Whiteley Creek Homestead

Here's a mid-afternoon burst of energy with no fat and no sweetener other than from dried fruit. It is a recipe from Jennifer McCann's blog Shmooed Food. Jennifer is author of the book Vegan Lunch Box. 

Fruit and Nut Bars

1 cup spelt flour (Arrowhead Mills is a brand that is available in my locale.)

1 cup rolled oats (I substituted Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli*.)

¼ cup prune puree (2.5 oz jar baby food prunes) mixed with 1/3 cup water

½ cup currants or raisins (I omitted because Bob’s Muesli contains raisins.)

½ ¼ cup finely chopped dried apricots

1 ½ cup chopped walnuts (I reduced because Bob’s Muesli contains a variety of nuts and seeds.)

Preheat oven to 325°. Coat an 8-inch x 8-inch pan with cooking spray or oil and set aside. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Press dough lightly and evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until baked through but still soft. Don’t overbake them. Cut into squares while they are still warm. *Bob's Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli contains rolled oats, wheat, rye, triticale, and barley along with dates and raisins, raw sunflower seeds, almonds, and walnuts.

April 1, 2010

A guest who stayed at our bed and breakfast made my Flax Irish Soda Bread. She emailed to say that she had posted about it, so when I visited her blog, I decided to try one of her recipes that she found in a pamphlet called Prize-Winning Salads (The Country Cooking Recipe Collection) by Mary Beth Jung, 1990. Thanks, Rosemary! I do love all of this sharing going on in the blog-o-sphere.  

Broccoli Salad

Dressing:

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten (Use the egg white for breakfast.)

½ cup sugar (I used 2 tbsp honey.)

1 ½ tsp cornstarch

1 tsp dry mustard

¼ cup vinegar (I used Bragg raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar.)

¼ cup water

3 tbsp butter, softened (I omitted this.)

½ cup mayonnaise (I used Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise.)

Whisk together eggs, sugar (or honey), cornstarch, and mustard. Combine vinegar and water and slowly whisk into egg mixture. Cook on top of double boiler, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in butter (if using) and mayonnaise. Chill until ready to toss with salad.

Salad:

4 cups fresh broccoli florets (1 head), broken into little pieces

½ golden raisins (I used ¼ cup raisins + ¼ cup raw sunnies. Dried cranberries would be good, too.)

6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I used 3 strips of Coleman Natural Uncured Bacon.)

2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (I omitted.)

½ cup slivered almonds (I used 2 tbsp slivered almonds + 2 tbsp chopped walnuts.)

1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained (Red grapes would be a good substitution, I think.) 

½ medium red onion, chopped

Toss salad ingredients together. I then plopped a dollop of dressing on top of each individual serving of salad and allowed each person to toss it themselves. It makes a nice presentation and the dressing recipe makes more than needed. You’ll have plenty left over to make a second broccoli salad.

March 20, 2010

Click on over to angry chicken's blog for a free pdf that Amy Karol, author of Bend-the-Rules Sewing, calls her "recipe cheat sheet." She created a chart listing ingredients, oven temp, and baking times for 13 of her most frequently used recipes… all on one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. There are no directions because, for recipes that are made frequently, there is no need. What a great time-saver! Tweak it to fit your own needs. 

March 18, 2010

Sprinkle this crunchy maple syrup-sweetened nut and seed mixture atop a tummy warming bowl of oatmeal, a stack of hearty ancient grain pancakes, or crisp salad greens. Stir it into popped corn or eat it plain. It'll add a satisfying texture dimension and an earthy visual appeal. I tore the recipe from a Country Living Magazine quite some time ago. My online research uncovered a February 2, 2006 posting of the recipe on Country Living Magazine's website.

Maple Crunch

¼ cup whole raw almonds, roughly chopped (I have also used Brazil nuts.)

1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

2 tbsp raw sunnies

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 tbsp maple syrup (the real deal… not Aunt Jemima)

Heat oven (or toaster oven) to 375°. (I reduced the temp to 350.) Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients and spread in a single layer on the prepared pan. Bake about 5 minutes until the mixture is fragrant and the maple syrup has turned thicker. Remove from the oven and cool. Stir in 2 tbsp dried cranberries. 

March 17, 2010

Today's Mileage: 2-mile walk

Total Mileage for March: 4 miles

Bible reading? Yes.