Pumpkin Oat Bran

How can you not start your day in a good mood with such a bowl like the one above for breakfast?
I am a firm believer that eating breakfast is essential to start your metabolism in the morning (after hours of fasting overnight) and get you going through your day.
With that in mind I always try to make our breakfast nutritious and delicious, and with a kid in the house sometimes the fun factor enters in the mix and we are sure to have a great start in the morning.
For the bowl pictured above I cooked 1/2 cup of oat bran with 1/2 cup water, 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin, about 1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon, a dash of ground clove (or sub 1/2 to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice) and sweetener to taste (I make mine unsweetened, but Matheus likes his with either honey or maple syrup). Put everything into the pan and cook on medium until oat bran is cooked and you achieved the desired thickness.
I like it more loose than most people, not a fan of thick and gummy oats or oat bran. I like it a bit on the wet side, and since it thicken as it sits, I always take it of the stove before it gets to the consistency I like.
Ultra easy to make, plus oat bran cooks so fast that in less than 10 minutes you have a nice and warm bowl of steamy goodness! Top with a tablespoon of almond butter and you have a totally nutritious breakfast to start your day. (Coconut butter is also amazing with oats and oat bran! I am slightly obsessed with this combo lately...)
And if you are like us, you will strategically place that almond butter right in the center of your bowl, then add a couple of raisin eyes, a chocolate chip mouth and your masterpiece is complete: Mrs. Pumpkin Oat Bran is in the house! (And boy those chocolate chips were delicious in there, melted chocolate goodness!)
The same ingredients are just as good with oatmeal in place of the oat bran. It may take a couple more minutes to cook, but so worth it.
I love oats in all forms!
Ana

Something I have been eating, and loving, lately!

Almond butter... have you tried? If you like almonds you have got to try this! Roasted almonds, are not only super healthy and good for you but they are , nutty and delicious. Now, picture your almond in creamy form and you have almond butter!
I am not much of a peanut or peanut butter person, but I am totally hooked on this almond butter thing.
It is absolutely delicious, the roasted almond flavor and the creaminess of it is just awesome!
I have been eating it on top of graham crackers (these are the ones I like, they are not too sweet) and adding blobs of almond butter to my oatmeal (if you have been following the blog you might know I am an oatmeal lover!). It sorts of melts inside the warm oats and make it all taste sooo good that I have been eating oats every day for more than a month, just so I can have my almond butter goodness in it.
Then, the almond butter and oats combo brings me to another thing: oats in a jar. Have you seen that yet? I first saw it on Caroline's blog, and then on some other spaces through the "blogsphere", then I stopped and starting thinking about it: so you have an almost empty jar of almond butter (or another nut butter you like), and you usually put some of that on your oatmeal every day. What is the best thing to do in order to get the most of that scrumptious almond butter from that little jar? Of course, put your oatmeal in the jar - Genius!













As soon as my first jar of almond butter was getting close to emptiness I poured my oats in there, and it was awesome! I like to eat my oats in mugs sometimes (instead of a bowl), so the jar acted just like that, plus the warm oats got infused by the the flavor and last bits of almond butter left in the jar, not to mention the last teaspoon or two of it that were in the bottom, ohhh, it is pure bliss when you reach that part!
I just wanted to share here something I discovered recently and have been eating and loving for the past months. It is not only delicious but also very healthy stuff!
If you haven't had almond butter yet do give it a try! Hope you like it as much as I do!
Ana

Ps: This is not a brand commercial, and I didn't got paid to talk about this specific product here. I just discovered and really feel in love with almond butter and wanted to share. The trader joe's brand was my choice due to it deliciousness and affordability!

Cinnamon Deliciousness!

As he snacked on some dried fruit, Matheus asked if I could make some type of raisin bread for him. He really like raisins ans asks for it in all kids of muffins I make, his favorite being the banana bran ones.
Of course I could make a raisin bread, and there I go, the great mommy who loves to cook and bake in search of a raisin bread for my happy boy! And for this search I knew where I would easily find something that I would not only want to make but also to eat: my new Whole Grain Baking book by King Arthur.
And so, I found not a raisin bread per se, but one where the wrinkly dried fruits could be easily incorporated. And not that I want to brag about it, but my idea resulted in a very tasty bread!
I ended up making the Cinnamon Swirl Oatmeal Toasting Bread, which was actually a variation for another recipe called Honey-Oatmeal Sandwich Bread.
The variation with cinnamon turned up delicious, really good! The cinnamon-y swirl parts where divine, and the bread itself was so good that I am already planning on making it again, this time in its original form.
The bread came out really light in texture, not dense at all, which made me really happy, as I had read comments on this particular recipe about it being a little dense; but ours was perfect.
Another comment on this was that the bread was too sweet due to the honey in the dough, so in order to avoid that I used 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in place of the 1/4 cup of honey called for in the recipe, reducing the sugar and not letting the honey take over the desired cinnamon-raisin flavor. (The honey I have here is from my uncle's farm in Brazil, super natural and extremely good, whoever it is strong and do overpower other flavors, so this time I opted to left it out).
The recipe didn't call for it, but I sprinkled some raisins after spreading the cinnamon filling over the rolled out dough, since the initial intention was actually to make a raisin bread.
In the end, Matheus looooved the bread, proclaming it the best cinnamon raisin bread! He was not the only one who was found of the loaf and it ended up not lasting long, which again, makes me happy and allow myself to more adventures in bread baking in the very near future!
Here I post the recipe as I made, hope you all like and enjoy it too!
Ana

Cinnamon Swirl Oatmeal Bread - with raisins!
(Adapted from the Whole Grain Baking book by King Arthur)

1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (use less or omit entirely if using salted butter)
1/4 cup honey (I used 2 tablespoons brown sugar)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dry milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Filing:
1 egg white
2/3 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins (more or less as desired - can also be omitted)

Place boiling water, oats, butter, salt and honey in a bowl, stir and let cool to lukewarm.
Mix remaining ingredients with oat mixture and knead (using hand, or machine) until you get a soft smooth dough. Place dough in a clean greased bowl, cover and let it double in size (about one hour).
Deflate dough, transfer it to a work surface and roll it into a 8x24-inch rectangle (I didn't even measure, just made a rectangle the size I thought would fit my loaf pan!!).
Combine in a small bowl the ingredients for the filling, except the raisins.
Spread the filling over the rolled dough, then sprinkle the raisins on top. Roll the dough and as you go gently tuck in the edges to seal the filling. Seal the seam, and smooth the dough into a 9-inch log. Place it in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise one more time, until the dough has risen about 1-inch over the rim of the loaf pan.
Bake the bread at 350F for about 50 minutes, until golden brown or a thermometer inserted in the center registers 190F. (I actually measured mine and it was right on, 190F!!!!).
Cool bread completely before slicing.

And here a picture of the finished loaf, before slicing. It looked nice, but I like the sliced one with the cinnamon swirls a whole lot better!!

One of the Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever!

I mentioned cake recipes being posted this week, and there is still a couple more to come. But first I had to come here and post about these cookies I tried today. They were the absolutely BEST!
So, before I keep going I need to thank my friend Valentina, because this recipe was an adaptation of a recipe she posted on her blog, Trem Bom. Thanks Valentina!!
The recipe is for Oatmeal Cookies with Almonds and Apricots, and really, these were one of the best cookies I tried lately; they hit the spot for a nice afternoon treat and at the same time are filled with healthy and wholesome ingredients.
Oatmeal and whole-wheat flour are paired with some butter and brown sugar; deliciously chewy chopped apricots and slivered almonds are added to the batter finishing up the goodness with the yummiest combination of all! I guess other dried fruits and nuts could be used in many different combinations here, but these were ingredients I had on hand and to be true, it was so good that I am not even thinking about modifying this recipe any longer.
The base of the cookie was just perfect, simple but yet flavorful, and held it together nicely without being dry. The cookies came out nicely browned and crispy on the outside, with a consistent inside, making, in my opinion, for the perfect healthy cookie!
And if you have kids around you too might be wondering if this would work with chocolate chips inside… well, being the chocoholic I am this is definitely what I am going to try next, and I bet they are going to be great!
I loved the texture, the crisp and crunchy outside, and was really surprised with how nice and soft the apricots got during baking; it was truly delicious. I used sliced almonds and really liked that they became crispy and toasty in the oven, giving the cookies a slight crunch without interfering with the cookie as whole, as some big chunks of almonds sometimes do.
These cookies were not only delicious but also super easy to make; a great recipe that will certainly be repeated here many and many times to come!
By the way, Valentina’s original recipe is posted in Portuguese at her blog. I made a few adaptations myself, and that is what I am translating and posting in my kitchen space, but you can certainly take a peek at the original recipe here. And even if you don’t understand the language, it is still worth to take a look over the great collection of recipes and pictures that she has posted there!
Ana

Oatmeal Cookies with Almonds and Apricots

1 ¼ cups oatmeal
1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped dried apricots
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
1 stick of butter (113 grams / 8 tablespoons), melted
1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325F.
Add dry ingredients in a bowl, including almonds and apricots. Add melted butter and egg and mix well until everything is well incorporated.
Shape dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden and delicious!

Even Matheus' army guys agreed that these cookies were worth fighting for!

Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins

Just a quick post… since we are still on the pumpkin subject, I decided to come here and report that I have tried the previously posted “Apple Oat Bran Muffins” with Pumpkin, and it is absolutely delicious too!!
I tried a couple of pumpkin recipes already and I think this might be my favorite so far! (besides the pumpkin muffin I posted last year) Matheus and my husband liked it too! Here is the Pumpkin version. Enjoy!!
Ana

Pumpkin-Oat Bran Muffins
1 1/2 cups oat bran
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed pumpkin, cooked
1/2 cup milk (I used buttermilk)
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl (oat bran through salt) and stir well. In another bowl, mix together pumpkin and next three ingredients; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spoon into greased muffin pans. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Note: I got 9 muffins out of this batter.

One sweet one savory!

I made two great muffin recipes this week, one of them sweet and the other savory, yes, a savory muffin indeed!
The first one, Apple Oat Bran Muffins was actually an adaptation I made on a pumpkin recipe, and it came out perfect!! I am definitely going to try it with the pumpkin next, but for now I will post my apple version, which we liked a lot. The muffins came out super moist and with a wonderful apple flavor and smell, even though it had applesauce in it. Next time I may add grated apples to the batter, even raisins might be good (I am not fan of raisins, but the boys like it and Matheus said he missed the raisins on his muffins… oh well!)
The second recipe came on the recent issue of my favorite magazine (Cooking Light). Cheddar Green Onion Muffins was a very nice surprise. I made the recipe one weeknight when I wanted something quick and savory for us to have as a snack. They came out quickly and delicious, very moist and cheesy. I believe a little more green onion would not hurt, as its flavor was not very pronounced, but we liked it as is!
I made mine in a bowl (no food processor here), and used white cheddar.
Two simple and tasty recipes today! How can one not love muffins?!?!
Ana

Apple Oat Bran Muffins
1 ½ cups unprocessed oat bran
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup applesauce
1/2 cup skim milk (I used buttermilk)
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine applesauce, milk, egg, and oil; stir well. Add apple mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spoon into greased/sprayed muffin pans, bake at 400 degrees, for 18 to 20 minutes. (I got 8 muffins out of this recipe)

Cheddar Green Onion Muffins (Cooking Light/Sept 06)
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces)
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into pieces
11/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a food processor; pulse 3 times to combine. Add 5 tablespoons cheese and butter; pulse 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spoon mixture into a medium bowl. Combine buttermilk, onions, garlic, and egg; stir with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 3 tablespoons cheese. Bake at 375° for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 12 muffins

Fig Muffins

We have our list of favorite muffin recipes here at home, but since I like muffins quite a lot I am always experimenting with new recipes. Fig is a delicious fruit, which I always had fresh when growing up, and just recently I came across and actually tried the dried ones. Don’t have to say that I like it, as I do love most fruits! And basically the same is true with their dried counterparts, I like most of them, figs included.
This recipe, Oat-Topped Fig Muffins, was a very nice surprise; the muffins came out delicious in all kind of senses. They are hearty and sort of dense, but not too much that they still have some lightness to it, and the figs blended into the mixture gives enough of its flavor without making the muffins overly sweet.
Be sure not to over process the liquid mixture though, just so that you get little pieces of the figs in the batter, they were the best part!
My only complain is that I found the topping to be a little on the sweet side (even my son commented on that, and he like his sweets), so if I make them again I will definitely decrease the sugar, if not omit the topping completely. Some people might think it is the best part, but to be quite true I am not very fond of streusels on my muffins, they are usually super sweet and sometimes messy - falling off the muffins all over the place. In my humble opinion, good muffins don’t need topping/streusel at all; they should be perfect just by themselves, but that is just me.
“Streuseled” or not, these fig muffins have a nice balance of flavors, it was a nice change for our usual morning muffins, we all liked it here and it will probably be made many other times!
Enjoy!
Ana

Oat-Topped Fig Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/4 cups chopped dried figs
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
Cooking spray
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400°.
Lightly spoon flours into measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.
Place buttermilk, figs, oil, vanilla, and egg in a food processor; process until well blended. Add fig mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.
Combine brown sugar, oats, and butter in a small bowl; toss with a fork until combined. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over muffins. Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes; remove muffins from pans, and cool completely on rack.
Yield: 12 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)
Cooking Light, March 2006

Müsli Cookies

When it comes to cookies I am always looking for healthier recipes to try. Sometimes they come out tasty, sometimes the super-healthy ones do not come very right. You know, sometimes it is a little hard to go from your favorite chocolate chip cookie (although my favorite recipe is a healthy one) to a “healthier” cookie without thinking of it as tasting “light”.
One of my trials involved this Müsli Cookies, which I first saw in a magazine when I was in Brazil. The cookies not only looked good in the magazine’s picture, but were also very healthy when compared to most cookies out there, I could not wait to try. And I did wait, because I only ended up making them here in the US, today.
We were making cookies to take to Matheus’ summer camp “cookie exchange” tomorrow, so I decided to make use of the already hot oven (we made chocolate chip cookies to take there, they are Matheus’ favorites!) and tried this ones out.
They may not be the prettiest looking cookies around, but are indeed very healthy, and tasty too!
I used a müsli I bought in Brazil (the one actually specified in the recipe), however I am pretty sure it would work with any müsli you might like. It is a very basic recipe that makes use of an industrial product, nothing really special about this one. In fact, I believe the cookies would be even better with the sort of müsli I usually buy here in the US, which are more natural than this one I used today. So, I am definitely going to try this recipe again.
All that said, my cookies came out crispy on the outside and sort of cakey in the inside, but in a good way. I liked the fact that it was not overly sweet and that I could taste the crispy bits of oats on the edges and tops. Oh, and I sprinkled mine with brown sugar, which I believe made them even better!
I followed the recipe, except I used some whole-wheat flour (as I always do) for part of the flour asked in the recipe, and I upped the sugar a bit on mine, so feel free to do that in case you try it, because different müslis do have different levels of sweetness – sometimes even being unsweetened (which I actually prefer).
If you, like me, also like to try healthier options, then give this a try, it is not bad if you see it as an occasional treat that can also be good for you!
Ana

Müsli Cookies
1 ¾ cups müsli
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons butter or margarine (the recipe says “light butter”, but I used regular)

Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until well blended and a nice cookie dough has formed. Drop dough by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet, leaving some space between them. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they are lightly brown.
My note: the dough seemed a little dry to me, and I believe that was because my eggs were on the small side (or maybe even due to the whole-wheat flour, who knows…), so I added 1 tablespoon milk to help it blend together.
(recipe adapted from Boa Forma magazine)

Granola Bars

Matheus loves granola bars; he likes to eat them for breakfast, and sometimes as a snack as well. Granola bars are yummy and even sound like a healthy treat, however if you don’t pay attention to the ingredient list of store bought ones you could be ingesting a lot of not so good for you stuff together with a little of the healthy oatmeal and dried fruits (and I mean things I read and can’t even pronounce…).
As a nice mom who happens to love cooking and experimenting, I decided to try a few granola recipes for Matheus’ breakfasts, this way at least I know what he is eating and make sure he is getting some proper nutrition before sending him off to pre-school!
I tried a couple recipes already and this one was the absolutely winner. So much so that I didn’t even try another one, since Matheus declared he loved these and has been happily requesting them for breakfast!
Granola Bars III came from the website allrecipes. They are super easy to make, simple and yet delicious!
I have made them with both chocolate chips and dried fruits (dried cherries and raisins), and they were equally good (omited the walnuts both times I made). Matheus liked the chocolate chips ones better though!
The bars are chewy, kind of moist but with a nice texture to it. They also freeze remarkably well; just let them sit on the counter for a few hours (or overnight) to thaw, or a quick 20 seconds on the microwave will quickly do the trick for you.
I am sorry for the picture, I know they didn’t come out very good-looking bars, but they sure tasted great!
Ana

Granola Bars III (allrecipes.com)
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped English walnuts
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and spray with vegetable oil spray.
In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, raisins, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and walnuts. In a smaller bowl, thoroughly blend oil, honey, egg, and vanilla; pour into the flour mixture, and mix by hand until the liquid is evenly distributed. Press evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. Cool completely in pan before turning out onto a cutting board and cutting into bars.

Another Turkey loaf …

I have posted a recipe for meatloaf here before, but I tried a different recipe last week (which I saw on a new TV show) and it was so good that I had to come and post it here. I actually liked it so much more than the previous recipe, that this one is now declared my favorite.
Meatloaf is not a gourmet dish by any means, but I like the way it tastes and even more the ease of preparation, and home cooking is basically this: healthy food made with love, that taste good and is easy to prepare, right?!
There is no work involved in making meatloaf other than mixing and putting it into the oven, pretty easy but tastes so good! And is versatile too, as you can shape it in any form, bake it in individual portions (using muffin or mini loaf tins), and add anything you like to it from a variety of veggies to cheeses, some people even add whole cooked eggs inside them, making it look prettier when cut through.
I usually make mine plain, sometimes adding grated carrots or zucchini; they make it moister and taste it even better.
This recipe is no different from the others, however it produced a extremely moist loaf, and better than that, it was made entirely with ground turkey breast (which usually tend to be dry).
The different ingredient here is oatmeal, it really added to the moistness of the meatloaf, and believe me, you cannot taste it at all. The one thing I added extra to the recipe was a 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, as I think it adds a lot of flavor to this type of dish.
This now became a favorite and will definitely be repeated many times here! Give it a try!
Ana

Turkey Meatloaf
1/3 cup oats
¼ cup milk
½ onion, peeled and grated
1 pound ground turkey
¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (which I ommited, did not have at home)
2 tablespoons ketchup (I used tomato sauce, as I didn't want sugar added to the loaf)
¼ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
Ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese
4 ounces tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, stir together the oats and milk. In a large bowl combine the turkey, oat mixture, onion, bell pepper, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, grated cheese, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix just until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with sliced onions (if desired). Bake for about 50 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees.F.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to15 minutes before slicing.
(Recipe adapted from Healthy Apetite by Ellie Krieger)

My new favorite Muffin

There she comes, with another muffin recipe… I know, I have posted quite a few muffin recipes, but I had to share this recipe here. And it is another recipe that comes from Nic’s blog, theBaking Sheet, called Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins. Healthy and yummy whole-wheat muffins made with one of my favorite ingredients of all: oatmeal! The muffins were surprisingly moist inside; the batter needs to sit for a while, so the oatmeal gets a chance to soak up some liquid, becoming pleasantly plump and chewy. Another addition I like is the wheat bran, which gives some sort of nutty flavor to the muffins. (I have a muffin recipe that I love which uses only wheat bran, the taste is amazing, and it is super healthy and full of fiber… but I will post some other time!)
We liked these muffins so much here that I have made it three times already in these past two weeks. I can’t get enough of them; I have been eating them for breakfast and sometimes for a late night snack, sooo good!
I make the batter the night before and let it sit on the fridge overnight, so we can have nice warm muffins out of the oven for breakfast. (It is so nice to smell muffins baking up in the morning!) All three times I made the muffins I used ½ cup of milk instead of the water, and omitted the dried fruits, as I am not a big fan of them (although Matheus loves raisins and asked me to put some in the muffins next time). Also, I used old-fashion rolled oats and did not chop them (I love the pieces of oatmeal in my muffins!), and I got 9 nice sized muffins out of the recipe. Give them a try; they are truly delicious!!
Keeping with the oatmeal theme, I am going to post a recipe I developed for Oatmeal Cake. When I was not feeling good with the nerve pain and all, and able to move a little more, I wanted to bake a cake, but also wanted something a little more nutritious since I was actually going to have cake for diner (you know, not feeling well… cake… comfort food… and to me oatmeal is the perfect comfort food!). I looked over some recipes and based on a CL light recipe for a crumb cake with apples I came out with my own version.
It makes such a small cake that I actually baked it in a 9-inch pie plate (as you can see in the picture above), and let me tell you, I made it for dinner and the cake did not last until next morning’s breakfast. We liked it a lot; it is a very light cake, perfect for an afternoon snack.
Maybe you will like one of these recipes too! And did I already tell you that I love oatmeal?
Enjoy!

Ana

Oatmeal Crumb Cake
1 cup flour
1/3 cup oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar
dash of salt (optional)
¼ cup butter, cut into small pieces
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites, beaten into stiff peaks

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
In a bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and butter. Mix with the tips of your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Reserve ½ cup of this mixture to be used later.
To the remaining mixture add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, milk, and egg yolk. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the egg whites.
Pour batter into a greased pie plate (or a 8-inch cake pan). Sprinkle the reserved mixture on top. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
Note: I sprinkled some chopped walnuts before baking and that added a nice crunch to the cake.

Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins (or other dried fruits)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats, slightly chopped (or quick cooking oats)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a muffin tin, or line with baking cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, wheat bran, sugars, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in dried fruit and oats. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla and water.
Add buttermilk mixture to oat mixture and stir until just combined. Let stand for 15-20 minutes. You may refrigerate the batter, covered, for about a week at this point.
Spoon batter into prepared tins by heaping 1/4 cups (about 1/3 cup).
Bake for 20 minutes, until muffins are golden brown and spring back when gently pressed. Add 5 minutes baking time if batter is cold.
Makes 12 large muffins
(Original Recipe from “Baking in America”)
Note: My muffins were ready after 20 minutes in the oven, and I used the batter straight from the refrigerator.

Oatmeal… Yumy!

After a few days without posting I am back to talk about something I love and that instantly brings me comfort just to think about it: oatmeal!
I love oatmeal in everything from cakes, to cookies and muffins too, but the way I like to eat oatmeal the most is in its simplest form, cooked with milk and sugar. My mom used to make this for us all the time for breakfast, especially during the cold months. Sometimes she would also make these bowls of warm oatmeal for us to eat before bedtime. In Brazil it is not usual to have heating systems in the houses, so the oatmeal was more than welcome during the winter, warming up our bodies and soul before we went to bed.
When I had Matheus my mom and my sister came to stay with us and help during the first month (and what a big help that was!), and she made oatmeal for me every night. I would nurse Matheus and come to the kitchen to have some warm and deliciously sweet oatmeal with my mom and my sister, and it was so comfortingly good, sweet and creamy and best of all: made by my mommy! And you know how good it is to have someone special with you when you are going through such adaptation period.
After she went back I still would make my oatmeal every night before going to bed for a few hours of sleep, sometimes I would sit down and enjoy it warm, sometimes the plan didn’t work well as Matheus would wake up just as I sat down to eat, or even when I was in the middle of the cooking/stirring process… so some nights I would end up with cold oatmeal, or no oatmeal at all, but it was worth not to eat it and go comfort my baby boy, as now I have my own company to eat oatmeal with! (Hubby is not a fan of the sutff…) Matheus also loves oatmeal and to sit and enjoy it with me, and this to me is the best thing in the world! Even more because he says my oatmeal is “the best ever”!
Among doctor’s appointments, school projects, swimming lessons, and a lot more, I managed to find some time and made some oatmeal for us on Friday night. Yes, Matheus and I had oatmeal for dinner, and it was the best dinner of the week I might add!
This thyroid hormone thing is still not quite right, so my body is on an adjustment craziness that sometimes get me down a bit, and nothing better than some yummy comfort food to help us feel good again.
I was in need of some pick me up on Friday, so I decided to make oatmeal for dinner and Matheus loved the idea as much as I did. We were talking about it when he suggested we put some fruit in our oatmeal, so I remembered a recipe I saw on CL a few months ago for Oatmeal with Apples, Hazelnuts, and Flaxseeds. I tried to make it as written, and almost succeeded, the only except was that I burnt the hazelnuts… the good thing is that I did not miss them at all!
My mom always cook oatmeal with milk and sugar, and that is what I did with mine (I could not help myself, it was weird to have a "recipe for oatmeal". I always make it my moms way, this time I tried my best to stick to the recipe tough). I made ½ recipe and used more milk than the recipe says (2 cups for ½ recipe), added the sugar during the cooking process (instead of sprinkling on top), I added it to taste, did not measure it at all, and I slightly toasted the almonds we sprinkled on top, just to give them a crunch and bring out their nice flavor. I always make my oatmeal just my mom’s do, cooking it over medium heat, stirring it all the time (so it won’t stick to the bottom of the pan), until thick and creamy. It is soooo good, I LOVE oatmeal!
I liked the apple version; the apples came out nice and soft. I did not use granny smith though, as I like my cooked apples more on the sweet side. As you see I kind of ended up making my moms oatmeal with a few new twists, and I will post here the CL recipe in case you want to try!
(The proportions I always make is 1 cup of milk for 3 heaping tablespoons of oatmeal, sugar to taste)
Today I wanted ice cream with chocolate sauce… we bought the ice cream and I decided to adventure myself with the sauce. It came out good but not exactly as I wanted, not fudgy enough, so I will not post the first recipe I tested. Instead, I am going to experiment during the week and when I find out the right recipe I will share here with you all!
Until then, let me ask you guys, do you have a recipe for some fudgy chocolate sauce? The recipe I tested used cocoa, sugar, milk, butter, and semisweet chocolate chips. It came out nice looking and good tasting too, but still not as I wanted. I am guessing I need some corn syrup to make it sort of fudge-like, right?! (Not a big fan of corn syrup though…)
Just one more thing, off topic and nothing to do with food, but… does your husband (significant other) also doesn’t notice when you get a hair cut or is it just mine?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!
(Yes, oatmeal is comforting and makes you very happy when you get abrand new hair cut!)

Ana

Ice cream and chocolate sauce, first attempt.

Oatmeal with Apples, Hazelnuts, and Flaxseed
1/4 cup hazelnuts
3 cups fat-free milk
1 1/2 cups regular oats
1 1/2 cups diced Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, stirring once. Turn nuts out onto a towel. Roll up towel; rub off skins. Finely chop nuts, and set aside.
Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in vanilla. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thick. Sprinkle with hazelnuts, brown sugar, and almonds.
Cooking Light – May 2005

Meet the "Muffin Girl"

Today is one of those slow days… at a regular check up appointment I found out last week that I now have hypothyroidism, and two days ago started taking the medication.
I know that my body is still adjusting in order to properly function, but all this hormone action is kind of getting me down.
So, no special cooking today… it was “leftovers day” for lunch, and I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner.
Although not much cooking is going on, I woke up early this morning and baked some muffins for breakfast!
I am posting today one of our favorite and easiest muffin recipes. I call them “Oatmeal Muffins”, as that is simply what they are.
I copied the base for this recipe in one of my first visits to the local library, when I first moved to the US, however it was a while ago and I have no idea which book it came from.
I am a declared “Muffin Girl”, I really, truly adore muffins! I bake muffins every week, and my muffin pan is for sure the most used bakeware in my kitchen.
And by muffins I mean homemade muffins, not the commercial stuff loaded with sugar, white flour, and all those fake flavorings. I like the tender muffins we make at home, full of real flavors, with oatmeal and fruits, whole-wheat flour and cinnamon, the ones that invades the whole house with the sweetest and most wonderful aroma while baking. Muffins are delicious, can be very nutritious, and are warming and comfortingly good for you!
And I guess I have passed my passion to both my boys at home. You can bet that at least one muffin is eaten at our house everyday!
Give this recipe a try, it is super easy and will not disappoint, I promise!

Ana

Matheus took a picture of his breakfast today! (quite nice pic, huh?!)

Oatmeal Muffins
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour (I use 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar (I like brown sugar)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 eggs (or 4 egg whites)
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and raisins. In another bowl mix milk, egg whites, oil, and vanilla. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add milk mixture, and stir just until combined.
Pour batter into 12 muffin cups greased with cooking spray (or oil). Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Notes: the raisins are optional and can be omitted. I have made this recipe in numerous different ways by substituting the raisins with chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, one grated apple, dried cranberries, and chopped dried apples. As with most muffins these freeze extremely well. As soon as they cooled a bit I pop the leftovers into a zip bag and into the freezer they go. And then, every morning we just microwave them for 30 seconds to have warm homemade muffins for breakfast!

Apple Disaster... (not so bad though!)

Today the day ran pretty smooth; Matheus is already feeling better and jumping around! It is amazing how fast kids recover and the energy they have, even when not at their 100%.
Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary and since the YMCA is having "Parents Night Out" today, and Matheus loves playing over there, we decided to go ahead and celebrate tonight (no need to find an available baby sitter!), so tonight we are going out for dinner! Yay!
Lunch was no different than what we use to have on the weekends when it is warm outside: grilled meat, rice and salad! I normally make some sort of tomato salad with all the tomatoes we get from our garden, but (unfortunately) summer is almost over and so is our tomatoes production… So I made a salad with a variety of vegetables today. Nothing special, but it was so colorful! (And good!)
I was going to make an Apple Galette for us to have tomorrow, but my pastry dough did not came right so I had to improvise and ended up making an Apple Crisp instead. (I mixed the filling and the dough didn’t work when I went to assemble the tart, hence the need to use the filling on something else).
The crisp looks nice and tomorrow we will find out how good it taste.
Now, off we go to a romantic night!

Our lunch salad!
Apple Crisp
Filling: I tossed together 4 peeled/sliced apples with 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and some lemon juice (just so that the apples don’t get brown).
Crisp topping: 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup oatmeal, 4 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, cinnamon to taste (did not measure), mix it all together with the tip of your fingers until it resembles coarse meal.
Put apples in a glass dish, cover with topping, baked at 375F for 35 minutes (or until golden brown, bubbly, and delicious!)

Enjoy!
Ana