Sweetie Pie

Mostly Healthy Granola Bars

 These made from scratch bars are full of healthy and wholesome goodness with no added preservatives or colors.  They are mostly healthy because they also have some butter and chocolate chips in them (you want them to taste good right?).  I've been working on the proportions to try to find the right balance between taste and healthiness.  The original recipe had more butter and sugar, but these are still very sweet.  If you want a chewier bar you can add more butter.  Feel free to use this recipe as a jumping off point and make the recipe fit your preferences. 

One way to save a few calories is to use agave nectar as a sweetener.  This all natural syrup is 25% sweeter than sugar which means a little bit goes a long way.  It also has a lower glycemic index which means it is absorbed more slowly into your bloodstream so you don't get that sugar rush and crash. 
It's nice to know exactly what's in the snacks you're child is eating.  These granola bars have lots of healthy nuts and grains, but the kiddo thinks they're a treat because they are sweet and have chocolate chips on top.  It's a win -win recipe.  Here are the proportions I've come up with to make one cookie sheet or jelly roll pan of bars:

Mostly Healthy Granola Bars

5 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoon oil

A total of 3/4 cup of sweeteners in whatever combination you like.  I use 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup agave nectar and 1/8 cup molasses with 1/8 cup honey.  You can also use maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or brown sugar. 

1/4 cup peanut butter (you could use another nut butter - I think almond butter would be delish)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup shredded coconut (I use unsweetened)

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds ( I use roasted and salted)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds

1/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Optional substitutions:  pecans, dried fruit such as cranberries, apricots or raisins, sunflower seeds, flaxseed meal, wheat germ...  and my favorite: jam to spread on top before baking.

Okay, so you decide what ingredients you like in your granola bars and get everything ready to go.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the butter, oil and sweeteners together in a pan.  Add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir until melted and combined.  If you're using dried fruit, go ahead and add it here.

While that is melting, combine the oats, flour, coconut, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or whatever nuts you're using in a large bowl.  Do NOT add the chocolate chips yet or they will melt.  Pour the melted butter and peanut butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Spread this all over the parchment lined pan in an even layer.  It will be fairly thin so you have to really spread it around.  Now sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and press them down a little.  Finally, you can spread some jam in stripes or dots on top if you wish.  Last time I made these I used some raspberry jam on top and it was so yummy.  Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.  Be careful not to let this burn - keep an eye on it and check it early.  They are done when lightly golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and let cool completely.  Lift the granola bar from the pan using the parchment paper and cut into whatever shape you like.  I like diamond shaped bars.  I keep these in the refrigerator because the chocolate chips get gooey easily.  They are great for breakfast, a snack or dessert.

 

 

Happy Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

 My hubby makes me happy.  Deep down contented and happy.  For his birthday I wanted to make him a sunny treat in the form of cupcakes with strawberry frosting. 

The lemon flavor comes from the zest of a fresh lemon. The first step in this baking project is to select a nice organic lemon because you don't want to eat the peeling on a piece of fruit that's been sprayed with who knows what.  (Lay the butter out so it can come to room temperature too.)  Zest the entire lemon and rub it into the sugar for the cupcakes until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant.   This can be done way ahead of the time you actually bake the cupcakes.

Now, whenever you're going to do any baking it's a good idea to gather all your ingredients and materials and have everything laid out and ready before you begin.  This really helps avoid messes and panicky spills as you try to mix with one hand and reach all the way across the kitchen to open the refrigerator and fish out some eggs with the other hand.  This can lead to some serious messes and frustrations.  I've learned the hard way to take the time to lay everything out first.

For this recipe you will need the basics of butter, sugar, eggs, cake flour, (my favorite) buttermilk and of course the lemon.  There's not too much fat here because the recipe uses egg whites only,and this allows the lemon flavor to shine through. 

As we considered what kind of cupcakes would be best for this birthday we settled on some favorite springy flavors of lemon and strawberry.  For the frosting, I used a basic buttercream recipe of confectioners sugar and butter and added a generous dollop of my strawberry vanilla bean jam.  I'd say it was about a third or fourth of a cup.


I'm not normally a frosting gal, but I'm going to make this again!  Yumm-O.  The butter really brings out the vanilla and it is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.   I can not think of a better use for the strawberry vanilla jam I made.  

Lemon Cupcakes 

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

4 egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

zest from 2 lemons

1 stick or 8 T butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract ( I subbed some lemon juice for the buttermilk instead)

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 and washing the lemon and zesting it into a large bowl with the sugar.  If you don't have a zester, just use a cheese grater.  Be careful to take the yellow part only.  The white pith underneath is bitter.  Rub the zest and sugar together with your hands until everything smells like lemon heaven and the sugar is moist.

Next, separate the egg whites into a small bowl and mix them up with the buttermilk. 

Make sure you have your ingredients and mixer ready.  Now, add the butter to the sugar and lemon zest and beat it with the mixer until it's light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and lemon juice and keep beating.  Sift in a third of the dry ingredients, mix.  Add half the milk/eggs and mix.  Keep alternating the dry and wet ingredients until everything is incorporated.  Continue mixing for another 2 minutes to make sure everything is aerated.  Divide the batter into about 24 muffin cups and bake 18-22 minutes at 350 degrees.  I halved this recipe because, you know, bathing suit season...

For the frosting I used a half stick of butter at room temperature beaten with powdered sugar and jam until fluffy.  I just added sugar until it was the thickness I wanted.  

 

Berry Gateau

I found this recipe for blueberry cake when searching for things to do with blueberries last summer.   Gateau is any form of French cake.  Just as a cake can mean anything from an elaborate layered confection with lots of decoration to a simple sheet cake from a box, the term 'gateau' covers an array of baked goods.  You can read more about this at The Food Timeline.  It turned out beautifully and since then I've used it with other fruits with equally lovely results.  Chopped up apples with a sprinkle of cinnamon or cranberries with a little citrus zest both work really well.  This cake looks really pretty and fancy, but the recipe is very simple. 

The recipe for this dessert (which is also quite good for breakfast or brunch) can be found here at Group Recipes.   I'll go ahead and type it up for you to save you that click:

Blueberry Gateau

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon

1 teaspoon baking powder    

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 oz (one stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla on high until light and fluffy.  This will take a few minutes.  Add the eggs 1 at a time and keep mixing.  Sift in the dry ingredients and combine on low speed.  Pour the batter into a well greased, buttered and floured cake pan.  Combine the berries, 1 teaspoon flour and lemon juice in a separate bowl and spoon them over the batter.  Bake for 1 hour and let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes before inverting it onto plate and then back onto a cooling rack to show the pretty berry side up.

Just before serving, sift confectioners sugar over the cake for that special touch.

If you do not have fresh blueberries, you can substitute frozen blueberries or cranberries.  Just defrost them in a bowl of warm water and rinse them off.  You can also use apples cut into small peices.

 

Cinnamon Chicken and Couscous with Preserved Lemon

I love cinnamon in savory dishes and stews.  The spring weather feels a bit too warm for a heavy slow cooked meal, so I opted for a straightforward cinnamon chicken.  This was very simple to prepare and needed no special ingredients.  Everyone, even people who rarely cook, has cinnamon in their pantry. 
I was also pleased to find an easy way to use some of those preserved lemons I made months ago.  I liked the uncomplicated lemon flavor and the simplicity in preparing this couscous. 
Cinnamon chicken recipes offer all kinds of variations.  This is a basic recipe to start with and become familiar with the concept of using what we usually consider a 'sweet' spice in a meat dish.  You can use whatever cuts of chicken you prefer.  I used skinless, boneless breasts because that's what I had in the freezer.  It's easier to cut chicken (less slimy and goopy) when it's partially frozen so I cut it into smaller portions and let it finish defrosting in the marinade overnight.  The smaller pieces cooked quickly which was a bonus!

Couscous is so quick and simple to prepare.  You really don't need a recipe.  I used 1 whole preserved Meyer lemon.  These lemons are very salty, so I washed it thoroughly in clean water and then chopped it up.  Boil the water according to package directions, then drop in the preserved lemon a moment before you add the couscous and take it off the heat.  Stir in the couscous and cover the pan to let it sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve.  So.  Easy.  Next time I'll chop the lemon more finely because the large chunks are so salty.  I have cilantro and parsley in the garden, so those were used to garnish the dish. 

The chicken was so tender and juicy, which is no small feat when you're working with boneless and skinless white meat.  My little family gobbled it up and asked for more.  The cinnamon flavor is not overwhelming - it's just yummy.

Cinnamon Chicken

2-4 chicken breasts

2/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 clove garlic, chopped or minced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

splash of water

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and marinate in refrigerator at least one hour or overnight.  Roast in a 400 degree oven 20 minutes for small pieces, longer for larger cuts or until chicken is done.  This would also work well on the grill.  Serve with preserved lemon couscous and cilantro.