Apricot Jam Oatmeal Bars (Pioneer Woman)

Apricot Jam Oatmeal Bars

Photo taken with cell phone

These were really expensive apricot jam oatmeal bars (adapted from  The Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Oatmeal Bars from her Food Network show). 

 Here's the story:
1. Get up super early.
2. Wipe the sleep from my eyes.
3. Stumble to kitchen.
4. Make these simple jam bars from the Pioneer Woman.
5. Toss them into the oven.
6. Start to clean up the kitchen. (I think I should mention here that my camera is on the countertop.)
7. Move the flour container...and knock off my camera from the countertop...and see it nose dive onto the hardwood floor.

It was horrible! I saw it in that slo-mo action...where you want to yell, "Noooooo..." but it happens so fast you are only able to yelp, "n...."

The lens came apart and I found a piece of it on the floor. Darn.

I've been wanting a new camera recently so this forced my hand. I purchased this combo:

Canon EOS Rebel T3i (body)
Canon EF 50 mm f1.4 (lens) (I upgraded from the f1.8 lens that crashed)

 

I love the new camera! It is much faster than my old one (which I bought in 2008). I'll be updating the camera page soon! 

This recipe is super simple. Just mix together most of the ingredients and press 1/2 on the bottom, and 1/2 over the jam layer. (These are the last photos taken with my old camera!)

Make these bars. Kids and librarians alike will love them! And hang onto your camera! :) - mary

Recipe:
Apricot Jam Oatmeal Bars

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman (shown on her Food Network show). Her recipe here.
1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup oats (I used old fashioned oatmeal)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
One 10 to 12-ounce jar apricot jam (Pioneer Woman used homemade Strawberry Jam...I used Trader Joe's Apricot Jam)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan.
2. Mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter/blender, cut in the butter.
3. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan.
4. Spread jam on top of the oat mixture.
5. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly.
6. Bake until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
7. Let cool completely, and then cut into squares.

Roasted Romanesco Broccoli / Cauliflower

Roasted Romanesco Broccoli/Cauliflower, Potatoes and Carrots

In the last post, I mentioned my Tanaka Farms CSA. Today, I tweeted a photo of this green vegetable found in my CSA box with the questions: what is this vegetable and what should I make w it? 

My twitter friends came to the rescue! Thanks dessertbycandy, misschiffonade, valgriswold, justjenndesigns, janeofmanytrades, michele_james, robinreads, bluechefk for the help!!

Some sources call it the Romanesco Broccoli and some call it Cauliflower. I'm going with awesome looking veggie!

My twitter friends suggested some delicious recipes and I'm saving them for later! Today, I simply roasted it (like I would a cauliflower) with Tanaka Farms carrots and potatoes I picked up at the Farmer's Market.


I love the wonderful design and color of the Romanesco. If you haven't picked one up, please do so.

Recipe:

Roasted Romanesco Broccoli/Cauliflower, Potatoes and Carrots

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. I used the "Convection Roast" setting on my oven...it is wonderful for roasted veggies. Cut veggies to size and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Place potatoes & carrots on a sheet pan and roast for 7-10 minutes. Then add the Romanesco and cook until done (depending on your oven), turning the veggies once or twice. (I started the root vegetables earlier because they usually take longer to roast than the rest of the veggies, but it depends on your preference and size of your veggies.) Next time, I'd like to throw in a handful of pine nuts at the end too. Enjoy!

Orange Blueberry Muffins

Orange Blueberry Muffins

Things have been crazy busy lately. Don't quite understand how it got to be near the end of February! Where is 2012 going?!

Take a moment to slow down and make some muffins. Muffins are always simple and fast...they aren't called "quick breads" for nothing.

I received Sweet and Savory Swedish Baking by Leila Lindholm from my friend JustJenn of JustJenn Recipes. She selected this book because "it had little frosting." My friends know me quite well! :)

A bit of orange zest is added to the mix. I used frozen blueberries from Trader Joe's because I ate the fresh ones with my yogurt. And I always like a bit of sanding sugar atop a muffin for the great texture and bit of sweetness it provides.

Adapted from Sweet and Savory Swedish Baking by Leila Lindholm (Nine Classic Muffins, page 98)

Orange Blueberry Muffins
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 c milk (I used whole milk)
Zest of 1 orange (I used a Cara Cara orange)
2/3 c sugar (130 grams)
2 eggs, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/3 c all-purpose flour (326 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash of salt
1 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Sanding sugar

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep muffin tin with liner (12 muffins).
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt butter. Add milk and combine.
4. Rub zest with sugar. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until pale.
5. Add butter and milk mixture into egg mixture.
6. Pour wet mixture on dry and carefully fold together. Don't overmix.
7. Fold in blueberries, reserving a few for top of the muffins.
8. Scoop into muffin tin. (I use an ice cream scoop)
9. Top with the reserved blueberries. Sprinkle with sanding sugar (optional).
10. Bake, depending on your oven, until toothpick comes out clean, about 25-35 minutes (using frozen blueberries takes longer to bake).

Pancake Day - Shrove Tuesday Ideas

It's Fat Tuesday / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day! The day before Lent, it's a day to indulge and use up some forbidden foods.

Here are some ideas of pancakes I've made in the past. Happy Pancake Day to you and yours! Next year, I hope I finally make a King Cake...this recipe from the LA Times Food Section is very interesting!

Thin Mint Pancakes

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes

Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes

Cornmeal Pancakes with Maple Syrup

White Loaves - Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia

White Bread - Baking with Julia

Whoo Hoo!
It's Tuesday.
And we're back! It's the first week of Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia edition.

For the past few years, a group of bloggers baked our way through the awesome Dorie Greenspan cookbook: Baking from My Home to Yours. When that finished (4 years later), we all wanted to continue baking! So we embark on baking twice a month from the classic book Baking with Julia - combining two treasures: Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan!

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia, the organizers Laurie and Jules are hosting our inaugural baking extravaganza!

Whenever I make bread, I wonder why I don't make bread more often! I love the chemistry of it all...all those little yeast molecules coming back to life.

I made 1/2 the recipe for one loaf. I raced home after work, kneaded the dough, and let it rise while I went to pilates. Then I punched it down and let it go for a second rise while I shopped at Costco. It was a multi-tasking night!

Thanks to my friend Shannon, I was able to put lovely homemade Apple Preserves on the bread. Thanks Shannon for this treat!

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie members!

Recipe:
The Tuesdays with Dorie group encourages you to support cookbook authors like Dorie Greenspan and purchase the book. You won't be disappointed! You can also check WorldCat to see if your local library has the book.

White Loaves, page 81-82
Recipe is also on the host's blog:  Someone's in the Kitchen

Napa Cabbage, Asian Pear and Carrot Salad

I'm guest blogging over at Kitchen Corners blog. Damaris is one of my favorite bloggers and she started off 2012 with 31 days of salads!

I made a Napa Cabbage, Asian Pear and Carrot Salad. Check it out on Kitchen Corners! ;) - mary

Chocolate Breakfast Muffins - King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Breakfast Muffins

Chocolate for breakfast. Sign me up!

This is pretty much a cupcake without frosting...so that makes it totally legit for breakfast. ;)

This recipe is super duper easy and from the fine folks at King Arthur Flour. You can throw the ingredients together in the morning and bake them while you are taking a shower. The muffin has Dutch-process cocoa and some chocolate chips for a double chocolate punch.


My friend Racheal came down with the dreaded cold... Have you had it yet? It is going around like crazy. I dropped this care package for Racheal and her cute son, Caden to get the healing started. Chocolate is medicinal, right?! Believe me, this is much better than a get well card.


Look what I bought myself for my birthday! A little stamp that says "From the Kitchen of...The Food Librarian." It's made by Three Designing Women. You can pick one up on Amazon - they mail you a blank stamp and a certificate to order the design online.

Recipe:

Adapted from King Arthur Flour's website

Chocolate Breakfast Muffins

2/3 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-proces cocoa 

1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 1/4 cups (9 3/8 ounces) light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional (I used the espresso powder...coffee punches up with chocolate flavor) 

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips (I used Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips)

2 eggs

1 cup (8 ounces) milk (I used whole milk)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons vinegar

1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 stick) butter, melted

Optional: coarse pearl sugar, for topping (I didn't have any pearl sugar (must get some, it is so pretty on the chocolate muffin)...I used some sanding sugar instead)

Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F. Prep muffin tin (I sprayed mine with Pam with Flour spray).

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. 

2. In a large measuring cup or medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar. 

3. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend, just until combined. Do not overbeat.

4. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. King Arthur makes 12 muffins with big tops, but I made them a bit smaller and got 16 muffins. Sprinkle with sugar. 

5. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, to cool on a rack.

Quartre Quarts - French Fridays with Dorie

Quartre Quarts

I'm back! I'm back on the French Fridays with Dorie circuit! This week, the French Fridays with Dorie group made Quartre Quarts from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook Around my French Table. 

It's a snacking cake with no frosting. Um, I'm sooooo there!

This is totally delicious. I just made it afternoon and am trying to save some to bring into work tomorrow! It reminds me of the Swedish Visiting Cake sans the nuts. It is light, not very sweet and goes perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea. I used vanilla (you can also use rum) so it has a great warm, vanilla taste. It's topped with just enough brown sugar to give it sweetness.

Be sure to check out my fellow French Fridays with Dorie members and see their creations!

Please note: French Fridays with Dorie will not be posting recipes. Please support Dorie and purchase the book or find it at your library.

Any Day All-Occasion Apple Snack Cake (Flo Braker)

Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions

I love snack cakes as much as I love Downton Abbey. I'm a bit late to the party and have been watching marathons of the first season. Oh, that Thomas...you are vile. And Bates and Anna? So perfect...if it weren't for that crazy pesky wife. Anyway, Miss Patmore might not make this, but you can make a quick cake any morning.

This recipe is from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions - pick up the book, it is filled with lots of yummy recipes.

This cake uses oil and no butter, even for the topping. Mix most of the dry ingredients together with oil and then pull out some of it. Add nuts (I used chopped walnuts from Trader Joe's) and some cinnamon to finish off the topping.

In the headnote, Flo says you can add a cup of fruit or veggies to the mix...it's very versatile. I shredded an apple (skin on).

Any Day All-Occasion Apple Snack Cake
(adapted from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions)

2 1/3 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur all-purpose unbleached flour)
3⁄4 cup sugar (150 grams)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon - divided (I used Penzy's cinnamon)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (200 grams)
3⁄4 cup vegetable oil (I used Wesson's canola oil)
(I added 1 cup shredded apple with skin on)
1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts (I used Trader Joe's Walnut baking pieces)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep a 9 x 13 pan.
You don't need a KitchenAid mixer...just a couple bowls and a whisk.

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and 1⁄2 tsp cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. Mix in the brown sugar with a whisk.
3. Stir in the oil. (By this point, my batter was a little dry and in crumbles - this worked out fine).
4. Crumb topping: Remove enough of the flour mixture to measure 3⁄4 cup loosely packed. Add the remaining 1 tsp cinnamon and blend well with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside.
5. To finish the cake batter, stir in the baking powder and baking soda. Add the buttermilk and egg and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
6. Stir in your added fruit or veggies (if adding). I added one shredded skin-on apple.
7. Pour the batter into pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter.
8. Bake for about 35 mins until toothpick comes out clean.
9. The instructions say to depan the cake after 10-15 minutes and let cool completely. However, I just left it in the pan to cool off.

Vegan Cocoa Cake with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Vegan Cocoa Cake

Happy New Year! How is 2012 treating you?

I sort of missed the first half the month... sick on New Year's Eve with days of sinus infection...and a Z-Pack that killed my stomach for a couple days. Then I almost broke my 4th toe (what's that called? The "ring" toe?) yesterday hiking up a mountain. Well, you can replace "hiking up a mountain" with "in my house, moving junk around." Sigh.

Why don't you start of your 2012 with some vegan cocoa cake with a light cinnamon sugar topping. I found this recipe in Hawai'i's Best Local Desserts by Jean Watanabe Hee. The fact that it's vegan isn't mentioned in the cookbook, but as I started to assemble the ingredients, I noticed it was vegan! The resulting cake is very moist. I cut it when it was still warm so the edges are all ragged...but it was still enjoyed at the library!

Recipe:
Vegan Cocoa Cake
Adapted from Hawai'i's Best Local Desserts by Jean Watanabe Hee

2 1/2 cups flour (350 grams)
1 1/2 cups sugar (300 grams)
1/2 cup cocoa (40 grams Hershey's cocoa)
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup oil (I used canola oil)
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoons vanilla
2 cups cold coffee or cold water (I used two packages of Starbucks Via. I dissolved the coffee in 1/2 cup boiling water and then added ice and cold water to get 2 cups of cold coffee)

Topping (combine together in a small bowl):
1/4 cup sugar (50 grams)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Add oil, vinegar, vanilla and coffee/water to the bowl. Stir together with a whisk - but be sure you don't overbeat. Do not make this in a KitchenAid mixer or electric mixer - a fork or whisk are just fine. You'll see bubbles because of the reaction of the baking soda and vinegar.
4. When combined, immediately pour into the 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar topping.
5. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.
6. Let cool and cut into squares.