Food

Another mood lifter on a cold day is the smell of freshly baked cookies. Cookie recipes that fit my eating style are hard to find, so I often have to adjust through trial and error. This recipe has Splenda replacing the sugar and whole wheat replacing white flour. Even with the whole grains, these are not something to be eaten in excess, but a cookie every once in awhile won’t hurt!

CHEWY OATMEAL COOKIES

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar substitute like Splenda
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 375 F. Lightly spray baking sheet with Pam. Combine butter, Splenda, egg, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in raisins and walnuts. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheet, flatten slightly with damp fingers. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on cooling rack.
Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies

This is March; granted it is not the end of March, but far enough along in the year to be expecting signs of spring. As you can see from this photo of our greenhouse, spring won’t be coming for some while. In times like these, comfort food is a must for helping lift the spirit.

I found this recipe for Oatmeal Pudding at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It was a hit and had lasting power as well as tasting good. Since we didn’t have any fresh apples available, I crunched up some dried slices and they worked just fine. The peanuts on the top may sound odd and you might be tempted in skipping them, but unless you are allergic to peanuts, give them a try. They were a surprisingly tasty addition.

Apple-Oatmeal Pudding

Serves 3 to 4

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 2 qt. casserole dish with PAM.

Combine in a saucepan:

2 cups milk (nonfat is fine)

1-2 tablespoons butter

1 cup uncooked oatmeal (not instant)

1 large apple, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup raisins

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (or 2 tablespoons maple syrup)

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Heat on medium until milk is warm and butter is melted, stirring frequently to keep ingredients from burning. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake another 15 minutes. Put about 3/4 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts in a baking pan. Put into the oven the last 10 minutes of cooking time for the pudding. Serve the pudding hot with the peanuts sprinkled over the top. Leftover pudding keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave. Store peanuts in a covered jar.

This is March; granted it is not the end of March, but far enough along in the year to be expecting signs of spring. As you can see from this photo of our greenhouse, spring won’t be coming for some while. In times like these, comfort food is a must for helping lift the spirit.

I found this recipe for Oatmeal Pudding at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It was a hit and had lasting power as well as tasting good. Since we didn’t have any fresh apples available, I crunched up some dried slices and they worked just fine. The peanuts on the top may sound odd and you might be tempted in skipping them, but unless you are allergic to peanuts, give them a try. They were a surprisingly tasty addition.

Apple-Oatmeal Pudding

Serves 3 to 4

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 2 qt. casserole dish with PAM.

Combine in a saucepan:

2 cups milk (nonfat is fine)

1-2 tablespoons butter

1 cup uncooked oatmeal (not instant)

1 large apple, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup raisins

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (or 2 tablespoons maple syrup)

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Heat on medium until milk is warm and butter is melted, stirring frequently to keep ingredients from burning. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake another 15 minutes. Put about 3/4 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts in a baking pan. Put into the oven the last 10 minutes of cooking time for the pudding. Serve the pudding hot with the peanuts sprinkled over the top. Leftover pudding keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave. Store peanuts in a covered jar.