Heidi's Big Sur Power Bars

Following a cue from 101 Cookbooks, I decided to make some power bars for our upcoming camping trip. Of course, unfortunately we won't be going somewhere as amazing as she did! But we are excited for our trip...a last hurrah before we move & have actual jobs. Ew.

I made a whole bunch of changes based on what I had in the house. I can't say whether they are as good as the original, as I've never made the originals. In particular, I had no brown rice syrup & only about 1/2 cup of honey, so I did a mixture of applesauce, pb & honey for the "glue" of the bar.

Protein Bars
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown rice crispies
8 Tbsp flax seed meal
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup peanuts
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, hulled
2/3 cup coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan with the coconut oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 by 8-inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 by 13-inch pan.

On a rimmed baking sheet toast the almonds, pistachios, peanuts and coconut for about 7 minutes, or until the coconut is deeply golden. Toss once or twice along the way. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, coconut, and the cereal, together in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the honey, peanut butter, applesauce, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture and stir until it is evenly incorporated.

Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.

Makes 16 to 24 bars.

I have munched on some of the crumbs & so far they're delicious! They of course do not hold together as well as Heidi's and they seem like they are probably softer, but I really like the nutty flavor. I froze a bunch of them to see if they hold up better, so I'll let you know after this weekend!

Wish you all a weekend of beautiful weather! So far so good over here. :)

Mexican Monkey Cake

Whew...I have been AWFUL at getting here lately. Well, this is one of the first recipes I found when I began reading food blogs...time sure flies, doesn't it? I finally had the occasion (& the bananas) to make it, and I was so excited. It was indeed as delicious as it seemed it would be, and even though only about 1/2 was eaten at the event I brought it to, we've managed to polish off nearly the rest of it in the past few days.

I especially liked the little kick that the chili powder added. I figured if it's going to be called mexican cake, I might as well add some chili!

Farmgirl's Mexican Monkey Cake
adapted from Farmgirl Fare

cinnamon streusel:
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup oats
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder

cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 mashed, ripe bananas (as ripe as they get)
2 Tbsp vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8x2" baking pan. In a small bowl, combine chocolate, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar & egg with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add bananas, yogurt and milk & mix well. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt & remaining 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder until just blended.

Spread slightly more than 1/2 of the batter in the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the streusel and then top with the rest of the streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.


According to the original directions, the cake freezes well, but I wouldn't know since we ate it so quickly! This is definitely worth repeating, and I'm already looking forward to making it again! It was also so easy & looked beautiful. I made it in the morning before our "end of the semester" party & we were eating it by 11:30. If you are looking for something new to make, definitely try this one!

Peanut Butter & Banana Scones

Ever since I started making scones, I haven't been able to stop. It's like an addiction. I can't even eat scones from coffee shops anymore. I just can't imagine that they are as good as the ones I make in my kitchen, plus I can customize the flavors (& generally cut out about 1/2 the fat).

My latest variation was a desperate attempt to use up some of the bananas rapidly "ripening" on my kitchen table. I thought about throwing in some walnuts to make a delicious banana bread scone, and also contemplated adding some nutella since I'd just finally bought some (but if I don't open the jar, I can't eat it all in one sitting!), but finally decided that the jar of cinnamon peanut butter (that I didn't like on its own...yuck, too sweet) would be a perfect addition.

They turned out really well, though not very sweet (just like all my scones) & the peanut butter taste was subtle. I'll mention here that I decided to go back & make a version with more pb, but the scone ended up a lot flatter & didn't have a much stronger pb taste. The recipe below is the first recipe I tried, and it produced some flaky delicious scones.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy flour
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup peanut butter*
1 medium banana, ripe
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together flours, oatmeal, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, & cinnamon. Add butter to mixture & blend in using a fork or a pastry blender until coarse crumbles appear. Add bananas. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, peanut butter, vanilla & egg. Using a spatula, integrate dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just blended. The dough shouldn't be too sticky, so if the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl you can add a bit more flour.

On a floured surface, take half of the dough & form a circle, as if you were making an extremely thick pizza crust. Use a large knife (I used a floured pizza cutter!) to divide the circle into 6 pieces. Repeat with the other half of the dough, then place the sections onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. You can easily freeze these (I wrap them in aluminum foil & then put them in a ziploc freezer bag), or store them in a container for a few days.

*The pb I used was sweetened, so if yours is not, you might prefer to add 1/4 cup of sugar.

French Toast for a cause

I'm not a big fan of cancer. In fact, one might say that cancer is my arch enemy...someone lurking around corners, causing me to glance back in fear. I didn't have much experience with cancer for the majority of my life, and for that I'm grateful. But when cancer hit, it hit hard. 2 years, 3 deaths. Less than 2 years really. January, December, and again in May. Aunt, uncle, grandmother. My grandmother was the first one sick, actually, and we didn't expect her to survive 2 of her children, but she did. And of course she lived over 80 years, and we knew that she wouldn't last forever...but watching her suffer for so long was practically unbearable. She lived with our family, and I was away from home, in college & then grad school, so I never really knew which of my visits home would be my last moment spent with her. Cancer is a fuck of a disease...your body just deteriorates, and it gets so painful that they put you on crazy drugs that make you act like you're 5 again...or at least that's what they did for my grandmother. Honestly, some days she acted just like a kid...clapping her hands in excitement, saying silly things that made no sense. It was good to see her "happy" but I knew it wasn't the amazing, educated woman that I'd known for so long. Watching her slowly waste away was hard, but I'm so grateful for the moments that I spent with her, the stolen seconds that we shared.

My aunt & uncle were much more unexpected. My mom called me one day to tell me my aunt was in the hospital, so they flew to Florida, and when I spoke to them the next day, she had died. I guess she had been sick for some time, but they kept it from us...whether she didn't want us to see her suffer or she was ashamed, I don't know. Shortly thereafter we found out my uncle had cancer, and that it was so far that he wouldn't be able to beat it. He died Christmas eve. And for his poor family, Christmas will never be the same again.

I know that I've shared some really personal & emotional experiences with people who barely know me at all, but isn't that the point? To understand that cancer is painful & heartbreaking for those going through it, as well as those who share the experience? And, most of all, to know that there are people who go through it with us, holding our hand & screaming at the world for being so stupid sometimes!

And so, I reach out my hand to everyone, since honestly there are so few people without have experiences to share. I'm submitting this recipe to Livestrong with A Taste of Yellow as my first time blog event (*grin*). I couldn't let this one pass without participating (ok, I almost did let it pass...but I came through)! I thank Barbara for this event, and I hope that she doesn't mind that this recipe is not much of a recipe at all...of course everyone can make french toast! But it's personal & has meaning, and I hope everyone can enjoy it with me.

*Introductory note: My dad's side of the family seems to be plagued with colon cancer (& remember, it's important to get a colonoscopy regularly! I know, it's not dinner time conversation, but catch it early & we can do something about it!) so I wanted to make something that's high in fiber for this event. We know whole grains are important, but make sure to find bread that has a high fiber content, as apparently not all whole grains provide the same level of fiber. My bread had flax seed, which is another step toward healthy eating. I also incorporated berries, which evidently are cancer fighting too. I swear I read in a magazine once that research had shown cinnamon to be helpful in the prevention of cancer, so I included cinnamon as well.*

High-Fiber French Toast

4 slices high-fiber bread
4 eggs
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries*
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp cinnamon

Beat eggs in a wide bowl, & place one piece of bread in the egg mixture, coating both sides. Let the bread sit in the bowl while you prepare the pan. Heat non-stick pan over medium heat & spray pan with cooking spray.

Meanwhile, place strawberries, blueberries*, water & sugar in small pot on medium-low heat. Make sure to stir often. When the liquid has thickened & the mixture is warm, remove from heat.

Place egg-ed slice of bread into non-stick pan, flipping after about a minute to cook both sides evenly. Repeat with other slices of bread.

Stack pieces of bread on a plate, top with fruit compote & some extra cinnamon, and serve. Of course, it's best served while still warm.

*I used dried blueberries, which worked fine, but if you use fresh or frozen blueberries, you might not need as much water.

My doctor tells me I need to eat 50 grams of fiber a day...50 grams?! Is that even possible? Do I really have to spend the rest of my life worrying that I'm not getting 50 grams of fiber a day? There's so many "cancer-curing" foods out there...it makes us feel like if we eat enough of them, we can be sure that cancer doesn't attack our bodies. It weighs on our mind...am I eating enough of the right foods...am I going to get cancer if I don't eat enough blueberries? If I'm not a fan of flax seed? It gets to a point that we probably need to take a step back & just try to be healthy. Of course, incorporating "cancer-fighting" foods into our daily diet will give us one more chance to kick cancer's ass, but making yourself crazy over it can't be good for your body either. So try to be healthy, remember to make those annual treks to the doctor, and try to remain strong...for our families, friends, and ourselves. Live strong.

hasta manana

Updated 4/16 to include pictures of the food! Also, Tim did well & we looked at new apartments today! I'm very happy. :)

I can't wait for tomorrow. I've been waiting for tomorrow for weeks...months even! Tomorrow is the day I find out for sure if I will be getting out of this god-forsaken place...the day I can finally relax and spend time with my not-driving-me-crazy-anymore Tim...the day he can relax & stop being the most ungodly frustrating human being on the face of this earth (exaggerate much, Sarah? sorry babe! i love you even when you're stressed out of your gourd)...the day when I can start making plans. At least, we hope.

In the meantime (as I haven't spent much time with tv, music, sleep or fun...I gather those are all rather distracting), this weekend has been a whirlwind in the kitchen. In fact, I'm rather unsure that I've spent any time NOT in the kitchen. As I write, I'm sitting beside a pizzelle maker, occasionally pausing to remove pizzelles & drop more batter onto the iron. Not only have I spent the last oh, I don't know, 12 hours making cookies (for Tim to bring to his presentation tomorrow), but I've also managed to squeeze in:

Coconut macaroon pancakes









(for which I didn't have coconut milk, so I sub'd skim milk & didn't have eggs, so I sub'd egg whites...still delicious!)

Failed Kozy Shack rice pudding experiment
(which was FAR too sweet, and I couldn't get over the flour as a thickener (ok, partly my fault since I didn't have any all-purpose flour, used white whole wheat...ewwy uncooked) with the weird texture the flour provided...still haven't eaten much of it. I occasionally take it out of the fridge & taste it, but then I kind of shudder & put it back.)

More white chocolate biscotti
(a new recipe, very much the texture like you'd get at a real coffee shop, which was cool. So good dipped in coffee. Mine personally didn't have much flavor, but I think that's because the white chocolate chips obviously didn't survive very well in all that heat. I made a bunch of changes to this recipe, so hopefully I'll update this with my recipe, but I appear to have lost the paper right now...)

Buckwheat galettes
(using entirely buckwheat flour...I didn't have any all-purpose. Also using 2% milk. I ran into some lumps in the batter...if anyone has any advice on how not to get those? Other than that, delicious & easy! I love crepes, but have never been to France, so I've only ever had them in the States & Montreal...& at home! We ate them with eggs & cheese, as well as with strawberries & whipped cream.)

Lucky muffins
(I tried incorporating some of the actual cereal into the cupcake...what's the use in getting rid of the yummy part of the cereal...it's the rest of the cereal that's hard to use up! It was mildly successful. I wasn't wild about them but Tim liked them, and we finally got rid of that box of Lucky Charms that's been sitting in the cupboard for months.)

Successful & delicious rice pudding
(In two parts: I wanted to try a recipe starting with cooked rice, but didn't actually have any cooked rice, so I "cooked rice" by simmering 2 cups skim milk & 1 cup basmati rice in a covered pot until the milk was absorbed. Then I halved the rice, made attempt #1 with the first 1/2, and put the other half in the fridge overnight. The next day, I took the other 1/2 out of the fridge, put the cold (2 cups) cooked rice in a pot with 3 cups 2% milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon. I let it simmer for about an hour, stirring frequently, until most of the milk was absorbed. Then into the fridge it went again, and it's still creamy & thick & lovely! And not flour-y at all, thank goodness. I roughly followed this recipe, once I had cooked the rice.)

I also attempted scalloped potatoes, but those didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Tim liked 'em, but I wasn't satisfied.

As for the cookies, I made:

Chocolate Chunk & Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
(I'd been dying to try these. I halved the recipe, & used 1/2 light brown sugar & 1/2 dark brown sugar. I also used 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour & 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (in the halved version). Before adding the cherries & chocolate I split the batter, adding the cherries & chocolate to 1/2 the batter, and just adding raisins, 1/4 tsp cloves & 1/4 tsp nutmeg to the other half (oatmeal raisin cookies). Both halves were delicious. Great texture & the chocolate cherry ones had great flavor. Actually, I've decided to keep those ones...they're too good to share with Tim's department. :)



Patricia's Chocolate Sugar Cookies
(Didn't change a thing! These are really delicious. Mine looked darker than the ones in her pictures, but that might have been my camera or I added slightly more cocoa or something weird. Mmmm...I'm not usually big on sugar cookies, but add some chocolate in there & I'll be pushing my way to the front of the line!)



Chocolate Chip Cookies
(These I wasn't totally satisfied with, but I blame that on the fact that I left out the peanut butter...I know, I'm crazy...that's the best part...but this time I just wanted a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I used 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 egg yolk & 1/2 cup flour instead. Everything else I kept the same (except...uh...clears throat...I used leftover "Santa" Reeses' peanut butter cups...don't yell! I know, we never eat candy! We had so much Christmas candy! I promise, it was still edible!) and I liked the texture of these a lot better.)

And that brings me back to pizzelles. I added some chopped hazelnuts to this batch...yum!

I'm hoping to add some pictures soon...right now it's dark & late so I'm not going to photograph yet. Wish Tim luck tomorrow! Here's hoping that my baking will soften them up a bit. :) Can't ask too many tough questions when eating delicious treats, right?

Another day, another deluge.

Today is one of those days where I could really just crawl back under the covers & curl up in the warmth of the blankets. The flood warnings continue (oh, wait, when was the last time there wasn't a flood warning here) and the roads are puddled with water, yet again. To add to the excitement, there's snow in the forecast for the weekend. Needless to say, I do not want to leave the house again in 30 minutes, especially to run around with children (especially when their parents are home...so much more stressful with mom looking over your shoulder...PLUS the kids always go running to their mom (of course) when they want something or when something goes wrong...it's just not a fun time) and of course we'll be trapped in the house the entire time. AND I just got home from babysitting for 6 hours, and of course I got an email this morning saying "Oh, I forgot to tell you, E will be home from school today, so you'll be watching her today too...I hope that's ok." which of course IS ok but I would have liked some more notice, especially since I was still feeling a bit fuzzy from the migraine that sent me to bed at 8 last night. 3 kids under 3? Always a good time!

And if you haven't stopped reading despite all of my horrid whining yet, your reward is this simple message (accompanied by a recipe): Days like these require a strong, piping hot cup of coffee and a plate of perfect biscotti.

This recipe is the perfect simple pleasure for an awful crawl-under-the-covers sort of day.

I love making biscotti, but it takes a little time at home monitoring the oven. Plus there's the cooling and slicing. It's definitely not complicated, but it is time consuming, so it's best to make them when you have some free time & enjoy them slowly. I originally found the recipe at Cookie Madness, and since I didn't have cinnamon or butterscotch chips, I adapted it using ingredients I had on hand. I started with a bag of peanut butter chips I needed to use up, then decided to add white chocolate chips, which I knew would go well with the brown sugar & vanilla (becoming a bit of a butterscotch flavor without being too strong). The amount of chips I used ended up being too much (I couldn't fit them all in the log!) so I revised the recipe below accordingly. I really liked the combination of white chocolate & brown sugar...I think omitting the pb chips & adding more white chocolate might give the biscotti a more simple but richer flavor. I also used white whole wheat flour, because it seems I no longer keep all-purpose in the house, & it worked well.

Small Batch Peanut Butter & Butterscotch Biscotti
adapted from Cookie Madness

1 large egg
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric mixer or wire whisk, beat the egg and sugar until fluffy and light Add the vanilla, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and beat well. Stir in flour. When flour is incorporated, stir in white chocolate & peanut butter chips.

Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment and shape into a log about 7 inches by 2 ½ inches. Smooth the top and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes or until it’s cool enough to handle.

Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees F.

Cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick to 3/4 inch thick slices. Stand the biscotti on the cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

This makes about 16 biscotti.

Note:
I usually wet my hands with cold water before shaping the loaf, because this makes it easier to shape. This dough wasn't too sticky, but if you run into any trouble, be sure to try wetting your hands with cold water.

They are a very crunchy cookie, so be sure to dunk them into coffee or tea. Personally, I;ll eat them dry even though I practically break my teeth when I do! I think the flavors are phenomenal both dunked in coffee or alone. Enjoy!

Pizzelles

Last weekend I finally broke out the pizzelle maker my mama bought me for Christmas. Yes, that's the one thing I asked for this year! I've been making pizzelles with my mom for as long as I can remember...which is to say, at least when I was little, my mom made them & I ate them! The past few years whenever I've been home for the holidays I've managed to make a batch with my mom's super old pizzelle maker that seems to make the thinnest cookies. I've even managed to bring pizzelles back on a plane (in a coffee can!) to Indiana. Yes, I <3 them.


Pizzelles

ingredients:
6 eggs
3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp anise seeds

instructions:
Preheat pizzelle iron. Beat eggs, adding sugar gradually. Beat until smooth. Add cooled melted margarine & vanilla. Sift flour & baking powder, add to egg mixture. Stir in the anise seeds. Dough will be soft enough to be dropped from spoon. Place about a tablespoon onto each pizzelle pattern on the iron.

I was just telling my mom that at first I was disappointed to make pizzelles on the beautiful new iron because I had this crazy feeling that they wouldn't be ANYWHERE near as delicious as my mommy's. Turns out, these new & improved (and less than 30 year old) pizzelle irons are actually very nice. Even heat & consistent. Goodness they are delicious. And they're so easy to make, with tons of cookies in less than 1/2 an hour.

It's kind of sad to post this recipe because I know that only those of you with pizzelle makers can really join in, but since it's one of my favorite cookies I didn't want neglect the post. And if you've never had a pizzelle, you should definitely try one the next time you have a chance...they're really kind of unique.