Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies were bound to end up here sooner or later. You see, they are one of my absolute favorite cookies, which I'm sure is mostly due to the fact that I've been making them since before I can remember. I would spend the night at my grandmas house, usually with my little sister and a few of my cousins, and the next day after breakfast, out came the big mixing bowl and splattered recipe card and my grandma would declare we make cookies.

From what I remember, it was usually only me left in the kitchen and maybe my cousin Tom. I loved the process of creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs and slowly mixing in all the flour and oats. Everything seemed to have a perfect place and time to be mixed in and form a dough. We would reach our hands into the dough and form what my grandma referred to as "golf ball sized" mounds (she was an avid golfer) and place them on the cookie sheet to be baked. I could have spent an entire day in that kitchen baking and tasting our treats warm from the oven.

Not too much has changed since I started making cookies in my own kitchen, but now I use whole wheat flours and less sugar. I still always say to myself that they need to be golf ball sized, instead of a rounded tablespoon full. I still love the mixing process and I still love to eat and share them.

We had snow fall the last couple of days (that doesn't happen very often), so I used it as an excuse to invite some friends over and share these while we watched the snow fall. It was the perfect way to end the day.

One of the special things about these oatmeal cookies is their use of oat flour. You can buy oat flour at the store, but I recommend making it yourself because it's just way to easy. If you have a small spice or coffee grinder that would work. I used a food processor, but you could probably even use a good blended too. I take the 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats for the recipe and grind up 1 1/2 cups to oat flour and use the rest of the oats whole, makes for a great texture and really great oaty taste. The original recipe for these also includes 4 ounces of a grated chocolate bar, yeah my grandma new where it was at, but I was unfortunately out and while I have been known to run up to the store in these kinds of situations, there was snow all over the road and I didn't really want to mess with that.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups rolled oats, 1 1/2 cups of this will need to be ground

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

4 ounces grated chocolate

1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silpat or lightly grease, set aside.

In a large bowl sift together flour, rolled oats, ground rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla. Slowly stir the dry mixture into the butter mixture, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Form into a rounded tablespoon of dough (golf ball sized) and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 11-14 minutes, don't over bake. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Risotto-Style Barley with Orange and Kale

We spent most of the past week working on a project for the 2011 NW Flower and Garden show. A project, we didn't realize would have us screen printing at all hours of the night and waking up to do it all over again. But we're finally finished and if you happen to go to the show this week, you can see the panels we created hanging in all their glory.

I knew the week was going to be a bit crazy early on, so I decided to carve out some time over the weekend to make this risotto-style dish. I had a craving for something warm and creamy but still healthy and this fit that request perfectly.

I love cooking with barley and find myself not using it often enough. Barley has this great chewiness to it that just kind of pops in your mouth. I've never made it as a kind of risotto that required lots of stove time and continuous stirring, but it was great for a cold, wet day that had me wanting some quality stove time to keep me warm.

The addition of orange really brightens things up and gives a unique flavor to the whole thing. I'd imagine more lemon instead would be another great option. I added the kale while the barley was still warm, which allowed it to cook down slightly to the perfect texture.

There are a few different options when buying barley. You can buy it hulled, pearled, and even quick. Hulled barley still has its bran layer intact which makes it higher in nutrition and fiber, but it takes the longest to cook, it can also be harder to find. Pearled is what I used here and is the most common you'll find in stores. It cooks faster than hulled, but it lacks it's bran layer, which means it lacks a bit of nutrition. Last is the quick version, which has already been lightly cooked and re-dried for faster preparation. You can also get barley as flour and rolled like oats.If you decide to use hulled or quick barley here, you will need to adjust the cooking times.

Risotto-Style Barley with Orange and Kale

Adapted from Heidi's Super Natural Cooking

serves 4-6

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups pearled barley

1 cup vegetable stock

6 cups water

1 orange

2 cups packed kale, destemmed and roughly chopped

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup créme fraîche or sour cream

handful of chopped toasted walnuts, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add the onion, shallots, garlic, and salt and sauté, stirring contantly, for about 4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.

Add the barley to the pot and stir until coated with a nice sheen, then add the vegetable broth and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, until the barely has absorbed the liquid a bit. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, active simmer.

Add the 6 cups of water in increments of 1 cup at a time, letting the barley absorb most of the liquid between additions. This whole process should take about 40 minutes altogether. You'll want to stir regularly, because you don't want to barely to scorch on the bottom of the pot. When the barley is finished, it shouldn't offer up much resistance when chewing (but it will be chewier than Arborio rice). Don't worry if there is a little more broth than you're used to for risotto, it still tastes delicious.

While the barley cooks, grate the zest of the orange, then peel and segment the orange and cut into pieces. When the barley is tender and still warm stir in the kale. The warmth from the cooked barley should cook it down a little. Then stir in the orange zest, pieces and any juice that has squeezed out, lemon zest, Parmesan, and créme frîche. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Garnish with the toasted walnuts before serving.

Meatless Monday with Martha Stewart: Smoky Spicy Black Bean & Quinoa Soup

I've been keeping a secret for a couple of weeks now and it's been so hard not to share! But today I finely can. The lovely people at Martha Stewart have asked me to contribute to their Whole Living blog for a Meatless Monday column that started this month. I grew up surrounded by Martha Stewart magazines that my mom had lying around. They always provided me with afternoons of crafting and tons of baking inspiration, but never would I have thought I'd someday be contributing.

Speaking of meatless Mondays, I think it's so awesome that there even is a day recognized as meatless. I sure could have used that day ten years ago when I was navigating the halls of high school as one of the very few vegetarians. It gets me all excited about food even more because it opens the doors for vegetarians and vegans and shows many that you can have a filling and delicious meal without meat. But now back to the actual recipe. My first post is for a Smoky Spicy Black Bean and Quinoa Soup. I don't know about you, but this bowl full of red and all kinds of smoky, spicy is pure love. Perfect for a Valentine's dinner for two, but easily feeds the crowd of people you love too. I recommend either option.

I'll keep you updated on the recipes as they are posted. If you haven't yet, you should really go check out last weeks post provided by Sarah of My New Roots. It's a beautiful bowl of pasta filled with all kinds of nutrient packed veggies. Here's to Meatless Mondays!

Baked Oatmeal + A Guest Post

I could not have been more excited when the nicest couple, David and Louise, of Green Kitchen Stories asked if I would like to do a guest post for their blog. They are on an incredible journey, traveling around the world enjoying time together and with their daughter, and surely eating some delicious food. Please check out there blog, it's filled with amazing, good for you food and beautiful photography. You can also get the whole recipe for my baked oatmeal.

Nut Butter Brownies

It amazes me how many recipes are out there for brownies. Some are dark, deep and fudgy, others are soft, billowy and cake-like. Some include piles of nuts, chunks of chocolate, dried fruit and even black beans. These brownies I made the other day seem to be in a class all there own. They were made for a dinner that included vegan and gluten intolerant stomachs, but I wanted them to be a treat for everyone that would be there and I'm always up for a food challenge.

The result was definitely a brownie, but with an unfamiliar slightly crumb-like texture I'd never experienced before. The flavor was definitely chocolaty with only hints of the almond butter and hazelnut butter I used. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I'm sure you might be looking for a special treat for loved ones. I think these would be the perfect thing.

Use your favorite nut butter or a combination to make these. Peanut butter always goes well with chocolate, but if you don't want that overpowering taste of peanut coming through I'd suggest almond or cashew butter. The next time I make these, I'm going to use an 8x8 pan so I have a thicker brownie, which also means the cooking time might be a little longer.

Nut Butter Brownies
Adapted from Elena's Pantry

makes 24

16 ounces almond butter, or any nut butter or combination (I used hazelnut and almond)

2 tablespoons flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water

1 cup cane sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup dark chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 325˚F and lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

In a large bowl, beat the almond butter until smooth with a hand blender. Stir in the flax meal mixture along with the sugar and vanilla.

Blend in the cocoa powder, salt and baking soda, until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using.

Pour the batter into prepared pan. It's a little thicker then regular brownie batter so you might have to spread it out a bit with the back of a large spoon or spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Don't over bake or they will be dry.

Chickpea Croquettes

I've mentioned before that it's rare for me to fry food in my kitchen. Granted, frying things in your own kitchen is still far healthier then say, going out to eat fried food, but I'm always a little paranoid that I'll be left with oil burns on my arms and a kitchen that smells like a fry house.

Every once in awhile I succumb to the fact that I have a husband who loves to eat and everything I put in front of him seems like the best thing he has ever eaten in his life. This never gets old, I love feeding him, but when I really want to impress him, it's all about fried bean patties of any sorts. That and pizza. Even though these chickpea croquettes or patties are cooked in olive oil, I would hardly call them fried. It's more like a deep saute, which creates a lovely crusty and browned outer layer that gives way to a flavorful interior.

It's true that if you have never worked with bean patties before they can sometimes be quite difficult. They crumble and don't stay in the shape of the patty you intended. With these, I thought I was going to have that same problem, but for merely tossing the ingredients together, no blending required, they managed to hold up pretty well. I think the key for these is keeping them on the smaller side and really getting the first side to brown up so everything stays together. If you have any tips on how you keep your bean burgers, patties, or croquettes together I'd love for you to share!

Chickpea Croquettes

Adapted from Vegetarian Times via fresh365

serves 4

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup hot water

juice of half a lemon

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups cooked chickpeas

1/2 a red onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1 jalapeño or red chile, seeded and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

In a large bowl stir together the flour, water, lemon juice, cumin, and salt until well combined. Stir in the chickpeas, onion, carrot, jalapeño, garlic, and cilantro until everything is well combined.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Form the mixture into patties about a 1/2-inch thick. The mixture will be pretty wet and feel like they won't stay together, because of this I like to keep mine on the smaller size so they are easier to handle.

Carefully place the patties in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the bottom has begun to brown. Using a spatula, flip each patty over and cook for another 5 minutes or until that side begins to brown. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining mixture. Best served immediately.