[Mike Nolan]

What size Kitchen-Aid do you have? That'd probably be more than a 4 1/2 quart mixer could handle, but probably OK in the larger models.

I like the Hot Cross Buns recipe in the KAF Whole Wheat book, I make the rolls smaller than the recipe calls for and put them in four 6" round pans.

[Mike Nolan]

I have one small bottle of olive oil, I don't remember the last time I used it. (It's in the fridge so the oil is solid.)

A close friend of ours is allergic to olives (as is my brother-in-law) so we just don't use it much, and I don't really care for the taste of it. I'm currently using corn oil instead of canola oil, corn oil has almost no flavor.

[Mike Nolan]

I tried the baked salmon with dill and couscous today, because my wife had an appointment after work and will pick up something for herself for supper. I didn't have any olive oil, so I used corn oil, butter might have been a better choice. It had a nice salmon flavor, more than what I get when I poach salmon in butter, but without adding salt I think it needs something else, not sure what, maybe some parsley or rosemary. I might try the recipe for two with cod. (My wife's reaction was 'two out of three sound good', she doesn't care for salmon.)

[Mike Nolan]

We had filet mignon, with a baked potato, sauteed mushrooms and a tossed salad. For dessert we have some really sweet strawberries.

[Mike Nolan]

There are ways to vary the Moomies recipe, too. For example you can add a little whole wheat flour or rye flour.

[Mike Nolan]

Unlike restaurants, I generally don't salt burger meat anyway, but the toppings and the bun are where the salt comes in, pickles, cheese, catsup and mustard all have salt in them. Hot dogs, like all sausages, have a fair amount of salt in them. I haven't tried making lowered sodium buns yet, but that'll happen at some point. (I cut the salt in our regular breads by 50% or more.)

With a 1500 mg daily limit, yeah, I can have a burger or a dog from time to time, but probably just one. Sandwiches are going to be a bigger challenge, deli meats are all heavy on salt.

Most days I've been well under my sodium limit. I'm sure I'm eating healthier and also eating less, and as a result I'm down about 20 pounds since late December, most of that in the first two weeks, so it was mostly water weight.

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