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September 15, 2016

Peanut Pretzel Bars

Now that school is back in session, I’m back to grocery shopping by myself and it feels like such a luxury. Among all of the many activities that I love doing with my children, grocery shopping is not one of them. Because shopping with them is bit tricky, I try hard to stay organized with my list and I make the outings as quick as I can. I celebrated my first grocery shopping trip sans-children by meandering slowly through the aisles while basking in the quietness of it all. The snack aisle is my weakness, and there were these peanut pretzel bars that caught my eye. I slipped the box into my cart and managed to wait until I got into the car to break into one. It was the perfect balance of sweet and salty, and peanut butter along with dark chocolate is always a winning combination. Within two days I had my own version- a crispy, chewy no-bake bar filled with peanuts, pretzels, oats, and brown rice crisps. It’s bound together with peanut butter and brown rice syrup, and finished off with a quick dip in melted dark chocolate. For the longest time I’d resisted brown rice syrup, not wanting to buy yet another variety of sweetener, and instead sticking with the more common honey or maple syrup. My curiosity got the best of me and I finally tried brown rice syrup. And it really does make a better snacking bar. It lends to a perfect chewy texture, has a much more mild flavor than the more pronounced honey and maple syrup, and is completely worth the extra storage space in the pantry. Hope you enjoy. xo

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April 18, 2016

Walnut Torte with Coffee Coconut Cream

It had been a rough day, the kids were finally in bed, the house was quiet, and Ryan and I wearily sat down for a quiet moment to ourselves. All of my earlier efforts making dessert were paying off now that we could sit in peace and ease into uninterrupted conversation. After reading Ashley’s Date Night In book, we’ve been trying to be more deliberate about the time we spend together, and one evening a week we put everything aside to focus on each other. Sometimes it’s dinner together after the kids are in bed, other times it’s just dessert. It’s requires a bit of extra thought and preparation, but the investment has been worth it. In the midst sibling squabbles, the constant flurry of after-school activities, and now homeschooling, I often forget what Ryan and I were before we had kids. Going out is always fun, but dating in the calmness of your own home is also fun and intimate in a different sort of way.

October 22, 2015

Creamy Whole Oats with Cardamom Roasted Pears

As early mornings grow darker and the inevitable first frost arrives, I find myself easing into these cooler days with warm bowls of cozy oatmeal for breakfast. Usually it’s a simple bowl of rolled or steel-cut oats, but once in a while I’ll wake up extra early to put on a pot of whole oats. Whole oats, also known as oat groats, don’t seem to receive nearly the amount of attention they deserve. They do take longer to cook than old-fashioned oats as well as a bit longer than steel cut, but the method is just as simple, perhaps even simpler since whole oats don’t require stirring. My 8-year old is generally a part of the anti-oatmeal club, but he does enjoy these whole oat groats. For him it’s the texture- this bowl of oats is creamy without being gummy and chewy without being mushy. I like to add chopped medjool dates as it cooks; the heat melts the dates into the oats and provides a balanced sweetness to the whole bowl.