Bird Seed Bars

So this recipe truly is my own...no adapting of anything...although it is a bit of a copycat ;)  Last fall, my co-worker brought me this bar that she gets at a vegan place in Portland.  She left it on my desk with a note saying something about eating it and then recreating it.  Well, after a few trys, I think I have it.  It may not be exact but it's pretty darn close. Regardless, Andrew, people in my office, basically anyone that has tried them, LOVE THEM!!!  


I will tell you, it's an easy recipe except for the amaranth.  Learning to pop your amaranth is a true skill.  I don't know any better so I'm not sure if you can buy it already popped...probably.  However, it's extremely cheap to do it yourself.  I may try and come back and add some photos but seriously it just takes trial and error.  Once you figure it out, it's no biggie!

Bird Seed Bars

"Dry" Ingredients
2 c popped amaranth (approx. 6 tablespoons dry amaranth)
1 1/4 c unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/4 c pumpkin seed or sunflower seed
1/4 c + 1T flax seed
1/2 c chopped dates, neglit ones work...you don't have to use fancy ones
pinch of salt

"Wet" Ingredients
1/4 c coconut oil (measured after it is melted)
1 c brown rice syrup
1 c peanut butter or homemade nutella if you have it
2 T water


TO POP THE AMARANTH:  Find a pan and a clear lid that fits it well.  Heat the pan until very hot.  Take it off of the burner, put a tablespoon of the amaranth in the pan, cover and IMMEDIATELY start swirling around in a circular motion.  The amaranth will start popping and turn white.  Only takes a few seconds, maybe 20-30 at most.  Take the lid off and dump into a bowl.  Make sure you get all of the amaranth out of the pan.  Heat it again and repeat the process until you have 2 cups popped amaranth.


Mix dry ingredients together with your hands, breaking the date pieces up and coating them with the dry ingredients so they disperse throughout the bars.

Heat wet ingredients in small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for approximately 1 minute.

Pour over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Pat down and smooth with a rubber scrapper.  Refrigerate until firm.  Enjoy!

Gluten-free Cornbread

Andrew told me repeatedly that he did not like cornbread when we got married.  We've been married for a little over 8 years and I think I honored the not liking cornbread crap until about a year or two ago.  I finally told him I like cornbread and he would just have to deal.  Well, guess what....he likes this cornbread.  Go figure ;)

Gluten-free Cornbread

2 c gluten-free flour blend

1/2 c white sugar

3 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 c shortening

4 eggs

2 c milk

2 c cornmeal

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum in a large bowl. 

Cut the shortening in the way you would when making a pie dough. You should end up with pea-size pieces in a sandy flour.

Combine the eggs and milk in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Stir with a rubber spatula until everything is combined.

Stir in the cornmeal, whisking fast, until it is just combined. Do not overstir.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Slide it into the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sides of the cornbread are slightly shrinking from the pan and a toothpick comes out clean.

Double-Crusted Crisp

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before.  A double-crusted crisp...the crust is my favorite part!  This recipe is adapted from one in Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson.  My version is gluten-free and uses fruit out of my freezer.  Hopefully I'm not violating any copyright stuff...I suppose Rose will tell me if I am!

Double-Crusted Crisp

Crust x2

1 1/3 c gluten-free flour blend of your choice

1 c oats

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter, melted

Fruit-filling

1/2 c white sugar

2 T cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 qt sized bag full of apricots you froze last summer, defrosted

1 qt sized bag full of plums you froze last summer, defrosted

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degree.s

Make the first crust by mixing the dry ingredients together.  Then, stir in the melted butter.  Press into a 9x13 pan.

Then, make the fruit filling by mixing the sugar, cornstarch and salt together.  Toss with the fruit and vanilla.  Spread evenly into the pan.

Then, make the top crust by again mixing the dry ingredients together and stirring in the melted butter.  Crumble the crust over the top of the fruit.  

Bake for 60-70 minutes...until the crisp is golden and the fruit bubbles through the crust.  Cool for 20 minutes before serving...but remember it tastes amazing warm!

Chicken Meat Sauce

This was supposed to be meatballs but the meat didn't want to ball (and yes, I know that's just ripe for all kinds of jokes).  So, I threw lumps in there and let them cook for a bit before stirring it around ;)  Either way it tasted pretty darn good and Andrew and Dylan both liked it.

We get 40-lbs of chicken breast a couple of times a year.  We freeze most of them as individual boobs but I take about 10-lbs of them and the fat that I trim off of the others and run it through the meat grinder.  That's what I used for the meat in this sauce.  You could use any ground meat you have laying around and I'm sure it would be great.

Chicken Meat Sauce

Meat

1 lb ground chicken

1 egg

1/2 c mozarella, shredded (leave out if you have a dairy sensitivity, or if you don't have any on hand)

1 T ketchup

4 T dried parsley

Sauce

1 1/2 c chicken broth

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 T olive oil

1 tsp - 1 T garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme and basil

dash of honey 

Add all of the meat ingredients to a bowl and mash together with your hand.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to a wide bottomed pan, bring to a simmer.  Drop the meat or meatballs (if yours will ball) in about 1-in "balls" into the sauce.  Let simmer, stirring periodically until they are cooked through.  Serve over quinoa or pasta or rice or whatever your family likes sprinkled with a little salt and fresh cracked pepper!

Happy 31st to Me...and Swimming in the Willamette!

Today is my 31st birthday.  As with when I turned 30...I'm sure it's going to be better than 21.  The last 24-hrs have been a bit dramatic but I learned a lot and wanted to document it so I could look back on this and remember what I learned. 

Last night I was steering the dragon boat and hit the last piling and ended up going swimming.  While not something I really felt I wanted to do, I am so grateful that it happened when and where it did.  We were close enough to the dock that I swam to it.  I didn't hit my head or anything on the way in.  The Angry Unicorns were still on the dock waiting to go out for their practice so there were plenty of folks to fish me out.  Our boat did great and Kathleen was able to jump up and steer it back to the dock.  Other than hiking boots, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the clothes I had on kept me warm even though I was soaked.  I did however end up with a number of very impressive bruises on my thighs, shins, and elbows.  Small price to pay for getting out of the water and onto the dock safely though.

Bruise on left thigh 24-hrs after going "swimming"!

Now to the part about learning.  I've lived my life always worrying and thinking about the worst-case scenario.  That's how you protect yourself from getting hurt, right?  What a load of b.s.!  Me and or the entire boat falling out has terrified me and almost kept me from learning how to till.  I feel a strong sense of responsibility for everyone and didn't think I could take that responsibility on.  Having taken the plunge or rebirth as Don Wolf jokingly called it, I still feel the responsibility but realize that it's not the end of the world.  Perhaps, I can learn to apply this to other areas in my life where I think I'm protecting myself by thinking of the worst-case scenario and instead just go with the flow and live my life!