trombonish

I'm making a cheesecake for Easter dinner tomorrow, but have no graham crackers for a graham cracker crust. They can't be that hard, right?

Graham Crackers:
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 t baking soda (I don't know-how WHY, it's not like they are supposed to rise. But it's what the recipe I modified said, so I did...)
1/2 t salt

Stir together

Add:
1 T vanilla
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup honey (if you measure the oil and honey in the same cup, and the oil first, the honey slides right on out)

Stir to combine - now it will be in a very crumbly format

Add while mixer is running (on low/stir)
1/3 cup white flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup water, slowly, until your dough starts to actually stick together

Let it knead for a minute or two - it still won't be completely cohesive, but will actually attempt to stay together.

Plop about half the dough on a piece of baking parchment and roll very thin (like 1/8"), and as square as you can manage. There is no way you will be able to lift it off the parchment so transfer the parchment to a cookie sheet. Repeat for other half.

(I pressed a goodly portion of the first half into a cheesecake pan and baked it that way, for a crust)

If you want uniform squares at the end, score or cut the dough on the sheet before baking.

Bake for about 20 min at 350 - for the pie crust 20 min was a bit short, for the crackers it was a bit long.

After they've cooked and cooled a smidge, break them apart on your previous score lines.

There are plenty of alternatives for cinnamon/other flavors, or doing a crumble on top, but I'm really liking them just plain! Very crispy, the right flavor.

Adapted from:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/crispy-whole-wheat-graham-crackers

I did one of my fall honking-large food shopping days (again). We had another a week and a half ago where I bought 120 lbs if peppers (to split with a friend), a case of peaches, and some miscellaneous squash (came to something like $110). There will be at least one more major food weekend when I go pick pears and plums! Buy this weekend was particularly good, a trip out to Caldwell for more salsa ingredients, coinciding with a case sale at Albertsons. So I get to brag about Idaho food prices (and my deal-hunting) for a bit.

Spent: $244.29, across six stops.

75 lbs tomatoes ($45)
50 lbs peaches ($30)
50 lbs onions ($17)
45 LARGE green bell peppers ($15)
5.67 lbs bananas ($2.54)
1 lb mushrooms ($2)
1 medium watermelon ($1)
1 smallish cantaloupe ($1)
2 lbs mini bell peppers ($2)
3 doz eggs (commercial) ($2)
3 lbs shredded cheese ($6)
3 gal orange juice ($6)
2 gal vinegar ($5)
1.68 lb celery ($1.33)
12 oz bag baby spinach ($1.99)
1 head iceberg lettuce ($1.59)
4 boxes club crackers ($3.96)
6 cans Mandarin oranges ($5.94)
2 cans sliced pears ($1.58)
1 can pineapple ($0.99)
2 boxes Horizons cow-grahams (organic) ($1.94)
2 loaves whole wheat bread ($1.98)

Case sale:
12 boxes brownie mix ($9.48)
12 cans black beans ($5.88)
48 cans tuna ($24)
12 jars peanut butter ($15.48)
12 boxes swirly pasta ($7.08)
12 yogurts ($3.96)

Misc bathroom stuff ($9.67)

Yes, we do eat meat occasionally, but I rarely buy it - we are still working on the half cow from several years ago, and every November I huck 3 or 4 turkeys in the freezer for our annual poultry consumption.

So off to chop, can, dehydrate, and otherwise squirrel away this mountain of food (before the baby puts teeth marks in EVERY INDIVIDUAL PEACH)