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10 Jul Oat Date Bars…

Another bbq, another quick inventory of my pantry, a glimmer of an idea and fingers crossed for luck. These were actually inspired by some date bars a friend brought camping a couple of weeks ago. I’ve tried to remember to email her for the recipe since then, but no luck. So, this was the perfect opportunity to give it a shot on my own.

When I originally made these, I thought they were pretty sweet, maybe because the flours are on the sweet side, so I’ve reduced the brown sugar a bit below to correct that. Don’t get me wrong, when I cut them too soon and mangled an entire row, I didn’t exactly have to choke down the botched bits. Speaking of sugar… I am sure these would be great with honey, maple syrup, agave or stevia (or a combination of these) as the sweetener, just be aware that the first three will be slightly sweeter to taste than brown sugar, and you should adjust the amount according to your taste buds. Also, the texture of the base and top is slightly crumbly (I increased the coconut oil a bit to help with that). Be sure you can actually press that base layer together and if it’s too crumbly to do that, add a little more melted coconut oil – maybe a tablespoon at a time as you don’t want it too wet either (using a liquid sweetener, instead of the brown sugar, maybe help with the crumble as well).

Gluten-Free Oat Date Bars

1 C dates, pitted
1/4 C warm water
1/4 t nutmeg
1 1/2 C oats (certified gluten-free, if you need to be safer than sorrier)
1/4 C brown sugar, packed tightly
1/2 C sorghum flour*
1/4 C brown rice flour*
1/4 C almond meal/flour*
1/4 C coconut flakes
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t sea salt
1/2 C coconut oil, melted (melted butter will work, too)
1 flax “egg” (1 T ground flax + 3 T water, mixed and set aside for 5 mins to gel)*

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 8×8 baking dish with a quick spray of canola oil (or your baking spray of choice).

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flours, coconut, baking soda and salt, mix thoroughly with a spoon. Add coconut oil and flax, stirring well to avoid huge clumps. If it feels too dry, maybe add a wee bit more coconut oil – I will likely try 1/2 C next time. Next time, I’ll also try the food processor to pulse it all together and to mix in the wet ingredients more consistently.

3. Place dates in bowl of a food processor (if you use one for the dry ingredients, empty them into a bowl first). Add nutmeg and water. Process until well broken down, but not completely smooth. Scrap down sides at one point so it all gets processed. Take ~1 min total. Set aside.

4. Press half of the oat mixture into bottom of baking dish. Scoop date mixture on top – best to scatter it evenly over top of oats versus one huge clump in the middle (learn from my mistakes) and carefully spread dates (with hands or spatula) to cover oats (wetting your hands may help with stickiness factor). Add top layer of remaining oat mixture, pressing firmly enough to create a solid top, but lightly enough not to completely smash and dislodge other layers.

5. Bake for 20-25 mins – until top starts to golden up a little.

6. Cool completely before slicing into bars (again, my mistake is your fair warning).

Eat ‘em up!

*Two notes: (1) if you don’t care about the gluten-free bit, just use 1 C wheat-based flour instead of the sorghum, brown rice and almond. This may make the mixture less sweet and you may want to up the brown sugar to 1/3 C to compensate. (2) if you don’t have flax, try one egg-worth of Ener-G egg replacer (will keep this vegan) or 1 egg white, instead.

04 Jul Sweet Summer Salad…

I received one of the nicest compliments yesterday. I took this salad to a bbq at my brother-in-law‘s parents’ house. I knew it would look a little different from the other food, the pretty traditional pasta salads, slaws, etc. Frankly, I didn’t really think anyone would try it – kale, quinoa, garbanzo beans, avocado, red onion, plums, barely dressed and on the sweet side for a super hot July day. I was happily surprised to see it gobbled up, but more than anything it was the compliment from his mother (whom I admire greatly) that made my day: she said she really liked the salad, even though there was nothing in it she actually enjoys eating. Well, except the tomatoes, she likes tomatoes.

I have to give credit where it’s due: the plums were a surprise gift from a friend Saturday night and as soon as I saw what was in the bag, I knew they had to go into the salad I had planned for the bbq. Thanks, Meghan! Okay, here you go, a sweet summer salad that will delight anyone brave enough to taste it.

Sweet Kale, Roasted Chickpea and Plum Summer Salad

1/2 C quinoa (dry)
1 T+ coconut oil
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 large bunch dino kale
1 small red onion, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1-2 avocados, diced
2-3 small plums, diced
1 t cumin (more, to taste)
generous pinches of sea salt
white balsamic vinegar (to taste)
1 1/2 limes (or 1 lime and 1/2 lemon)

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Remember to let rest, covered in pot (heat off) when done. Much fluffier this way. Set aside to cool while you do everything else (or make ahead the day before).

2. Heat a large pan over medium high, add cumin. Toast spice until you can just start to smell it, then add coconut oil. As soon as oil has melted add garbanzo beans (pan should be big enough for them to lay in a single layer). Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. I liked to cook them (stirring once in a while) until they start to brown and crisp up a little. When done to your liking. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. Clean kale (removing toughest part of the ribs) and tear into bite-sized pieces – place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, two or three glugs of white balsamic vinegar (~1 T) and massage with hands for 5 mins until leaves are soft and an even darker green.

4. Add to the kale: cooled quinoa, garbanzo beans, onion, tomatoes, avocado (I used 1 1/2 avocados because that’s what I had on hand – use 1 to 2, to your liking) and plums (I used three smallish and it was super plummy, so use two if you just want a hint of the plum), tossing thoroughly after each new ingredient. Note on the plums, the easiest way I found to add these was to slice each into thin longitudinal sections (still attached to the pit), then slice the other way (latitudinally, I guess), carving around the pit. Like this:

And the plum pieces will look like this:

5. Squeeze juice of one lime and half a lemon (or two limes or one lime and one lemon – whatever you’ve got around). Toss thoroughly, taste and adjust seasoning – more cumin, salt or vinegar, etc.

6. Serve it up!

By the way, leftovers make a great protein-packed post-run breakfast, especially when topped with a froached egg (half fried, half poached – my favorite) and a little sprinkle of salt and nutritional yeast. Sweet and savory delight.

29 Jun Sugar and Spice Morsels …

Gluten-free baking continues! I’m a baking machine these days. And I blame the gluten-free, vegan chocolate cake I mastered (well, that may be overstating it) for a very special birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Now baking’s back in my blood. I can’t say I’m complaining, but I can say that this time around I’ve undersized things. I’m more interested in smaller batches, smaller portion sizes.

These are almost like Snickerdoodles, but spicier. They’re also almost like shortbread, but moister. They’re almost like cookies, but smaller. They are Sugar and Spice Morsels. A sugar cookie-like dough, rolled into small, two-bite morsels and dipped in a nice mix of spices, makes these a nice little treat or addition to a dessert tray. (Picture above shows some spiced on the outside and some with the spice mixed in – I preferred the ones rolled in spice. If you want to add the spice in, reduce amount – maybe 1/2 t total to start).

Another gluten-free baking winner with only two flours: coconut and brown rice. Coconut flour is an interesting flour to work with: it’s packed with fiber and it sucks up moisture like a sponge, so you have to make some adjustments to liquids if you’re substituting it into recipes. As far as nutritional values: in a single 1/4 C serving, it has 160 calories, 10g fiber and 6g protein (compare to traditional wheat flour, which clocks in at 120 calories, <1g fiber and just a little more than 3g protein). If you decide to use glutenous flour for this recipe, you may need to add more to make up for the coconut flour sponge factor, and you may need to up the sugar to 1/2 C to make up for the sweetness of the brown rice flour.

Sugar and Spice Morsels

4 T butter, softened (substitute with Earth Balance to make vegan)
1/3 C turbinado sugar (or white sugar)
3/4 t Ener G egg replacer mixed with 1 T water (or 1/2 of a beaten egg – which means you should just double the recipe and use a whole egg, right?)
3/4 t vanilla
1/2 C brown rice flour
3 T coconut flour
1/4 t baking soda
1 t chinese five spice (or, if you want a more familiar spice, combine 1 t nutmeg + pinch or two of cardamon), sprinkled in a shallow dish or plate for dipping morsels

1. Prehead oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. With a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add “egg” and vanilla. Beat until well-incorporated.

3. Add dry ingredients, except spice, and mix until well-incorporated.

4. Use a spatula to scrape down sides of bowl and pat dough into one big mound. Tear off little pieces and roll into balls (~3/4 to 1 inch in diameter). Dip morsel balls into spice – just one side will do. Place, spice side up, on baking sheet. (Makes approximately 20 morsels.)

5. Bake 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for a minute or two before transferring to wire rack. Let cool completely before eating (it’s hard, I know), or they will be too crumbly. Store in an airtight container.

Eat it up.

(These morsels run ~ 55 calories each, a little more or a little less depending on a couple variables, such as exact size of each morsel, using egg vs Ener-G, etc.)