Oatmeal Crisps

These oatmeal crisps are packed full of oats, chocolate and coconut.  Your kids will love them for a snack or a lunch box dessert.  This recipe comes from The Pastry Queen book by Rebecca Rather.  You can also freeze these oatmeal crisps for up to one month.  My 10 year old daughter loves them frozen for dessert.  I added toasted almonds to the recipe to give the bars a higher protein content.

Oatmeal Crisps:
Pre-Heat Oven:  350 degrees
Makes: 24 bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds (optional)

1.  In a small pan on medium heat, melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup for 2 minutes or until the brown sugar has dissolved.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

Melting The Butter, Sugar, And Corn Syrup

2.  In a large bowl mix together the oats, baking powder, salt, coconut and toasted chopped almonds.  Add the butter mixture to the oats and mix together.

3.  Pour the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Pat the mixture down until it is even in the pan.  Bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.  Cut the bars.

4.  In a small microwaveable bowl place the chocolate chips.  Melt the chocolate for 45 seconds on high, then stir.  Microwave an additional 45 seconds and stir.  Drizzle the chocolate over the granola bars.

Oatmeal Crisps

Farmers Market Tomato Sauce With Fresh Basil And Oregano

Farmers Market Tomato Sauce is rich in flavor and vitamins.  When tomatoes reach there peak of flavor make this sauce from juicy farmers market tomatoes.  I was so excited today to make a large batch of tomato sauce with my large box of tomatoes I purchased yesterday from my local farmers market.  I saved some tomato sauce out for dinner and froze the rest in quart size containers.  This way I have fresh tomato sauce for the next few weeks.  I also picked fresh basil and oregano from my garden to add to the sauce.  If you don't have a herb garden purchase the fresh herbs from your local farmers market.

Farmers Market Tomato Sauce With Fresh Basil And Oregano:
Yields:  3 quarts of sauce
30 small tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 1/2 onions, peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
5 fresh basil leaves

Farmers Market Tomatoes

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or pan. When the oil is hot saute the garlic and diced onion in the oil for 2 minutes.  Stir in the cored and quartered tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar into the pan.
2.  Bring the sauce to a boil then turn the sauce down to a low simmer and cook for 30 minutes, covered. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
3.  Add the fresh oregano and basil to the tomato sauce.  Using a hand held mixer puree the tomato sauce in the pan until there are no lumps about 2 minutes (Hint: the best way to puree the sauce is placing the dutch oven or pan into the bottom of an empty sink.  This allows any tomato splatter to remain in the sink and not all over your counter or walls).
4.  Pour or ladle the sauce onto your favorite hot pasta.  If there is any left over sauce place the sauce into an air tight container and refrigerate or freeze it.

Adding The Herbs To The Tomatoes

Farmers Market Tomato Sauce With Fresh Basil And Oregano

Sundried Tomatoes

I purchased a large box of juicy red ripe tomatoes today for $7.00 at my local farmers market.  The tomatoes were at the peak of ripeness so I decided to make my own sundried tomatoes.  You can store the sundried tomatoes in the refrigerator in a air tight container for up to 2 weeks. This is a great way to same your delicious tomatoes from your garden or local farmers market.

Sundried Tomatoes:
Pre-Heat Oven:  200 degrees
Yields:  1 quart of sundried tomatoes

1 1/2 pounds vine ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper

1.  Wash, core and slice the tomatoes in half.  On a cookie sheet lined with foil, place the tomatoes face down on the foil.  Pour the olive oil over the tomatoes then salt and pepper them.  Place into a 200 degree oven for 4 -5 hours.  Allow the tomatoes to cool on a wire rack.  When the tomatoes have cooled place them in a air tight container in the refrigerator.  Add the sundried tomatoes to your favorite sauce or recipe.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

This granola bar recipe is gooey and good.  The chocolate chips and peanut butter melt in your mouth and the oats are toasted to perfection.  This recipe has 4 cups of whole oats and a 1/2 cup of flax seeds to keep you and your family going. This recipe comes from the book The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather.  I have added chocolate chips and deleted the raisons from this recipe.  Please feel free to add or delete the chocolate chips.  I also toasted my oats longer than Rebecca's recipe called for and added an additional 1/4 cup of flaxseed. Flaxseed is rich in Omega 3-fatty acids and is considered a healthy fat.

Yields:  16 bars
Pre-Heat Oven:  350 degrees
Grease a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray

Syrup:
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup water

1.  Place the sugar, honey, maple syrup and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  When the syrup comes to a boil stir the syrup and reduce the heat. Simmer the syrup for 8-10 minutes or until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer or the soft ball stage.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2.  Stir in the butter, peanut butter, vanilla and salt to the syrup mixture.  Allow the syrup to cool.

Granola:
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup almonds, sliced
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

3.  In a large bowl mix the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and coconut together.  Place the mixture on 2 cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Stir the granola after 10 minutes. Then return the granola to the oven for the last 10 minutes or until the oats are browned.  

1/2 cup ground golden flax seeds
1 cup raisons, cranberries or chocolate chips

4.  Place the chocolate chips, flax seeds, and granola in a bowl and mix.  Then add the syrup to the granola and mix together.  Pour the granola into a 9 x 13 inch greased pan.  Press the granola down into the pan.  Allow to granola to rest for 30 minutes before you cut them into bars.

Challah Bread

Challah bread is wonderful Eastern European bread.  Your family will love the buttery yellow color and texture. Challah can be sliced or toasted and makes excellent French toast the next day.  Get your kids involved with making the Challah dough.  The dough is fun to punch down and braid.  This recipe makes 2 loaves so give one away or freeze the second loaf.  This recipe comes from the book Baking With Julia.  The only change I did was adding 1/2 white whole wheat flour (King Arthur's) to the bread instead of using all bread flour.  This will increase the breads fiber content without all the whole wheat flavor of regular wheat flour.

Challah
Makes:  Two braided loaves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry east
1/2 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick (4 oz.) butter, room temperature
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
3 1/4 cups bread flour
3 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (King Arthur's)


Egg Glaze:
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream or water
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1.  Brush a large bowl with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and set aside.
2.  In a small bowl add the yeast, warm water(100-110 degrees) and 1 teaspoon sugar.  Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until it has become foamy. If the yeast does not become foamy throw it out and start again.

3.  In a small bowl heat the milk and butter in the microwave until the milk is hot and the butter has melted about 1 minute.  Then add the salt and sugar to the milk.
4.  Place the heated milk mixture into a large bowl or Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook attachment.  Add the honey, eggs, yeast mixture and flours to the bowl.  Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl (If the dough is too sticky add a few tablespoons of additional flour.  If the dough is to dry add a few drops of warm water).  If you are kneading the dough by hand place the dough on a floured work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes.  If using the mixer just allow the dough to come together and knead the dough by machine for 10 minutes.

5.  Place the dough into the buttered bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled (I like to place my dough in the oven with only the oven light on).
6.  Punch the dough down and then recover the dough and allow to rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
7.  Punch the dough down again and place the dough on a floured work surface.  Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.  Then roll the dough balls out like a rope that is 16 inches long.  Then using 3 dough ropes braid the bread. Pinch the ends together and fold the ends under the bread. Place the braided bread on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Allow the dough to rise one more time covered for 40 minutes or until it has almost doubled. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
8.  In a small bowl mix the eggs and cream together.   Using a pastry brush, brush the bread with the egg wash then sprinkle the poppy seeds over the top of the bread.  Bake the bread at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  The bread should be golden brown and sound hollow inside when you thump them on the bottom.  Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack.
9.  Storing the bread:  You can store the bread in a plastic bag for 2 days or freeze the bread for up to 1 month.  Thaw the bread at room temperature.