Oat'Nana Cookies

You know, studying is not as it was, oh let's say 10+ years ago, where fractions and foreign languages lulled me to wonderful naps. Sure, growing up is not all sugar and spice, with bills and wrinkles increasing daily, but studying sure is a whole lot more interesting, and far much tastier, these days. I find temperature, moisture levels and the role ingredients play in bringing varying results fascinating. Perfection is hard to come by, I've learned that too.
Feeding kids, who are growing, learning, developing and in need of intense attention spans as they make their way through these crazy-ever-changing young years, is harder than I could have imagined. So when nutrition packed 'sweets' have kids running to the kitchen, drooling as they see cookies come out of the oven, you've got my attention, and I'm all game for more research.

Oat'Nana Cookies

adapted from 101 Cookbooks

3 ripe bananas (fresh, not from frozen as they become too moist once thawed)

2 tbsp real vanilla extract

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup ground almond

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp aluminum free baking powder

6 - 8 ounces quality dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mash banana, add vanilla and olive oil.

Combine oats, ground almond, coconut, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir into the mashed bananas. Fold in the chocolate.

Form 1 inch balls with the palm of your hands. Place 1/2 inch apart on parchment paper lined baking sheet, give a little smoosh on each to shape into a round cookie.

Bake in preheated oven, about 14 minutes.

Learning makes our brains grow

So I am feeling a tad out of step.

School's out and, oddly enough, boredom must be cured. Do children not realize how lucky they are to be out of school? I am sure my sisters and I experienced the same. Chores come to mind, especially window washing, seemingly always a good way to stop four sisters from bickering. To the credit of my beautiful girlies, they do have an imagination to be rivaled, and although our home is a disaster, it's good to know all those toys were worth their purchase. But how is it they need new excitement around each corner, what's so bad about a lazy nap, I ask.

My personal out-of-stepness, if you will, probably comes from a lack of challenging myself in the kitchen since that last school bell rang. When hubby and kids can't believe their eyes at hot dogs being offered, a break welcomed by myself also, I know it's time to step it up again and lose myself over new culinary techniques.

Regardless, there are some staples that have mouths watering, no matter how often they are made. Here's my number 1 Marble Cake:


Marble Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk butter with sugar and eggs until creamy and light.
Add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk.
Incorporate slowly with whisk, then beat for 2 minutes.
Reserve 1 cup of batter, and pour remaining into prepared loaf pan.
Stir cocoa into reserved batter, pour evenly onto white batter, and using a knife, swirl cocoa batter into the white to incorporate in a marble effect.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 - 60 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean.

True love finds perfect muffin tops

Our first date was nothing spectacular, and yet I will always treasure the smile it brings back to my face. Far too young to be thinking about marriage, I couldn't help but wonder at how amazing it might be after just a simple few hours spent at Starbucks, with a tall, dark and handsome boy, sipping my $5 coffee. At that time, spending $5 on fancy coffee seemed a little extravagant, and so I felt amazingly special to share this pleasure with a good friend, who, much sooner than later, became my husband.

Ten years later, we are still very much in love, enjoying the small moments in life that create the bigger picture. We've been through ups and downs, stressful times and easy times. We have two beautiful daughters, that belong to us (for now, anyway!), a perfect doggy (hey, I get to be biased, too!) and a house on which we've unleashed our idea of decorating on.

All this started with $5 coffee, two Cafe Valencias, which not only opened my eyes to true and unconditional love, but also to the trio of coffee, orange and chocolate. It's one of those combinations that is just right.

And since all things can be wrapped up in either a muffin, when sweet, or a burger, if savoury, I felt inspired to turn out these:


Cafe Valencia Muffins
Makes 12

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup 2% or higher milk
2 tsp instant coffee
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice (about 1 orange)
1 tsp real vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup good quality dark chocolate chips

sugar and melted chocolate

Cream butter and sugar well, until fluffy and pale.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Stir instant coffee into milk, then add to sugar and butter mixture.
Add orange zest and juice, and vanilla. It will look as though the batter is curdling, don't panic! Everything will come together with the addition of the flour.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.
Fold into creamed mixture gently, taking care not to over mix.
Line muffin pan with muffin papers, fill each about 3/4 full to make 12 muffins.
Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of granulated sugar on each.
Bake at 400 F, about 16 - 20 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Cool, then drizzle muffin tops with melted chocolate.

Must Love Chocolate

As you know Valentines Day is around the corner. But seriously now, it's a little cheesy and far too commercialized for me to get into the festivities of it all, if you know what I mean. At the same time, NOT doing anything sounds like a relationship in a rut of oldness and boring nights in front of the TV. When I think of love, my thoughts often wander to chocolate, so I declare Valentines Day the official day of cocoa, with a little love on the side.

Can't find a sitter? Not to worry, it's easy to impress with these smooth and rather rich Chocolate Pots de Creme. I think just about anyone can make these! A stemmed glass really brings it up to another level, too. Use good quality dark chocolate, it's Valentines Day, after all!

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Serves 2 - can easily be doubled if you include more than just yourselves for Valentines Dinner!

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 egg yolks

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3oz (90g) bittersweet chocolate (70%), chopped

garnish:

whipping cream

icing sugar

Heat milk and sugar in a small sauce pan. Stir at all times, milk scorches very quickly.

Lightly beat egg yolks a medium size bowl. While whisking, pour the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Don't stop whisking, unless you want scrambled eggs!

Return everything to the sauce pan. Cook gently, again always stirring, until mixture comes just to a boil. Continue to cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted.

Pour into two ramekins or small glasses. Chill completely before serving - give it a couple of hours, or even overnight.

Top with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

To make sweetened whipping cream, add 1 tsp of icing sugar to 1/2 cup of cream and whip until thick.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip with Avocado Cookies

Since the summer, I've been buying an avocado or two a week, but lately they seem to go bad on me before I get around to eating them. I must simply be in the habit of putting them in the grocery cart, and avocados being one of those foods I have to be in the mood to eat, they have not made it to the plate lately. Could be a summer mood for me... how apples are in the fall. But alas, who knew avocados could make a good replacement for butter in cookies?! If you've ever tried applesauce, you know that a cookie is just not a cookie with it. Using avocados, on the other hand, makes a magnificent cookie, perhaps one of the better ones I have ever had! And who can argue with replacing some bad fat with the good stuff. Don't tell the kids, until they are about to take a bite, "By the way, there's avocado in those, mwahaaha"! I am not a huge advocate of 'hiding' veggies in foods as a way to get kids to eat them - since a tablespoon or so of veg simply doesn't count as a serving, and I think it's super important for kids to learn about the colorful stuff, to discover it's taste and texture, and so create a love for it. It's most certainly hardly ever love at first sight, but I am not afraid of expecting my kids to try something they think they don't like. Here it's the cookies that benefit from the vegetable - well, technically it is a fruit.
I hope you try these!



Oatmeal Chocolate Chip with Avocado Cookies
Makes 30

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 peeled, mashed avocado
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 cup flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled or quick oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut (dessicated will make a denser cookie)
3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat the oven to 190C/375F.
Lightly grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Beat butter until smooth. Add sugars, beat for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Gently beat in avocado.
Add the egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt, mix into batter.
Add the oats and coconut.
Fold through the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Drop by teaspoon size on a baking sheet, flatten lightly with fork.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.