Granola bars

When I saw these bars on Oishii, one of the blogs I follow, I was so excited to try them. The pictures reminded me of Nature Valley granola bars, which are wheat-free, which makes them safe for The H. I am pretty good at buying them on sale, but why bother when I usually have all of the simple ingredients hanging around the house? I was especially thrilled when I read about these, since my standard granola recipe is always too crumbly to hold a bar shape.

You can find the original recipe for these bars here; what follows is my kinda-sorta cleaned-up version.



Granola Bars
makes 24

4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Sucanat
3/4 cup SmartBalance 50/50 olive oil blend, melted (1.5 sticks)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt



1. Preheat the oven to 350*.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Press firmly into a jelly roll pan (or a cookie sheet with high sides).
4. Bake for 15-30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Cool completely and cut into bars.



I scored these while they were still warm, which was good because they crisped up as they cooled. The H and I each had some while they were warm and the underside was slightly chewy. I'm impressed with how well they held together and plan to make them again. I really like the toastiness of the browned edges. The H has already requested a version with chocolate drizzled over the top. :)

Cleaned-up blueberry muffins

Yesterday when our Internet was out (our house took a big surge when our old Dish Network dish served as a lightning rod on Wednesday) I was looking for things to do. The little guy was at daycare and it was too hot to be outside. Naturally, turning on the oven to 400* made perfect sense. ;) I had already made a batch of garlic hummus and was ready for something sweet.

The recipe as written comes from my aunt, and has yielded great results. This time I thought I would clean it up a bit.



Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb softened butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions
Mix ingredients together in order listed. Batter will be dry--do not add more liquid. Gently fold in berries. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes.

To make gluten-free: Use Bob's Red Mill AP GF flour blend and a GF baking powder, and add 1 1/8 tsp xanthan gum.



And now, my recipe:

1 cup white flour (I know! Roll with it)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Sucanat
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk (2% for a bit of fat)
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
1/2 tsp turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top during baking

I made them in my jumbo muffin pan, so I only got 6 muffins out of it. I wanted a treat for me and the little guy to have for breakfast, and I didn't want to have too many leftovers hanging around to tempt The H.



The texture was a bit denser than a typical muffin, which I attribute to the wheat flour and lack of fat. Spread with a bit of Earth Balance and warmed in the microwave, these were quite a filling breakfast/snack. One day I'd like to try making them into "muffin tops" with the right kind of pan.

Gluten free fruit cobbler

This recipe comes from celiac.com, a great resource for those transitioning to gluten-free living. We were planning dinner with The H's parents, and I wanted to use some of our co-op haul for dessert. I was looking for something that would go well with with ice cream. Fruit cobbler sounded just right.

I used four of these lovely peaches, and the rest of the organic blueberries, perhaps 1 cup.

Gluten Free Fruit Cobbler

from Celiac.com

1 stick of butter

1 cup gluten-free flour blend (your choice--I used Bob's Red Mill GF all-purpose)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup kefir or buttermilk (I used milk soured with 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar)

1 large can peach halves, or 2-3 cups frozen thawed berries to which 1/4 cup sugar has been added (I had a total of 4 cups fresh fruit)

Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or other spices, to taste (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350* and melt the butter in a glass 8x8 baking dish.

2. Mix all other ingredients, except for fruit. Pour batter onto melted butter. If you stir it around to incorporate the butter, you'll end up with a rich, buttery cakelike cobbler. If you don't mix it in, you'll have a chewy, buttery edge (I mixed it together).

3. Spread the fruit on top of the crust and sprinkle with spices of your choice. Bake 45 minutes or until set in the center.

Because of the full stick of butter and loads of sugar called for, I can't really consider this "clean" though there are certainly ways to clean it up.

I think the crust could get away with less than a full stick of butter (see how much is just sitting on top after I mixed it in? Yikes...), and the sugar in the dry crust mix could likely be cut back a bit and probably exchanged for sucanat. I just didn't have enough to try it.

I used maple flakes for the sugar on the fruit, though as I typed the recipe above, I think I could have omitted that since I wasn't using frozen berries, which are notably more tart than fresh peaches! If I were to use frozen, I'd try mixing them with honey rather than a dry sugar.

The spices I used on top of the fruit were cinnamon and nutmeg. I used a light dusting of each.

The middle was a bit soft after 45 minutes, so I left it in the oven for another 10, then turned it off and let the heat continue cooking it while we cleaned up after dinner.

It was still somewhat soft when we ate it, but since there was no raw egg or anything potentially harmful in it, we just dug in.

This made 9 servings. The H and his brother had two servings each, in rapid succession. It was one of the better gluten-free desserts I have eaten, let alone made from scratch. We didn't eat it with ice cream, but it was great nonetheless.

Tofu with Brussels Sprouts

Alternate titles:

"What to eat when The H isn't home"

"My family and friends' worst nightmare"

"How to make your friends and coworkers think you've truly gone 'round the twist"

Two of the most commonly-feared and misunderstood foods in the same dish? By choice? Awww, yeah. :) That's the kind of stuff this eating machine is made of!

I've been meaning to make this recipe from Katie at Health for the Whole Self for ages now (ok, more like the month-and-a-half since she blogged about it). Today I finally got my chance. Despite a few minor setbacks in the process, the end result was remarkable. I love having a meal that tastes like it cooked for a long time but that really was fast and easy to assemble.

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts and Pecans

from Health for the Whole Self (via several other sources)

serves 2 generously

Ingredients:

8oz extra firm tofu, drained, pressed to remove extra liquid, and cut into 1-inch strips

Sea salt

2 tsp olive or peanut oil, divided

2 tsp minced fresh garlic

1/3 cup chopped pecans

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 lb Brussels sprouts, cut into ribbons

Instructions:

1. Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add tofu and a pinch of salt and cook 5 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Add garlic and pecans; cook for another 2 minutes.

3. Stir in sugar and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro, pour into a bowl and set aside to keep warm.

5. Add remaining oil to the skillet and saute the shredded sprouts 3-5 minutes or until just browning at the edges. Add a dash of salt to taste.

6. Divide browned sprouts between two plates; top with tofu-pecan mixture. Serve hot.

My quantities of tofu and sprouts were increased (12oz and 10oz respectively) because I needed to use them up. I substituted sucanat for the brown sugar (2 tablespoons instead of the 3 called for) and used the rest of my dried ground coriander instead of fresh cilantro.

The tofu I used was the kind in a Tetra-Pak box, and even though it said "extra firm" it was not. Even after pressing. It all but fell apart when I tried to brown the second side. I'll try the plastic-boxed refrigerated kind next time.

I was also trying to start dinner at the same time (slow-cooker beef curry over brown rice) and in the process of keeping track of both entrees, managed to cut my left index finger and burn my right hand with hot oil. If I hadn't had to take time out to cool the burn and stop the bleeding (at two separate times, mind you) this would have come together even more quickly than it did. Encouragingly, the tofu stayed hot and my sprouts didn't wilt too much despite being kept warm in the skillet while I first-aided myself. I wish you a safer venture if and when you choose to make this colorful, tasty vegetarian meal!

The best banana bread - gluten free!

Seriously. This is the best banana bread I've ever made--regular or gluten free--and that includes the 150 years I'd been making it before The H developed a wheat allergy. Everything came together just right to yield a loaf that was toasty golden brown, rising high above the edges of the loaf pan, moist in the center, sweet but not overwhelmingly so, and without that weird roof-of-the-mouth tingle that some people get from banana bread.

My secret? I think it was the ancient black bananas I pulled out of the freezer the night before. These were the ugliest things I've probably ever seen in my kitchen. I tossed them into the freezer on a lazy day, which means they were still in their peels. They thawed overnight in a glass measuring cup in the fridge, and by the time I got to make the bread last night, they were completely soft and floppy. Seriously nasty looking. When I smooshed them out of their peels, the fruit was limp and spotty. I wasn't holding out much hope.

But, using the recipe on the back of the gluten free all-purpose flour we use (and stock in mass quantity), I forged ahead since everything else was already in the bowl.

Banana Bread

adapted from Special Diet Solutions by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.

serves 10

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed (I used three bananas and did not measure them)

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9x5 loaf pan (I greased mine with a bit of walnut oil).

2. Cream together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer.

3. Add flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to egg mixture, alternating with bananas. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts and raisins. Batter will be somewhat soft.

4. Spread into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in preheated oven.

Word to the wise: even though the recipe states that you should use an electric mixer, abandon that idea once the eggs, sugar, and oil are creamed together. The beaters got so gummed up from the downright rubbery batter that they wouldn't even turn anymore, and the sockets for the beaters were covered in brown goop that literally climbed up each beater as they tried to rotate. It was mildly alarming. Never fear--I grabbed a sturdy spatula and used good old fashioned elbow grease to incorporate the flour and bananas, and recommend you do the same.

When I've made this recipe in the past, I've always split it into two pans so we could freeze one for later, but this time I opted for a single loaf. I also substituted sucanat for the brown sugar to make it a little more clean, and would have used applesauce for the oil if I felt like digging through the fridge to find it--but canola oil is fine anyway, so it was not a big deal.

Even though these don't contain chocolate chips--which used to be a "must-have" for my banana bread--we didn't miss them. In fact, The H, who had two pieces last night, thought they were in there, even this morning when he and the little guy were having breakfast. Surprise! I hope you enjoy this as much as we have been.