Cooking for Seven

I must admit that I used to avoid creamy salads. They were usually filled with marshmallows and candy bars. This seemed so wrong in a salad. Then, some good friends of ours introduced us to this delicious salad.

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As I looked at our nearly bare garden and spotted our healthy rhubarb plants, a sudden fancy hit me. Rhubarb upside down cake. We had made this recipe once before with success. So my sister & I quickly harvested the tenderest shoots.

Then, as we were prepping our ingredients, panic stuck. There wasn’t a stick of butter in the house. Amanda & I looked at each other and shrieked.

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One evening, when I was in one my baking moods, I felt like making something special for breakfast. I saw these over at Smitten Kitchen and decided that they needed to be made. Of course I made my usual adjustments - whole wheat flour and a natural sweetener. I also left out the lemon zest (as we had none).

To be honest, I thought these bars were a little on the tart side. However, I was overall very pleased with them, and will most likely try them again.

We served them with both liquid and whipped cream. Delicious.

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Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 cup Demerara sugar or Sucanat or rapadura
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the raspberry filling:
1/4 cup Demerara sugar or Sucanat or rapadura
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

Make the crust and crumb:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.

2) Put the flour, sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

3) Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Make the raspberry filling:

4) In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cinnamon, and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars:

5) Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

6) Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares. Serve plane or with liquid or whipped cream. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.

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……As I glanced through Simply Summer by Angela Tunner, this recipe caught my eye. You see, I’m a sucker for anything involving coconut. Not only does it taste so wonderfully exotic, it is also very healthy. Granted, the sweetened shredded coconut used in this recipe is not the most healthy variety of coconut products, but it still tastes delicious.

……This recipe is perfect for that scorching summer day when you don’t feel like adding any extra heat to the house. You could cook the chicken the night before, or on some day that’s pleasantly cool. It is very filling, so you can serve it as your main dish. Or spread it on a piece of you favorite bread to create a very different chicken salad sandwich.

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Mango & Coconut Chicken

From Simply Summer

Ingredients:

• 4 cups torn or shredded cooked chicken (about 3 medium chicken breasts)
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons Major Grey mango chutney*
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used sour cream)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Pepper, black, to taste

Directions:

1) Place the chicken pieces in a medium bowl. Add the shredded coconut, lemon juice, mustard, chutney, and yogurt and toss until well combined. Add the parsley and toss to combine.

2) Stir in the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Serves 4

*Angela’s Tip: Major Grey is no a brand of chutney, it is a style of chutney. Look for it under various brand names in your supermarket in the condiments or ethnic section

Back when peaches were in season, I devised a baked oatmeal recipe to incorporate them. I just threw a few things together and pushed it into the oven. To my surprise, it was really good. We’ve tried it with pears and apples, with the same delicious results.

Hot fruit on the bottom, sweet oatmeal in the middle, and crunchy almonds on top. This could easily be a dessert…

:: Fruit-on-the-Bottom Baked Oatmeal ::

Ingredients:

• Approximately 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced fruit* or enough to generously cover the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons demerara, sucanat or rapadura, divided
• 1/3 cup slices almonds

*Peaches, pears & apples are good choices. If using apples, make sure to cup them thinly or they will be crunchy.

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Melt butter; pour 1/4 cup into bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Arrange sliced fruit on top of the butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons demerara. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together milk, maple syrup, eggs, remaining butter and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour over fruit and smooth the top. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining 2 tablespoons demerara.
4. Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes, or until browned on top and fruit is bubbly. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with milk, cream or Vanilla Sauce.

Serves 6-8