I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You…
Because I feel like you and I are real, live friends, I keep this running list in my head of all the things food- and recipe-related I want to call you up and chat with you about, except that
a) I hate talking on the phone and
b) I really hate talking on the phone and
c) I don’t have your number so, yeah, that method isn’t going to work. I get a lot of the same questions over and over and sometimes assume that you guys just know what I’m talking about (you should feel very sorry for Brian’s existence based on that sentence) but since that obviously isn’t the case, here are a few things jumping around in my head that need to be shared based on my preference for certain ingredients:
1) I haven’t specified this in the past but for nearly all of my yeast bread recipes, I usually use at least part whole wheat flour. Most of the recipes just list “flour” in the ingredients list, but in order to help those who want to incorporate whole grains, I’ve tried to go through and update the yeast bread recipes where I consistently use whole wheat flour – especially because for many of the recipes, I often use 100% whole wheat with great results.
Also, this post (#1 and #2) on wheat and wheat grinding may be useful also since I grind my own wheat (hard white wheat) and think that can make a difference in the success of using whole wheat flour in bread. Sorry I haven’t done a mass update about this before now! I hope we can still be friends.
2) Speaking of substitutions, I almost exclusively use lean ground turkey for most recipes that call for ground beef (except for specific ones that use a blend of beef, pork, or something like that).
Again, I’ve gone through and updated the recipes to indicate that little tidbit but in the event, I missed a few, know that in my world, lean ground turkey makes a great substitute for ground beef (PS: I have nothing against ground beef, I just like the leaner aspect and taste of ground turkey).
3) I don’t know that we’ve ever talked about this before, but while I love rice and pasta and potatoes and carbs in general with my whole soul, in an effort to reduce my carb intake a bit, for the last year, I always make a small batch of quinoa to serve alongside a meal if it involves eating it over rice and potatoes (like Hawaiian Haystacks, most of my stroganoffs, and all of the Indian-type curries we love).
I save the leftovers, if there are any, for these divine little quinoa patties (which my kids eat up like crazy and make for a great easy dinner). So if you see a recipe that says “serve over rice, noodles or potatoes” chances are, I’m eating it with quinoa (always cooked in chicken broth with a touch of salt). Just thought you should know.
4) I know this is really looked down on in the foodie world, but I rarely, rarely use unsalted butter. I just don’t buy it and never really have and don’t really anticipate doing so in the near future. There goes my gourmet food career, darn it.
So in my recipes, unless it specifically states in the ingredients “unsalted butter,” it means I’m using salted butter. The salt amounts in my recipes are adjusted for that fact so if you are using unsalted butter, you might want to increase the salt accordingly.
5) Although I don’t always state it in recipes (because it doesn’t necessarily affect the outcome of a baked good), I only use unbleached all-purpose flour for recipes that call for all-purpose flour. It’s ever so slightly darker in color than bleached flour and doesn’t have the strong chemical smell of bleached flour. I started buying it in bulk (at Sam’s Club – the Dakota brand) years ago and use it 100% of the time for regular ol’ flour.
What it means is that in some light-colored baked goods (banana bread, maybe, or white cookies), my results are a shade darker but honestly, it’s hardly noticeable. I opened up a can of bleached flour from my basement food storage when I ran out of unbleached a month or so ago and the chemical smell nearly knocked me over. I was relieved to get unbleached flour back in my huge 25# container I keep in my pantry.
And…I think that’s it. Until next time.
Kudos on that unsalted butter choice. I’ve never understood it either. Like why have butter without salt? I don’t know that I have EVER bought unsalted butter in my life and 45 years of cooking. Also, I’m on the Whole Wheat quest too. Your small batch whole wheat bread is the BEST BREAD I’VE EVER EATEN! And I don’t say that lightly- (although the bread is very light). I bake that bread at least weekly. I’m beginning to bake it as well with the red wheat and it is great any way you want to slice it. Now I’m looking to branch into whole wheat baking (sweet treats) with the soft wheat so I’m looking through your recipes and hoping to figure out how to change 45 years of baking recipes into whole wheat recipes. ๐ I’m actually looking to leave all purpose flour behind soon. We love the flavor and texture of fresh ground whole wheat and don’t mind a less light cake or a heavier brownie. Our kids are gone so it is just my Lyme diseased husband and I and we try to eat as close to nature as we can. He continues to improve (9 years) with good clean food, lots of rest and an herbal regimen that we also make at home. Doctors can’t help because they don’t believe chronic Lyme is even a thing (nor does the CDC, or insurance companies) and little research is being done for the millions of people suffering and dying with this disease which is rampant in our part of the country. Thanks for this blog, Mel, you’ve been so helpful to me in my cooking evolution. I cannot even imagine the time you put in and with 5 kids – you’re really something lady! <3
Hi! I wasn’t sure where to ask this question…. But I’ve been wondering if you could shed some light on doubling yeast bread recipes. I’ve heard they don’t double exactly right, like don’t double the yeast or something. So I’m always just making separate batches. What have you found works well with doubling?
Ella – This is a great place to ask your recipe questions. I actually double and triple yeast bread recipes all the time. I think most are pretty foolproof. Sometimes I’ll only 1 1/2 the yeast if I’m doubling the other ingredients but usually I just double everything. In regards to your other question, I’m not super scientific about the size of the pizzas but I’m guessing maybe 2 pizzas about 9 or 10 inches in diameter. Again, that isn’t exact (because usually I’m doubling or tripling the recipe). And I love your parchment tip. Great minds think alike!
Where do you buy instant yeast? I would like to buy it in bulk but have only seen the regular active variety in that size.
Susan – I buy it in larger (double) packages at Sam’s Club (the Fleischmann brand).
I know a lot of people are making the switch to ground turkey but I have two concerns/questions. First, when I check the fat content of ground turkey and compare it to lean ground beef, it’s the same (about 7%). Now if you go with a ground turkey breast, you’ll drop that fat content even more. Secondly, there’s something about the way ground turkey smells when it’s cooking that I find distasteful. Even after it’s been smothered in spaghetti sauce, I can still smell it. Any ideas how to combat this?
Kim – good questions/thoughts. I haven’t noticed a smell, really. Maybe I did when I first started using it but we eat it often enough that the smell must be lost on us. I use the white (breast meat) ground turkey so the fat content is leaner than I can get with ground beef. But even the less lean ground turkey is a bit cheaper and easier to find for me so that’s why I use it in favor of ground beef although others may have different reasons. I’m not sure how to deal with the smell issue – it may just be that ground turkey isn’t your preference. If lean ground beef tastes/smells better to you, I’d stick with that!
Thank you so much for the site. Today is a good day for baking and I am sure we will enjoy the buns.
Would love to see your pantry!
I had copied your recipe for buns and the directions for making the three types of buns and I cannot find them. It is driving me crazy because they were so terrific and I was going to make them today. I hope you will see this and send them to me.
Thanks for the great recipes.
Carole – HERE is the recipe for the buns and HERE are the directions. Good luck!
Thanks for the confession, I am just like you and usually sneak in the whole wheat flour into just about everything. I love that you offer so many recipes with whole grains. Thanks!
I have to pass along something funny… My boys (11 & 14) were playing the logo quiz game on my kindle and when they saw the Hard Rock Cafe logo with “cafe” as the only part of the logo showing– my son yelled out Mel’s Kitchen Cafe!! Haha! You’re more famous than Hard Rock in our house!! ๐
Mel and Jan,
Thanks for the reassurance on the ground turkey — I have 6 tubes in my freezer that have been making me feel guilty because I just couldn’t bring myself to use them anymore. (I was half-afraid it was all in my head!) Now I can use them as dog food without feeling wasteful and know that there is something better out there for us humans! ๐
Don’t worry I’m on the non-gourmet “salted butter train” too. Don’t think I’ll be hopping off any time soon either! Your post has just made me realise that I too have been a bit vague with my ingredient lists, whoops!
Thanks for the nod to ground turkey. Since my husband found out he has heart disease I always choose ground turkey over ground beef. Made your lightened up stroganoff last night. Delicious, simple, comforting!
For those commenters who need large containers.. I have a 5 gallon bucket in my pantry for each of my basic items: rice, flour, wheat, beans (pinto and black), white and brown sugar (yes 25lbs of brown sugar stores just fine in an air-tight container), popcorn, (even hot chocolate in bulk!) etc. I have Gamma lids that unscrew and are simple to use. Google it and you’ll see what they are. These buckets in super sturdy and inexpensive (think the orange Homer buckets from Home Depot but white and food-grade). They work great and hold 25 lbs of just about anything! I keep smaller-sized bins (1 gallon) in my lazy Susan cabinet for quick access of small quantities or when my kids are cooking. ๐
I’m with you on adding whole wheat flour everywhere I can. I have found that chocolate chip cookies made with half whole wheat flour are the best I have ever made. They are chewy and keep on the counter for a week.
Question: you say you use unbleached all purpose flour, does that mean that you buy supermarket flour, or do you grind your own ‘all-purpose’ flour from berries? I am wanting to move toward grinding my own 100% of the time, and was wondering under what conditions you might buy from the supermarket? Thanks!
Mikki – no, I don’t grind my own all-purpose flour. I grind my own whole wheat flour and by the unbleached all-purpose flour from the store.
I meant 25 lb bags….I like to bake, but good grief!!
Im part of a dinner group and I swear 75% of the recipes we all make are yours! This week it was Mexican lasagna and your chicken cordon blue, both delicious.
I buy 50 lb bags of flour and sugar as well and store them in bins I ordered online meant for dog food! they’re amazing, on wheels with a simple lid that snap open and close. just fyi.
Love your blog!!
I just made the quinoa patties, and like your family, my family loved them (we are decidedly older, however). The only changes I made to the recipe is using panko instead of crackers, and using dried tarragon in place of the parsley. I topped them with a red pickle relish. Delicious.
For large storage containers, I’ve been using Cambro with great results. You can find them online and at good restaurant supply stores. They make some very large sizes that will easily hold 25 lbs of flour, sugar or grains.
Now I know why I like you so much! I HATE THE PHONE. Like hate it so much I have a phone phobia. It drives Dan crazy.
Costco just started carrying organic unbleached flour! Love Costco! I am still mostly GF, but indulge here and there. I plan to make your nutella cookies this weekend. Lets just say I’m probably going to be craving gluten for the next 10 months…;-).
Hi Mel,
Thanks for the posting about what you use. It sure helps. When I make my breads, rolls etc. with white whole wheat flour it never is white in color like your photos. Your bread photos look great but they say whole wheat or white whole wheat flour and they are pictures of white bread, sure confuses me.
I wish I had you to go to when my family was the same age as yours. My hubby and I are empty nesters but I love the recipes from you. I’ve learned a lot from you.
Maureen – I have used ground turkey for more than 20 years and I NEVER use that brand for the same reason you describe and because I don’t like the taste of that brand.
What 25 # flour container do you use? Where did you get it? I have been trying to find large flour containers and not having much luck. Thanks!
Hi Abi – I use some really large plastic/tupperware type containers I got at Sam’s club a few years ago. They are amazing but unfortunately I just tried looking online and it doesn’t seem like Sam’s club carries them anymore. If I can find info on my containers I’ll repost with details!
One more reason why we are twins. I hate the phone too. I’m sure I’ve said it in a post before but my husband thinks I need therapy for if because I hate it so bad. I do the turkey thing too. We rarely eat beef.
Wow, thanks for the tip about the butter. I always use unsalted for baking, and the brand I use has a VERY different response in baking if it’s salted. I know because I was inadvertently using salted and could not figure out why my staple cookies were all wrong. I had a problem with one of the cookie recipes here, too. Maybe the salt was the issue. Baking is alll about chemistry. Anyway, thanks for the clarification.
Great post! I knew I liked you. Before I myself went gluten free, I was always using at least some white whole wheat flour and always using unbleached–I still do for everyone else. And I also eat, love, prefer quinoa (esp. since going GF) instead of rice/noodles. Great post.
For fluffy not flat chocolate chip cookies try Mel’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (The Best Recipe). The recipe uses melted butter but somehow does not spread out! In fact, I find it difficult to tell when they are done since there are no crispy edges. They are done when the puffy top hardens slightly. I use walnuts and cinnamon and these are the Best!
I was thrilled to read about the unsalted butter. My daughter swears by unsalted butter, but every time I try it I am disappointed. I will go forward using my salted butter with joy in my heart!
Hi Mel,
Which brand of ground turkey do you use? I liked the taste and idea of using the turkey, but then once in a while I’ve found a piece of ground bone (and feather?) :/ So it’s put me off and I haven’t tried in a long while. I’m hoping it’s just that I’ve been using the wrong label (frozen Jennie O from Walmart – the pound tubes).
Maureen – oooh, that’s gross! Yeah, I’d be wary of ground turkey, too, if I were you. Most recently I buy and enjoy the Honeyville brand (the double pack from Sam’s but I know the brand is available elsewhere too). I have had rotten luck with the tube variety of any meat (think: mushy and just plain gross) so I always avoid ground beef and turkey in the plastic tubes. I always go for the plastic/styrofoam trays.