Oat and Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Oat and Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s been a while. I know.

Sorry.

It’s not that I haven’t been cooking – I have.

I’ve just had a few debacles.

On the night of the broccoli and pork stir fry in spicy peanut sauce, we ate it all before I could shoot a picture. No bigs, really – it was sort of all brownish and greenish and not all that pretty-ish.

On the night of the brussels sprout, bacon, and white bean salad, well, I shot a photo, but it just wasn’t a good visual representation. Then I made the mistake of adding in barley, and man oh man, how I wished I could have taken out the barley and gone back to the brussels and white beans all by their lonely selves. It was so much cleaner, and bacon-y, that way.

On the night of the spicy beef casserole. . .  hmmmm.

What can I say? The kids ate it without complaint, buuuuuuuut. There is dill in there. And some equate dill with tuna, and, some might say the beef casserole tastes like tuna casserole, and well, I’m just not willing to share a recipe that could possibly be dubbed, “Tuna Beef Casserole”. Guh.

So of course the natural thing to do was to turn to baking.

With chocolate.

And for some reason I have been dreaming of my college days and the oat and nut chocolate chip cookies that Great Harvest Bread Company used to turn out.

I’m pretty sure they still do, I just don’t have one near me, so I couldn’t verify it for you.

This is when my husband, for the first time ever in our history of knowing one another, brought it to my attention that I had a problem with sweets.

I used to run in my college days. Picture running tights under Umbros, headband, fleece.

That was me.

I would run TO THE BAKERY.

I would run there in my cute little tights and Umbros, buy a 6 cookie bag of oat and walnut and chocolate glory, then return to the dorm, sit on the stairwell and slip into a blissful chow session in my cute little running outfit.

My husband, then not my husband – not even my boyfriend, pointed out the irony of my activity.

All I could do was chuckle and wipe the crumbs off my mouth.

Whatevs.Oat and Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Great Harvest Bread Company style

He was right.

I was sooooo ironic.

Like Alanis Morissette.

Cool.

Here’s the closest I’ve come (using only my memories) to my ironic, iconic, oat and walnut chocolate chip cookies of old.

They’re thin, crisp and chewy, buttery and chocolatey – sweet with a touch of salt. Parts melt in your mouth, while other parts enjoyably crunch.

They’re delicately balanced cookies.

Dig out your running tights and headband and do a lap before you chow the first three.

Oh – and the grapes in the photo? They mean nothing.

Nothing at all. They just make me feel better by being Milk’s wing men. When those guys are together, hanging around with the dessert, you can almost pretend the cookies are a healthy snack.

Duh. THAT’S why we’re wearing running clothes. . . .

Print
Oat and Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons molasses
  • 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, add softened butter. Beat for 30 seconds until smooth. Add in brown sugar. Cream till smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla, mix until fully incorporated. Gradually add in flour mixture. Mix thouroughly. Add in rolled oats and mix until evenly distributed throughout dough. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts with a rubber spatuala or spoon.

Drop cookies by slightly heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 -14 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Cookies should appear golden brown on the edges and just set in the middle.

Remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for at least 2 minutes before removing them with a spatula to cool completely on a wire rack.

Source

Sara| Home is Where The Cookies Are

http://www.wherethecookiesare.com/2013/05/21/oat-and-walnut-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Easy, No-Knead Focaccia

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Focaccia - quick and easy

Guys, I know it’s not attractive, but I’m going to take a sec to throw myself a pity party.

Just real quick, then I’ll be done and move on with breathing, walking, talking, eating, finding my zen, etc.

Life currently has parked me on a tubo-speed hamster wheel.

Thing after thing after thing after thing after. . . you know the wheel.

I feel like I’m letting people down left and right, myself included.

I can think of a billion things I don’t have that I wish I did have – even though I  loathe such an attitude. Mr. Badittude insists on showing up anyway, and I’m having to punch him in the face each time he gets close enough for me to smell his breath.

My muscles are sore from swimming in the pool. Not exercise swimming. . . just play around swimming  - you know, like throwing my kids (aka treading water), etc.

My boys were wrestling at bedtime (if you are a parent, you know what kind of under-the-skin blood boiling this can evoke).

I ate Runts (yes, the same ones from October), fudge, and Wheat Thins all within 30 minutes of the last tuck-in, then poured myself a glass of Beaujolais.

I have this weird achy spot on my neck – I thought it was a mosquito bite, but now it just hurts. I probably might die – or have to amputate my neck.

Neither is a good scenario.

Sometimes my camera supremely frustrates me. (Aaaaaand my lazy back-lighting probably doesn’t help the situation. . . . )

I made this focaccia. It’s really good. It’s, “warm bread + salty butter + homemade strawberry jam schmear = a mini vacay to heaven” good.

Plus, it’s super duper easy to make.

But my camera. . . oh how I love so many things about it.

And oh, how I wish sometimes that it was fancier and schmancier.

Does anyone feel like donating me a fancy camera. A DSLR maybe?

Heh, heh. Just kidding. . . .

No, but if you really waaaaant to. . . .

Like the Cannon they sell in a nifty package at Costco?

No, no. Really. I’m joking.

Sort of.

For now, my point-and-shoot does the job, and most days she does it well.

But today – today she must be jealous of the focaccia’s chewy, sourdough-impersonating inside and designer outfit or something, because she’s not doing it justice. . .

At all.

It’s a bummer.

Because this fococcia is dang diggidy good.

Oh – and PS – tell me, please do, if you come to my pity party (Yes! Of course your are invited!), what are we eating??

Nachos? Pizza? Raw cookie dough? Caramel corn? Brownies? Doritos?

Shall we throw a virtual pity party? We can all come in our jammies and bring our favorite DVD’s. Maybe we can dye our hair and paint our toes too.

Tell me then: 1) What food are you bringing, 2) What DVD is absolutely necessary for us on this night? 3) In what color our we pedicuring ourselves?

(And yes, Danguole, I took the random question cue from you, and I expect your answers pronto.)

Oh – and the focaccia – Easy, No-Knead Fococciawe’re talking a five-minute throw together in the morning, let it sit all day, then plop it into a pan and let it sit for an hour or so, then brush it with egg white or olive oil and bake it for about 30 minutes. Easy peasy.

It’s appropriate company for jam, soup, BLT’s, salad, Nutella, olive oil and balsamic, avocado and Parmesan, ham and cheese, tomatoes and garlic, eggs and pesto, goat cheese and honey, you name it.

I bet Mom would like this with a good book and some beautiful coffee or tea in bed on Mother’s day, for quiet, alone, tea-sipping reading time. All quiet and alone-like. With tea and a book. Alone. In the quiet. Reading. . . quietly. With tea and hot buttered focaccia smothered in strawberry jam. . . .

Wait, what? Where was I just then?

Print
Easy, No-Knead Focaccia

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 10\\\\\\\" round loaf - 12 servings

1/12 loaf

240

6 g

This bread is yeasty and has a chewy inside with flavor reminiscent of sourdough. It presents with the aroma, and satisfaction of a delicious home-baked bread that would require triple the hours and effort to prepare. Keep it in mind to accompany light dinners of salad and soup, as an option for a simple breakfast treat, for a snack or appetizer, and even as the vehicle for your favorite sandwiches.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 teaspoon ripid rise active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 2/3 cups warm water (120 - 130 degrees F)
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten - (for brushing dough if desired)
  • Coarse salt for sprinkling
  • Cooking spray (preferably olive oil) for coating pan and brushing dough if desired

Directions

In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of the flour, yeast and salt. Add the warm water. Stir until moistened. Dough will be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl loosely, and let stand at room temperature for as few as 6 hours, as many as 24.

Spray a 10" round pan with cooking oil. Stir in remaining one cup of flour with a fork. (I have also folded it in with a spatula with equally good results).

Turn dough out into prepared pan. Spread all the way to the edges, as evenly as possible, using well oiled hands or a rubber spatula.

Cover and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For a darker, more golden crust, brush dough with beaten egg white. If you prefer a softer, paler crust, brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack, and cool.

Source

Sara| Home is Where The Cookies Are, adapted from Publix FamilyStyle February/March issue

http://www.wherethecookiesare.com/2013/05/09/easy-no-knead-fococcia/

Creole Hash with Black Beans and Chicken Andouille

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Creole Hash with Black Beans and Chicken Andouille

Yesterday:

Coffee, devotional, prayer.

Kisses goodbye, watching him walk down the front path, a conscious moment of gratitude.

You, me, the internet, wondering what to write. Wondering if I have shared with you too much about chicken sausage.

Goodbye to the Biggest, lunch money, schedule review, the front door closing just a tad too hard, like always. We now consider this an endearing quirk.

Lunch packing, breakfast, snuggling, smooching, tucking in shirts, tying shoes, calling, “I love you” out car windows and watching one boy blush and one boy grin as they turn towards school.

To the super market. Veggies, chicken, half and half, broccoli, eggs, butter, Kashi bars, V8, an 8 am cookie from the bakery. Wondering if the bakers think I am crazy for giving the Little a cookie at 8 AM, trying to brush off caring that the bakers might think I am crazy for allowing cookie eating at 8 AM. . . .

Home to throw in laundry, unpack said groceries, throw out sugarless barbecue sauce disaster (that tasted like smoked Hawaiian baby food), sweep up a crumby, hairy floor (why do I lose so much hair??), take a lightning fast shower, skip the lotion and hair drying again – because there’s not enough time.

Off to baby gym – which up until yesterday – has been a mild form of mommy torture – because the second I sit down I feel like I want to sleep, and we sit around that dang circle a lot – so I want to sleep – a lot.

Plus, these other mommies all talk to one another, and I assume I should strike up conversations with them too, but really, I’m still stuck on the edge of the circle really wanting to sleep.

And I’ve never been good at initiating conversations with strangers. There is really so much effort and trepidation involved in stranger-conversations, and words just get stuck somewhere in my chest.

So I sit and watch.

But yesterday, I thought about sliding doors, and about how I waited too long to approach a mommy from school and once I finally did – just two days ago – I found out we originate from the same part of the US, but that she’s leaving this week to go back because she can’t stand it here and she hasn’t met any real friends over the last 6 months. (I know that’s a run-on. Just go with me here. . . . )

I thought about how I had seen her walking her kids to school every day for all those months and I hadn’t talked  to her because I was too timid.

And, well, that door slid shut.

So I talked at baby gym.

It wasn’t even difficult, and now maybe me and the Little Gal each have a new friend.

Sliding doors.

Back to errands with the Littlest on the way home.

In the front door to switch over laundry, empty the dishwasher, fix some lunch.

Out the door to pick up the Little Guy. Carpool line, a book for me, and a nap for the Little Gal.

Sometimes. But not today.

Today she was all talk.

And more and more talk.

Back on home.

Throw together some breakfast bars for a sweet-ish snack. (Not to be confused with a Swedish snack).

And then. . . oh then.

A migraine came to get me – like a black angel simmering on my shoulder threatening darkness and pain.

I downed some medicine and prayed and prayed that it wouldn’t be a painful one, That God would wink and say he was just joking. That he’d say, “No, not today. It was just a little tease. A reminder for you to drink more water and to simplify your schedule”.

I imagined I was the woman on the side of the road two thousand years ago, believing all I had to do was touch His cloak to be healed. . . .(Mark 5: 25 – 29)

I tried to touch his cloak.

I got the Littles set up with a movie and guzzled some Gatorade.

I laid in bed and tried to relax.

Tried to talk my body out of giving in to the migraine.

Tried to touch His cloak and believe in his healing.

I managed to eek about an hour of silence, but let me tell you what does not help a migraine go away:

  • A three-year old parked on your bed with and I-pad, playing a game with the most annoying sound effects ever in the history of pre-school apps.
  • A seven-year-old jumping on your bed, showing you his newest Parkour moves.
  • A well-intended eleven year old hissing at the doorway, trying to usher the LIttles out, to give Mom some quiet.
  • A sales call from telemarketer trying to sell me an extended warranty on a car we no longer have.
  • The optical department calling my cell phone to let me know my order has arrived.

None of those things heal a migraine.

Just in case you thought you might try them.

But, I think my prayers might have.

It was, after all, short and mild.

I know in the realm of sickness and suffering, migraines are itty-bitty, tiny potatoes. . . but still, they can wreak havoc on a busy mom and related chick-lets.

So I give thanks and say to myself, “Message received. Simplify. Drink more water.”

And I am thankful for friends who give me birthday presents of corn cake dinners and homemade salsa packed with garlic and firey-hot spice.

Because I didn’t have to cook, and dinner was downright swoony.

But if I did (have to cook), I would have been thankful for this hash – because it’s quick and simple.Creole Hash with Black Beans and Chicken Andouille

It’s perfect for using up leftovers from a weekend barbecue.

And, like I’ve said before – chicken sausage gets me every time.

I know I use it a lot.

Maybe too much.

Maybe you get tired of me using it?

Maybe you don’t even know how much I love chicken sausage, because it only shows up here a fraction of the times I use it in real life.

There are just some things in life that we can’t help.

I can’t help that I want to sleep at baby gym, I am timid around strangers, and chicken sausage makes me happy.

Those are just my own personal truths.

But the sausage – it’s just easy and healthy and tasty. . . and easy.

And healthy.Creole Hash with Black Beans and Chicken Andouille

And tasty.

So, because of its convenient relationship with chicken sausage that blooms amidst fried potatoes and browned onions, this hash shares the easy, healthy, tasty qualities too.

Those are the hash’s own personal truths.

Dinner in 25, please.

Print
Creole Hash with Black Beans and Chicken Andouille

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Using up leftovers is always a plus, but you could always start this recipe from scratch. It's a quick, easy, one dish meal full of spicy heat.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 3 links cooked chicken sausage
  • 3 ears of corn, grilled or fresh, kernels removed from cob
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 baby orange bell pepper, diced
  • 2 ounces Swiss cheese, thinly sliced (Like with a vegetable peeler), or shredded
  • 2 scallions, sliced

Directions

Heat oil in a medium skillet.

Add in potatoes an onion. Cook until potatoes and onion start to brown.

Add in sausage and cook until edges brown.

Add in beans, corn, and spices. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until beans are heated through.

Stir in peppers, cook for 1 more minute.

Remove from heat.

Top with Swiss cheese, and place under broiler for just a couple minutes until cheese melts and browns slightly.

Top with scallions.

Serve immediately.

Source

Sara| Home is Where the Cookies Are

http://www.wherethecookiesare.com/2013/05/02/creole-hash-with-black-beans-and-chicken-andouille/

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

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OK, so no.

I don’t have a chicken dinner for today.

But we do have a winner!

Robin C! She squeaked in around 3 PM yesterday, and for whatever reason had a few complications with the commenting part – but she’s there on Facebook, and Rafflecopter picked her up and picked her out!

Robin – send me an email today, ASAP (sara@wherethecookiesare.com), and we’ll get your coffee into the mail directly from DOMA on this, the final day of the Bender Fundraiser! (And I’ll get your Fitness subscription squared away too.)

Thanks to all for participating!

Six Minute Chocolate Cake and a Double Giveaway

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Six Minute Chocolate Cake

 

I have a deep dark secret to confess, Friends.

*cringe*

Brace yourself:  I went for a run the other night and then came home and topped it off with handfuls of Ruffles potato chips and a light beer.

There!

I said it.

Arrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!

The disgrace and personal frustration!

It makes me growl like a pirate!

Oh, and another confession?

I didn’t make those coconut lime bars this week.

I made them, oh, around 8 months ago. . . so. . . .

Anyway. I haven’t had junk in a while.

All those healthy salad recipes are going to my brain – and sabotaging my workouts.

So let’s just face the problem head-on.

Give me chocolate and give me sweet.

STAT.

Like in six minutes – plus/minus a few minutes for drippy, milky, caramel-y syrup.

Did I really just say “plus/minus”?

Who are we kidding.

Who’s going to forgo caramel-y drippy syrup??!

If it’s you, don’t tell me. I’d rather live in a little bubble believing that everyone is incapable of resisting sticky-sweet perfection.

And another thing? Stuff’s getting a little crazy around here.

Like Double Giveaway crazy.

I’m going to give you some awesome coffee.

Because it’s awesome, and the cause behind the DOMA La Bicicletta blend is awesome. And the artwork on the packaging is awesome. And it’s awesomely roasted in awesome Idaho. And I happen to think that the facts that it is organic, fair trade, and eco-friendly make it even awesomer.

(Awesomer will be a word, just for today, just for this post, just in relation to DOMA coffee and the La Bicicletta Blend).

And, DOMA’s fundraiser for the Bender family ends on April 30th, so when you win, I donate, and the Benders benefit.

It’s a win-win-win.

Oh! And add on another win, because this cake that happens in SIX MINUTES?

It takes one cup of hot-brewed coffee. If you’re lucky, you can use a cup of your winnings.

Wiiiiiin!

The one year subscription to Fitness magazine?

Product Details

That’s from me to you.

Because if we’re similar in any way, we live a life of balanced extremes – loving our sweets chock full of milky, caramel-y goodness, and shots of awesome coffee, but understanding the need for – even, *gasp*, craving healthy food and exercise.

And I just have a weakness for magazines.

Plus, I have a weakness for you.

Put two of my favorite things together, and I feel like the world is a happier place. . . . YOU + GOOD READS = HAPPY.

So the cake?

You can take it to this point with one dish and six hands-on minutes and call it good:

Six Minute Chocolate Cake

Top it with a little shake of powdered sugar and it’s a rapid, tasty dessert. Perfect in emergency situations and after a tough day when chocolate-without-fuss is necessary.

Buuuuuuut. . .  

if you need a little more. . . everything, then let’s take a few extra minutes to make the creamy caramel sauce.

This cake, sauce and all, is affectionately referred to in my family as Ugly Cake, and hints at the flavor of a caramel macchiato.

It IS ugly, but in the wise words of my Spanish-Cuban neighbor, “Who cares if it’s ugly if it tastes good!”

You’re going to have extra sauce.

It’s perfectly OK. Save it for ice cream, or, ummm, coffee. . . or another cake next week.

And in my version, it’s comes out with funky little dark salt speckles.

I’m sure this is a chef’s faux pas.

I’m sure it is technically wrong.

I’m also sure I’m totally cool with it.

I like the dark, rustic speckles and spots of salt that come through with each bite.

I hope it’s OK with you too.

If not, I’d say just add your salt in with the butter in the beginning instead of waiting until the end.

It’s up to you.Six Minute Chocolate Cake

Speckles, no speckles. Take your pick.

And take a minute to enter the giveaway below! (It’s only open until Monday 11:59 pm, so don’t delay!!)

Oh, and another confession you should probably know?

When I started this whole shebang on Facebook, I wasn’t all that computer/internet savvy.

There are two FB pages floating around out there – one of which I have personally locked myself out of. (Don’t ask. I can’t even explain it. . . . .)

So, I have the correct link set up in the Rafflecopter window. Just click there, and you’re all set with the proper page.  If you “liked” Home is Where the Cookies are a while ago, and you notice nothing ever happens there and the picture is different, well, come on over to the up-and-running page. (Do it through the contest and get another entry, if you want!)

‘K. Thanks for sticking with me, lack of internet savvy and all.

Let’s take off and WIN.

And make some cake. . . .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Print
Six Minute Chocolate Cake and Creamy Caramel Sauce

Yield: 16

This cake (minus the creamy caramel sauce) comes together in six minutes hands-on time, using only one dish. Perfect! If you want a little more decadence (and a cake that tastes deliciously similar to a caramel macchiato), begin preparing the caramel sauce while your cake is baking in the oven - the sauce takes about 15 minutes. Pour it over the warm cake when the sauce is still steamy hot, and you have a gooey, scrumptious dessert in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

    For the Cake:
  • 1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup hot brewed coffee
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
    • For the Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup firmly packed, light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Directions

For the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar into an ungreased 8-inch square, or 9-inch round baking pan. In a 2-cup measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, hot coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter where the baking soda and the vinegar are reacting. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distrubuted throughout the batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes*. Remove cake from oven and cool on a wire rack.

*If you are making the caramel sauce, begin about 10 minutes into the baking time, so that your sauce will be ready the same time as your cake.

For the sauce:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and corn syrup and whisk gently until even. Heat over medium heat until the edges start to bubble; then let it bubble and cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove from heat. Whisk in first the sweetened condensed milk, then the salt. Stir until even. Keep warm until cake is out of the oven.

Glazing the cake:

When cake is done baking, pierce several times, all over the cake, with a wooden skewer. While both the cake and sauce are still on the hot side of warm, pour the caramel sauce over the cake. You will only need to use about half of the sauce recipe - but feel free to splurge. The sauce will seep into the cake through the holes.

Serve warm and falling apart, or allow to cool for sturdier slices.

Source

Cake recipe adapted slightly from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home cookbook; creamy caramel sauce by Sara| Home is Where The Cookies Are

http://www.wherethecookiesare.com/2013/04/26/six-minute-chocolate-cake-and-a-double-giveaway/

Coconut Lime Bars and Sliding Doors

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Coconut Lime Bars | Home is Where The Cookies Are

Have you heard of “sliding door moments“?

It’s when you are faced with a choice and you can either open the door to connect with those around you, or you can close it and disengage from those around you.

They happen several times a day.

Connect/disconnect, that’s the choice.

Connecting keeps us together. Keeps us whole. Keeps us feeling like we belong.

Disconnecting leaves us floundering. Dangling. Feeling lost and alone.

I read about it in Daring Greatly, and ever since, I keep hearing a little voice in my head reminding me: “Sliding door moment. Sliding door moment. Sliding door moment. . . .”

I don’t need to connect with my laptop.

On the scale of important people in my life, my dirty kitchen floor ranks nonexistent, and I don’t need any bonding time with my Swiffer.

I don’t care about the emotions of my unfolded laundry.

I don’t give a rip if my dishes feel loved or not.

I don’t care how that unfinished novel feels either, and the TV sure as heck does not need my attention.

But you know who does?

People.

Living human beings.

And I’ll start with the little nest of busy, breathing peeps right under my roof.

When I’m scrambling to get dinner on the table, or unload the dishes, or check my emails and some little voice asks me to play a game, or listen to a song, or check out the latest drawing, or a bigger voice wants to tell me about a funny thing from school or a frustrating teacher or a mishap with a friend, or that big manly voice asks me how the kiddos were today, I’m going to slide that door open and invite them in.

Probably for a glass of milk and a cookie.

I’m going to choose to take the time to wrap them up in a cozy I-care-about-you-and-you-have-my-full-attention blanket.

When I have a minute and all is quiet, I will make a choice – will I call someone I love and connect during that moment, or will I use it for something else?

The “something else’s” are not wrong – we all know they are necessary and must be done, just maybe not on the precise timetable we’ve mentally set up for ourselves.

In order to keep ourselves sane, of course we need personal time, good books, funny movies, beer and nachos, etc. – but my goal now is to be more conscious of the choices I make, the timing of them, and whether or not my actions are balanced – whether my scale tips in favor of love – because that’s how I want it to lean.

In one of his books, Joel Osteen wrote about how he tries to leave each person with whom he comes into contact throughout his day feeling as though they blessed him with their time together.

When I go to the super market and the checker asks how I am, I’m going to look her in the eye and smile. I’ll respond and return the question. We’ll have a whole conversation if she wants to.

The secretary at school? The student office aide? Yup. Them too.

The mail man? Mmm hmm.

The quiet, mysterious neighbor? Sure, if she’s up for it.

The high-school kid going door to door to raise money for his sports team? Him too.

I will try, I will try, I will try.

It’s the best I can do.

And as my family and I are standing there at our sliding door – hopefully pulling it open wider and wider, I hope we see all of you, across the way, sliding your doors open too.

We can holler greetings to each other, whisper secrets, toss each other life-lines, fill out little retro pull-tab notes that ask each other to “check yes or no” – will you go to the {life} dance with me??

And then, we’ll invite you over the threshold for cookies and milk.

Probably even, for Coconut Lime Bars. . . .

Coconut Lime Bars; cookie bars with coconut, lime, macadamia, and a buttery cookie base

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Coconut Lime Bars

Yield: 24 bars

These bars are rich and sturdy. They travel well and make for great gifts. You can bake them fresh, then store them for up to a week. That means they travel well through the mail too!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking pan
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 package (7oz.) sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch over hang on two sides. In a large bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Add 1 egg; whisk until smooth. Stir in 1 cup flour, salt, nuts and lime zest. Spread batter in pan and bake until top is set and very lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs and vanilla. Reserve 1/2 cup coconut; stir remaining coconut and 1 cup flour into egg mixture. Gently spread over base; top with reserved coconut. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Using parchment, life cake from pan and cut into 24 bars. Store in an air tight container, up to 1 week.

Source

from Tracy at Shutterbean who adapted the recipe slightly from Everyday Food Magazine.

http://www.wherethecookiesare.com/2013/04/25/coconut-lime-bars-and-sliding-doors/

Smoky Brussels Sprouts with Lime and Avocado

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Smoky Brussels Sprouts with Lime and Avocado; side dish of roasted brussels sprouts, red onion, fresh avocado and lime, topped with smoked paprika and dry roasted pistachios. Whole 30 and Paleo compatableBefore we talk roasted veggies, citrus and pistachios, let’s talk about this book:

Daring Greatly, Brene Brown

I’m only one chapter into it, but Ms. Brown has me hooked already.

In a matter of 46 pages, she has me feeling like we might just be able to understand how our society has unraveled and how neighbors have started to feel and LIVE so far apart.

And I feel like maybe, maybe she has the answer.

“. . . Are we surrounded by narcissists? Have we turned into a culture of self-absorbed, grandiose people who are only interested in power, success, beauty, and being special? Are we so entitled that we actually believe that we’re superior even when we’re not really contributing or achieving anything of value? Is it true that we lack the necessary empathy to be compassionate, connected people?” Brene Brown, Daring Greatly

Isn’t this the question that seems to come up over and over again?

Is it? For you too, or is it just me?

And then, what if we look at it like this instead – what if we look deeper and see that we all feel disconnected from one another and we hope to reconnect by drawing attention to ourselves – so the truth is that we are insecure and searching to fit in, yet it comes off as self-aggrandizing and arrogant, and we defeat ourselves in our own journey to belong.

“. . . when I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.” 

“. . .the past decade. . . has been traumatic for so many people that it’s made changes in our culture. . . . We’ve survived and are surviving events that have torn at our sense of safety with such force that we’ve experienced them as trauma even if we weren’t directly involved. . . .

Worrying about scarcity is our culture’s version of post-traumatic stress. It happens when we’ve been through too much, and rather than coming together to heal (which requires vulnerability), we’re angry and scared and at each other’s throats. . . .

After doing this work [research] for the past twelve years. . .  I’d say the one thing we have in common is that we’re sick of feeling afraid. We all want to be brave. We want to dare greatly. We’re tired of the national conversation centering on “What should we fear?” and “Who should we blame?” . . . . courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” Brene Brown, Daring Greatly

Is this then, what our entire culture is experiencing? Is it not only what our kids are growing up with in magnified form, but is it thrusting us – the adults – back into the “middle-school” of life hoping to be noticed, but really, too afraid to allow our true selves to be seen?

I have no answers, but after more than a decade of research, I think Brene Brown might.

And no, it has nothing to do with brussels sprouts.

I could try to connect it somehow, but let’s not.

The fact is, this book is on my mind, and so were brussels sprouts, and they’re just showing up here on the same day.

I am however, suggesting you try both – the brussels, and the book.

Often, when one suggests brussels sprouts, people run screaming in the other direction.

Or gag.

Or tell you stories about how their mothers served them boiled and they are the most disgusting vegetable on earth.

These are the stories I’ve heard over and over again, and so, as a result, up until now I have shunned them from my menus.

But then I started seeing recipes that made them look downright delicious, and they’ve been on my “to try” list for nearly a year now.

I’m not going to lie and tell you the kids devoured these. . . because they absolutely did not.

Brussels sprouts will remain on their disgusto-vegetable list still – until someday I deep-fry them in beer batter and panko and serve them up with buffalo sauce. . .  (hmmm. . . . ).

BUT, the grown-ups did thoroughly enjoy this dish. It was entirely satisfying with it’s different textures and flavors.

My husband thought the addition of avocado was strange, and so, ignored it while happily plucking away at everything else.

If you are an avocado lover, don’t skip it. It’s pretty much heavenly – the cool avocado and lime with the warm brussels sprouts and onions.

The really impressive quality of the dish though, was how incredibly filling it was. . . like, I was stuffed full for HOURS – from a 6 pm dinner, all the way to a 10 pm bedtime, I really couldn’t even entertain the idea of eating another morsel.

Those brussels, man. They fill you.

And I think this dish just might fit into that super strict diet you’ve been entertaining for the last couple of weeks. . .

Because you have way more willpower than I do. . . .

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Smoky Brussels Sprouts with Lime and Avocado

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 6 sides

This dish is filling and the flavors hint at bacon while the recipe remains vegetarian. I am no expert on the Paleo diet or Whole 30, but if you are - then take a look. I believe it satisfies the requirements for both styles of eating.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound brussels sprouts, washed and cut into wedges - either quarters or eighths, depending on how large they are
  • 1/2 a medium red onion, sliced thinly
  • 3 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and roughly chopped
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • Juice of 1 or 2 limes, divided, and according to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 hass avocado, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped dry roasted, salted pistachios

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or foil.

Toss the cut brussels sprouts, red onion, and chopped garlic with olive oil, a tablespoon or so of lime juice, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. (You will used lime juice at the end too, so hang on to the remaining limes/juice for finishing.)

Spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Roast for 20 minutes. Toss, and roast for 10 minutes more, or until onions and parts of the brussels sprouts are browning and caramelizing.

Remove from oven.

Toss gently with avocado and pistachios. Taste. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary and finish with a fresh squeeze of lime juice according to preference.

Source

Sara| Home is Where The Cookies Are; inspired by The Little Red House

http://www.wherethecookiesare.com/2013/04/18/smoky-brussels-sprouts-with-lime-and-avocado/

Tex-Mex Slow Cooker Chicken

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Tex-Mex Slow Cooker Chicken

Don’t be fooled by the frying pan.

This recipe is for slow cooker chicken.

Really, really good slow cooker chicken that you might want to stand over the crock eating before you serve it up.

The most perfect thing about this chicken though? It makes a HUGE batch.

We’re talking massive. Like, “let’s feed 20 people” big.

Really.

Or, “let’s feed the fam (of six people) three times over” big.

“Eat one portion now, freeze two for easy nights later in the month” big.

Therefore – the frying pan. For reheating purposes. . . . Continue reading →

DIY Taco Seasoning, Old El Paso Style

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DIY Old El Paso Style Taco Seasoning

 Shoes stink.

I mostly mean trying to find shoes to go with specific outfits stinks.

It makes me want to run screaming into the street, hurl something fragile and glass-ish at the pavement, and then dissolve into a weeping pile of mush.

But I guess literally, some shoes – mostly of the athletic or flip-flop variety – do stink.

That’s not the point though. This the point: Continue reading →