Oatmeal (Insert Fruit of Choice) Muffins

R-

Blogging has been sparse as of late. It feels like a chore to hunker down with my laptop when the sun is shining and there are adventures to be had. Being married to a teacher (in addition to being sister to a teacher, sister-in-law to 2 teachers, and daughter to a teacher) has kept my world revolving around the school calendar. The laundry pile has grown, carpets have gone un-vacuumed, and my tupperware drawer has been systematically giving birth (but never to a matching set- oh I have countless lids, and unlimited containers, but never the twain shall match). But alas, our holidays could not go on forever, and when Mike left for school on Monday I saw the dusty piano with all the guilt that only a Dutch descendant can truly empathize with.

We grew up in a muffin household. Joan ensured a continual flow of banana chocolate chip muffins through the Reems household, these saw us through everything from highschool basketball practices, to early morning life guarding shifts. Lately I have been on the hunt for the perfect muffin balance - a muffin healthy enough that you can grab one for breakfast, or feed to your child and not feel that nagging bad-mother-white-flour twinge (yes I have guilt issues, that have only increased exponentially by the arrival of children into my life!). I'm still on that quest - here is the King Arthur Flour oatmeal muffin recipe that I have been using lately- I would definitely put the oatmeal version in the breakfast muffin category, though a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top, or the addition of a bit of streusel certainly makes it a nice mid-morning coffee accompaniment.

Haley-variations and findings
I have been making the oatmeal version with the addition of rhubarb or blueberries this summer. I like to add a teaspoon or so of cinnamon and sometimes chopped pecans to the batter. I have made them with both oil and melted butter and haven't noticed a huge difference between the two. I use 1/3 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2 white. Finally, the oatmeal version tastes great fresh, but I put all the leftovers in the freezer as they tend to dry out after a day or so.

OK Rach, you are about to board a plane and wing your way back to Canada. Yippee! I'm planning a trip to the island to see you soon!

What not to feed your baby..

Rach-

I have a few exciting food posts percolating; however, I need to get my promised baby post in before you return from your vacation. Though maybe you should pay close attention, since Mike and I will be dropping your niece and nephew off at your place for a few days mid-September.

Hee hee, just joking (though if you were interested...)

Due to something I am coming to refer to as 'second child syndrome,' this will not be a 'what to feed your baby' post. No, this is more of a 'what not to feed your baby.' While Coby has always had a healthy appetite, in the past month she has consumed the following non-baby-recommended items:

Dog food - I wish that I could say that this was an isolated incident, but my baby has managed to get to the dog food bowl several times.
Felt Marker - I actually tried to wipe off washable marker from her tongue. Blue marker. Please don't recall my recent discussion on feeding your child dye-free cheese.
Dirt - Lots and lots of dirt. And sand. Fortunately she discovered before our camping trip that dirt does not taste good.
Ice Cream- Daddy has given the princess the remainder of his cone on several occasions this summer.

The list goes on. Another symptom of second child syndrome is that baby #2 does not get special meal treatment but begins to partake in family meals at a much younger age (with or without teeth - yes my 11 month-old has no teeth). Mike and I have always been a bit lazy about spoon-feeding our babies - thus starting at an early age Coby, like her brother before her, eats a lot of finger food.

A friend introduced me to Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. Nina emphasizes a diet of whole foods - lots of full fat dairy, veggies, and meat. Nina also supports my philosophy of not needing to fuss with a lot of additional food preparation for my older baby, but feeding babe food from the family table. This book also made me realize the importance of meat as an iron source for babies. I have to admit (sorry Nina), that I can't totally break away from the convenience of carbs, but I do try to stick to whole grains. The one thing that I have made the decision to stop using is just-add-water baby cereal, I stick to oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast, and ensure that my little monkey is getting iron from natural sources.

I have to run. Coby is into the dog food again.

Veggie Wars

Rach - I'm envisioning you and Caleb in a little French cafe -sipping cafe au lait, eating pastries, all while C plots where to find a French thrift store- if they in fact they exist- if they do I'm sure that Caleb will soon be sporting a 'new' circa 1970s Parisian cardigan. We are also holidaying right now. I use the term 'holidaying' because we really are living the good life - we are staying in the Okanogan in a 2 bedroom air conditioned cottage, on a golf course, with a plethora of pools. I have to confess a twinge of Dutch guilt that we aren't spending the week camping in our new 1976 Trillium, but Coby's addiction to consuming dirt, rocks and sand is making me thankful that our camping this summer will consist of a few days at Cultus in August.

Several days after posting my admittedly smug expose on what to feed your 3-year-old, the following conversation occurred between me and my 3-year-old -

Finn: I don't like vegetables
Me: Vegetables taste good
Finn: No, candy tastes good
Me: Vegetables make you grow strong
Finn: I am strong

At this point I conceded. Round 1 Champion: 3-year-old

Round 2

Fortunately, Finn's definition of a vegetable is still abstract. I leveraged this to my advantage in serving him (with no mention of the V-word) tomatoes and yam fries (with dip of course). He also pounded back a plate of gnocchi with pesto and broccoli for lunch today.

Round 2 Champion: Mommy

3-Year-Old Yam Fries

1) Peel, then thinly slice a yam into thin wedges. IMPORTANT: MUST LOOK LIKE FRENCH FRIES

2) I used an average sized yam and tossed it with about 2 tsp of olive oil and a good sprinkle of sea salt.

3) Roast at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes- stirring every 10 minutes or so. Make sure that you flip them all to get some crispiness.

These taste great with Spicy Yogurt, or Finn's condiment of choice: ketchup.

Feeding your 3 year old

Well Rach-

While you're off frolicking on the continent, I am pulling my lone editorial weight and will be doing some parent-friendly posting. Today's post will be on feeding your 3-year old. Now, I've only actually been feeding a three year old for about a month, so I suppose a more apt title would be feeding your small child.

Now as I write this I realize that I am fortunate, no I am blessed, in having a 'Good Eater.' Sharing snack and mealtimes with a toddler is fraught with enough drama and mental energy, that if any readers have picky eaters my heart goes out to you. Here are some ideas that are working for me-

1) Dip. If you want your child to eat veggies, or pretty much anything, try incorporating a dip into the meal. Homemade tzatziki has been one of my favourites nutrition wise, but in a pinch ranch dressing is the answer. I often mix equal parts of ranch dressing and yogurt.

2) Cucumbers, especially cucumbers and dip. I've never been a huge cuke fan, but I'm coming around. They are the easiest veggie to give a quick rinse and slice. They are easy for kids to hold and eat. Lunch at our house almost always has a side of cucumbers.

3) Assume that your child likes things. They'll be quick to tell you if they don't like something, but if you present new things without a fuss they might surprise you - Finn's been eating sushi since he was one.

4) Melted cheese. Finn will eat almost anything that has melted cheese on it. I'm slowly trying to make the switch from orange cheddar to white cheddar, I keep hearing awful things about dyes. Pizza buns for lunch are a great way to sneak in some veggies.

4) Pancakes. You can put lots of things in pancakes - banana, squash, oatmeal, grains.. Even most picky eaters like pancakes. I top them with plain yogurt, nuked frozen blueberries, and a bit of maple syrup. I used to good ol' Aunt Jemima but have been coming around to using natural sweet sources in place of manufactured ones.

5) Popsicles. In the summer you can't go wrong with homemade juice popsicles. I have a confession. If I need 10 minutes to myself I send Finn onto the deck with an 'ice pop.'

6) Chop veggies fine and cook until soft - big chunks in stir fries, sauces, or stews are just begging to be taken out. If the texture is fairly consistent than Finn won't notice the veggies. If your child is picky you could take this a step further and puree veggies to add to sauces (yes, I have to do this for my husband).

7) This is a big one - and often a royal pain- but child participation in the food preparation goes a long way in their willingness to eat what they've helped to make. Finn helps with certain jobs: mixing, mashing bananas, even grinding my coffee beans. That said, having a 'helper' doubles or triples the time and mess involved, so I often stick to nap-time dinner prep if I'm pressed for time.

8) Fruit for snack - sweet and tasty. My children would eat fruit all day (and sit on the you-know-what-all-night) if I let them. If your child doesn't love fruit, maybe be a bit adventurous and try some new ones. I freeze blueberries in the summer and add them to porridge every morning, put them into yogurt and use them for baking. My friend makes her kids smoothies with fruit and yogurt and they get a lot of fruit in that way.

9) Homemade is best. I know that you know this, and if homemade isn't your thing don't hate me too much, but remember that packaged foods have lots of sodium, additives, sugar. From boxed cereals to granola bars to crackers. Now I feel mean - But even if you don't bake you can cut back on packaged food in-take - fruit and veggies are the ultimate non-packaged foods. Or trade with your best friend who loves to bake but hates to clean. I would totally trade a batch of cookies for a mopped floor.

10) Plain yogurt. You can ignore this one if you want, I know that those tubes of yogurt are awesome.. however (angel on shoulder admonishing you).. flavoured yogurt has lots of sugar. Lots. I like to control 'invisible' sugar intake and add jam or honey to sweeten it myself.

11) Play with food. Make sandwiches into faces. Finn and I like to put on Raffi's Banana Phone and have a little dance party whilst eating our bananas (yes, I am an embarrassing mother - Finn has started realizing this and has to at times remind me in public 'Don't Dance Mommy'. It's not my fault, all my best moves come from rocking the oldies with my dad or from Barbie Dance Party). Check out Pancake Dad if you really want some cool pancake ideas.

OK, that's all I have right now. This is one post that I would love to create some dialogue on - feeding your child is unfortunately not a formula, and I know that everyone reading this who is currently feeding, or has fed a small child, will have ideas for me and other readers. So please comment with any great strategies!

Stay tuned for: Feeding you baby. And maybe, if I can hide from Mike for a few days: Feeding your picky partner.

Allie's Lemon Coconut Dahl

Rach-

I miss you! I wish that I'd paid a bit more attention to your itinerary- I would like to follow you biking along the canal, or scaling the Eiffel Tower - or standing on the streets of Amsterdam on Sunday in a sea of disgruntled oranje soccer fans. Anyway, if not in real time you're still a part of my imaginary holiday. Not that I'm needing an imaginary holiday; Mike has a busy summer laid out for us, complete with jaunts to the island, a week poolside in Vernon, a few days camping, concerts, a date to the Lion King musical.. we won't be bored. It's just that very occasionally I get a bit nostalgic for B.C. holidays (Before Children). When an overnight stay didn't involve a mini-van full of baby/child props and back-up clothes for the back-up clothes for the back-up clothes..

I am finally posting my go-to dahl recipe. I got this recipe from my friend Allie back in our Western days (University of Western Ontario that is, sorry folks, I'm not a cowgirl). I struggle with cooking Indian food - I love to eat it but can never get the flavours that I am striving for. Part of the problem is that in Calgary one of my colleagues and friends was Ismali, and after hearing about my love of Indian food she took to bringing me yogurt containers full of dahls and curries to sample. When I was pregnant with Finn Harsha thought that she was personally responsible for the health of my unborn babe. Anyway, over the years she tried to teach me her ways - she even took me to an Indian grocery store to stock me up with all the necessary spices- and while my spice-knowledge improved, alas I could never quite replicate her wizardry with a curry.

Back to Allie's dahl. This is the one Indian-'inspired' success I have every single time I make it. There is something about chucking a can of coconut milk into any recipe that guarantees awesomeness. Try it, think of a recipe, mentally add a can of coconut milk and tell me it wouldn't taste amazing. OK, I'm getting carried away (please don't put coconut milk into your spaghetti sauce). I was going to post this a few months ago, but after Heather commented on the unappealing photograph that was Broccoli Crepes, I realized that the dahl shot was way beyond unappetizing. So, here is my attempt to make the aesthetics of this dish congruent with the taste.

Allie's Lemon Coconut Dahl
This can be served as an appetizer or over a bed of rice.

Saute over a slow heat:
1 finely minced clove of garlic
1 minced onion
some grated ginger (amount not specified, I often sub aprox 1/2 tsp dried but fresh is best)
dash of cumin
dash of red pepper flakes (I've used a dash of hot sauce on occasion)

Then Add:
1-2 Tb curry paste (can use a powder mix as well)
1 cup red lentils
2 cups water

Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked. Stir occasionally.

Add 1 cup coconut (I usually add 1 whole can), and let simmer for another 15-20 min, until thickened. Stir in 3 Tb lemon juice and 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (can skip the shredded coconut). Season with salt and pepper to taste. At this point I often leave the pot covered for a bit to let it thicken up.

To serve, top with a handful of slivered almonds.

OK, have a croissant for me, or maybe a wheel of cheese, or maybe a cone of gelato, or maybe a crepe, or maybe a glass of vino...

Well Moochy, I'm off. The panniers are packed, the bike dismantled and shoved into a cardboard box, and the house as clean as it's ever been. No, the Asian family will not be coming to stay in my suite for the summer. Unfortunate to miss out on the extra cash, but best in the long run as they would likely have been scandalized by the other occupants of our building--and two adults and two kids in a one bedroom is a bit of a squeeze.

Anyhow, we're excited...looking forward to bratwurst in Germany and pannekoek in Holland. I checked out the Chocolate and Zucchini blog, wherein lies an edible guide to Paris. Very exciting. I will send you pictures.

In the meantime, we're less than thrilled by the new security measures which ban you from bringing food on international flights, leaving us vulnerable to whatever comes out on a plastic tray...
Goodbye my Mooch, keep posting. Sorry for my lapses. I loved the gift. I did call you about it but you were about to host a child's birthday party, which would have made a great post, actually.

R.

Grilled Asparagus

Rach-

Less than a week until you and Caleb are Europe-bound! I am only slightly jealous..

We had a wonderful stay-at-home weekend - it was nice to do some puttering. Puttering is my catch-all for anything that involves not leaving the Campbell compound. In order to be in full putter-mode I need to be wearing sweat pants and slippers. When the weather warms up I concede and upgrade to yoga capris - but, I am very strict about this- they must have an elastic waist-band. My puttering this weekend consisted of: rhubarb oatmeal muffin baking, strawberry jam making (thanks for the pointers), biscuits to accompany jam, copious coffee drinking, newspaper reading, flyer perusing, van cleaning, mountain of laundry folding, Finn chasing, Coby chasing, Mike chasing, and barbecuing.

My latest grilling breakthrough? Grilled asparagus. So easy but oh so tasty.Yum, yum, yummy, yum. Mike and I ate about half a bunch each.

Here's what I did:

I took a bunch of asparagus, placed in a ziplock with aprox 1 T olive oil, 2 T balsamic vinegar, a shake of sea salt, a few cranks of pepper, and some garlic powder/

I left this for an hour or two and then when the chicken and brats were grilling I put the asparagus on over med heat for about 8 minutes.

Hey Rach - I'm in the middle of making dinner. Swiss chard, ricotta, and asparagus cannelloni, with the swiss chard from the garden, accompanied by a lettuce salad with a basil dressing, also from our little plot. Coby dove into my bowl of swiss chard and is happily munching and shredding while she watches (I'm trying to aspire my baby food philosophy to Real Food guru Nina Planck, but more on that later). Oh it's going to be tasty!

Mega Batch Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wrote this last night but never got to posting.. Please disregard any weather-grumpiness. The sun is shining! All is right with the world!

R-

That cake looks amazing, Thanks for joining me in the 'rocking-your-own-birthday-cake' club.

The fake fireplace is on, cookies cooling on the racks and we've been cuddled up with quilts and books for what seems like forever. It should be the season of grilling and exotic salad concoctions, yet the most popular dinner item at the Campbell table lately correlates directly with rain-fall: mashed potatoes.

I've always had problems with potatoes - after eating them almost exclusively at dinner for the first 10 years or so of my life (that would be 6 of yours)- Joan discovered the world of rice and pasta and potatoes were relegated to wedges with hamburgers, and maybe Christmas. Mike, of potato bar fame, loves potatoes. In the past, potatoes were my nemesis. I seemed incapable of cooking the perfect mashed potato- I could roast 'em, wedge 'em, and occasionally bake 'em but mash I could not. They always turned out a bit lumpy, never the mashed potato that I (or Mike) envisioned. Well, I've confronted the lowly spud and would smugly like to declare a new winner. So, with gloomy days, the yukon golds have been pumping through my kitchen - in part because princess Coby loves them- and she really does have us all wrapped around her perfectly-pudgy little finger.

But on to cookies - this is my day-to-day chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe. I rotate batches of these babies with batches of chocolate chip squares (blondies). All is not right with the world if there is not a tupperware container stocked with cookies in my snack cupboard. This is another throwback to our Reems childhood. I still remember the moment that Mom left the kitchen - all four us us, plus Guy*, would skulk into the kitchen for a cookie-snatching. This recipe is lower fat and sugar, note not low fat, the 'er' is key to that taste/health ratio. The oats and whole wheat flour are important for the illusion of health after you've hit the cookie jar a bit too hard.

This is my mega-version of the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from One Smart Cookie. You pointed me to this recipe when I fell in love with your white chocolate chunk cranberry version at Carmen's stagette. I've tinkered with amounts and ingredients that work for me. To dress these babies up I add pecans and swap the chocolate chips with Bernard Callebaut chunks. The most important part of this recipe is the cooking time. Er on the side of caution and UNDER-BAKE. They will firm up as they cool. Because we consume so many of these on a daily basis I use a combo of whole wheat and white flour, since they are a chunky, chewy cookie this seems to work, though they do dry out after a few days so I freeze most and take out of the freezer as needed.

Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies - The Mega Batch
Sorry, but if you want a smaller batch I'll let you do the math! I used to make all at once and freeze half of the batch- now I'm trying your method and freezing ziplocks of individual cookie dough balls to be baked when my cookie container is empty.

In your biggest mixing bowl cream:
1 cup butter (I can never remember to soften the butter ahead of time and always have to zap it in the microwave - I find this works well since the butter melts just enough to make it really easy to cream with the butter)
2 1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Add:
3 eggs
3 T honey or maple syrup

Next add your dry ingredients (you can mix them together separately, I just mix in the same bowl):
3 1/2 cups flour (I use 2 cups all purpose and 1 1/2 c whole wheat)
3 cups old fashioned oats (you could try regular too)
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 generous cups chocolate chips
Other options: chopped pecans or walnuts, dried cranberries, raisins, white choc chunks....

It takes a bit to mix, just because there is a lot of stuff in the bowl.

Drop by spoons onto a cookie sheet, flatten each cookie and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until just brown and set on the bottom, the tops should still look doughy. Set your timer for 7 minutes just to be on the safe side.

These don't last long, thus the mega batch!


*Note to non-Reems readers: Guy is affectionate Reems-speak for Dad

27 Candles

Thanks for the birthday wishes Finn,

I, too, hope we can get together soon. I would also appreciate some candy if you are able to catch a ferry boat in my direction. Although, you're looking pretty eastside in those shades...Everything alright? Are you making a bid for a 'new' kind of attention now that Coby's on the scene? I gotta tell you, I've been there...cute younger sister...time to go covert.

When the brownie buzz wears off, and you're in the mood for something really crazy, try this cake on for size. Atley dug it. Even if his dad did fork into half his piece. (That, he was not too pleased about).

The Recipe is from Perfect Baking, by Flo Braker (I bet she frequently laments that first 'r' in Braker)

Auntie Sach's 27th Birthday Cake

For the Sponge:
1 cup flour
7 Tbsp sugar PLUS (Flo's emphasis) 7 Tbsp sugar PLUS 1 Tbsp sugar
7 large eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cream of tarter

Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 300 degrees.

Get out a 9 (or 10 or 12--although decrease baking time slightly) springform pan. DO NOT grease the pan.

Sift together flour and 7 Tbsp sugar

Separate the eggs.

With a hand mixer, whip the yolks on high speed for 3 to 5 min. Add vanilla and whip another 15 seconds. Should be thick, pale yellow, and have increased in volume.

Whip the egg whites (Make sure your beater is absolutely clean) for 40 seconds (ish). Sprinkle on the cream of tarter and 1 Tbsp sugar. Whip again at medium speed for 5 min, or until the whites appear glossy and stiff, but not dry.

Add the yolks and fold in with a spatula.

Sprinkle on half of the remaining 7 Tbsp sugar and fold with a spatula to incorporate. Add the rest of the remaining sugar and fold again.

Add the flour/sugar mixture in thirds, folding after each addition.

Bake for 55 to 60 min, or until the top is golden.

Invert the pan on a wire rack to cool--so the cake is upside down. (Make sure the cake pan is resting on the rack, not the cake itself). Let cool for 2 hrs.

Cool another hour, right side up, on the counter.

Remove from the pan by sliding a thin metal spatula or knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen the cake. I also had to slide my knife beneath the metal bottom, after removing the springform sides, to loosen off the bottom.

Cream Filling
Whip 2 cups heavy cream with 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp sugar (more if you like it sweeter).

Melt 2 ounces chocolate. Put the chocolate in a bowl and add 1/2 a Tbsp water. Stir to a smooth paste. Add half of the whipped cream and stir with a spatula.

You know have both chocolate whipping cream and vanilla whipping cream to fill you cake.

Ganache
Heat 1/2 a cup whipping cream until it just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and pour over 4 ounces of chopped dark chocolate. Let cool and then use to spread.

I cut the cake into three layers, filled it, then topped it with ganache.

Over the top, I know, but heck, Finn, I was like, whatever.

Peace Out,

Auntie S.

Birthday Brownies

Auntie Sach-
(Guest Post by Finn)

Happy Birthday. You are hilarious. We made Birthday brownies for you. But you're not here. So I will eat them. They are chocolatey. Come on the ferry boat and see me. Bring me candy.

I love you,
Finn

Buckwheat Waffles

Rach-

Finn is a little put out with you right now - he fully expects you to hop on the ferry on Thursday morning and pop over to Chilliwack for your birthday celebration. He was quite disconcerted to find out that the only participation he will have in your special day is card-making and well wishing. His almost-3-year-old egocentricity is in full-swing.

I still have a bag of buckwheat flour, just waiting to try your buckwheat bread recipe. In the meantime, I made buckwheat waffles. They turned out amazing, the best whole grain waffle I've made. I followed this recipe. My only changes (I couldn't resist a little tinkering) were to swap maple syrup with the sugar and to use whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all purpose. I doubled the recipe and served them with a raspberry sauce and more maple syrup. Yum.

My exciting find while making this recipe was a whim I had to use my hand-held immersion blender to beat the egg whites. My trusty soup puree-er and baby-food mashing side-kick came into use again. Inspired with this discovery, I successfully whipped up a cup of whipping cream later on in the day. One more piece in my lazy cook arsenal.

OK Rach, Have a great day on Thursday. Your card may make it to you next week, it might be a record. Might.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Rach-

I have a bowl of flour and yeast sitting in my pantry waiting to be sourdough starter - Thanks for the post, I have been wanting to try sourdough for awhile but needed a push. Mike loves anything sourdough - I have to confess that I'm on the fence, but am hoping to be won over by a homemade product.

The rainy weather had me craving soup this week. Grey skies, combined with a bag of 5 avacados, and the cilantro growing like a weed in my little garden, pointed me in a Tex-Mex direction. This soup recipe is a template - it's very versatile and can be tailored for one's pantry. This was last night's version:

In a soup pot with maybe a tsp of canola oil I sauteed 1 roughly diced onion, 2 cloves garlic, and the tip of a jalapeno (optional). I also threw in half a sliced tomato (leftover) and 2 other roughly chopped tomatoes. I added in one large chicken breast. I stirred the vegetables and flipped the chicken breast once to brown.

Then I added approximately 2 litres of chicken stock (I use msg and salt-free powdered chicken soup base because it's easy to have in my cupboard - this chicken would taste great with homemade stock).

Seasoning (you could substitute taco seasoning instead of the following):

I added 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, and about 1/8 tsp of ground chipotle pepper (1 tsp ground chili pepper would work instead).

Oh, and I had about 1 cup of leftover tomato sauce so I added that too. I let this whole mixture simmer for about 45 minutes.

I then removed the chicken and shredded it. I used my hand-held blender to puree the vegetables (again, I do this because Mike hates any texture, you could chop the veggies finely and skip this). I seasoned the soup with more salt and pepper to taste, added a shot of garlic powder to boost the garlic flavour, and added the chicken, 2 cups of corn and 2 cups of cooked black beans.

To serve: This is the fun part, everyone can add their own topping according to preference. I even leave out the beans sometimes and let people add their own.
Toppings we like:

• cilantro (you love it or hate it. I love it!)
  
• shredded cheese
  
• sour cream
  
• tortilla or corn chips - I cut up strips of tortillas, brush with oil and broil them for a few minutes
• sliced avacados- my favourite

Everyone around the table - even our littlest 8-month eater- loved this meal.

100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Hi Haley,

I have been a negligent sister of late, which is why I’m giving you a particularly juicy post. Don’t expect a lot of words, here. It’s 8:11 on my kitchen clock. It’s been some time since we’ve lived together but you might remember that I’m not exactly a barrel of sunshine in the wee hours. And when one starts one’s work day at 10:00 at the earliest, that makes 8:00 the equivalent of 6:00. So instead of feeling guilty for sitting here in a tattered green robe with no inclination of brushing my hair for at least another hour, I’m pleased by ---kettle boiling---my early rise and this industrious start to the day. Oh, and there’s Caleb, doing a monkey dance in purple underwear. This is my world.

Time for an Americano or two and a piece of toast.

This is my country whole wheat sourdough bread.

It’s nearly 100% whole wheat, save for the starter which is made from all purpose flour. It’s really good. The crust is crusty! The texture is open--it’s a very rustic bread with not much of a sour flavour to it; the starter is fairly mild and overrun by the flavour of whole wheat. You can use the starter to make other types of sourdough bread.

You need to take a week in advance to make the starter, which you can then keep indefinitely in your Frigidaire. You also need to be flexible and ready to pay attention to your intuition.

Starter:
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1 cup warm water
¼ tsp active dry yeast

Mix, then let stand at room temp until tripled in volume, 8 to 24 hrs. Refrigerate for three days.

Add:
½ cup water
¼ cup flour

Cover and refrigerate for three more days.

It’s ready to use. Every time you use it, you must feed it. To feed the starter, divide it in half. Half you will use for your recipe, and the other half you will feed and return to the fridge. After dividing add 1 cup flour and ½ cup water and return the starter to the fridge.

Bread:

Preferment:
½ your starter
½ cup water
1 cup flour
Combine these ingredients. Let the preferment sit at room temperature from 8 to 12 hours. It should be bubbly and have risen noticeably.

Add to the Preferment:
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp salt
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups water (you may need to add an extra ¼ cup water if dough is too stiff)

Mix using a wooden spoon. Then use your hands to lift and fold the dough over on itself. This is to ensure that all the ingredients get incorporated throughout the dough. The dough will be quite wet and sticky. It will get all over your hands. If you want to minimize the dough to hand stick, wet your hands before touching the dough.

First Rise: Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 8 to 10 hours. The dough will have risen but it doesn’t need to have doubled.

Flour your counter top then use a spatula to scrape the dough onto your counter. Use a knife to cut it in two. Flour your hands and shape each dough hunk into a boule (fancy word for ball). Flour two cotton tea towels and set each in a colander or bowl. This is where you will place your dough to rise. The bowl/colander will give the dough shape as it rises.

Second Rise: Let the boules rise for 2 to 2.5 hours. They will have risen noticeably and look sort of puffy. They will not necessarily double.

Baking: Half an hour before you plan to bake the dough (ie, when the dough has half an hour left of rising time), place two round casserole dishes or over-safe pots into your oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you don’t have round pots you can use square but round are much preferred.

After 20 minutes to half an hour of preheating time. Put on your oven mitts and remove the pots from the oven. Gently put your hands under one boule and tip it into a pot. Put the lid on top and place it gently in the oven. It will deflate a bit. Don’t bang the pot into the oven as you don’t want to add to the deflation. Repeat with the second boule. Bake the boules with the lids on the pots for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lids and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Let the bread cool completely before cutting in to it.

Mojito Monday

Rach-
How was your long weekend?
Mine was great.
Mike and I capped it off with a pitcher of Mojitos ala Bryan. I added some raspberries to my glass, just because I'm like that.
Oh, and the mint leaves? They're growing in a pot on my sundeck. So yes, the Campbell deck is officially open for good times 2010.

Rach- just needed to share my set-up for a blissful next hour:

1) 2 sleeping babes
2) 1 cup of tea
3) 1 homemade date square
3) 6 chapters into my latest library hold arrival - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (the first chapters are awesome if you are into who-dunnits)

OK, I can't waste anymore precious, precious 'nap' time.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

Hi Rach-

Inspired by Joy The Baker's sharing a 10-year ago card from her sister, I dug into my yahoo email archives to see what type of correspondence I was having with my siblings a decadish ago. I had some good laughs while reading old emails; I won't reprint my favourite - you debating the pros and cons of entering into a relationship with your bud Caleb.. There seem to be some extreme email personalities- Carmen and I were all pumped about email as a new medium for silliness, Brent's emails were almost always responses to mine, and I love the polite sense of response obligation that he brought to the task. Here's a few copy and pastes-

From:	carmen reems ... View Contact
To:	haleyree@yahoo.com

---

you are the butter icing on my cupcake, the moon rays that guide me through dark and stormy nights. How i could ever live without you, i just cannot fathom the notion. i think of you, my princess, labouring endlessly over your paper,and my thoughts rest with you, as i pray that peace and serenity will come to you. SERENITY NOW, my haley rebecca, SERENITY NOW



From: haley reems <haleyree@yahoo.com>
> > > > Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 14:21:58 -0800 (PST)
> > > >
To: Rachel Reems <sach@japan.com>
> > > > Subject: Re: hey there hot stuff..
> > > >
> > > > > hey rach. just so you know for future
> > reference,
> > > > mom
> > > > > does not peel cucumbers.

		yahooooooooo ... From: Rachel Reems ... View Contact To: haleyree@yahoo.com have a great thanksgiving Mooch, my turkey beats steadily for you and you alone. Re: to my dear brother.. ... From: Brent Reems ... View Contact To: haley reems thanks for the message mooch. Things are pretty good here, been playing a lot of frisbee, mostly ultimate. Its alright, not my favorite, but something that everyone - to some extent - can do together. Anyway, I will see you soon enough, Love Brent

Ah, good times. In 10 years from now I'll post Reems Eats highlights.

I've always been someone who needs to eat breakfast - none of this 'I'll have a coffee and grab something mid-morning.' No, I wake up and say good morning to my stomach. When Finn was around one-year, I traded in my morning granola for porridge - oatmeal with blueberries, sliced banana and honey is our daily fuel. However, there are days when Finn and I wake up and we both know that this needs to be a pancake morning. Sometimes this is because we are both feeling awesome - the sun is shining, Squirrel Birrel is running along the back fence, and life is good. Sometimes this is because I have a grumpy almost-3 year old who needs to be brought back to life with some good ol' Mommy lovin'. And nothing says Mommy loves you like a banana, oatmeal, whole wheat pancake with blueberry sauce (seriously - these actually taste good- stop rolling your eyes!).

However, on a Saturday morning I don't even consider dishing up a bowl of oatmeal. No, Saturdays, in time-honoured Joan Reems tradition, are always pancake mornings. Because Mike is a part of Saturday morning breakfasts I usually scale down on the whole grains and definitely need to forget about slipping any mashed yams, bananas, or sweet potatoes into the batter. No these are all about enjoyment. This past weekend I had a cup of ricotta leftover in the fridge but no white flour. Instead of using half all purpose and half whole wheat I used all whole wheat pastry flour. The results tasted delicious, and I hereby declare that I will never put white flour into pancakes again.

Ricotta Lemon Pancakes - Makes a good sized batch
Combine-
1 cup ricotta cheese (I use the lowest fat one - I think it's 7%)
2 eggs
3 T maple syrup
2 T lemon juice (fresh or from a bottle - if you use a fresh lemon add 1 tsp of zest)
11/2 cup milk

Then add the dry ingredients:
21/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 T baking powder
pinch salt

Mix and then drop ladles onto a greased hot skillet. Flip when bubbles form on the surface of your pancake.

Serve with blueberry sauce, maple syrup, and if you really want to be in pancake nirvana make up some cream cheese syrup. I take about a third of a cup soft cream cheese, cream in a third cup maple or other breakfast syrup, and then add some milk until I have my desired thickness. Yum.

Potato Bar

R-
I was treated to a Mothers Day Potato Bar tonight. I don't think that you've experienced the Potato Bar, although I'm sure that you've heard about Mike's specialty. It involves many stages and the results are always over-the-top delicious. Mike is very particular about how he bakes his potatoes - he doesn't let me in the kitchen during the preparation process, mostly due to the amount of oil used to get the perfect crispy skins to compliment the soft fluffy interiors. The potato bar consists of a multitude of toppings; in addition to your basic baked potato toppings he makes things such as asparagus sauteed with pine nuts and balsamic vinegar, various types of beans, cheeses, sauteed mushrooms, shrimp.. The list goes on. So now I'm in post-bar satiation; which necessitates a couch and the forgiving stretch of yoga pants.

Potato Pancakes

Rach -

Brag away, I have to say those are beautiful buns. They're on my to-make list; I've been using your recipes - this weekend we devoured your chocolate blueberry cake and the eggplant skillet lasagna. Both were delicious.

And speaking of bumping social lives- Do you remember my solo date two weeks ago? Of course you do - since it was your husband that was ill and unable to attend the Victoria-Reems contingent's Belfry theatre night, and I scooped up his replacement ticket. The play/musical was hilarious and the company was top notch - my internal dialogue is nothing if not witty and self-indulgent. My only regret? You know what is coming next - I failed your dare. Yes, you know how I pride myself on meeting a challenge, yet at the last moment, as I stood in line at the intermission concession debating whether or not to follow through, I faltered, and instead of ordering the dared glass of wine I requested a bag of chocolate covered almonds. Next dare you give me- I'm on it.

Well, I've dated myself again, and yes, it was fabulous. The occasion? The Chilliwack library was hosting an evening with Gail Anderson-Dargatz. This had been marked on my calendar for many weeks. A lot of preparation (mostly mental) went into the evening: I'd worried about my babe not going to sleep without a pre-bedtime nurse; I bought a copy of The Cure for Death by Lightening at my local VV boutique; I'd plotted how early I was going to need to be there in order to get one of the 50 seats.. This was all unnecessary, as Mike had predicted, apparently Chilliwack is not a literary hot bed- about 25 of us were there, mostly white headed members of the library association. Gail was not put off by the intimate gathering and was suitably impressive - smart, funny, and personable. I was too nervous to ask a question, but was able to have a mini-chat later when I had her sign my book.

OK, lots of non-food related rambling going on, looks like a phone call may be overdue. Here's a quick and easy meal - Mike's favourite - potato pancakes. We never eat these with anything else like salad or bread. No, these are strictly for when you haven't planned dinner, but you do have a few potatoes and a husband that will make you queen for the evening if you keep these patties coming. This method makes enough for 3 people:

Grate:
3 yukon gold potatoes (or 2 large russets)
1 small yellow onion

Add:
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper

Fry - I use a non-stick griddle with only a bit of oil. I make sure that they are fairly flat so that there is no undercooked middle.

Eat - Mike likes them with a dollop of sour cream. Finn likes apple sauce.

Look What I Can Do!

Hey Smoochy,

Do you remember that MAD tv skit, 'look what I can do!' Stuart, I think it was. Sigh. This is what I did this weekend, made a giant bun. You know your social life is bumping when...



Actually, what appears to be a giant bun, is in fact a small focaccia bread topped with herbs, cherry tomatoes and caramelized onions. Yum, For the first round, I split the beast and stuffed it with roasted veggies. For the second, I used a broccoli filling. The broccoli filling will work on any sandwich, or would make a nice filler for an omelet, savoury crepe or a wrap. I choose to share the recipe for the broccoli filling. If you want to make the focacci as well, see this previous post, and instead of making one focaccia, shape the dough into four rounds.

Broccoli Almond Filling

Head of broccoli, chopped into large pieces (what you might use for a veggie platter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp almonds, toasted and chopped
a couple dashes of hot sauce (Tabasco or other)
2 Tbsp yogurt

Place the broccoli in a pan of boiling water and boil until just tender. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and saute a couple minutes. Add the broccoli. Fry for four minutes. Transfer the broccoli mixture to a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients.

Note, before you process, that you want the broccoli to retain its texture. Do not process into a sauce. The final product should be chunky. Okay, now press the pulse button until desired texture is achieved. Mix in additional salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce until it tastes right.

Use on a sandwich, wrap, or an omelet.

Grandma's Cake

Hi Haley,

I miss having you in Victoria. Thanks for passing on the photo shoot of Grandma's B-day. I particularly like the one of Atley delivering cake. He's one of the better servers I've seen in action. When we open our restaurant we'll have to hire him. Right now he gets pretty excited over pennies and nickles to add to the leather man's wallet he totes around. I'm thinking his labour price could be right.

I won't give you the entire chocolate cake recipe, as there are a million and one good chocolate cake recipes out there. If you don't have one, use the six minute cake. It's actually one of my top chocolate cake recipes.

What I did in creating this towering cake, was use a bunt pan instead of 2 nine inch pans. I increased the baking time to about one hour. When the cake cooled, I sliced them horizontally into three pieces and spread them with blueberry jam (any flavour will do). Then I iced the outside of the cake in this most excellent frosting.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (best to use good quality)
1/2 a pound cold butter, diced (use room temp butter if you don't have a stand mixer)
1 and 3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp coffee liqueur (optional)

Melt the butter in a double boiler and in the meantime, beat the butter in a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Slowly add the chocolate and mix until combined. Stop the mixer, add the icing sugar, and mix on low until smooth. (If you mix on high you will be enveloped in a white cloud). Add the salt, vanilla, sour cream, and coffee liqueur and mix until very smooth.

Ice your cake!

Take a bite out of that-

Rach-

Part of being on maternity leave is to give the impression that you're Super Mom - you know, stimulating the mind of your active almost-3 year old through carefully constructed teachable moments, nursing and fostering the cognitive, physical, and emotional development of your angel babe, keeping your house immaculate, appearing effortlessly gorgeous in your Mommy lulu lemon uniform, and always being a lovingly doting wife- all while masking any sleep deprivation (because that may take away Angel Babe's rock star status). I know that you're probably chuckling right now because yes, I am sometimes self-aware, and do acknowledge that I don't meet any number of those criteria.

This became painfully obvious when I was in Victoria last week fielding phone calls from a frantic Mike; he needed his passport to cross the border for a principals conference. After finally helping him locate the passport, he commented on the amount of 'junk drawers' that we have. Oh well, being Super Mom is overrated I'm sure. In order to compensate for my hidden messes I need to go above and beyond in the one Super Mom category that I am capable of achieving - sneaking in a chapter or two of my novel while Finn plays quietly-that is making nutritious meals for my crew.

The latest on the dinner front? Whole wheat pitas from the original Moosewood. They turned out beautifully, puffing out nicely and just asking to be stuffed with deliciousness. For a filling I made: chicken patties with peanut sauce, sauteed onions and mushrooms, bean sprouts, avocado, feta, and tzaztiki sauce. A bit eclectic but tasted amazing.

Here is the Moosewood pita recipe (I made with 1/2 whole wheat flour):

PITA BREAD

Prep. time: about 2 hours (most of which is raising time) Yield: 6 larger (or 12 smaller) pocket breads

1 Cup wrist-temp. water

1 1/2 teaspoons ( half of a 1/4-oz. packet) active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

about 3 1/2 cups of flour (1 cup of it can be whole wheat)

OPTIONAL: 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

a little oil for the dough extra flour for rolling out

oil or cornmeal, for the baking tray

1) Place the water in a medium-sized bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes-it will become foamy

2) Add sugar or honey and salt. Stir until everything dissolves.

3) Add three cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing enthusiastically. As the dough thickens switch to your hand. Knead the dough in the bowl for a few minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour, as needed, to combat stickiness. When the dough is smooth, oil both the bowl and the top surface of the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

4) Punch down the dough and transfer it to a clean, floured surface. Knead it for about five minutes, then divide it into either 6 or 12 equal pieces I wanted smaller pitas so I did 12. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten the pieces into a thin circle (flour surface and sprinkle flour on dough). The diameter of each circle is unimportant, as long as it is no thicker than 1/8 inch. Let the circles rest for 30 minutes.

5) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a baking tray in the oven for a minute or two, to heat it. Then brush it with oil (I used cooking spray) - or dust it with corn meal. Place as many circles on the tray as will fit without touching, and bake for just 6-8 minutes, or until puffed up and very lightly browned. Hot oven is key.

6) Remove from the oven, and wrap the breads in a clean, slightly damp tea towel, then place in a brown paper bag, close up, for 15 minutes. This will keep the breads supple. I didn't have any paper bags so I just left them between two tea towels - worked beautifully.

I miss you - it was great hanging out last week!

Sunnyside-Up Over Rice-

Rach -


Thanks for logging me onto your school computer - I'm living in a luddite world at the present, I'm computer-free at Mom and Guy's this week. I'm going to see if I can actually get to posting a recipe - it all depends on how long Guy can entertain Finn in the classroom next door. I'm looking forward to being on the island for a few more days, and yes, eating with you (all in the name of blog-material of course).

What is this food wonder? A fried egg on a brown rice risotto (my take on a Spanish Rice kind of risotto). Even if you don't follow my risotto method, all you really need to take away from this post is that: you need to put a fried egg on your next meatless rice dish. You'll love me even more, if possible, than you do right now.

Here's what I did (please realize that this the amounts listed here are very approximate- don't try this if you are someone who needs precise measurements - yes I often give this warning but this time I mean it):

First I sauteed over a long slow heat: 1 finely minced onion and 2 cloves garlic garlic.

I added: 2 diced tomatoes and after cooking for a few minutes I pureed the lot with my immersion blender (this is unnecessary for most, necessary if you live with a texture-phobe).

Then I added: 1 cup medium grain brown rice and 1/2 tsp or so salt, pepper, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and an MSG-free beef bouillon cube.

Still with me? Then I slowly added over med-high heat about 1 cup of water (if you have beef or chicken stock you can skip the bouillon and use that in place of the water), mixing frequently with the lid off. Everytime the water seemed absorbed I gave the mixture a stir, put the heat up a notch, added another 1/2 cup or so, stirred again and then put the heat low again to simmer. I don't know how much liquid I added, maybe 3 cups?, but time-wise I did this over about 45 minutes.

At this point the rice still had a slightly chewy texture -I ensured that the rice was 'loose' with a bit more liquid, and then put the lid on and turned the heat off.

I left the pot for about half an hour and then, when Mike phoned me to let me know he was en route home from school (giving me about 15 minutes), I turned the heat back on under my rice, adding another 1/3 or so cup liquid and 1 cup of peas.

About 10 minutes to eating time, I started frying the eggs - you could also do a poach if have the gift of poaching (I don't). I like a soft yolk for this dish, I'll leave this up to your preference.

Right before serving I did a final seasoning taste, then plated the risotto, and sprinkled with grated old cheddar (parmesan would be great but I didn't have any) and chives from my garden. The final step? Place your fried egg atop.

Next time I make this I am going to try simplifying it by just adding all the liquid at once pilaf-style.

The verdict? Even Mike and Grace, of the white-rice camp, declared this to be delicious.

OK, I better go see what Finn and Grandpa are up to. Oh, and I think that the chocolate cake you made for Grandma's 88th festivities this past Sunday was on par with, or possibly even surpassed, your coconut creation . Sorry, this is a shamless recipe request.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Rach-

After dinner, after I kiss my sweet babe to sleep, and while Mike cuddles into the car bed swapping 'Dream Stories' with Mr. Finn, I sneak out the back gate and do my four laps of the park. You can probably guess that while I pretend that this is for exercise, it's delicious to be alone - without my busy little sidekick, my sous chef -no it's just me and the mountains. This evening, on my way back into the yard, I found that my seeds had sprouted - tiny pea sprouts and delicate little Swiss chard leaves that I am already dreaming of devouring.

Once again, almost eerily, our ovens are baking in unison. This weekend I harvested my first rhubarb of the season; while you squared yours up I went the coffee cake route. This was a nice friendly cake - moist, with a lovely sugary topping. I merged a few different recipes to come up with this one, which I will be making, along with your squares, all spring and summer long.

First make your topping.

Combine:
2 T melted butter
1/3 brown sugar
1/4 flour
1 tsp cinnamon

Then make your cake.

First chop 2 cups of rhubarb. I sprinkled the rhubarb with 2 T sugar and then put the lot into the microwave for 2 minutes - next time I'm skipping this step, but I thought that the rhubarb looked a bit green.

Cream:
1/3 cup butter (or you could sub canola oil) with 3/4 cup brown sugar
Add:
2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla

Add the following, but don't stir until you have added all the dry ingredients (this should be done in a separate bowl, but I don't like to wash more dishes than I have to):

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together and add 1 cup buttermilk, or in my case 1 T lemon juice plus milk to equal 1 cup. Fold in the rhubarb. Pour into a 9 inch springform and sprinkle/dab the topping on top. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

To Rhubarb!

Bars and Binoculars

Dearest O-Choo-Me(e) Ebab, (Haley's third nickname, Moocho Babe backwards, pronounced with a slight accent.)

To answer the questions posed in you last post, we ate the mango, although it was lying on the table for a day previous, not quite having made it into the fruit basket. I admit, I left it in the photo for purely aesthetic reasons. I think you can agree that I made the right choice. The binoculars are C's, not mine. He uses them for a variety of activities: one, squirrel monitoring (He's big, pesky and grey and digs up the neighbour's garden. I don't think they realize.) Two, humming bird watching. (Three humming birds visit the tree below our kitchen window. C. is interested and excited by their presence. I've lost interest.) Third, chem trail examinations. (Chem trails are the white clouds left by jets, for which C. has formed a mild obsession). So far, we have resisted the urge to train the lenses on the neighbour's window.

Now, for the food, as usual we are in the same head space. I also experimented with squares this weekend. I bought my first stocks of Rhubarb last week. Yes, very exciting. And went looking for a new recipe in which to use the bounty. This crumble bar recipe came from the Smitten Kitchen blog, although where she uses raspberries, I subbed rhubarb. With excellent results, I have to say. These bars are incredibly yummy. The one other itsy change I made was to cut out the second addition of butter. I'm not going to rewrite the recipe. Instead check it out on this mother of food blogs, Smitten Kitchen.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares

Happy Saturday Rach-

I love the picture in your last post. Were those the random items on your table? Was Caleb about to devour a mango and a cookie while peering out at Victoria through his binoculars, all after downing a beer and twirling a thingy-majig around his finger?Were you playing a memory game? Writing a story about a mango-eating peeping Tom?

Speaking of writing, I feel that most of our readers don't know that you are a published author - that several of your short stories have appeared in print. I tried to find your non-Reems Eats writing online and came across your short story for Room Magazine (the link from the link appears on the left-hand side of their page). All right, I'm done bragging, and need to move onto the topic on hand - peanut butter brownies.

After drooling over the recipe for about a year, this winter I finally tried, and was slightly disappointed with the Rebar Cookbook's Peanut Butter square. Now, after making Smitten Kitchen's peanut butter brownies, I know where Rebar wasn't working for me, and plan to meld the two into one square very soon. The Rebar square had a peanut butter-frosting which, using natural peanut butter, just wasn't the over-the-top kind of peanut butter square that I was looking for. Deb from Smitten Kitchen finished her brownie off with a chocolate ganache. This was it, the amazing chocolate finish that the squares needed. With the oatmeal-y, milk chocolate chunk Rebar base, and a chocolate finish I'm going to have one awesome square. I realize that this post is premature as this mystical, magical peanut butter chocolate square is very hypothetical at this point; however, the Smitten Kitchen squares are amazing and delicious as is, so I thought that you needed to know about them. You can imagine how much daydreaming time-and yes- much of it will happen as I happily drift off to sleep- will be devoted to the upcoming peanut butter square-recipe-morphing extravaganza.

I followed the recipe to the dot - I even, after much deliberation, added the extra egg yolk that I thought was unnecessary. In the future I will not be adding this additional yolk, but I am trying something crazy and unorthodox: I have decided that the first time I make a recipe I am going to follow the recipe exactly as stated. Then, if I like the recipe, I will administer my usual tinkering on subsequent attempts. I know, crazy things are brewing in my kitchen. With these great intentions, I did make slightly less of that ganache than the recipe called for- but I did add that egg yolk.

OK, Finn is out with Mike on their 'Saturday Morning Adventure' (Translation: I get to drink coffee, read the paper, and have a shower in glorious solitude) and I need to get back to the Travel Section for my vicarious vacation.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of The Peanut Butter Square