Oatmeal Date Walnut Bars, for when a craving strikes

Ye olde sweet tooth was calling last night. So I used some pantry staples and soon found myself with a lovely treat in less than an hour - gather ingredients, mix batter, bake, enjoy ... :)

Oatmeal Date Walnut Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
generous sprinkling of cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
generous pinch of kosher salt
1 cup flour
3/4 cup quick-cook oats
1/2 cup date bits
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8"-square baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together butter and brown sugar; stir in egg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in flour and oats. Stir in dates and walnuts.

Press batter into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes or so, until bars are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool, then cut and serve.

Makes 9-12 bars, depending upon how you cut them.

National Blueberry Pancake Day

There are holidays for virtually every kind of food, from frogs' legs to chocolate ice cream. But few are as fabulous as National Blueberry Pancake Day!

I've doubled the blueberries for today's festivities because ... well ... just because! The wholesome pancakes, with some whole grains added, feature these gorgeous fruits; and they're doused with a sweet sauce to further showcase the beautiful berries.

Happy holiday! Enjoy!!!

Be sure to watch the world's most prestigious culinary competition, the Bocuse d'Or, tomorrow and Wednesday as the United States takes on the Scandinavians (who swept the top three spots last time, in 2011), the French (who host the event and are peeved that they've not won for awhile), and other countries vying for the gold! Click here for more information and to watch online.


Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Syrup:

• 2 cups frozen wild blueberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

Place blueberries, sugar, water, and maple syrup into a small saucepan; bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Stir together cornstarch and water; stir into sauce, cook 1 minute, then remove from heat. Let rest while making pancakes.

Pancakes:

• 1/2 cup quick-cook oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
• pinch of kosher salt
• pinch of cinnamon
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries

Combine oats, flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. Beat together buttermilk and egg; stir into dry ingredients. Gently fold in blueberries.

Brush a skillet with butter and set it over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/4-cupfuls and cook 3 minutes or so per side until golden brown and set when nudged a bit with a spatula.

Makes 6 hearty pancakes and a generous amount of syrup to pour over them.

Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

Sunday morning, as regular readers know, is often a time for baking. It's peaceful, it's quiet, and I don't usually have any place I need to be at any particular time.

And so, I bake.

And after the excesses of the holidays - which begin here at Hallowe'en, move on to Thanksgiving, my birthday, Chanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, bowl games, and then end with Jeremy's birthday - I've been feeling the need for salad and a juice fast. Not that I've gone to such an extreme! But I'm definitely trying to eat better.

Rather than suffering utter deprivation, it's possible to eat more nutritiously without completely sacrificing treats. So I made this lovely, sweet blueberry bread with whole grains and also made it dairy-free.

For Christmas, a very dear friend gave me a gift certificate to Spice Merchants, a fabulous store with every variety of spice you can imagine - hot, mild, sweet, savory, and then some! Well, I ooh-ed and ahh-ed and pondered and debated, and selected Mexican and Moroccan spice mixes, some truffle salt, and some lovely wild blueberry sugar on my initial spending spree. (I still have half the certificate left, for more shopping and cooking entertainment!) The fragrant sugar made a very pretty, and delicious, sprinkling for the top of the bread, just to give it an extra nice touch.

This isn't a supermodel to look at, simple bread that it is. But it is exceptionally tender, sweet, and delicious.

Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

• 1 cup quick-cook oats
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1-1/3 cups + 3 tablespoons So Delicious dairy-free creamer, vanilla flavor
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 egg
• juice of 1 clementine
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• blueberry sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8"x4" glass baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together oats, flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a large measuring cup, whisk together 1-1/3 cups creamer, vinegar, oil, egg, and clementine juice; pour into dry ingredients and mix lightly. Stir in blueberries just until batter is combined.

Spread batter into prepared pan, and bake 45 minutes until a tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Place bread onto a serving platter, and tuck small pieces of foil under the edges of the cake to catch drips from the glaze.

Whisk together confectioners' sugar and the remaining 3 tablespoons creamer. Drizzle over bread, then let rest 5 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberry sugar, if desired.

Makes 12 slices.

Whole Grain Pancakes with Spiced Apple Syrup

I love to bake on Sunday mornings, or to make special breakfasts. It's often the only day I don't have to be up, out the door, doing something, accomplishing something. It a time when I can luxuriate, not just grab some salami slices to go with my coffee or rush around trying to get ready on time.

This past Sunday, I debated whether to bake a coffee cake or whether to make something that I could eat more quickly, since I woke up hungry. Needless to say from the photo, speed of preparation won! Pancakes just sounded good, and adding a lovely autumn touch with the apple syrup only made the meal more delicious.


Whole Grain Pancakes with Spiced Apple Syrup

Syrup:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 large Honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/3" dice
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2/3 cup maple syrup

Place the butter, water, apple, and cinnamon into a small saucepan; bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low. Cook 8-10 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed. Add the syrup and turn heat to low; keep syrup warm while making pancakes.

Pancakes:

• 1 packet instant oatmeal, Maple & Brown Sugar Flavor
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 egg
• squirt of lemon juice

In a medium bowl, combine oatmeal, flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together half-and-half, egg, and lemon juice; let rest for 1 minute, then pour over dry ingredients. Let batter rest 1 minute.

Brush a large skillet or griddle with butter, and turn heat to medium-high. Drop batter by the 1/4-cupful and cook until top is covered with small bubbles; carefully flip and cook 2-3 more minutes until done.

Serve pancakes with warm syrup.

Makes 8 pancakes.

Cookie Week: Toasted Coconut Haystacks

This is one of those old-fashioned recipes that everyone in the Midwest seems to have some variation of. I had never seen them, though, until I moved to Michigan in 1978. Having grown up in New York City with a Canadian mother and a father whose own mother had emigrated from Ireland, my family didn't have this recipe.

But my ex-husband's did.

Stuart's Great-Aunt Ina created the cherished instructions for making Haystacks - a chocolatey coconut-oat no-bake cookie. She passed the recipe down, and now it is a favorite for a fourth generation. Jeremy could truly devour an entire batch of these when I make them.

Haystacks are ridiculously easy to make, as the most difficult step is merely waiting for them to cool and set. They're a great treat to give as holiday gifts, or to make when you're given last minute notice of bake sales. Butter, sugar, cocoa powder ... two minutes of stirring ... that's it!

Jeremy and Stuart are purists who never want to change anything; they want the same meals served at holidays, the same graham cracker crust at the base of their cheesecake, the same version of Haystacks that they've eaten all their lives.

I, however, like to tweak things a bit.

So I toasted the coconut rather than just stirring it in "as is." And I have to say that the boys loved them! This step offers just an extra bit of depth to the flavor.

Traditions are important at the holidays, and serving Haystacks has been a tradition in the Bilyeu family for decades.

Toasted Coconut Haystacks

1 cup coconut
3 cups quick-cook oats
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Place coconut into a large skillet; toast it over low heat just until it starts to turn golden. Place into a large mixing bowl and add the oats.

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, butter, milk, cocoa powder and vanilla to a boil; boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour the chocolate mixture over the coconut and oats. Stir to combine well. (Add another 1-2 tablespoons of milk if the mixture seems a bit dry and isn't cohesive.)

Drop golf ball-sized dollops of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly to help the cookies hold together as they set. Let cool on the counter or in the refrigerator until set.

Makes 2 dozen cookies, though you could make them smaller to make more.

By the way - don't forget these treats, too:

Oatmeal Shortbread

Blueberry Walnut Rugelach

Soft 'n' Chewy Oatmeal Cookies for Alpha House

Last week, it was my congregation's scheduled shift to support Alpha House, an exceptional organization which offers "temporary shelter, food and support services (to those without homes) in a caring atmosphere of dignity and safety. More than providing just a bed and a roof for families, our goal ... is to support the families in securing and maintaining their own home."

Volunteers from the congregation can be hosts, serving dinner and sharing a meal with the residents; they can stay overnight and be a friendly face and resource if needed in an emergency; or they can provide the entrees, side dishes, salads and desserts that comprise a home-cooked meal for people who've lost their own homes.

Alpha House is one of my very favorite charities, and I'm always happy to contribute to the meals. This time, I was assigned to make a dessert; healthier options are preferred, rather than junk food.

Well, let's just say I compromised between the two extremes! I made cookies, which are hardly considered healthy; and yet, I added oats and dried fruit to them, in order to boost the nutritional value. The raisins, I already had on hand. But the apricots were a lovely marketing gift from Peeled Snacks. (And I also need to thank Tom for delivering the treats while I was at work!)

Whether served at dinner or packed in a lunch if there are leftovers for the next day, I hope these soft, cinnamony treats provide comfort to those who've lost so much and are working so hard to regain stability for their families.

(Click on this link to find ways you can support Alpha House and its residents.)

Soft 'n' Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups flour
1-3/4 cups quick-cook oats
1 1.5-ounce packet instant Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

lace the raisins and the apricots into a small saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let rest.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in the flour, then stir in the oats and oatmeal.

Drain the dried fruit, then add it to the bowl and combine well.

With damp hands, roll ping pong-sized balls of dough and place them 2" apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned and still slightly soft when pressed in the middle. Continue until all of the batter is used up.

Makes about 48 cookies.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- Ypsilanti Food Co-Op

There aren't many places where you can buy a meal for less than $5 ... and fast food joints don't count.

So let me introduce you to a place where you can actually find a wholesome, nutritious meal -- including dessert! -- for a whopping $4.87 including tax. Today's edition of Frugal Floozie Friday takes us to the Ypsilanti Food Co-Op. (That's pronounced [ip-sih-LAN-tee], by the way, for newcomers.)

When I go on my long evening walks, I often stop by the Co-Op just to see what goodies might be available that day. In addition to the standard groceries, you can find a variety of sandwiches and prepared foods; there are also luscious baked goods (breads, scones, cupcakes and such) prepared by the River Street Bakery, which is owned by the Co-Op and strategically located right next door.

I sometimes challenge myself to see if I can find anything there for less than $1. Health food stores have a reputation for being expensive after all, with organic and fair trade and specialty products, so this project amuses me. Once I found a basket with free samples of granola bars, and another time I bought a cucumber and limes on sale. The primo specimen, though, was a day-old baguette that had been sprinkled with assorted seeds (poppy, sesame) and was exquisite sliced and spread with butter!

But, as per usual, I digress. Back to the task at hand!

I doubt that it's possible to buy a supper for less than $1; but finding a good meal to bring home for less than $5 was quite a stellar accomplishment!

An 8-ounce cup of soup at the Co-Op costs just $2.97. I passed over the vegetarian chili in favor of a rich and creamy Potato-Leek-Pea Soup, intrigued by the addition of peas when I normally make my own version with just the first two ingredients. Soups (which vary each day) come with a slice of whole grain bread, a lovely complement and supplement.

And then I was seduced (as always) by the freshly baked treats. Mocha cupcakes, lemon-ginger scones, brownies ... but each of these was out of the price range, and would have pushed me over the Frugal Floozie Friday limit.

The Oat Raisin Cookie, however, was waiting patiently for me, its fragrant cinnamon slowly luring me in. It's made with organic ingredients, including whole wheat pastry flour, and is even vegan. A treat that's good for you! And it cost only $1.72.

The soup was very flavorful and perfectly seasoned, with hints of the peas shining through. And the cookie was sweet and spicy, with a tendency to fall apart without any eggs to bind it; but since I tend to break my food into pieces anyway, this was simply a cookie that someone must have baked just for me!

My light supper was ideal sustenance on a wretchedly Summer-like day -- hot soup to combat excessive air conditioning, which I loathe but don't get to control, though it was still light enough to be perfect for the season. The cookie was the essential sweet treat to finish the meal.

It's surprising just how far that $5 bill can go, isn't it? And how well you can eat for such a small amount ....

Ypsilanti Food Co-Op
312 North River Street
Ypsilanti, Michigan 48198


View Larger Map


Frugal Floozie Friday: Food and Fun for Five Dollars or Less ... Really!!!

Snow Day Applesauce Bars

I wasn't scheduled to have a holiday on President's Day, but the weather gave me a gift -- a snow day! Work was cancelled because of horrendous road conditions.

Now, remember this if you ever happen to be listening to a weather report in Ann Arbor: if they predict a 15" snowpocalypse, there will actually be 8" of snow. However, if they predict 2-3" of snow there will actually be 10", as we had on Monday after rumblings about a few token inches of the white stuff plus some ice that may (or may not!) be buried under the snow but can't quite be found yet. 4"-6" are predicted for tonight ... really, this could either be an avalanche or a dusting, who knows???

The snow just kept a-falling on Sunday night and into the morning, inundating us. I have a 4-wheel drive Suburban, and even *I* was weaving down my unplowed side street on Monday afternoon ... it was pretty scary with no traction whatsoever, and a cab meandering in the opposite direction as badly as I was nearly hitting me. I had been on my way to pick up Tom, who couldn't get down his own street, figuring that putting all of those wheels and some new tires to work would get me through ... ha!

I turned around, shaken, and made a cup of tea. And I indulged in one of the shortbread-based applesauce bars I'd made that morning, as I took advantage of time by myself to write and to bake.

Life is so hectic sometimes that I don't get multiple posts written all at once to free up my schedule; and I don't get to bake as often as I'd like to, either, despite it being one of my very favorite things to do.

There are the chores of daily life, as well as the perks of visiting with Jeremy and spending time with Tom. I've taken up line dancing. (OMG, if y'all only knew how ludicrous that notion is for a prissy city girl like me! But my BFF Wendy wanted to do it, and it turned out to be so much fun!!!) Several of my most cherished loved ones have life and health stressors that require significant attention and care right now. Oh, yeah, and then there's that "day job" thing!

So, a day with no interruptions and no commitments and no errands to run and no place I had to be??? Quite the luxury! My chosen word for the year was "nurture," and I certainly had the opportunity to nurture myself on Monday ... :)

These slightly sweet and subtly spiced bars provided comfort, a treat, aromatherapy -- they were just perfection on a cold, snowy day.

Applesauce Bars

2/3 cup softened butter
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup applesauce
3 tablespoons apple jelly
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 packet instant apple-flavored oatmeal

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8"x8" baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, oil, sugar and brown sugar; stir in the egg and the salt. Mix in the flour. Press 2 cups of this mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.

Combine the applesauce, jelly and cinnamon; spread over the base.

Stir the oatmeal into the remaining batter; spread over the applesauce layer.

Bake for 30 minutes until topping is golden. Cool before cutting into bars.

The Oxymoron of "Healthy Cookie"

Those two words -- healthy and cookie -- do not belong in the same sentence, usually. Cookies are wonderful sweet treats, and the more butter and sugar and stuff in 'em, the better! Healthy foods can, of course, taste good; but cookies that have been redeemed nutrition-wise generally don't earn the exalted adjective "delicious."

Until today.

I've gotta pat myself on the back -- Tom challenged me to make a healthy cookie, and I think I've done a pretty good job! I admittedly haven't run the recipe through any calorie/fat/sugar algorithm to test it. But since I cut the butter by 2/3, cut the brown sugar by 1/3, used dark chocolate instead something like M&Ms, and there are lots of oats as well as whole wheat flour, I like to think I've performed a mitzvah ([MITZ-vuh] = good deed).

They're not as addictive as, say, that heroin-like substance the Girl Scouts call Caramel De-Lites (a.k.a.: Samoas), with all the gooey caramel and luscious chocolate and coconut. But they're still pretty good ... and I've eaten enough of 'em to be able to state that truthfully!

These cookies are soft and sweet, with just a hint of crunch from granola. You can eat a couple and still feel as though you're indulging in a treat, but without also indulging in guilt. I'm a girl who spent 13 years in Catholic schools and who now considers herself kinda/sorta Jewish -- I know a little somethin' 'bout guilt! Trust me -- you won't have any of that if you bake and enjoy these ... :)

Oatmeal Granola Cookies

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Brown Cow Cream Top Maple Yogurt (substitute vanilla, if need be)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
2-1/2 cups quick-cook oats
1 cup maple granola
1 2-ounce dark chocolate bar, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, yogurt and brown sugar. Stir in egg, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Add flour, oats and granola; stir in chocolate.

Form golfball-sized balls with the dough, and place them 2" apart on the cookie sheet. Flatten slightly, then bake the cookies for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.

International Week -- Scottish Oatmeal Shortbread

I am thrilled to announce that this post was named one of the daily "Best of the Blogs" by the prestigious Food News Journal on January 26, 2011!!!


My maternal grandmother was always extraordinarily proud of being Scottish, and of being descended not just from MacGregors but from the Rob Roy branch of the MacGregors. So, having been raised to bask in this heritage (though it's just one of many facets to my mutt-dom), today is a holiday which I celebrate every year: Robbie Burns Day.

Robert Burns was an 18th century poet whose most famous lines are undoubtedly the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. He was a hero to the Scots, who celebrate his birthday every January 25 with special Burns Suppers that most notably feature haggis -- a dish, according to Wikipedia, "containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach." Yum!!!

In all honesty, I have never tried haggis ... and I'm not ashamed to admit that it's not on my "to do" list, either. Instead, I prefer to celebrate with shortbread cookies, an infinitely more delicious representative of Scottish cuisine!

Oats are a staple in Scotland, even though Samuel Johnson once referred to them as: "A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people." And Scottish chef John Quigley has called shortbread "the jewel in the crown" of Scottish baked goods. So, why not combine them into a perfect little treat???

Delicious with a cup of cocoa or tea, these cookies are an ideal way to celebrate a literary birthday on a cold winter day ....

Winter: A Dirge (Robert Burns - 1781)

The wintry west extends his blast,
And hail and rain does blaw;
Or the stormy north sends driving forth
The blinding sleet and snaw:
While, tumbling brown, the burn comes down,
And roars frae bank to brae;
And bird and beast in covert rest,
And pass the heartless day.

"The sweeping blast, the sky o'ercast,"
The joyless winter day
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May:
The tempest's howl, it soothes my soul,
My griefs it seems to join;
The leafless trees my fancy please,
Their fate resembles mine!

Thou Power Supreme, whose mighty scheme
These woes of mine fulfil,
Here firm I rest; they must be best,
Because they are Thy will!
Then all I want - O do Thou grant
This one request of mine! -
Since to enjoy Thou dost deny,
Assist me to resign.


Oatmeal Shortbread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup quick-cook oats
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8"x8" baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and 1/3 cup sugar; stir in egg. Add oats, flour and salt; mix well. Press into the prepared pan.

Combine 1 tablespoon sugar with cinnamon; sprinkle over the batter. Bake for 25 minutes until shortbread is set when pressed lightly.

Immediately take a sharp knife and cut shortbread into 16 cookies. Let cool completely.

Recycling, Redemption and Resurrection

I ate breakfast at Tom's a few mornings ago, and was in the mood for oatmeal. My beloved is very much a creature of habit who eats rye or whole grain toast with peanut butter every morning, accompanied by oatmeal.

For ease, I used to join in that comfort food ritual; but I have to admit that I am not someone who wants to see the same food every day. (Jeremy, despite being a good eater, would be happy with 3 or 4 core foods too ... men!) For breakfast, I'll eat cheese with fruit, leftover beef stew, yogurt with granola, eggs, hot dogs -- whatever strikes my fancy. But after a long hiatus, the other day oatmeal just sounded good.

So I made some of the Meijer-brand instant oatmeal that was in the cupboard. At home I would toss in some dried fruit and a sprinkling of cinnamon, but Tom didn't have either. It was pretty bland -- frankly, it was kinda pasty. I'd say it was like paste, but it was so bad that such a comparison would actually be an insult to the fine product that Elmer's makes.

So I sprinkled on some Trader Joe's maple almond granola, which I love ... and yet, that only turned out to be a waste of some exceptionally good cold cereal. I poured on a bit of half-and-half, because how could fatty cream do any harm??? Well ... let's just say that nothing could redeem this bowl of oatmeal.

That is, until Tom suggested that perhaps I should recycle it into a batch of cookie dough. And I thought of the Oatmeal Raisin Muffins I'd made recently. Or how 'bout some oatmeal pancakes topped with homemade spiced applesauce? But once I got home from work, I felt like baking bread. And before I could even say "I think I'll bake some bread" as I told Jeremy the saga, he said "You should make your Honey Oat Bread." Serendipity!

And so, here is how you take a very bad product and a sadly disappointing breakfast and resurrect it by magically transforming it into two different breads which are not only edible (an accomplishment not to be underestimated!) but truly delicious ....

Honey Oat Bread and Cinnamon Swirl Bread

2 packets quick-rise yeast
3/4 cup vanilla soy milk, very warm to the touch
1-1/2 cups water, very warm to the touch
3/4 cup prepared oatmeal
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4+ cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 140F.

In a large bowl, combine yeast and soy milk; let rest 5 minutes until mixture is puffy. Stir in water, oatmeal, honey, salt, 4 cups whole wheat flour, and white flour. Grease another large bowl and place the very soft dough into the new bowl; cover with plastic wrap and with a dish towel, and place into the oven for 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and sprinkle the countertop with about 1/2 cup more whole wheat flour. Knead the dough to incorporate the flour, adding a bit more if needed to keep the dough from sticking. Divide the dough in half.

Grease two 8"x4" glass loaf pans. Take one half of the dough and form it into an oval loaf shape to make the Honey Oat Bread; place into one of the prepared loaf pans.

Roll the other half of the dough out into a rectangle about 12" x 10". Spread with the butter.


Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle the sugar mixture over the butter.


Roll up the dough into a spiral to form the Cinnamon Swirl Bread, and place into the other loaf pan.


Place the loaf pans back into the oven and let dough rise for 45 minutes. Raise heat to 350F and bake loaves for 45 minutes until golden brown. Let bread rest in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove them and place them on a rack to cool. Makes 2 loaves.

Oatmeal Raisin ... Nope -- Not Cookies!

On Sunday morning, I was in the mood to bake. This is a fairly frequent occurrence on Sunday mornings, while I'm still in my jammies and waiting for my coffee to brew. And now that the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are over, I didn't even have to go in to work ... whew!

Of course, tonight begins yet another major Jewish holiday: Sukkot [sooh-KOTE], a harvest and pilgrimage festival. The tradition is to build a sukkah [SOO-kuh], a temporary structure with 3 sides and a roof made of natural materials, which is reminiscent of the flimsy housing the Israelites relied upon during their wandering in the desert. Sukkot (not just the name of the holiday, but also the plural of "sukkah") are decorated, and it is customary to spend as much time as possible -- particularly eating meals -- in them during the course of the 8-day holiday.



And so, how does this all relate??? On Sunday morning I baked Oatmeal Raisin Muffins, which would be perfect treats to enjoy in the sukkah -- as a light breakfast with coffee, as a snack with tea or cocoa, as an offering to friends who come to visit and share the holiday with you ... or even if you're just sitting in your jammies on a Sunday morning, whether you're celebrating Sukkot or not.

Hag Sameach! [HAHG sah-MAY-ack] = Happy Holiday!

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/3 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Place the oats into a skillet and toast them, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat just until they're fragrant and slightly golden; place into a large mixing bowl.

Add whole wheat flour, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a large measuring cup, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla; pour over oat mixture and stir to mix. Stir in raisins.

Divide batter among the muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

Potluck in the Park

Tom and I went to a potluck in the park this past Friday night, after a religious service held in the park's pavilion. The food was almost as fabulous as the company!

Unfortunately, because picture taking is forbidden on Shabbat (and this was an event within the Jewish community, so I had to be respectful even though I don't subscribe to the rule myself), I only have pictures of my contribution to the cause: Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies.

It would have been great to show the lasagna, the macaroni and cheese, the tomato-basil-mozzarella salad, the chocolate chip cookies, the vegetarian mock chicken liver pate, the fruit and vegetable trays, the apple pie, the cucumber salad in vinaigrette, the potato-dill salad, the homemade challah (made by the Rabbi's husband, no less!), and all the other fabulous offerings ... sigh. But not this time.

I never know what to bring to a potluck ... decisions, decisions! I was taking RSVPs, so I knew what others were contributing; but that didn't help very much -- it only gave me more ideas!

And, of course, because the High Holiday preparation chaos continues and deepens and expands and mutates, my time was limited. So what could I bring that would:

a) be easy to make

b) be easy to transport

c) be popular with everyone, including kids

d) keep well without needing to be either heated or refrigerated

e) be dairy or pareve [PAHRv] - neither meat nor dairy, for those who keep kosher and can't mix meat and dairy (since it was a dairy potluck rather than a meat meal)

f) be non-citrus, for an attendee with a severe allergy

and g) most of all, taste good???

Well, cookies won the day!

I don't understand people who buy cookies at bakeries or who purchase pre-made cookie dough at the grocery store ... not that there's anything wrong with them -- I've certainly eaten far more than my fair share over the past 47+ years! But cookies are just so ridiculously easy to make from scratch -- especially bar cookies, like brownies, which all bake at once -- that it's just not worth the trip to the store when you can have homemade cookies and a house that smells fabulous all at the same time.

So, since I'm an early riser -- 5:30 most mornings, whether the alarm has gone off or not -- I baked cookies while waiting for my coffee to brew. And then, of course, I had to try one to make sure they were good. Not necessarily a noble way to start the day, but it's hard to argue with coffee and chocolate. And I did sneak some oatmeal and some cherries in there ... consummate nutrition!

At the end of the evening, there were only 5 cookies left (which made Tom happy, 'cause he wanted to have some with his morning coffee the next day!). I guess these were a good choice ... :)

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter substitute, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/3 cups unbleached white flour
1-1/4 cups quick-cooking oats

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a baking sheet.

Place the cherries into a small bowl and cover with water; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, Earth Balance, brown sugar and sugar. Stir in the vanilla, egg, cinnamon, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Mix in the flour, then mix in the oats. Drain all but a tablespoon or so of the water from the cherries, then add the cherries and the remaining dribbles of water to the batter. Mix well.

Roll the dough into balls the size of ping-pong balls.

Place 12 of them onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes until the edges of the cookies are set but they're still slightly soft in the center. Place them on a rack to cool and continue with the rest of the batter.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Just want to add a quick note of apology to all my cyber-friends who are likely feeling neglected of late as I'm behind in reading, commenting and emailing ... I'm trying to keep up, but it's getting more and more difficult. (The only way I manage my own posts is by cramming on the weekends and scheduling ahead.) No time at work (lunch??? HA!!!), exhausted at home, literally falling asleep in the chair some nights with the computer on my lap. I still love all of you! I just have to get through next week, when all the High Holiday preparations are complete, and then I'll play catch-up and show you all the t.l.c. you deserve ... :)