Oatmeal-Date-Chocolate Cookies

I needed to use up some dates, and I needed some cookies, and I needed something with chocolate. These turned up on a Google search and they are delicious! Chewy, healthy (sort of) and yummy! Next time, though, I'll throw in about 1/2 cup of pecans because I like nuts in my cookies. I also doubled this recipe and it made a full gallon ziploc of cookies.

Oatmeal-Date-Chocolate Cookies
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups regular oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lightly beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pitted dates
3 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate

This is an easy way to chop dates.

Preheat oven to 350º. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.

I microwaved it.

Remove from heat and add brown sugar.

Stir until smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, oats, and salt.

Combine the butter mixture with the dry ingredients,

and add egg, vanilla,

and chopped dates. Fold in bittersweet chocolate.

Mix well and spoon mixture by tablespoon-fulls out onto lightly greased (or silicone baking mat–covered) baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes, until tops are dry to the touch. DO NOT overbake! I let one batch go 13 minutes and they turned a fairly dark brown. So we had to eat those immediately. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  About 32 cookies (more if you double it).

Enjoy!

Tomato Paste

About this time of year, I like to clean out the big freezer. We're usually down to just elk, antelope, and frozen tomatoes. Since I don't make too many soups or stews in the spring, I don't want all those frozen tomatoes to go to waste. After all, I started the plants from seed, nurtured them in the sun room, planted them, watered them, talked to them, picked them, and froze them last summer and fall.

So I make tomato paste out of them. Once they've been frozen, the skins just slip right off under warm water, then they cook all day and make the house smell wonderful. Now I can use the paste in spaghetti sauce, or on pizza, or in lasagna. Wonderful.

I had 7 quart bags of frozen tomatoes and they cooked down to 7 cups of tomato paste. It's easy to do:
Frozen tomatoes - run them under warm water as the skins soften and slip off (see the first picture)

(or fresh if you want to peel them - dip the fresh tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or two. Drop into a bowl of cold water. Peel off the skins)

Place in a LARGE pot.

Turn on high until it comes to a boil.

Turn to low and simmer, stirring every 20 minutes at first, then stir more often as it thickens - about every 10 minutes at the end of the cooking time. Here's how it changes. Note how it cooks down.

This took several hours of cooking.

Cook until it's the consistency you prefer.
Don't add any salt or seasonings. Add those later when you make spaghetti sauce or pizza or whatever.

I put the sauce in freezer bags in 1 cup measurements.

Okay - now I'm ready for pizza!

Potato Casserole

FUNERAL POTATOES

You may know these by other names - Cheesy Potatoes, Potato Casserole - but the name by which we know them is Funeral Potatoes. For those of you that aren't familiar with Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) culture, there are a few things that we rely on and are known for: strong families, going to church, lots of kids, and Funeral Potatoes.

Why are they called Funeral Potatoes? Well, when there's a death in a family, the church goes into action. Meals are brought in, children are cared for, and the Relief Society (the women's organization) prepares a dinner after the funeral for the family members. You can count on ham, rolls, salad, sometimes green beans or jello, and Funeral Potatoes.

Funeral potatoes serve a lot of people and they are incredibly easy to make. They have absolutely no nutritional value - if you set out to design a dish that was worse nutritionally, you'd be hard pressed -
 but they are cheesy, and buttery and one of the world's great comfort foods. They are also good for occasions other than a funeral. We like them for Easter dinner. With ham. And rolls. And salad. But no jello.

Funeral Potatoes

Peel and cook 6 potatoes. Grate them into a 13x9" baking dish. Or use about 3/4 of a bag of frozen hash browns. This makes it even easier.
Saute 1 small chopped onion in 1/4 c. butter for 5 minutes, add 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 c. sour cream, and 3/4 c. grated cheese.
Pour over potatoes and mix lightly.

Top with 2 c. crushed cornflakes mixed with 2 tbs. melted butter.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

See wasn't that easy? And aren't they wonderful?

Serve nice and warm with any other comfort food you want.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Let me tell you about the pie Beth made for Easter Sunday. It was good. It was flaky, filled with strawberries and rhubarb. And it was good. I only have one picture though, of the pie, because we ate it. All.

For the pie crust, go to:

http://kim-cheyennefood.blogspot.com/2011/12/thanksgiving-desserts.html

Beth got the recipe for the pie from

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/strawberry-rhubarb-pie/

But here it is so you don't have to search:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch (or you can use 3-4 tablespoons Minute tapioca. I like it better for fruit pies anyway)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
pastry for a 2-crust pie
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.

Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter pie dish. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. If you want a lattice pie: Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Or you can just use a rolled out crust and cut slits in it and place it over the filling.

Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degreesF. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about another 25 minutes. Cover the edges with foil if it browns too quickly. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

I do love pie. Especially fruit pies. And chocolate pies. And pumpkin pies. And....

Here it is again in case you missed it the first time.

Jerusalem Dinner

Lentil Stew in bowl, Charoset balls in the middle, flatbread in foreground, figs, dates, cheeses, olives in the background.

One of our favorite Easter traditions is the Jerusalem dinner. We try to have foods that people would have eaten at the time of Jesus Christ. We put a raised platform (this year it was a long fold up table with the legs still folded under) on the ground and cover it with a cloth. Then I try to keep the smaller grandkids from walking on such an interesting surface (Imagine! a table on the ground! with a tablecloth! Surely it's meant to be walked on!) until we eat dinner. Then we gather most of the pillows in the house and sit on the ground around the table. We eat everything with our hands - the flatbread is to dip the stew. The smallest children get spoons if they want them.

We have lentil stew, flatbread, olives, figs, dates, goat cheese, and grape juice. This year, we added Charoset or Haroset. This is a traditional Passover Seder dish that symbolizes the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.

During this dinner, we talk of how foods were during the Savior's life and some of the traditions we know about from His life. The grandchildren love the thought of sitting on the floor or lying on pillows and eating with their hands. It's interesting because we linger over this dinner, talking, sharing, enjoying the food and the company.

I don't have pictures of the Lentil Soup because Jenny made it at home, but I can vouch that this was one of the best soups I've had. It's not entirely authentic, but it's close. Delicious!

LENTIL QUINOA STEW
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. basil, dried
½ - ¾ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch chili powder
1 pinch garam masala
½ tsp. grated ginger root
4 c. vegetable broth
2 c. water
1 c. lentils, sorted and rinsed (use more)
1 can of garbanzo beans
½ c. quinoa, rinsed well
1 can petite dice tomatoes
¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. oregano, dried
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat, and sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies and spices and stir. Turn heat up to medium-high and add the broth, water, lentils and quinoa. Stir. Cover. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. With a blender, puree half of the soup. Finally, add the tomato, cilantro, and apple cider vinegar. Stir and serve.

(You can also cook in crockpot on Low for 8 hours. Just add the quinoa at halfway point, and a little more water/broth. Can assemble all but lentils and quinoa in the crockpot the night before, too.)
6 servings.


The flatbread is another big hit. I try to make at least one per person - this recipe makes 8 generous flat breads but I usually double it. I also realize it is neither authentic nor Kosher for Passover because of the yeast, but it's really good. And it turns out like pita bread with a pocket in the middle.
FLAT BREAD
3 tsp. yeast
1½ cups WARM water
3 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups white flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve the yeast into the warm water and add oil and salt to that mixture. Mix the flours and knead them into the liquid mixture. Let dough rise for 30 to 40 minutes.

Divide into 8 equal portions (or 16 if you double it). Roll each ball out into a thin, flat, round shape. You can either bake them on a cookie sheet or baking stone at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or so.

We like to grill them: heat your grill, put some foil on the grill, spray with grill spray. Grill each bread on high for 2-3 minutes (until it gets puffy), turn and grill another 2-3 minutes until done. This is the best way.


The Charoset was delicious! It would make a great after-school, after-work, breakfast or whenever snack. Very healthy. You can find dozens of recipes for this, but here's the one I made:

CHAROSET
3 tart apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 1/4 c. chopped nuts (almonds or walnuts)
Small handful of dried apricots
Small handful of dried figs
Small handful of golden raisins
Small handful of raisins
2 tsp. honey (I think I used a big glob)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
Juice of one lemon

Put all this in a food processor.

Pulse until roughly chopped. Then process until it's nearly a paste.

Refrigerate. Right before serving, roll into balls - about 1 tablespoon worth.

So have fun with any or all of these recipes and create some traditions of your own!

Hot Cross Buns

It's Easter, and Easter means Hot Cross Buns. They actually aren't my favorite rolls as they tend to be a bit on the heavy side, but it's tradition and, as Charles Dickens says: my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for.

I did find this recipe on simplyrecipes.com and these are pretty good. They are spicy, not too sweet and the orange zest adds a wonderful flavor. Another note: it's hard to find currants these days. I finally found some at the local natural foods store.

Hot Cross Buns
1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup warm milk
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons ground spices (for example, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature (if taking right out of the fridge, let sit in warm water for a few minutes to take the chill off before using)
3/4 cup currants (can sub half of currants with chopped candied citrus peel)
2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Glaze
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk

Frosting
1 teaspoon milk
3 to 4 Tbsp powdered sugar

In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the warmed milk and one teaspoon of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl or the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, vigorously whisk together 3 cups of the flour (reserving additional flour for later step), the salt, spices, and 1/4 cup of sugar.

Create a well in the flour and add the foamy yeast, softened butter, and eggs, and the remaining milk.

Using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix the ingredients until well incorporated. The mixture should be shaggy and quite sticky.

Add in the currants, candied peel, and orange zest.

If you are using a stand-up mixer, switch to the dough hook attachment and start to knead on low speed. (If not using a mixer, use your hands to knead.) Slowly sprinkle in additional flour, a tablespoon at a time, kneading to incorporate after each addition, until the flour is still slightly tacky, but is no longer completely sticking to your fingers when you work with it.

Form a ball of dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Let sit, covered, at room temperature (or in a warm spot) for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

Press down on the dough to gently compress it. Roll the ball of dough into a log shape and cut it into two halves. Cut each half into 8 equal pieces.

Take the individual pieces and form them into mounds, placing them 1 1/2 inches apart from each other on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough mounds sit at room temperature (or warm place) to rise again, until the mounds have doubled in volume, about 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare egg wash by whisking together one egg and a tablespoon of milk. If you want, you can score the top of the buns with a knife in a cross pattern. You will want to make fairly deep cuts, for the pattern to be noticeable after they're done. Using a pastry brush, brush on the egg wash over the dough mounds. The egg wash will give them a shiny appearance when cooked.

Place in the middle rack of the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the buns are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool.

To paint a cross on the top of the buns, wait until the buns have cooled (or the frosting will run). Whisk together the milk and the powdered sugar. Keep adding powdered sugar until you get a thick consistency. Place in a plastic sandwich bag (I put everything in the plastic sandwich bag to begin with and just knead the mixture, adding enough powdered sugar, to the right consistency). Snip off a small piece from the corner of the bag and use the bag to pipe two lines of frosting across each bun to make a cross.

Yield: Makes 16 buns.

Yummy!

Easter Activities

Easter is the holiday that we celebrate with all the kids and grandkids. We have a few traditions that we cling to: strawberry shortcake for Easter dinner, celebrating two of the grandsons' birthdays (they are born in April), going to church on Easter Sunday, having a Jerusalem dinner, and hiding plastic eggs.

Let me explain about the last two traditions:
Hiding plastic eggs - Candy and the Easter Bunny have never been a big part of our Easter celebration. We get some candy, but we don't load up on chocolate rabbits and Easter baskets overflowing with all sorts of chocolate and sugar. We try to make things more healthy and more focused on the reason for Easter. Several years ago, I read about a great tradition that I wanted to incorporate into our celebration. So I bought a bunch of plastic eggs (I bought more this year because the grandkids are getting faster at finding them),

and printed a bunch of small pictures about the Savior and his life.

Then I put 3 or 4 pieces of candy (some Easter-colored M&Ms and robin's eggs - the little malted milk filled candies), in the plastic eggs and a small picture.

These pictures are mostly of the Savior, but we also include pictures of our prophet, temples, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and other things that will remind the children of the sacred nature of Easter. As they open their eggs to see what is inside, they take a minute to look at the picture. The parents ask them what is in their picture, what it represents, or why it is important. As the children get older, we ask them what it means to them.

There is also one special egg hidden every year (it's gold), and each child is eager to find it.

This egg contains no candy. It is special because it is empty. After all of the eggs have been opened, we talk about the empty egg and compare it to the empty tomb that held Christ’s body for three days. We emphasize the importance of the Resurrection and of what the empty tomb means for each of us today.

The grandchildren look forward to this tradition for weeks. When they come to our house in the weeks before Easter, they always check to see if I have the eggs filled (but they don't look inside) and if I still have the golden egg.

The other tradition that we enjoy is our Jerusalem dinner. We have this dinner on Saturday night after we celebrate the birthdays. What did children eat that were growing up around the time of Jesus? What kind of utensils and dishes did they have? What did the children play and what work did they have to do?

So we spread a big cloth on the floor, gather a bunch of pillows, and have dinner Jerusalem-style. We have grape juice, because Jesus blessed the wine at the Last Supper. We have flat bread cooked on the grill to remind us of the bread he broke and blessed. We have lentil soup because lentils were a staple of that time. We also have olives, and dried fruits - figs and dates - and goat cheese because that was probably the kind of cheese they ate. Goat cheese is not our favorite, but that's ok. It's not bad with the figs and dates.

The next day, we have Easter breakfast rolls (they're hollow) and hard boiled eggs for breakfast. We have ham, potatoes, hot cross buns, and, of course, strawberry shortcake for dinner after church. I'll write about those next week.

Other random things:
We are going to raise chickens, so we got 25 of the cutest little balls of fluff. I'll let you know how that experiment goes.

2 days old

6 days old

And I made 4 separate batches (enough to give each family a big bag) of marshmallows

(see http://kim-cheyennefood.blogspot.com/2011/10/hot-chocolate-and-marshmallows.html).

I colored each batch a different color for Easter: pink, purple, yellow, and blue.

If you try this, put the food coloring in at the first after the gelatin is softened and when you add the hot sugar mixture. Use more food coloring than you think you'll need. As you whip the marshmallow mixture, it gets progressively more pastel. You can add more food color when you add the vanilla or whatever flavoring you use. And they melt really pretty in hot chocolate. And it's still ok to drink hot chocolate at Easter even if it is springtime.

Happy Easter!