More cookies! Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk by Julie Van Rosendaal

We were expecting some company yesterday, so I tried a “new to me” cookie recipe recently posted by nutritionist, Julie Van Rosendaal.

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk
A great cookie recipe by Julie Van Rosendaal

On Tuesday mornings, I enjoy listening to Julie on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One.  You can listen to her here.  She's also the author (or co-author) of six cookbooks, a freelance writer and creator of a great food blog, Dinner With Julie.

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies – what an extraordinarily long name for a cookie!

Think “crisp oatmeal cookie with yummy overtones of peanut butter and chocolate” - very tasty! In fact, they were given a gold seal of approval by my “testers”. I'd definitely make them again.

NOTES: I followed the recipe as written, using chocolate chips (rather than chunks) and chunky peanut butter (the only kind allowed in our house) instead of smooth. The recipe makes about 3-4 dozen. They really do spread, so space them out on your cookie tray. Based on a question/answer in the comment section, I put some of the dough (shaped into balls) in the freezer to bake later as needed.

I love that little gadget!  A lot less messy than scooping
up dough with a spoon.  Freeze the balls of cookie dough
separately so they don't stick, then pop in a container.

G.'s Refrigerator Cookies

Do you save little slips of paper like this one?

Tucked inside a book...

Memories of sitting around the kitchen table after school...

If I picked all the kids up, G. always had something hot out of the oven. A good friend.  A good deal!!

Now, look again. G. only ever wrote the ingredients! If you insisted, she'd write down the oven temperature. I'd always have to scribble my own little notes on the side.

These little guys are super easy – a very old-style cookie, probably from G.'s mother.  They'd be simple to make with kids.

G.'s Refrigerator Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Mix all at once in the mixer (about 4 minutes).

Gather dough and divide into four balls.

Roll each ball into a snake shape.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, parchment paper or wax paper.

Refrigerate.

Slice and bake at 300 degrees C for 12 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen small cookies.

Recipe can be easily halved. 

Chocolate cookies: Melt and mix 2 squares of unsweetened

chocolate into dough.

Want something a little fancier? Whisk a small drizzle of maraschino juice into a heaping tablespoon of icing sugar. Spread a little on each cookie and add sprinkles.

Or, instead of slicing your cookies, take a teaspoon of dough, roll into a ball and flatten into a disk. Press one side firmly into rainbow sprinkles. Bake as described above.

Learning to Knit? Three Easy Fingerless Glove Patterns!

Maggie's Crocheted
Fingerless Gloves

Well, Mother Nature made her point very clear this week in southern Alberta. 

Yes, she's in charge. 

Snow, sleet and a nasty temperature dip after a lovely late summer weekend.  : (

Maggie's Knit
Fingerless Gloves

My tomatoes are grumpy over my insistence that they wear sheets at night...

...and I'm grumpy about needing to wear a jacket and fingerless gloves! 

I still have (and wear) the two pairs of fingerless gloves I crocheted and knit in the fall of 2012. I love them because they're tiny enough to tuck into my jacket pockets and always have on hand (pun intended).

Link to crocheted gloves here.

Link to knit gloves here.

Looking for my gloves, however, reminded me that I forgot to tell you about a great little pattern I found this summer.  Even better, this pattern comes with a great little video from one of my favourite knitting websites, Very Pink.  Quick to complete, they were a perfect birthday treat for my sister.  If you want to learn to knit, you really need to check out this website and the mitts would make a wonderful first project. 

A great "free" pattern from
Very Pink

For wool I used Malabrigo Rios Yarn (871 Playa). I mention that because it's a wonderful pure marino superwash wool made in Peru.

“Rio means 'river' in Spanish. Malabrigo Rios is named after the four major rivers in Uruguay: Rio Cuareim, Rio Uruguay, Rio de la Plata, and Rio Negro. Each river is represented by one ply. These plies twist together like winding rivers. Rios also signifies the yarn's washability; for millennia, rivers have provided water for washing garments.”

Makes you look at a ball of wool in a new light, doesn't it? If you're looking for wool to go with demin, this is it!

Side note....

My original plan was a little hoodie for my grandson. However, by the time I got through the back, I realized I did not have nearly enough wool. Too late to buy more (and it would have cost a fortune to buy enough). Oh, well. I learned a lesson about yards vs grams and substituting yarns!

Salvadorian Breakfast Cakes

We've just returned from our annual trip to “the Lake” - a good time, a family time, a relaxing time. An almost “Internet Free” vacation, unless you're willing to walk up to the top of the road with your phone... : )

Back here in southern Alberta, after yesterday's monsoon, summer seems to be on on the edge of being over. A bit sad to think about that...

I do, however, want to share an amazing recipe my daughter whipped up. Salvadorian Breakfast Cakes. Buttery, rich, a satisfying nibble indeed! These are dense little cakes to be enjoyed with a fresh cup of coffee. Yum!

Salvadorian Breakfast Cakes

My daughter discovered the recipe at food52, but I was able to trace it back to the original posting by Sasha at Global Table Adventure, a site worth exploring. Sasha's post is a full photo tutorial. She actually won first prize for this recipe in food52's Gluten-Free Baking competition.

Up-cycle? Yes!

Hello there! What an amazingly busy week! Decluttering, cleaning closets, trips to the recycling centre and Goodwill, so satisfying and so much accomplished.

I'm also pleased with this little "up-cycle" project.... a new cushion cover from an old denim skirt!

Now, what else can I up-cycle around here?!?

Panna Cotta Update

Sorry!

Too late!

All gone!

I mentioned last week that we'd had a lovely dessert a friend made – Panna Cotta, a smooth, creamy, sinfully rich Italian treat. I tried it myself tonight and tested it out at a family gathering. It was a huge success.

This dessert is extremely easy and quick to prep ahead of time. I followed the All Recipes video and recipe directions. Joy of Baking has a very similar version and an excellent video as well. I used six tea cups but wine glasses or ramekins would also work well. Just before serving, I poured a teaspoon or two of raspberry syrup on top and added some fresh raspberries. 

Yum!

An Italian Twist... Panzanella and Panna Cotta

Ah, yes. The lazy, hazy days of summer. Here on the homestead, we've started harvesting....weeds, I'm afraid. Without even trying, I am capable of growing the biggest, healthiest weeds you can imagine and they're out there...ripe for the plucking, something I've been doing a lot of lately. : )

Apart from the weeds, there are many parts of summer I truly do enjoy, in particular, an evening BBQ. Sitting out on the deck, a glass of something icy cold, good friends, great conversation... We had an evening just like that a few nights ago.

Although we didn't start out with this in mind, dinner had a bit of an Italian theme. I promised to bring a salad and decided to try...

Panzanella!

This, everyone, is a “summer perfect”, take-a-long salad...

Panzanella?

From Jamie Oliver's magazine article:

"This was probably an invention of necessity," says Fifteen London's executive chef Andrew Parkinson."Italians waste nothing and this salad utilises stale bread. Originating in the areas of Tuscany, Umbria and the Marche, panzanella is first recorded in 16th-century literature, though without the tomatoes as they weren't part of the Italian kitchen then. It's a lovely summer dish - the bread soaks up the oil and vinegar, also taking in the ripe tomato juices, and you can ring the changes by adding any seasonal vegetables you like."

Panzanella is more an idea than a recipe. If you really need specifics, Simply Recipes can get you started. It's not just about tomatoes and stale bread, however. What else do you have in the kitchen? All Recipes adds mozzarella and balsamic vinegar. Dinner with Julie turns Panzanella into a full meal with hard-boiled eggs and tuna. Jamie Oliver even has a Chicken Panzanella.

Panzanella!  

Some basic “rules”?

1. Since bread is a feature of this recipe, use an Italian Ciabetta or a French loaf. Cut so each bread cube has a bit of crust.

2. Use equal amounts bread and tomatoes. I used about six cups of each and needed about 1 cup of dressing.

3. Dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 cloves minced garlic.

4. In addition to bread and heirloom tomatoes, add about 1/3 of a thinly sliced red onion and a good handful of roughly chopped basil.

5. Other vegetables? Yes, please, but remember bread and tomatoes are the stars here. I added some cucumber. Thin slices of yellow pepper would be colourful.

This salad transports well and you don't need to worry about keeping it cold – perfect for a “take-a-long”.

Cheers,

Maggie

PS Can't forget to mention another Italian aspect of that night's meal. Our hostess made Panna Cotta! Click on the photograph for a video. I plan to make this next week!