Odds, Ends, and Cookbook Giveaway

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CONGRATS TO KELLI, who writes: "I'm a frugal foodie in the making!"

There are several things I've been meaning to write about these last several weeks. But none of them have warranted a dedicated post.


#1: I played around with the Celebration Cookie recipe to eliminate sugar entirely (using all maple syrup). And I made it a bar instead of a cookie.

MAPLE-CINNAMON WALNUT OAT BARS

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 cup walnuts, processed into flour 
• 1 cup oats, processed into flour 
• 1 cup rolled oats 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1 tablespoon golden flax meal mixed w/ 3 tablespoons hot water 
• 1/4 cup almond milk

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8" baking pan and set aside. 
2. Whisk together your dry ingredients. Then add the wet and mix until combined. 
3. Spread mixture into your baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden on edges. 
4. Remove and let cool before slicing.

#2: We're in a cookbook! And a fun cookbook at that. Check out Frugally Delicious for our Noodle Salad and Peanut Sauce recipe, as well as for recipes from these great bloggers.

They sent me two copies of the book -- one for myself and another for one of YOU! If you'd like to win one (1) copy of this book, please leave a comment with your name, email address, and the words "FRUGAL FOODIE" -- the winner will be chosen using a random number generator, on Friday, May 18th.

(Please wait until the DISQUS comment system loads or else I can't see your comments.)


#3: NatureBox, a monthly snack delivery service, sent us one of their snack boxes to try out. Inside, we found an array of healthy treats: Dried pears, peppery pistachios, smoky pumpkin seeds, zingy currants, and cranberry jubilee granola. They have a page for each month's box on their website, here's what was in ours.

Anyway, if you don't live in an area with a natural foods store or if you're just looking to have nutritious treats delivered to your home, just under $20 will get you a box delivered to your door. And for every box sold, NatureBox donates one meal to feed the over 14 million children in America who go hungry.


#4: Last, but certainly not least . . . I have a new job. If you haven't already read about it on Writing Chapter Three, you can head over there now. I'm planning to write much more on the topic, but wanted to get the big announcement out there.

Alright. I think that's about it. Happy Saturday!

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Lemon-Cardamom Oat Bars

Lately, I've been sticking with what I know best for baking. Usually peanut butter and chocolate cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. More cookies with chocolate and peanut butter. Etc. So, I challenged myself to bake outside my comfort zone last week (well that's a dramatic way to describe it) -- with tasty results. Blame it on not eating breakfast that day, but these bars were gone in no time at all.

And they're, dare I say, somewhat healthy? So, it's all good.

LEMON-CARDAMOM OAT BARS

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg or replacement for 1 egg Ener-G egg replacer (1-1/2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons water)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the syrup, egg replacer, lemon juice, and cardamom.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well moistened.
5. Pour into prepared baking pan. Flatten. And bake for 25 minutes. Until golden.

Stephen just got home from work, so it's time for my run! If you'd like to read what Ada's up to now that she's 9 weeks old (2 months!), check out today's post on (never home)maker, baby! One word: SHOTS.

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Apple-Oat Bars

These bars are fantastic for dessert. They are equally lovely for breakfast. They are sweet, but not too sweet. Dense and moist (I hate that word, but they are MOIST). And the best I can describe the flavor is this: They're like a hot bowl of apple-cinnamon oatmeal. In bar form.

With or without walnuts.

APPLE-OAT BARS

What you'll need . . .

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (melted)
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats, uncooked
• 1 small apple, skinned and chopped into small pieces
• 1 to 2 handfuls crushed walnuts (optional)

Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 8x8 square pan. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the Earth Balance, maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, baking powder, and flax meal until well combined.
3. Add the oat flour, oats, and cinnamon. Mix until well moistened.
4. Then toss in the apples and walnuts. Mix just briefly until well distributed.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes -- until the edges are golden brown.
6. Let cool before serving.

What's new on (never home)maker, baby! -- 25 Weeks and Running: How my favorite activity feels now that I'm 25 weeks along.

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Baking Again! Graham Bars Recipe . . .

I'm trying to get back into the food-making groove. Baking, cooking, and being around "real" food in general. It's been a slow process, but last night -- I had this intense urge to bake. But not anything I'm usually interested in (chocolate and peanut butter).

As I wrote yesterday on the baby blog, I've been craving s'mores lately. Naturally, when I thought of something to bake, graham crackers came to mind. But I didn't want crackers. I wanted a softer, heartier snack. This recipe is an adaptation of this graham cracker recipe I tried a few months ago. In bar/brownie-ish form.

Oh, yeah. I'm getting back into food photography, too. Enjoy the glamour shots.

GRAHAM BARS

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup bread flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 7 tablespoons Earth Balance
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 5 tablespoons almond milk
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch glass baking pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Use a food processor to pulse the (raw) rolled oats into a powder/flour. Then add them in as well. (Alternatively, you can put all dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.)
3. Cut in the Earth Balance and mix with your fingers until it resembles a coarse meal. This may take several minutes.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Add this mix to the large bowl and bring together with a spatula until just combined. Then turn over onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for one to two minutes.
5. Plop dough ball into baking pan and press until evenly distributed. Then bake for 15 to 20 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean (but middle should be somewhat sticky, not over-dry). Texture is in-between a cookie and a brownie. Delish!

Cool and then cut into bars. Top with slices nectarines and melted dark chocolate. Or whatever else you think goes well with grahams!



Pssst: On (never home)maker, baby! we posted all about 15 weeks -- including belly shots and recent cravings. Stayed tuned for tomorrow's video post update, too!

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Oat Squares and Cookie Dough

I baked and photographed these beauties before work today. It was that kind of crazy morning. I woke up -- reluctantly -- at 6:30AM and immediately turned on Stephen's laptop. I hobbled downstairs to grab a bag of corn out of the freezer. I drank a glass of water. Took a multivitamin. Then hopped back upstairs to ice my knee. Under the covers. Laptop atop my lap.

(Say that last sentence out loud. It's fun!)

I start each day with a visit to Edible Perspective. Then Oh She Glows. Then The Front Burner. Now, my reaction time is a bit slow in the early hours. But . . . back up for a moment. Woah! Angela had outdone herself again: Healthy Strawberry Oat Squares with Homemade Jam.


You can get the full recipe (complete with gorgeous prep photos) on Oh She Glows. If you'd like muffin-y bars versus oat-y bars, you can follow my modifications:

• 1 cup of white whole wheat flour to replace the Kamut flour
• 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin to replace the maple syrup
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar to replace the Sucanat

I followed Angela's method exactly for the oat base. But then I made blueberry jam instead of strawberry jam. (Not very shocking. I just didn't have strawberries.) I'm sure you can figure this one out on your own, but here's what I used.

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons chia seeds

(And prep tip: Instead of slicing the fruit -- once it was warm, I mashed it with a potato masher.)


And because I was ever-so tired and rushed, I forgot to set aside extra oat topping for the, um, top. I improvised by mixing together 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 2 to 3 teaspoons Earth Balance. Worked like a charm. I also used an 8 x 8 inch pan versus the 9-incher Angela suggests (I just don't have one that size). I think the pan size combined with the pumpkin substitution contributed to the muffin-ness of it all.

I'm not complaining either. The bars taste amazing. I had two for breakfast. And I especially enjoyed the pre-baked state. Batter is always, always awesome. I would like to try the recipe again (and have plans to for a weekend party) with strawberry and a crunchier texture. Using a larger baking pan (good excuse to buy one!).

Who knew you could use chia seeds to make a fast, easy, and DELISH jam? I'm hooked. And making this recipe was a much better use of my time than taking a shower and drying my hair. (For those of you who are wondering, I do practice good hygiene. I showered after my run last night! Thankyouverymuch.)


COOKIE DOUGH. WOAH.

Speaking of batter, though. I'm always scrounging around for asses cookie dough at night. (Sorry! Those of you who aren't fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm will definitely not get that joke reference.) Not cookies. Just the dough. Time and time again, I've made batches of cookies just so I could savor a few tablespoons of the dough. So much effort. Too many ingredients. Way more yield than I ever need. Enough, I said a few nights ago.

This cookie dough recipe is now what gets me through the night. On many occasions. Commit it to your memory -- NOW -- and you'll be forever grateful. I know. I'm kind-of awesome. You're welcome.

This recipe makes 10 heaping, healthy tablespoon-sized servings of oh-so egg-less (vegan) chocolate chip cookie dough. So, please excuse some of the screwy measurements.


GOTTA-HAVE-IT-ASAP COOKIE DOUGH

What you'll need . . .

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance (I used the soy-free kind, you can also use butter)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoon of "regular" sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 (or more) cups chocolate chips (I used Sunspire)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional, but recommended)

Method . . .

1. In your electric mixer, cream together the Earth Balance, brown sugar, and sugar. Blend on high for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Stir in vanilla.
3. Then mix in the flours, salt, chocolate chips, and coconut flakes.
4. Line a pan (or plate) with wax paper and scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough.
5. Keep refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap (or in another air-tight container). That is, if it lasts that long.

By the way. These dough chunks sure look orange. Don't they? I didn't play with the color in Photoshop. I actually made the ones you see pictured with pumpkin instead of the Earth Balance (butter). BUSTED. The ones I made (the REAL ones from the recipe) I made earlier in the week. At night. No photos. But they taste SO MUCH BETTER, so I seriously don't recommend subbing in the pumpkin.

Not this time, at least!

What guilty pleasure recipe gets YOU through the night? Are you a cookie dough fiend like me? Or maybe you're more of a savory kind of snacker. We'd love to hear your quick-n-dirty tips on how to get a good fix! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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