Back to School and Baked Spice Oatmeal

My mind has been preoccupied with all things "Back to School."  We have successfully purchased new clothes...and backpacks...and underwear...and shoes...and lunchboxes...  So now I obsess over what to put in those new lunchboxes, and what to have for breakfast on those hectic school mornings, and what snacks to pack, and how to provide "treats" when the other kids bring birthday goodies...

So I will start tackling these conundra one at a time and sharing my ideas here so that, hopefully, it will benefit someone else and perhaps said person will have one less thing to keep them up at night.  Yes, I am totally taking one for the team here.

So, the first thing I have to gush over is baked oatmeal.  I love oatmeal, and I firmly believe it is a heck of a lot better than over-processed sugar in a box ahem, I mean cereal.  And I have developed sneaky ways to make my children like oatmeal, and Baked Spice Oatmeal is one of them

Baked oatmeal is something like a slightly crumbly, warm oatmeal bar cookie.  You can cook it on a Sunday, let it cool, pop it in the fridge, and them microwave it for about 40 seconds during the busy mornings, add a splash of milk (or soy milk, if you prefer, like me), and dig in.  A hot breakfast in about the same amount of time it takes to pour a bowl of cold cereal.  And, the best part, it that the baked oatmeal stays lovely in the fridge for about a week, so you could very well have a whole week's worth of breakfasts ready with minimal effort!

Mmmmm...oatmeal!

Baked Spice Oatmeal

Ingredients
3 c. gluten free oats
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. soy milk (or almond milk)
3 tbs. ground flax seed + 9 tbs. warm water, whisked together
1/2 c. melted vegan butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. dried fruit (I like cranberries, but apricots, raisins, currants, or coconut would all be lovely!  You can also add some toasted almonds, if you are so inclined.)

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
3.  Stir in soy milk, flax/water combo, melted vegan butter, and vanilla extract.
4.  Stir in dried fruit, and nuts if so inclined, and spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5.  Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown and set.

Serve hot with a splash of soy milk.

Later this week, I will be posting another hot breakfast option:  CARROT CAKE OATMEAL!

A slightly blurry sneak peak!

Read more...

Our Late Summer Blues

We've been going through a bit of a rough time, Terri and I.  It seems as soon as summer hit, the whole world flipped upside down and we've been trying to set it right again ever since.  

If you've been following along at all, you know about Terri's recent diagnosis with eosinophilic esophagitis. This revealed such a slew of food allergies that just learning how to work around those things which she can no longer eat has had my dear foodie friend temporarily stumped.  We've had some close calls, too.  The most recent episode required the use of her now mandatory EpiPen and my rushing my friend to the nearest hospital.  We got there fine, the EpiPen did it's job, and the doctors seemed to know how to handle it all. Still... there's nothing fun about sitting in an office bathroom, watching your friend shudder uncontrollably and gag repeatedly, trying to keep her throat from closing up on her.  We tried liquid Benadryl, which did nothing, and finally decided on the pen, which she employed herself.  I feel a little guilty about that.  I was hesitant to stab her and I think she could see it in my face, even through her suffering, without me saying a thing.  If it happens again, Terri, I promise not to be too scared if I know it will save your life.  I won't say I'll like it, but I will do what needs to be done, I swear.  

In my world (the part of it that doesn't directly include Terri), time has been swallowed up by home renovations and trying to keep my garden from dying a sad, crispy death.  It's been a long, hot, exhausting haul, feeling always behind the 8 ball and dragging my sore, sorry ass to work with a groan every Monday after the weekend's work.  To say it's been hot is, as I'm sure most of you know, the understatement of the century.  We're at nearly 30 consecutive days of over 100 degree weather, and there's no sign of it ending anytime soon. 

Okay, maybe not THIS hot, but still...

Fight as we may, there have been a few casualties in the garden, though much fewer than we would have expected.  The tomatoes, for instance, are a topic of constant discussion lately.  People in our area are reporting that their tomato plants, while green, strong, and full of flowers, are bearing little to no fruit, and we are no exception.  One theory is that the excessive heat is causing the flowers to drop off without ever being pollinated.  I don't know.  That might be it.  All I know is, we've got over 30 tomato plants and the only ones producing with any fervor are the cherry tomatoes.  From the rest, I believe we've gotten a total of three tomatoes so far.  Maybe we're all just impatient and maybe the tomatoes will wow us in weeks to come.  I hope.  All I can do is hope...

Our other casualties, the onions, were victims of friendly fire.  We got a soaker hose, you see, to fight the heat and lack of rain, and this has done wonderfully well for most of our plants.  But, while the onions' tops looked lush and healthy, we discovered one day that the roots...the onions...were rotting.  In a panic, we pulled them all up and salvaged as many as we could.  Onions, apparently, do not like wet fee.  Sigh.  Live and learn.

All in all, as hot as it's been, and as little time as I've had to tend to the garden properly, the rest of the plants are doing well.  The sweet potato vines, of course, are in absolute heaven, since they like it hot--the hotter the better, I hear.  And we've even managed to start a late Three Sisters patch that is thriving under our nightly rainmaking ritual.  We planted corn, green beans, and pumpkins (big carvers and little sugar pie pumpkins) a couple of weeks ago, and I was so afraid that the scorching sun would kill our darlings.  But the nightly watering seems to be working.  The seedlings have all sprouted, big and strong, looking like they could take over the world.  That's one recent delight I am glad to have experienced.  Nothing brightens a tired heart like watching your babies grow.  

There have been a few more spots of joy in this long stretch of days...  

We recently learned that our favorite Garden Variety Mama is expecting a little one of her own.  We are so thrilled for you, GVM, and wish you a healthy, happy pregnancy.

Also, rumor has it that this very same bloggeress, GVM, will be getting her kraut on any day now.  We hope to see posts on her fermenting adventures soon.

Our kraut finished fermenting a week and a half ago (July 11), though the evil time-vacuum prevented me from posting about the blessed event.  Terri received a jar, which she devoured in no time flat, and I've got a jar and half left in the fridge.  At this rate, I'd better get krauting again soon!  

There will be more recipes to come, fellow devourers, we promise you that.  We thank you for your patience, we love you for your support, and we respect you for sticking it out with us.  You're all troopers, you know. When the world outside threatens to incinerate all your best laid plans, and your foodie world has changed the rules of the game without warning or apology, it's good to know you're not alone...and that this, too, shall pass.  

~ Angela

Read more...

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

It is May, and that means STRAWBERRIES!!!  When I declared that it was a Strawberry Day, my oldest child requested a trifle, my middle child pleaded for a strawberry shortcake, and my youngest demanded blueberries and strawberries mixed together.  As I was contemplating how to weave together their "requests," Angela called to inform me that she had gotten four goose eggs from the farmers' market and that it was my job to use them well.  I had not cooked with goose eggs before, but there is a first time for everything...and I had a foodie plan forming.  (Insert maniacal laughter.)

As expected, the sound of me puttering around in the kitchen brought the pitter patter of little feet and the frantic grasping of little hands vying for the "cooking chair" and the prime spot in front of the mixing bowl.  It may have resulted in one or two of the more zealous sous chefs being expelled from the kitchen.  Hey, cooks are short tempered, everyone knows that!  (But if this harshes your warm fuzzy vision of mother and child in the kitchen together, just skim over that part.)

First, for the short cake!  I wanted something tender, but strong enough to hold up to the weight of the berries and the rich custard, so I decided on almonds!

Shortcake

1 c. sweet rice flour

1 c. sweet sorghum flour

1 c. ground almond flour (I just grind it in the food processor until finely ground)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 c. cold butter, cut into pieces

1/3 c. buttermilk (or soured milk)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch pie pan, and set aside.  Combine all the dry ingredients, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles crumbs.  Add buttermilk and stir until a dough forms.  Spread the batter into the pie pan and bake for approximately 15 - 20 minutes, or until set in the middle and the cake starts to turn lightly golden.  Cool on wire rack; meanwhile...

Next, it is time to start the strawberry and blueberry filling...okay, this part was easy; you just, well, cut up strawberries and fresh, whole blueberries.  How easy is that? 

Finally, for the custard:

Just so you know, my kids were amazed at how much bigger goose eggs were than "regular" eggs...

Custard

2 goose eggs (or 3 large eggs...as my kids call them "regular eggs")

2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Pinch salt 

before you start cooking the custard, prepare a large bowl 1/2 full with water and ice and place it in the sink.  Then begin cooking...

Crack the eggs into a medium saucepan...

Then add the milk, sugar, and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.  

Cook until the egg mixture coats a metal spoon...

Then remove the pan from the heat and place the pan into the ice water, and continue stirring for 2 minutes to cool.  Stir in the vanilla and pour the custard in a bowl, cover the custard with plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming on the custard.  Refrigerate until ready to assemble and serve.

Assembly

You can leave the cake in the pie pan.  Cover the cake with the berries

 

and drizzle the custard over the berries.

I meant to take some to Angela as a "thank you" for the eggs.  Unfortunately, we ate it all.  Um, yeah, sorry Angela!

Read more...

Season One: Spring Gardening Adventures in Green Country

The weather here in Green Country has been its typical fickle self, making each of my tromps out to the garden a different experience than the last.  Many people (normal, sane people... ahem) wait for nice, sunny days to get out and start playing in the dirt.  But not me... no sir, I fancy myself an urban food gardener, unafraid of a little cold and wet... 

Or I could just be a fool... the jury's still out.

Last Sunday loomed chilly and overcast with intermittent drizzle spritzing through the air.  This signaled to my overzealous mind that it was the perfect day to sow some lettuce seeds...and some spinach...and why not some onions while I'm at it?  So, I suited up in my jeans and sweater, coat and gardening gloves (which are so small they're nearly kid-sized to fit my tiny hands) and headed out to the yard.

And it was...really, really nice.  Yes, it was definitely chilly (it didn't clear 45 degrees that day, and in my world that's chilly), but the chill fell away as I set to work and my body started moving.  And it was quiet.  There was the random shout of a neighborhood kid now and again, and the occasional bird call, but otherwise it felt like the clouds had swallowed up the developed world and told us all to hush.

At one point I noticed a flock of birds gathering in the pecan tree above my head.  Were those starlings or crows?  They were too high up to see clearly, and I'm no master of bird calls.  They seemed to be having an important meeting, however, and I watched them for a time with reverence.

Our entire garden plot is covered over with hay mulch.  We uncover the rows as we plant them, and use the remaining hay as borders and walkways.  I set to pulling off the mats of recently unbailed hay to get at the soil below.  When I did, I saw what I initially took to be a very large earthworm curled up in the dirt.  Hooray! I thought, knowing earthworms are a gardener's best friends.  But then I paused and looked closer.  Curled... coiled is more like it, and the brown is a little flatter, a little scalier than the skin of your typical earthworm.  No, my friends, this was a very small, very brown snake.

I picked it up (remember, I had on my gardening gloves--otherwise I never would've had the nerve) to relocate it under a patch of straw that wouldn't be disturbed for awhile.  I thought I would have to move quick, that it would slither and fight, but it hardly moved a muscle.  It was asleep, dormant from the cold.  I could only confirm it was alive when i tipped my hand to release it to its new bed.  Then it woke up and slithered away, deep under the mulch.

Now, I'm going to assume this was a harmless garden snake of some sort, because I didn't have the heart to kill it (would you believe me if I said I thought it was cute?), so I let it live blissfully asleep under the straw... and because, as I went along, uncovering and planting, uncovering and planting, I found two more. They were each just as cold-dormant as the first, and just as obviously alive when the vertigo of being tipped over signaled their brains to wake up.  I let each of them go unharmed, showing them the same courtesy as the first with their new, snugglier garden accommodations under the hay.

So, please, if anyone sees these pictures and happens to know that, hey, WAIT! Those are baby copperheads!  Or any other creature with a similar reputation, do let me know, will you?  I have no desire to be maimed or murdered for my benevolence toward my serpentine brethren.

This weekend, on the other hand, was in the 80s and uncomfortably warm.  But no snakes this time (I assume they went hunting or something... I don't claim to know the minds of serpents), and it felt like real spring, and my onions and spinach had started to sprout, so I didn't complain.  Spring is a crazy, crazy time.  Mysteries abound and real food is around the corner.  Next weekend, finally, I'll be able to go to the farmers' market and buy food from real farmers, those experienced professionals who know how to get something out of the ground (or the greenhouse) before May.  I will watch and learn, friends.  And, of course, I'll tell you all about it.  

Read more...