My friends are going on a road trip this weekend. You know, without me. Being short on funds, finding food on a road trip might be a tad difficult. Baking to the rescue. Sometimes baking can be healthy...or at least a [somewhat] nutritious replacement for food.
Enter oatmeal cookies. Well not JUST oatmeal.
Oatmeal-Raisin-Currant-Sesame Cookies. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-i/detail.aspx + Replace half the raisins with dried currants. Add sesame to your personal taste. I just shook in the seeds, but you'll need at least a tablespoon. Sesame seeds, while high in fat, also add fiber, small amounts of calcium and totally delicious flavor to your cookies. I found that making one inch round balls and no bigger produced a bite-sized cookie with a crisp bottom perfect for snacking. Ms. T might call this "portion control".
Its a well-known secret that in August in Oregon, blackberries grow everywhere. You can pay to U-pick them at a farm (along with blueberries and raspberries), but lots of people know a place where they grow wild. Indeed I have my own secret spot; an almost unlimited supply of them during the month of August. And if you don't mind tearing your clothes and getting minor flesh wounds from thorn poke-age, you should look yourself! No, I won't tell you where. Not a chance.
So given pounds and pounds of blackberries, what would YOU make?
Cobbler: For my cobbler, I used an old standard, Betty Crocker. Its like a batter+fruit. I found out I don't really like cobbler, but my husband liked it. He's not really hard to please.
Pie: Yesterday I made a pie. I used this one. I added peaches as well. Do take the advice of the reviewer who added lemon juice, it adds much needed tartness to the pie.
Crisp: This is still in the works, though I have to admit that its a much healthier dessert than pie. Using rolled oats and 1/3 the butter, its a great alternative for those on a diet. Updates later on the taste.
Don't have a blackberry patch? Substitute frozen. While I probably wouldn't eat frozen blackberries raw, when they are cooked there isn't really a noticeable difference...
2 egg whites
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (this one is pretty optional, I still think it would work without)
pinch salt.
Preheat oven to 280 degrees F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites until foamy and gradually add sugar. Add vanilla, cinnamon, salt, cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. This process might take about 15 minutes or more, depending on your mixer
Using a small spoon or an icing bag + tip (preferable), make cookies 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter. Smaller cookies become crunchier, while larger cookies remain chewy in the middle. Leave a little bit of space between each one, they puff up slightly while baking.
Bake 20 minutes or until cookies slide off of the parchment easily. They may crack a bit, this is normal.
I know I did this last year, but I really really love visiting the rose garden here in Portland. This year, since we've been having a milder summer (a.k.a. a complete dud!), different flowers were blooming than last. Some weren't blooming at all; this was the case with my favorite, Rouge Royale.
"Black Jade"
"Carding Mill"
"Lady of Shalott"
"Reba McEntire"
White Clematis
"Shockwave"
"Shockwave"
Bzzzz... "Monkey Business"
"First Prize"
"Molineux"
"Si" Micro Mini
"Carding Mill" - Probably my favorite of this year.
Attention science geeks, stoners, pregnant women, and Portal fans: Holy shit, you can make cake in a mug. In minutes. Yes you can. No, really, you can.
How does it taste? We liked it. Not as good as regular cake, kinda spongy, chocolatey. I admit it would probably be 100 times better with chocolate chips, as the recipe suggests. Some reviewers say there is too much cocoa; this may be true as it was quite strong. Don't try to cut out any sugar, it won't taste right. And don't burn your tongue, it's pretty hot.
It's a Jicama, or a "Mexican Turnip". This one is peeled, normally they look like this. I doubt you have to actually peel them, but the sticker on mine suggested it. Don't grab your vegetable peeler, though. If you can get it started (say, near the stem?) the peel comes of by itself quite easily. Alternatively, I have seen them in vegetable trays but this isn't very common.
What do I do with it?
My favorite way to eat them is raw with dip. There are recipes, but I have been trying to incorporate more fresh, raw fruits and vegetables in my diet, and I feel very good. Nutritional value? Mostly carbs, fiber and water. They are chock full of inulin(a kind of fiber), and are extremely filling. Essentially they are a tasty vehicle for getting your favorite dressing from the bottle to your mouth, while sneaking 6 grams of fiber inside of you with you barely noticing.
How's it taste?
Crisp. Starchy. Wet. If you like raw carrots or cut up sweet potatoes, you'll like this. Its really crispy and satisfyingly fun to eat.
It's already August! Where have I been? The Pharmacy. Biking. Job interviews.
After a stretch of 6 days at the pharmacy in a row, I had enough. I decided to, just for the hell of it, throw out two job applications. Seeing as how I applied to 100 jobs and just got rude rejection letters last year, I figured it would take several months to even hear back from any of them.
I was wrong. The first application I sent invited me for an interview. Then they hired me. In less than two weeks. So I am now a part time library assistant in for the Oregon City library. I am kissing my pill-counting days goodbye. You know, forever.
I've also been volunteering at OMSI on their grant-writing team, and I've been having a great time at it.
Happy cats are not on the sidewalk! Happy cats are just on the porch!
What else? After gaining 8 pounds since January, I decided to start biking again. And I'm doing it in style. I recently purchased a red Electra cruiser and I've had fun taking it all over the city. My old bike, which needs a bit of work, had a basket on it; this bike didn't. An easy fix: Any square basket and some zip ties. I've found so many of life's problems can be solved with zip ties. Its not incredibly stable and/or weight bearing, but a few books, a purse or a bottle of water would fit nicely into this basket and leave my hands free for riding. And if it breaks I could probably buy six more for the cost of a real bike basket.
Total cost: $1.99.
On to the bike seat...an easy crochet project. I devised a way to keep it on the seat, but I haven't ridden with it on yet. Most people just lace yarn through the bottom and tie it on, but I thought for whatever reason I'd try something else...If my method fails I can just take it apart and lace it through the regular way.
