This is Going to be the Summer of the Smoothie

I was recently expounding to a friend how lazy I am when it comes to cleaning blenders (and muffin tins and roasting racks and my oven and a multitude of other kitchen appliances) and that's why our blender didn't make the move to WA when another friend piped up and asked why I didn't just BLEND HOT SOAPY WATER AND CALL IT GOOD.  I had a moment like this while I registered her complete and utter genius then I went home and bought a blender and pinned a million smoothie "recipes" in anticipation.

I made two smoothies the first night (a green smoothie for dinner and a strawberry one for the hubs) and am totally stoked for all the possibilities.  I love anything that combines tons of weird stuff together.  Salads, sandwiches and smoothies are perfect for this.  How can I incorporate black tea into a smoothie?  Wait for it because it is coming...

A Place at the Table

{oatmeal with pomegranate}

{pb toast with cinnamon sugar}

{quinoa with spinach and leftover broccoli}

{spice rub}

{grilled chzs and tomato soup}

{dork burger, sweet potato fries, vanilla shake}

I am always mildly embarrassed when I flip through my phone pictures and it's food, food, food, more food and yet more food.

I love food.

My parents and one sister are coming in a few days (and bringing a mini whipped cream machine!) and all the sight-seeing activities I can think of are places to eat.  Also, it is cherry season here in the Pacific Northwest and little roadside stands are popping up all over the place.  I'm looking forward to a week off, spending time with family and being a food tour guide!

Oatmeal Wheatgerm Chocolate Chip Cookies (OWG!)

Specialty's Bakery has a ridiculous Oatmeal Wheatgerm Chocolate Chip cookie that I dearly love even though my husband teases me mercilessly about my affinity for gross, healthy food.  I'm a girl.  I like more than chicken fingers and pizza.  Is that hummus?  And that cookie is emphatically not health food - so much chewy, oaty, buttery goodness.  My, oh my.
 
I have searched high and low for a copy cat recipe and while there doesn't seem to be an exact one available, there are a lot of yummy versions.  I was a little apprehensive about attempting these since I've never made a cookie like this before but they turned out to be delicious.  To a girl.  The hubs nibbled on one and was like, "Eh". I baked an initial 6  (gone in a flash) and froze the rest but it's snowing right now so I busted out another half dozen and they are baking now.  I know what I'm having for dinner.

These differ from Specialty's because of the cinnamon and regular sized chocolate chips.  I'm also not sure if the original has coconut.  I must resolve this uncertainty with exhaustive research from a large sample size.

OWG Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted  from Caroline's Bake Shop: Wheat Germ Chocolate Chip Cookies 

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp butter, softened (I had an extra nub of butter hanging around so I tossed it in, I'm guessing it was around 2 Tbsp)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 large egg 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup oat flour (or 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds 
1/2 cup raw wheat germ 
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips 

1.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in oats, flour, flax seeds, wheat germ, coconut flakes, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and press cookie dough into loaf pan.  Chill for at least 1 hour.

5.  Preheat oven to 400 F.

6.  Lift parchment paper out of loaf pan and "slice" cookie dough into approximately 21 cubes.

7.  Place cookies 1-2 inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes (I bake all my cookies on stoneware, so if you're using a metal cookie sheet, knock off 2-3 minutes?).  Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely on wire rack.

Pumpkin Pie Irish Oatmeal

Let me just say one thing before sharing this recipe.  I am not normally a tool who buys pre-made spice mixes BUT in a flurry of Thanksgiving shopping, I bought this pumpkin pie spice and by gum, I will be using it wherever and however until it is all gone to make good on my purchase.

I made this oatmeal for dinner one rainy Sunday night and it turned out to be a dinner/dessert combo reminiscent of rice pudding.  In fact, you could get away with calling it guilt-and-rice-free rice pudding if rice makes you feel guilty.  The only thing that makes me feel guilty is getting caught in our pantry with a bag of chips in hand and no apparent explanation.  Which has never happened.

Pumpkin Pie Irish Oatmeal

1 C steel-cut/Irish oats
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 T pumpkin pie spice
3 T brown sugar

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1 C steel-cut/Irish oats.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.  Turn off heat.

Beat egg in separate bowl.  Slowly add egg to cooked oatmeal, stirring oatmeal vigorously with a spatula to incorporate egg smoothly and prevent egg from scrambling.

Add 3 T of brown sugar and 1/2 T of pumpkin pie spice.

That's how it's done, son.

Manly Men Like French Desserts Too

Me: Hey, there's this place I want to try.  Their sign says "No Sissy Food Here!".  I think you'll like it.
Ryan: But I like sissy food.
Me: Like what?
Ryan: Like creme brulee.

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie recipe has a million 5 star reviews on my husband's fave website and I have been craving an out-of-control-way-over-the-top apple pie.  I'm talking 4 inches of gooey pie goodness.  I blame these stupid buns for such outrageous apple pie fantasies.  One of those and a mug of black tea brings all the boys to the yard.  Or brings me to the yard.  Is that weird?  Anyways.

This pie.

Is delicious.

It's not 4 inches tall but it is sufficiently gooey and appley and even the hubs said it was rul good and he doesn't even like pie (but give the man a sugar cookie and he's as happy as a clam).  I followed some of the amendments suggested in the comments (included cinnamon, etc to the butter/sugar mixture, poured the butter/sugar mixture over the apples before putting them in the pie plate and reserved some of the butter/sugar mixture to glaze the top crust and baked the whole deal for an hour at 350) and was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I was not pleased when I woke up from a nap to allegations that something in the oven was beeping that I couldn't remember anything about a pie and had to stumble after the hubs to figure it out.  That nap was a doozy.  Also, the pie leaked in my oven.  Grr.  And I think we have redneck problems because I could barely squeeze the pie in the fridge because of the e.nor.mous tub of margarine we currently have because someone thought it was a good deal on Amazon Fresh and it probably is for a family of five but the two of us are going to be working on that margarine for the next 24 months or so.

Pie.  Just Do It.

Trying Something New

This week, I've been doing this thing where I eat only protein and vegetables and/or fruit for every meal.  It's been a good excuse to buy the prettiest vegetables at the grocery store. 

I'm not doing this because I don't like carbs or believe that carbs are the devil incarnate. I'm doing this because the last few weeks (getting close to months...) I've been stress eating mega-carbs.  It's time to break out of the rut and do more meal prep than pour cereal into a bowl.

And bacon is protein.  So there.

Kinda-Raw Not-Really-Vegan 7 Ingredient Granola-Type Bars

Because I saw these bars, I made this pie pan full of delicious.  A lazy person version of the original that turned out to be kind of amazing.  I fully intended to follow the recipe but early in the process mistakes were made...(like not reading the directions all the way through).  And just for the record, I don't even know what "raw" or "vegan" means.  You don't have to bake these and there's no meat in them.  Boom boom pow.

Man, it's a good thing I'm not in charge of naming things.

These remind me of some off brand chocolate coconut macaroon bars that my grandma would occasionally give us as kids (so good!).  The texture is similar to a store-bought granola bar but it's cold? But also still kind crunchy?  My initial taste test turned into 3+ forkfuls while I tried to wrap my head around the cold/crunchy phenomena.  I wish all phenomena were this delicious.

Kinda-Raw Not-Really-Vegan 7 Ingredient Granola-Type Bars
1 1/2 C old fashioned oats
1 1/2 C unsweetened coconut flakes (flakes are bigger than shredded but shredded is okay)
pinch of salt
1/8 C mini chocolate chips (I just sprinkled some into the mix until I felt like it was enough)

1/4 C unsalted butter
1/4 C coconut oil (measured solid)
1/4 C honey

In a small saucepan, bring butter, coconut oil and honey to a low boil. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl (or a pie pan or receptacle of your choosing), mix together dry ingredients.
Pour butter/coconut oil/honey mixture over dry ingredients and mix together, making sure everything is thoroughly moistened.
Using a spatula, or whatever you're stirring with, press the mixture down into the pan and refrigerate for a couple hours.
Enjoy.  Preferably barefoot, alone in your kitchen, with a fork at 11 pm.
(My bars stayed a little crumbly, they were sticky but not super cohesive, thus requiring the fork)

An Everyday Cake

Now, a word about this cake*.  It's basically banana bread loaded up with chocolate chips and a little chocolate frosting but if it's in a cake shape and the container says 'CAKE', then my brain is like, YAY CAAAAAAAAAKE!

This is the first bundt pan I've owned as a Mrs., which feels like some kind of milestone.  I've always kind of wanted one but not enough to pay for one.  I found this one at the thrift store for $1.99.  In fact, I was in the checkout line behind a lady who had this very same bundt pan in her pile but it didn't have a price tag on it at the time and they couldn't sell it to her.  I found it back on the shelf a week later and bought it. Hee hee hee heeee.  When I texted Ryan about my thrift victory, my phone kept correcting "bundt" to "Bundy", so now we call it our Bundy Pan.  (And by 'we' I mean 'I' because I don't think my husband has ever voluntarily brought up the subject of cake pans).

The cake holder is one that belonged to Ryan's great-aunt Vi and it had a long, happy life in a hardworking farm kitchen and housed many a strawberry angel food cake.  I never knew Vi but I cherish every dent and her green permanent marker initials on top of her cake holder.  There's something restful about the thought of an everyday cake, something a little sweet at the end of a long day of hard work.  This Banana Chocolate Chip cake is like that. 

It's also excellent in the morning with a strong cup of tea.  Not that a farm wife would eat cake for breakfast. 

But I, I am no farm wife.  I eat cake for breakfast.

*I didn't add any lemony anything

and I was inspired in the first place by this other cake

Let's Get This Summer Started

This long weekend, we grilled (cheeseburgers!), consumed an entire watermelon and most of a pan of rice krispie treats, and generally had a good time around the ol' apartment.  We played some board games, kicked a soccer ball around the park, hiked Tiger Mt. and hit up the REI member sale (gotta get the gear).  And I made a pie.

This summer is off to a grand start.  Pie wise, not necessarily swimsuit shopping wise.

Thank you to all our veterans and current service members!

Baking Together (In Which I Show Off My Kitchen Skillz)

Ryan: Okay...*reading aloud* mix together flour, baking soda and salt...
Me: Those are your dry ingredients.
Ryan: Thank you.  Sweetie.

Oatmeal and Prune (+ other stuff) Muffins

I love oatmeal.  I love prunes.  I really love a breakfast treat that I can put in my face minutes after waking up and as much as I would like that to be BACON! every day, oatmeal and prunes are better for my thighs smarter.  So, I made these muffins.  They are delicious with cookie butter.

Wait.  A brick would be delicious with cookie butter.

Help.

Oatmeal and Prune (+ other stuff) Muffins
Adapted from here
(Full disclosure: I wanted to make a quick bread that would use up an almost bad carton of yogurt I had sitting in my fridge so I searched for "oatmeal prune yogurt muffin" and found this recipe on epicurious.com from Gourmet magazine, October 1991.  Someone in the comments had used yogurt instead of buttermilk and I was excited to go the same route until I opened my yogurt and realized it had gone from almost bad to absolutely disgusting bad.)

1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C spelt flour
1/4 C oat flour
(or just 1 C all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp ginger (optional)
1 dash allspice (optional)
1 1/3 C rolled oats

1/4 C honey (or brown sugar)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1 C buttermilk
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, browned if you have time or just melted if you don't and cooled
1 egg, beaten lightly

1 C chopped pitted prunes
1/4 C sliced almonds (optional)
1/2 C shredded carrot (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.  In a largish bowl, pour buttermilk, honey (if using) and vanilla over rolled oats and allow to sit.
In another bowl, sift together the flours, brown sugar (if using), baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and almonds.
Add browned butter, egg, prunes and carrots to buttermilk/oat mixture.  Stir vigorously to beat egg.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
Divide the batter among 12 well-buttered muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Cookie Sundae Saturday

When Ryan gets busy in the kitchen, it's bad news for my waistline.

But it makes for a pretty rad weekend.

He's Onto Me

Me: I bought a pack of gizzard.
Ryan: Of course you did.
Me: But I don't know I'm going to do with it yet...
Ryan: Of course you don't.

Proof That One Bad Decision Leads to Another

Bad Decision #1:
I'm just going to browse as I get the things I need in Target.

Bad Decision #2:
Going down the 50% off Easter candy aisle.

Bad Decision #3:
It's only 1 bag of coconut M&Ms.  (And it's on SALE!)

Bad Decision #4:
It's only 1 handful before dinner.  Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Oops.

{you sneaky devils}

Butter + Sugar = Happiness

Last week, I met two of my favorite bloggers/podcasters, Joy the Baker and Tracy Shutterbean!

{blazer + pencil neck+ blazer}

The work that these ladies do is super positive/encouraging/inspiring and they seem so genuine on their respective blogs, the podcast and in person.  I was super excited to meet them and kind of nervous.  So nervous that I told Joy that I was "more of a cooker". What? Ugh.

I also have never felt that I had as many common likes with someone that I'd never met than with Tracy Shutterbean. We're both Leos and loooooove carbs, she wears sensible shoes, I wear sensible shoes, her husband loves blueberries, MY husband loves blueberries.  But you can't very well go up to one and say "We're practically the same person. Hi."

After I've had a long day of engineering meetings that go something like, "We can't do that because of *SCIENCE*", I like to listen to the Joy the Baker podcast on the way home and feel like I'm having some girl time.  It was definitely weird to meet someone that you feel a connection to and they have no idea who you are but it was a lot of fun.

{big mouth}

And the cookbook is so good that I've already made two of the recipes - the chocolate/almond/coconut granola and the rice pudding.  That is some serious yum!

Reluctantly a Lady

{chick food}

My coworker: Salad, huh?
Me: Yeah, there were no burritos.

Snow Day Baking: Chocolate Chip Pear Chocolate Bread

We had a snow day in the middle of the week.  Which meant pancakes and bacon at 9:30 and pajamas until noon and a long, snowy walk/slog in the afternoon.  Snow in Seattle is just rain in disguise.  We came back soaked and semi-frozen to a warm kitchen that smelled of chocolate.  Hallelujah. 

 

I have been on a bit of a quick bread bender lately and had a couple pears that were a little too ripe for me to want to eat out of hand and one sneaky banana.  Instead of "put a bird on it", my mantra is "put a banana in it" and sometimes I am inspired by things other than the rotting fruit sitting around this place, I swear.  I bought a Fall Baking magazine from a K-Mart somewhere in Montana during our move out here and it had a section featuring a ton of quick bread recipes and possible variations.  Anyways, chocolate and pears and one lonely banana go together, right?  I don't care.

Chocolate Chip Pear Chocolate Bread
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Special Fall Baking magazine recipe for Chocolate Bread

2 C whole wheat flour
1 C sugar
3 Tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 pear, cored and chopped
1 exceedingly ripe banana, mashed (totally optional)
1/4 C semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease loaf pan.

1. Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl; flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder salt.  Make a well in the center.
2. Mix together wet ingredients in medium bowl; egg, milk, oil, (and mashed banana if you have one laying around)
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Stir until moistened.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and pear.
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for ~1 hour

(I read somewhere that if you coat the fruit pieces with flour, it will prevent them from sinking to the bottom.  I reserved 1/2 C of the original 2 C of flour and mixed it with my pears before adding them to the batter and by gum, I think it worked.  Although, if I were smart, I would have just mixed all the dry ingredients together and then snuck out a 1/2 C to add to the pears.)  ((I also read somewhere that 'snuck' is not a word.  Sorry, Word Nazis, I will continue to sneak in a good 'snuck' whenever possible.))

Fortunately, He’s Stuck With Me

Ryan: What should we have for supper?

Me: I don’t know.

Ryan: You know me, I could always go for a pizza.

Me: Well…there’s cauliflower and kale…

Ryan: Ughhhhhhh

Me: Wait, it gets better.  And liver and beets!

Ryan: It’s like you take the top 10 list of universally hated foods and that’s what you buy!

Soup Eaters: Lasagna Soup (Life List Update)

(new recipe as per Autumn goals)

The ‘g’ is not silent in this soup.  Also, ‘soup’ in this case is actually spelled ‘souppe’.  Why should shops have all the fun?

 I have been trying out some new recipes lately with mixed results.  Very mixed results.  Turns out it only takes a couple of dinner bombs to make a mediocre dinner seem awesome, so I have that going for me, which is nice.
I found the recipe here and used chicken Italian sausage instead of regular Italian sausage.  You could probably use regular ground beef if you wanted.
Oh, yeah, and instead of diced tomatoes I used squash and instead of noodles I used bread cubes.

JUST KIDDING.  I can follow recipes…

 Mmm, mmm, soup!