[skeptic7]

The Tuscan Coffee Cake recipe looked so interesting that I am making it now. I did the overnight starter only I used 1/2 tsp of yeast instead of 1/16 tsp. Is there a reason for such a small amount of yeast for the starter? I also left out the extra 2 tsp of yeast that the recipe asked for in the dough. I am making several other minor changes like 2/3 cup milk instead of water.

[skeptic7]

Aaron;
what would happen if you baked the bread in some sort of covered container? Like a turkey roaster that wouldn't have enough thermal mass to make a difference but would keep the hot air from blowing directly across the bread. I'm too lazy to do that experiment on my own and I don't have convection oven. I've had good luck with cloches and dutch ovens but I haven't tried anything like a relatively light weight roasting pan.

[skeptic7]

Its cold here today and yesterday. Mid 60's just perfect for baking. I did pumpkin scones on Sunday. They were okay but a little boring since I didn't put cranberries or dates or any other fruit in them. I was thinking that I might want to eat them as an accompaniment for chili or soup so went on the plain side. It isn't bad but would be improved by lots of cream cheese.

[skeptic7]

I tried to do pumpkin risotto with pureed pumpkin on Sunday. It didn't turn out too well. Rather mushy. I'll have to try it again later.

[skeptic7]

The supermarkets are back to normal, but I am feeling the need to stock up for the winter. Particularly with staples like dried beans, and maple syrup. I already have chicken legs and thighs and roast beef and KAF flour and dried milk and cocoa in the freezer. I have enough toilet paper but am thinking of getting some kleenex too. Would I be excessively hoarding if I got a couple more pumpkins as well as half a bushel of apples? The apples are something I normally buy.

[skeptic7]

Thanks for this recipe. If I could visit you, the crackers would disappear very fast indeed. They probably taste very good with apples, or pears, or chili. 🙂

[skeptic7]

I have seem the normal displays of baking goods in Grocery stores for Thanksgiving. I hope your voting goes succesfully. I voted several weeks ago, depositing my mail in ballot in a drop box at City Hall. Virginia changed the rules so I didn't need a witness to watch me open the ballot and fill it in. I despise the states that still want witnesses.
I like going in to vote on election day, and feeling part of a process thats been going on for more than 200 years, but it seemed too dangerous to me and the poll workers and the other voters.

[skeptic7]

Len;
Your pie looks great! Did you eat it with ice cream?

[skeptic7]

I did cheese pizza yesterday and finished up the mozarella and provolone cheese. I'm getting tired of cheese pizza and will have to stop for a while.

[skeptic7]

Once upon a time I had two Amaryllis, then one of them produced seeds, and one little seedling came up in its parents pot but eventually died. The next year I collected the seeds and planted them in their own flat and watered them. And they lived. and I moved them to pots. Then I planted the seeds from the other Amaryllis and moved the surviving seedlings to pots. Then I started moving the parent plants into bigger pots so they wouldn't fall over in the wind and the bulbs would have room to grow a bit. Then the Amaryllis started producing little bulblets; and some of the seedlings started to produce little side shoots even though the seedlings were still smallish bulbs. Now I have big pots full of multiple big amaryllis, and medium pots with medium size plants and medium pots with lots of small plants. Its not warm enough for them to live outside all year, so I have to bring all the pots inside in the winter and set them in front of the south windows. I have given some away but its hard finding responsible people who will care for Amaryllis properly.

[skeptic7]

Once upon a time I had two Amaryllis, then one of them produced seeds, and one little seedling came up in its parents pot but eventually died. The next year I collected the seeds and planted them in their own flat and watered them. And they lived. and I moved them to pots. Then I planted the seeds from the other Amaryllis and moved the surviving seedlings to pots. Then I started moving the parent plants into bigger pots so they wouldn't fall over in the wind and the bulbs would have room to grow a bit. Then the Amaryllis started producing little bulblets; and some of the seedlings started to produce little side shoots even though the seedlings were still smallish bulbs. Now I have big pots full of multiple big amaryllis, and medium pots with medium size plants and medium pots with lots of small plants. Its not warm enough for them to live outside all year, so I have to bring all the pots inside in the winter and set them in front of the south windows. I have given some away but its hard finding responsible people who will care for Amaryllis properly.

[skeptic7]

Its definately pumpkin season here. I've bought a nice big Pink Banana which falls into that category of winter squash/odd shaped pumpkin. I'm going to wait a while before cooking it, I still have some containers of pumpkin puree in the freezer from last fall. I need to look through my pumpkin recipes again and see which ones are relatively healthy. There is probably pumpkin biscotti in my future, I don't think I made it last year.
I made apple pizza today with the last of the Gold Rush apples. These have been in my refrigerator since April and were getting wrinkled but were still sweet and firm. The flavor actually improves with time, they are more mellow than they used to be.

[skeptic7]

I did black bean chili at the end of last week Saturday/Sunday its a fairly mild combination of several recipes that is my standard chili, I use beef heart cut up in very small dice for the meat. This was partly to be wierd I read that heart is the main ingredient in Chicago Chili Sauce , the one that is served on top of hot dogs, and partly because it seemed safer than buying ground round in the supermarket, and its appreciably cheaper than having a chuck roast ground at the butcher store. I also did Yankee cornbread to go with it.
I did chicken soup tonight, sort of Chinese flavored with onions and ginger and five spice powder for the time when I want something mild. Its a little too mild, but I can add some soy sauce or chili sauce later.

[skeptic7]

Its Rosh Hashanah, the feast of apples and honey. I made whole wheat apple honey scones, and gave half the batch away; and my variant of the KAF Apple Challah and gave 1/4 of it away. I was really hoping Judy would have taken more of it. Its so much harder to give bread away during the pandemic, I'll just have to eat it all myself. 🙂

[skeptic7]

I'm impressed at the variety of recipes that people are willing to try. I stick to a few trusted recipes and variations there of and only occasionally do something new. I'm very impressed by Mike's Rye adventure and Baker Aunt's sourdough.

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