DIY Clif Bars

I have been eating Clif, Lara, Raw, and pretty much any kind of healthy date based bars for quite some time. If you're also a fan, you'd know that the soft nutritious goodness that you enjoy with the first bite and lasts through the entire snack. These days, a Clif Bar or Larabar may cost you up to a $1.25 a piece and while I wish I could tell you I calculated the money I've saved down to the homemade bar, I can tell you that they're worth every penny. My 8 x 8 pan made about 6-8 bars, but they lasted about one and a half days. They are great for breakfast, pre-workout snacking, post workout snacking, and anything in between.

Ingredients:

2 cups diced medjool (pitted) dates
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. crushed pecans

Method:

Cover your 8 x 8 pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving about 3" on each side. Next cut your thinly diced dates and peanut butter in your Kitchenaid or food processor on medium to high speed in order to thoroughly combine them with the peanut butter. Add chocolate chips and spoon into your 8 x 8 pan, then press with your hands into all corners. Cover with the remaining parchment paper and leave in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Slice and enjoy!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Minicakes with Cream Cheese Glaze and Candied Ginger

Whew! That's a long title, isn't it? I couldn't think of a better way to represent my little Christmas treats, so I thought I'd pack as many words into the title as I could. Why the name "minicakes"? Well, it's a lot cuter sounding than cupcakes (boring!) and I find it hard calling them cupcakes when: they're not that sweet, they're healthy, and you won't get cavities from eating one. I made these a week or so ago, but life has been a bit busy, so I hadn't had time to post pictures. They're little bites of joy, little flavor filled treats. I personally love eating big chunks of candied ginger solo, but I understand the flavor can be strong for some. I used only one giant bowl for these (washing before the glaze!). While the finesse may not be there, the flavor certainly is!

Mmmmm, don't they just look Christmas-y? I've been drinking a lot of hot cocoa recently, and I can tell you that these babycakes are divine with a steaming cup.

Ingredients:

Minicakes-

4 oz. dark chocolate (70% or more cacao) or half a bag of dark or semi sweet chocolate baking chips
3 tbsp. coconut oil
3 tbsp. agave nectar
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs
1 tbsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of cinnamon

Glaze-

1/2 c. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
2 tsp. milk

Topping-

candied ginger, found near the dried fruit in your grocery store

Method:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large saucepan, melt the coconut oil and chocolate over medium-low heat. When mixture is almost completely melted, remove from heat and stir until completely combined. Pour chocolate/coconut oil mixture into a large mixing bowl and add your remaining ingredients, reserving the flour last. If mixture is too dry, add a tsp. or so of soy, almond, or non-fat milk.

Now, grab your muffin tin, grease with some butter or oil, and then fill each about 3/4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, keeping your eye on those minicakes. Let cool for about an hour, then mix up your glaze. My cream cheese was soft enough that I could just whisk it, rather than breaking out the Kitchenaid. I like the idea of a light glaze on these, because I want to taste the combination of chocolate and ginger and not be overpowered by a frosting. I drizzled my glaze lightly just on top. Finish with two or three small pieces of candied ginger and take a big bite!

Only NINE more days 'til Christmas! I already found my Christmas Dessert that I'll be making... and the appetizer, too!

Christmas Cranberry Bread Pudding

Mmmmm, bread pudding. I recently fell in love with the stuff when we frequented one of our favorite pubs after a long day of moving, and I rewarded myself with some apple bourbon bread pudding. Divine. Little did I know, that there is also savory bread pudding, which I happened to get at the Kingfish Cafe when friends were in town. Bread pudding: so many possibilities, so little time.

Even though we are working on limiting our carbohydrate intake, along with red meat, sodium, blah blah, I think this is worth taking a little time off from your regimen. Plus, the weather has been 'decent' here recently, so I've been running it off, I hope! This recipe came straight from the depths of my brain. I had some leftover cranberry walnut bread from Trader Joe's that we had at Thanksgiving, as well as some crusty whole grain stuff, so I thought why not. The result is pure happiness. I hope you agree.

Ingredients:

About 3 cups of crusty, roughly chopped, preferably day old bread, (whole grain or sweeter bread is good with the tart cranberries)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. Pumpkin Spice Silk Soy Milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, butter a pie pan lightly, making sure to include the edges. Dust flour over surface of pie pan. In a separate bowl, mix cream, soy milk, and spices together. In the pie pan, spread around the chopped bread pieces, making sure all surfaces are filled. Then, evenly sprinkle granulated sugar and cranberries over the bread. Pour your cream/soy milk/spice mixture and cover the bread and berries evenly. Let soak for about an hour in the refrigerator. Then place in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, checking at 30 minutes, and removing from heat when edges are golden brown. Just to be sure, jostle the pan a bit and make sure that the pudding is one mass, rather than the liquid separating from the bread- if the bread has been soaked properly this should not occur. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or some tea! It's perfect for a Christmas Morning breakfast.

In other news, this is my SIXTIETH blog post! I can hardly believe it. This blog has been super fun to have and I feel very creative with it. Photography and cooking is such a good outlet for me, and I love sharing my thoughts on it. Hope you are all getting in the holiday spirit! We put our Christmas tree up yesterday and it brings such cheery warmth to my heart. Just like this bread pudding does!

Clean Eating: Mom's Apple Pie

For years now I've enjoyed my Mom's Apple Pie. The crust: flaky, thick, and warm. The apples: spicy and naturally sweet. Last night I had a strong hankering for this pie and decided to whip it up in my own kitchen.

I have so many memories of slicing the apples, sprinkling them with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice, and then being unable to resist eating them straight out of the mixing bowl. The nice thing about this pie is that it contains no butter, no sugar, and nothing artificial. That's right, no sugar. The sweetness of your apples should do the trick. 

And while it's no Martha Stewart apple pie, it certainly is better for your waistline. I am happy to say that with the Clean Eating rage, it's nice to know that my mother had been feeding us "clean" apple pie for our whole lives! Way ahead of our time. 

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups  flour

3/4 cup vegetable oil or 3/4 cup canola oil

4 tablespoons cold water

4-5 medium sized Pink Lady or Gala apples; or 3-4 large apples; sliced thinly

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ground ginger

Method: adapted from Mom's crust recipe and Food.com

Measure flour and salt into bowl. Add oil; mix with a fork, until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until flour is moistened and dough almost cleans the sides of the bowl. 

Depending on whether your dough seems to dry or wet, add either a tbsp. of oil or flour. Pick dough up and ball it together into one pressed ball.  Work the dough in your hands to make it a bit less crumbly.

Break dough in half and similar to rolling pizza dough, press it flat between two sheets of wax paper. Roll out into the general circumference and shape of your pie pan. Gently peel off one sheet of wax paper and turn dough upside down. Peel off remaining sheet of wax paper after placing bottom crust into pan leaving a 1/2 inch overlap around pan edge. Follow the above steps with top crust rolling out same as bottom crust leaving 1 inch overhang around pan edge). Fold and roll top edge over pie pan and press edges together with a fork.

Once your apples are sliced, throw them in a large mixing bowl. Add spices and stir well. Allow apples to sit at room temperature for about 3 hours, to macerate in their own juices.  Pour  apples into crust, then fold the pie dough for the top over pie pan, roll top edge over pie pan and press edges together with a fork. 

Slice about 6 slits in the middle of the pie and place in the oven for about 45-55 minutes. Check at 45 minutes and take pie out when edges are golden brown. 

Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then serve! It's yummy with a scoop of frozen yogurt, or my unconventional favorite- Coconut Bliss. Now, off to decorate for Christmas!

Healthy Conversions!

Good Morning!

As I was perusing the web this morning, I stumbled across this... What a great find, especially so close to the holidays! I know in my home we're trying to keep as healthy as possible, and while it's a perfect time to indulge at the holidays, we still like to feel like we're treating our bodies well! The more often we eat vegetables, organics, and non GMOs, the better!

I'll be back tomorrow, with my recipe for Nigella's Rosemary Bread... YUM!

Autumn Cake

I'm back!

And I have news! We've moved! From Eastern WA, back to Seattle. Things are cheery, and autumnal, and our new little home is so cozy! My apologies for not blogging in days and days, but for those of you that may have moved across the state in less than two weeks, you can relate. But we're here, and to celebrate, my first baked treat was an entirely self-developed new recipe. I'm sure there are variations out there, and the concept of a Pumpkin-Apple Spice Cake is not new. But I thought I'd mix things up with a cranberry compote. It put me in the mood for Thanksgiving and all the foodie wonderfulness that is to come. 

Yesterday afternoon, after a busy day, I found myself in our new kitchen, that I painted a bright, Martha Stewart "cardamom" upon moving in, and wanted something warm, cream cheese-y, and pumpkin-y for dessert. While we've been enjoying fall produce, such as squash, kale, and swiss chard, there is nothing like some pumpkin flavored dessert to make you want to curl up and listen to the rain (which we have a lot of!)

So, here it is. Since I was so totally engrossed in cake development, I did not write down as I went, but I promise, it's accurate. Hugs, and Happy Fall!

Ingredients:

Cake:

8 oz. organic pumpkin, either cooked and blended yourself, but not pumpkin pie filling (Gross!)
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp. cinnamon 
3 tbsp. softened butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs

1.5 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. white flour

Frosting:

5 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
3 tbsp. butter, room temp.
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon/brown sugar mixture
1/3 c. powdered sugar

Compote: 

1.5 c. fresh or frozen cranberries (for frozen, let sit in a bowl of warm water for ten minutes to soften)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. water

Method:

Cake:  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add butter and sugar in a bowl, and using your stand or hand mixer, beat on medium for one minute. Add spices and mix for thirty seconds, following with baking powder, vanilla, and flour. Mix until well blended. Butter and flour 9x9 square cake pan and place in oven for about 30-35 minutes, until sides turn a little darker than center.

Frosting:

While the cake is baking, start your frosting. Put all ingredients in your bowl and mix gently for about 2 minutes. Place in refrigerator to chill.

Compote:

If you want your compote to be a warm topping after you've frosted your cake, wait until your cake has cooled and has been frosted to begin making it. Otherwise, if you don't care, and just want to eat your cake as soon as possible, warm compote or room temperature compote, make it any old time you want to. To start, cook up some simple syrup; combine sugar and water in a shallow pan over medium-high heat, and allow it to come to a simmer. Add cranberries and bring to a slow boil. When cranberries begin to soften, crush them gently with a spoon, allowing the juice to release. Bring heat down, and allow to simmer for about 5-7 minutes. 

When it cools, it will become a jelly, and is equally delicious on toast, or alone. 

Assemble this dessert by removing cooled cake from the pan, and placing it on a cake tray. Frost evenly and allow to set for a bit. Then, slice, and pour your warm, cranberry goodness all over it. And then, enter a food coma, and fall asleep. 

Backyard Apple & Pear Crumble

Well, Happy Tuesday!

My blogging has slowed down a little in the past few weeks, mostly because we've been very very busy beavers.  However, I will be doing a month of Family Recipes in November, in addition to some spooky treats for October, so keep your eyes peeled!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to get a few days off and visit my parents' Island Home.  If you have never been to San Juan Island, I suggest you make a trip up there, especially now, since the maples have turned, the madronas are bright and orange-y, and the tourists have gone home. 

Picture courtesy of my husband, he has a wonderful eye!

 

The next day, we went to the Farmer's Market. I hadn't been to it since it has been revamped, and I was impressed. Friday Harbor has such a wonderful community of farmers, artists, bakers, cooks, and creative beings. It was so wonderful to see them all in one spot. I had the most wonderful lemon curd filled croissant from my favorite Island bakery, Cafe Demeter. I only shared one tiny bit of it.

 

 

 

I love Cynthia's Of Course.

 

 

More from Cafe Demeter!

 

One of my favorite things to do when visiting Mom and Pops is to cook. Not only do they have a plethora of ingredients and kitchen tools, but there is yards and yards of counter space; enough to lay out all your ingredients, pots, pans, cookie sheets, double boilers, and then some.

Since it was an Indian Summer kind of day, I ventured out to the backyard and picked some pears hanging heavily from the old gnarled branches.

I also wandered over to some apple trees and grabbed a few of those too.

You know what perfectly complements fall fruit? A crumble topping.

Since the pears were particularly hard, I sauteed them in cinnamon and butter, which makes everything tastier, but also softened them up quite a bit.

 

There's my mother's famous pizza, just waiting to be served.

 

Next, I mixed up the topping and crumbled it all on top of the fruit, which was layered in a pie pan.

 

 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until the topping is toasted golden.

 

Ingredients:

 

for the fruit-

3-4 pears, sliced, any variety

3-4 apples, sliced, any variety

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tbsp. ginger

1 tbsp. allspice

1 tbsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. brown sugar

 

for the crumble topping-

3 cups oats

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 c. flour, whole wheat or white

2-3 tbsp. almond milk

 

Method:

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roughly cut up apples and pears.

 

In a skillet, melt butter throw pears in. Add apples if desired. Saute for about 15-20 minutes, until softened. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the fruit layer. Mix well, so as to ensure apples and pears are coated with spices and sugar. Spread evenly into pie dish.

 

 In another large bowl, combine all ingredients for the topping, making sure that the mixture is wet but not soggy. If it is too soggy, add more oats.

 

Spoon large chunks of crumble topping on top of fruit. Pop it in the oven and wait 30-35 minutes. Let cool before serving.

 

 

 

This is delicious as breakfast, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert!

 



 

Pumpkin Apple Harvest Bars

   I'll warn you: this recipe is entirely my own creation. They are done in a traditional Kathleen fashion, by stuffing as many healthy ingredients into a creation, hoping it will taste good at the same time!

   So, here we go! Feel free to include any type of protein source you'd like, or to change the toppings around. I personally love these combinations because it gives me a taste of autumn, which I am very much looking forward to. Fortunately, these are full of goodies, such as protein, fiber, and Omega 3 fatty acids from the flaxseed. I ate a Harvest Bar for breakfast, but they were also scrumptious right out of the oven with a scoop of natural frozen yogurt. 

Ingredients:

for the bars

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. clover honey

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 can (about 12 oz.) of a 15 oz. Libby's Pumpkin Filling

1/3 c. soy protein powder

1/3 c. flax seed

1 large apple, diced

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tbsp. nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

for the topping

1/2 c. oats
2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. walnut pieces

1 c. crushed or sliced almonds

1 tbsp. soy milk

1/2 c. dried cranberries

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine the first four ingredients and whisk or mix with a stand or hand mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing on medium speed until they are well combined. 

Next, spread in a 9 x 13 pan or cookie sheet. I used a cookie sheet and luckily remembered to wipe it down with a little butter first.

Mix up the topping ingredients and spread all over the bars.

Bake for 20 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

Enjoy!

-k

Upside Down Peach Rhubarb Pie

It was somebody special's Half Birthday last week! (Hint: somebody very special to me) After a tasty meal of chicken sliders, I whipped up my very own recipe for an upside down pie. Now, I have only made one other upside down peach pie, about a year ago. They're delicious.

Believe me, there's something very special about eating your fruit from the top, instead of being forced to eat it from the bottom, or worst of all, stirring it, a la yogurt with that icky syrupy fruit. Anyways, I had seen a quick recipe for sour cream muffins some time ago, and I knew I had some of that in the fridge. Just add some butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, and I've got a crust! So here we go, let's recreate this tasty Half Birthday Pie.

Ingredients

for the crust:

1.5 c. white flour, preferably sifted

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. sour cream

1 egg

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. butter, room temperature

for the fruit:

1 tsp. butter, melted for the pan

2 sliced peaches, skin removed

2 long stalks rhubarb, sliced very thinly

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. honey

Heat your medium sized skillet to medium-low heat and throw the fruit, sugar, and honey all in with the melted butter. Let the fruit sit, bringing to a boil. Lower the heat to low, and allow fruit to simmer while you mix up the topping/crust, about 15-20 minutes.

*Note, because your skillet will be going in the oven, make sure it is able to bake in the oven. Most brands are capable of this, especially Cuisinart and All Clad.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a stand or hand mixer, whip the sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs until creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, taking breaks to mix. Be sure to include the remaining dough that sneaks up the side of the bowl!

Once the dough is finished, bring the bowl over to your stove top and carefully spoon the dough over the fruit in dollops. Smooth the topping over the fruit and when you're satisfied pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Continue to keep and eye on your upside down pie, and when it looks like it is turning golden brown on the edges, check with a toothpick or fork. Once it seems done, remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Now, here comes the tricky part. However, the good news is that it's really not all that tricky. You may need to grab an idle body to come help, but believe me, you can do it yourself too. So what you'll need to do is place a large circular platter on top of the skillet, but make sure you have enough room to hold both the platter or plate and your skillet with both hands. Next, run a knife around the inside of the skillet, loosening up the crust. Now, flip the whole thing upside down and lift up your skillet (which should now be empty).

Voila! A glorious, beautiful, fruit-on-top treat for you and your loved one. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Banana Berry Medley Bread

Yesterday I whipped up some very tasty & healthy breakfast bread for us. It really was entirely my own creation, but has the same obvious ingredients found in all recipes. I find that it is easy to mix and match your own recipe, especially with baking breads and cookies, because you just need the same basic ingredients. These would be a flour base, a liquid, sweetener, and something to make the whole thing rise a little bit.

Put all those ingredients together in one bowl (it’s a Tuesday, I don’t believe in dishes), and you have a scrumptious and healthful treat for the morning.

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. oats
1 c. yogurt, I prefer greek or non-fat
2 large bananas, mashed
2 tbsp. acai syrup or honey
2 tbsp.  canola oil
1 c. frozen (de-frosted) or fresh berries, I used strawberries and blueberries

Method:
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add wet ingredients and stir. Be careful not to over-stir as it will make the dough rubbery.  It’s quicker and easier to mix the ingredients by hand. The nice thing about this recipe is that you don’t use processed white sugar to sweeten. The combination of berries and acai syrup or honey really do the trick!

As you can see, I really really enjoyed it with some strawberry jam!
Ciao,
k