An Apple a Day

If you live in South Dakota and have a television, you have probably seen a Golden West Telecommunications commercial. The candid shots of real South Dakotans going about their daily business and waving with friendly smiles reinforces that, in our state, we really all are neighbors and friends. There have been a few series of these televised spots with "characters" from all across the state.

The creative forces behind these ads are from Message, a full-service marketing and communications firm based in Rapid City, SD. I have been asked a few times to participate in shoots for Golden West spots, but always, there were scheduling conflicts. This past month, the "Messengers" were in our area and once again, contacted me. Although my calendar was full and my allergies were raging, I agreed and a time was set for filming me in my kitchen.

The day the crew was to arrive, I gave the kitchen a lick and a promise at cleaning and prepped a new recipe for Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies. I *big puffy heart* oatmeal cookies. Raisin Oatmeal may be my most favoritest, but Hubs would rather eat worms than look at a raisin. An oatmeal cookie with chunks of melted caramel and dried apples was perfect for fall and seemed to be just the thing to appease both of our taste buds.

It may be false advertising that I allowed myself to be filmed mixing up cookies and baking them. I am not a baker. I never have claimed to be, and honestly, I think that baking cookies can be one of my worst nightmares. However, little did I know that my worst nightmare was yet to come...

I should back up and explain that sinus issues have been my battle all year. Allergies flared up in the spring and never really loosened their grasp. I have been perpetually (chronically?) snotty, headache-y, whine-y for most of the year. Throw in a couple of subbing jobs at the school with exposure to kid germs, and a full on head and chest cold arrives that gobbles up boxes of tissues and makes my Hubs and the pups wince when I serenade them with a hacking cough. I have been, basically, a walking bucket of warm snot. And that is where my nightmare comes to life.

During the shoot in my kitchen, the crew chatted with me about others in the community that might be interested in participating, talked about my old house, and tried to make me laugh so that the shots of me smiling were real and warm and not as if I was constipated. At one point, I don't even know what the camera man said, but I snorted. Oh. Em. Gee. Yes. My nose wrinkled, my eyes squinted, and my allergy/cold congested head snorted. And...SNOT. CAME. OUT. OF. MY. NOSE.

I died.

I tossed aside the tray of cookies and dashed for the powder room and a tissue, but, it was too late. There is film of me with snot running out of my nose while snorting and laughing and holding a pan of Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies. It could become part of a Golden West commercial. This could very well be my worst nightmare.

Maybe I should have been eating an apple a day to keep the snot away, or at very least made Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies earlier. They do have apples; it might have helped.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup finely chopped dried apples (I used apples that I had dehydrated and were very dry. Therefore, I added a splash of water to the chopped pieces and let set for a bit before stirring into the dough. I think it made for a chewier cookie...my preference.)

3/4 cup caramel bits OR 16 small soft caramel candies, chopped (I opted to chop the caramels. The caramel bits were quite hard and I wanted softer, chewier cookies. I tossed my chopped caramel bits with just smidgen of flour to keep them from sticking together.)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine sugars and butter in mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and egg, beat well. 
Mix in the flour, oatmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt just until combined.
Fold in the caramel bits and dried apples.
Drop by 2 teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment (or Silpat).
Flatten balls slightly. (I pressed with the bottom of a measuring cup.)
Bake at 350F for 9 minutes.
Cool on pans for about 2-3 minutes.
Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. (4 dozen cookies)

Rumor Has It

Rumor has it that it is snowing again today.

Rumor has it that rain is on the forecast for tomorrow.

Rumor has it that there will be more snow for Monday.

Rumor has it that I took advantage of the cold and wet and made another wintery recipe.

Rumor has it that Hubs isn't a real fan of fruity things.

Rumor has it that if you ever see him with a glass of wine, he is most likely just holding it for me.

Rumor has it that he ate about half a pan of this dessert in one sitting with vanilla bean ice cream.

Rumor has it he didn't even share with the pups.

Rumor has it that it's that good.

Red Wine Pear Crisp

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup cabernet sauvignon wine

1/2 cup sugar

zest of one lemon

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

5 pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
Drizzle in melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
Combine wine and sugar in a large skillet; bring to a simmer.
Stir until sugar is dissolved and reduce heat.
Add zest, cinnamon, allspice, and pears to the pan and toss to coat.
Simmer about 15 minutes until pears are tender.
Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or coat with cooking spray.
Spoon pear mixture into prepared pan.
Sprinkle evenly with streusel mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream. (Serves 6) 

The Truth About Love

The truth is...

I love to eat cookies.

I don't love to bake them.

However, this classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe makes all the frustration worthwhile.

Don't forget your cookie scoop. It makes dropping the dough onto the baking sheet so easy. Also, if you get bored with baking, throw the dough into the fridge. It keeps well for about a week, and a few freshly baked cookies each day is always true love.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups shortening (Yes, shortening. Crisco. I think it is key to the chewy texture of the cookies versus more crispness when baked with butter.)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons water

3 eggs

4 1/2 cups oatmeal

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2-3 cups chocolate chips (I like semisweet in this recipe, and lots of them.)

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cream sugars and shortening together.
Add water, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Using a cookie scoop, drop onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. (Alternatively, grease the baking sheets.)
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Allow to cool on baking sheet for a minute before moving to racks to fully cool. (Yields 6 dozen cookies, approximately.)

The Most Important Meal of the Day

I have told you how I have trouble with lunch. I get wrapped up in projects and forget to eat...or the fridge is full of "ingredients" and not "food" and cooking for just myself seems like a hassle. Unfortunately, I also have trouble with breakfast.

Breakfast foods are my heart's desire. Pancakes and waffles. Eggs: poached, scrambled, fried, or rolled into an omelet. Bacon. Sausage. Biscuits. Sweet rolls. Fruit. Bagels. Lox. Burritos and cold pizza. Big glasses of milk and steaming mugs of coffee or tea. Those foods make me drool. Except when I wake up. Food sounds gross first thing in the morning.

I need to get up, move around, wake up a bit before I want to partake of a delicious morning meal...BUT, I always stay in bed as.late.as.possible. (I have my fabulous friend, insomnia, to thank for that.) So, if I am on a schedule, you can pretty much count out time for breakfast after I have finally drug my butt through the shower and gotten myself presentable for the world. If I am not leaving the house, when I finally think I am ready to eat, I am probably wrapped up in a project or the fridge is full of "ingredients" instead of "food." Sound familiar? Yes. It is the same song and dance that is my excuse for not eating lunch. Second verse, same as the first.

I require something simple to eat that is also easily portable, if need be. Brown Sugar Granola is the tasty solution. I can have it as cereal with milk, fresh or dried fruit optional. I can fill a baggie with these crunchy morsels and some dried fruit to gobble by the handful on the go. Or, I can gorge on savor it my favorite way, as a topping with Greek Honey Yogurt and fresh fruit. (BTW...Hubs favorite way to inhale enjoy it is sprinkled over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.) Brown Sugar Granola is one way I manage to (sometimes) get breakfast On My Plate.

Brown Sugar Granola

(adapted from The Food Network)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup water

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant or steel cut)

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 275F.
Line baking sheets with parchment.
Combine brown sugar and water in a microwavable bowl or measuring cup.
Microwave on 'High' for 5 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from microwave, stir in salt and vanilla.
 Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine oats and nuts.
Add the brown sugar mixture and stir to coat evenly.
Spread on cookie sheets and bake for about 1 hour, until oats and nuts are roasted.
When granola has cooled completely, store in an air-tight container.
Note: I have found that it keeps better if I don't mix dried fruit in for storage and just add to individual portions. 
(Serves 10-12)

Caught in the Act

Oreos have traditionally represented happy childhood memories. However, I can't look at an Oreo without thinking about my husband...naked.

I am sorry. I know you didn't come here for *those* kinds of tales, but trust me. This is legend.

As a farmer, Hubs usually finds himself as busy as a one-man-band. Chores are a never-ending battle, as are repairs. A leisurely day is treasured, almost held sacred. Back when we were mere newlyweds, one mid-summer Sunday morning began just as that type of day.

Always an early riser, my husband had showered long before my tired soul had dreamt of venturing from under the covers. What took place next is a bit foggy in our memories. The tale varies slightly with each re-counting; however, the facts remain the same. After showering, Hubs, for a reason not yet disclosed, proceeded to saunter through the house naked, without a stitch of clothing, modesty unheeded.

Feeling a need for nourishment, he selected not cereal, not eggs, not toast or even fruit, but Oreos. Then, he settled himself, still naked, in front of the TV.

Sometime later, I emerged from my slumber. Pulling on my robe, I stumbled groggily to the living room, just in time to see my husband's childhood pal pull into the drive. Announcing our guest's arrival, I noticed my husband's attire, or lack thereof.

Not fully awake, I instructed Hubs to remain in the chair. Meanwhile, Sam, the friend, had bounded from his car and was rapidly approaching the door. Hubs shot me a look which confirmed the insanity of my request and grabbed the Oreos. He dashed to the bedroom, leaving behind a tell-tale trail of Oreo cookies all the way down the hallway.

When questioned as to motive, Hubs simply stated it was freedom of expression. He can eat Oreos in the nude on any Sunday morning he wished. After all, it is a free country. *eye roll*

Zucchini Oatmeal Sandwich cookies are more like Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies than Oreos, and you could eat them while sitting naked in your favorite chair watching TV, but you certainly don't have to. In fact, I even think I would prefer not to know if you do. OK? Unless it is a really great story of getting caught in the act...maybe.

Zucchini Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely grated zucchini

1 cup old-fashioned oats

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat 1/2 cup of the butter (save remaining 1/4 cup for cream cheese filling) and sugars until pale and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Mix in grated zucchini and oats.
Refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
Using a medium cookie scoop (I might have used a small...I only have one.), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets (I used Silpat and had problems with sticking. I think the parchment is essential.), spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes.
Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before placing on wire rack.
Cool on a wire rack. (The cookies are tender and crumbly when fresh from the oven. I let them cool on the rack overnight in order to dry out a bit and firm up for ease of spreading the filling.)
Beat together remaining 1/4 cup of butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth.
Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of 1 cookie, and sandwich with another cookie.
Repeat with remaining cookies. 
Store loosely covered with waxed paper between layers of cookies. (Makes 2 dozen, approx.)

Vegetables Are a Must

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~ Jim Davis

I suggest Pumpkin Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies. These slightly spiced, soft, cakey cookies have a nice texture from the oats and the perfect sweetness from the butterscotch chips. They have become one of my favorite autumn treats. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
(recipe adapted from Food.com)

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 cups flour
1 cup oats (I use traditional oats because they are firmer than quick-cooking.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

Cream butter and sugars.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Add the pumpkin.
Combine flour, salt, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a separate, large mixing bowl. 
Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture.
Fold in chips.
Drop by tablespoon (I use a cookie scoop.) onto greased cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. (2 dozen cookies)

Shot Through the Heart

I made cookies.

My husband really likes cookies.

I don't like to bake cookies...however, baking these (possibly heart-healthy with oatmeal, and absolutely YUMMY with tart dried cherries and rich chocolate) cookies wasn't so bad.

I am not sure why.

Maybe, I was shot through the heart by Cupid.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate-Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups old-fashions rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup dried cherries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I eyeballed this, and probably poured about 3/4 cup out of my bag of chips.)

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine flours, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt in mixing bowl; stir.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth.
Add sugar mixture to flour mixture, beating with mixer at medium speed until well blended.
Add cherries, vanilla, and egg.
Beat until combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spray baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment. (I heart parchment; clean up is sooooooo easy...just toss.)
Using a small cookie scoop (REALLY. I am not a gadget person, but cookie scoops make a world of difference in the ease of baking cookies), drop 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Cool on pan 3 minutes, or until almost firm.
Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. (30 cookies)