Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Belly Up To The Bar
I am probably the least OCD person you could meet…and all you have to do is look at my office for proof. I am very much a visual learner. So, if I can’t see it, I forget about it. This means I have stacks of important stuff in various piles on my desk. I also have some similar stacks at home. It drives my very tidy husband bananas. If there is one area where I am a bit compulsive though, it would be school lunches.

I make my kids lunch every morning because the thought of them buying what passes for lunch at school makes me cringe. The good news is they would prefer to not buy their lunch. So, that battle is avoided. I have a strict formula. And, if I run out of one of the components, and am forced to send them without it, I develop a tick. I got issues, man.

The formula goes something like this:
There will always be a main component in either the form of a protein-filled sandwich or leftovers from last night’s dinner. (My daughter is the queen of leftovers.) There will always be a bottle of water and fresh fruit. A snack item is essential in the form of some pretzels, crackers or maybe some nuts. And, last but not least, lunch must always have a little something sweet at the end.

That last component serves two purposes. First, it’s a nice to get a little treat during the day. And second, I can use it as an excuse to randomly make yummy things. Why, as a mature adult, would I need an excuse you may ask? Because I can enjoy the occasional cookie—but my husband has no self-control. When it comes to home-baked goodness, he will eat them by the dozen. If I tell him that they are for lunches though, he is able to stifle his inner cookie monster. (Most of the time…sometimes I gotta sacrifice a handful to the cookie gods because, and I quote, “he is concerned that I may be poisoning the children and would sacrifice himself for their health and welfare”. Way to take one for the team, babe.)

I made these Raspberry Oatmeal Bars over the weekend “to put in the kid’s lunches”. The flavors really remind me of fall. The brightness of the raspberry jam will make you smile and I think we could all use a few more smiles these days…

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
Makes 16 to 24 bars (depending on how you cut them) Read more…

Berrylicious Sweet Rolls

Labor Day Labors
Not sure if you noticed, but it was kinda hot over the Labor Day Weekend. With temperatures as high as they were, everything we had on our schedule got canceled. And, no one wanted to even think about going outside so we just laid around like slugs. Thank goodness it was the opening weekend for College Football.

The good news is that temperatures are coming down into normal territory. This is good for obvious reasons but also for one not too obvious. If I am not stuck inside bored out of my mind, I won’t find myself eating as much and I ate way too much this last weekend.

Because my daughter and I had cabin fever, we passed the time cooking. We made pasta salad, potato salad, and BBQ chicken. We also made an attempt at French Macarons. (We did okay for a first attempt but they weren’t too pretty…)

Amidst all of the dishes we whipped up, I did manage to make a new recipe for Berrylicious Sweet Rolls that I had been meaning to try out. You know, for the kids.

These rolls are a nice diversion from the usual cinnamon rolls, though nothing could replace cinnamon rolls on my list of awesome tastiness. Instead of cinnamon and sugar, the filling is made by mixing the frozen berries of your choice with sugar and some cornstarch. Personally, I am a fan of the frozen Marion berries we carry from Willamette Valley Fruit but you can use any good quality frozen berries.

These Berrylicious Sweet Rolls are not as sweet as you would think. But, they are definitely worth the work for a Sunday morning treat.

Be careful when baking them. Mine turned out darker than I intended because the original recipe called for too much baking time…or maybe it was just that hot in my kitchen…

Berrylicious Sweet Rolls
Yields 16 rolls
Start these the night before for a fantastic morning treat. Set them to rise in the fridge overnight, and just pop them in a preheated oven in the morning. (See instructions below.) Read more…

Honey-Cinnamon Ice Cream with Toasted Pecans

The Buzz
Have you ever had houseguests who just didn’t know when it was time to leave? We’ve been having that problem for a while now. For the past month we have been hosting a few hundred bees that decided to build their hive in the walls of our garage and now it is time for them to go.

I have always liked the idea of having my own bee hive for a number of reasons. Honey, obviously but also just to have my own personal army of pollinators. The reality would require more time than I am able to devote to it, which is why we have spent the past weeks figuring out the most harmless method to send the bees on their merry way.

If there is any good news (and when you have a swarm of bees there’s usually not a lot of good news) it is that our buzzy friends decided to make their home in an area that is relatively far away from our house and easily accessible via my veggie garden. That last part probably has something to do with their spot of choice. It is also the reason we tried to wait it out to see if they would just move on. They didn’t. It’s prime real estate. And, we all know the first rule of real estate; location, location, location.

After consulting with a local bee expert, and not wanting to harm the bees in anyway, we came up with a plan to get the bees out of the wall. And it worked. But then the bees just decided to build their hive under the eaves of the garage roof complete with honey comb. So we are left with no other option.

Today the saga will end with our bee expert coming to collect the colony and take it away to live with the other happy bees in her hives. Once they are gone, we will be able to open up our garage wall and see what they left behind. If the long line of ants are any indication we are looking at a pretty sticky situation.

It probably comes as no surprise that I’ve had honey on the brain lately. So, when I came across this recipe for Honey-Cinnamon Ice Cream with Toasted Pecans, I knew I had to give it a try.

Honey-Cinnamon Ice Cream with Toasted Pecans
Adapted from Epicurious
Yields about 1 1/4 quarts

The warm cinnamon flavor melds wonderfully the earthiness of the honey and pecans. An added bonus to this Honey-Cinnamon Ice Cream is that honey lends itself to extra-creamy ice creams, which you’ll notice immediately when you taste this one.

This ice cream is delicious when topped with fresh, sliced peaches. Read more…

Quick and Easy Fruit Cobbler

Gobbler of Cobbler
The fourth of July is upon us. So, let the BBQ planning begin. I gotta be honest though, there isn’t going to be much to plan. I’m going low key.

See, we just got back from a crazy (yet fun) experience back East and I just don’t have the mental capacity to put together a big party. I know we will be grilling and we will most likely watch the parade downtown. But beyond that? Not a whole lot going on…

There are some things that you must have on the Fourth. Potato Salad is one. The grilled meat of your choice is second and without fail there has to be some sort of dessert. For most that would be a pie—because nothing says Happy Fourth of July more than a pie. I like a good pie as much as the next guy, but just thinking about rolling out the dough makes me tired.

I’m going the lazy route and making a Quick and Easy Fruit Cobbler. Nothing could be easier. You find your favorite fruit. You toss it with some sugar, a little thickener, throw some biscuits on top and Ta-da! Yummy, tasty dessert that took no time to make. Top it with some vanilla ice cream while it’s still warm and you’ve reached nirvana.

Peach Cobbler is probably the most common. And when peaches are in season, like right now, it can be fantastic. However, the berries that are currently available are also at peak season. And, when you run across a flat of plump sweet blackberries or a few quarts of blueberries, you have the makings of something pretty spectacular. Even better, you don’t have to choose. Mix your berries together to get a little bit of the goodness from each. Or get really wacky and throw some peaches in, too. There are no rules!

Whatever your plans for the Fourth of July holiday, I hope you get to spend some quality time with family and friends…and some cobbler.

Quick and Easy Fruit Cobbler
Both tapioca flour and Instant ClearJel are good choices for thickening. They keep the fruit’s juice clear and the fruit flavor true. The resulting color and flavor is spectacular. Read more…