Chocolate Marmalade Sandwich Cookies

I think as I was making these cookies I began to wish they would just taste average when they were done.  It's not that any of the steps are overly complicated, but they did require more then the usual mix, scoop, and bake.  So as a result I was not looking for a cookie that would make people stop after one taste and slow down, so they could savor every bite.  If I was only hoping for okay, these cookies landed about as far from that as they could.  These cookies combine a crumbly, tender, lemon scented cookie, with complex, tart, sweet, marmalade filling and then a dip in rich dark chocolate.  Trust me, this is a cookie that is worth the extra time.  They are even worth tempering the chocolate to dip them in.  Although as you may notice, I need to work on my chocolate tempering, and I know just the cookie I will practice on.  If it tastes this good with a failed tempering job...

Julian knew right away how special the cookies were, and so he counted how many there were before he ever got to taste one.  It often amazes me that my children can do division so quickly when cookies are involved.  "Eighteen cookies mama.  That means we each get four and a half cookies.  Four and a half cookies if mama had not decided to give a few away.  Every person who tried one had the same eye rolling, slow savoring response.  I can see why Sarabeth's Kitchen sells them for $25 a dozen. 

I have been sitting here trying to think of a transition between these cookies and a story of my boys during the holidays.  I finally decided the link is I wanted to share both the cookies and the story because both are helping me to enjoy the season.

Yesterday my boys each received $50 from relatives in England. In previous years I have bought a membership to a local science center with the money and told them the membership was a gift from Grandpa Stuart and Grandma Phyl.   But this year I thought the boys were old enough to choose this themselves (plus, the cards the money came in mentioned the checks enclosed).  So I told the boys our membership would expire at the end of this month and suggested they use their money to buy a new membership to The Echo Center.  When both boys hesitated and made a face I feared it was greed so I quickly mentioned they still would have the $20 a piece from their Gruncle and Graunty to spend on whatever they wanted.

Sebastian replied, "But I wanted to use the money to buy you a Christmas gift.  Is twenty dollars enough money for me to buy you something?  Something for you to cook with."

"Me too," said Julian, my 6 year old, "I want to buy you another thing to go on your KitchenAid mixer."

In most years Lewis and I do not receive gifts at Christmas, only the kids do.  I never seems like there is  enough money and so we have made it a kids holiday.  I guess the boys have noticed and decided they need to be my Santa.  The best gift I could ever receive is signs of my children's generosity.  (Don't worry, there are also stories of their seasonal greed for my to share on another post!)

Chocolate Marmalade Sandwich Cookies

From Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours (This book is rapidly becoming a favorite)

I used Tomato Orange Marmalade as the filling in these and it was perfect.  You can substitute any favorite marmalade or even a jam that would pair well with the bittersweet chocolate, such as raspberry or apricot.  If you have a quart of home canned tomatoes that were acidified with citric acid or lemon juice you can use that to make Tomato Orange Marmalade.

The cookies need to be baked and filled a day before dipping in the chocolate to allow the cookie to soften and marmalade to set the sandwich.  If you try to dip them on the first day they are filled they will slide apart when you dip them.

The recipe calls for tempering 12 ounces of chocolate because tempering less is difficult.  When you have finished dipping the cookies spread the remaining chocolate on a sheet of parchment paper to set it can be retempered and reused another time.

Made 20 sandwich cookies for me (2 were eaten before being dipped in chocolate)

10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch cubes  (I cut mine into tablespoons and just beat it for a tiny bit longer)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or kosher salt
3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cups plus 1 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat
1/2 cup of your favorite marmalade, I used Tomato Orange Marmalade
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided

Put the butter in the bowl of a stander mixer and beat it on high speed with the flat beater blade until smooth (about 1 minute).  If you have a self scraping beater blade for your mixer use that instead of the plain one.  Slowly add the sugar while continuing to beat the butter on high speed.  Scrape the sides of the bowl down occasionally until the sugar is fully incorporated and the mixture s light in both color and texture.  It should take about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and salt and mix until it is well mixed.  Reduce the speed to low before adding the flours a third at a time.  Mix on low speed just until the dough comes together and the sides of the bowl are almost clean.  If there is unmixed dry, crumbly dough at the bottom of the bowl turn the mixer off and stir well from the bottom before continuing to mix.

(Sarabeth has you carefully form the dough into a log before chilling and then slicing into rounds.  My dough was not a perfectly round log and so my cookies were flat on one side.  Next time I am going to experiment with rolling the dough out and then cutting square shaped cookies.  Even slightly misshapen they are still the most amazing cookie.)

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Make the dough into a smooth ball before rolling it out into a 14 inch log that is about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.  Place the dough log on an 18 by 13 inch piece of parchment paper (here may be the first problem with my log rolling technique.  I only have Half Sheet Pan Precut Parchment Paper Sheets - 12 × 16½), with the long side of the paper and the log facing you.  Fold the parchment paper over the dough log.

Hold the edge of a yardstick securely along the long side of the log, pull the top layer of the parchment paper under the yardstick to tighten the paper and lightly compress the log. The log should now be 16 inches long. Unwrap the log. (Technique number 2, I did not have a yardstick so instead of wrapping the log up with a yardstick I carefully rolled my log until it was 16 inches long).  The dough will have a seam on it,  roll the log lightly on the paper to smooth out the seam out.  Reroll the paper around the log. Do not twist the ends closed, as this dough is soft. Refrigerate until the dough is chilled and firm, at least 1 hour.

Position the racks in the center and top third of the oven before preheating to 350°F.  Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper (which is much easier with my Half Sheet Pan Precut Parchment Paper Sheets - 12 × 16½).

Unwrap the dough log and use a thin sharp knife to cut 3/8 inch thick circles of dough.  (I marked 3/8 of an inch on a small piece of paper to use as a guide for cutting).  Keep the circles of dough in order when placing on the parchment paper.  It is easier to form sandwiches later with the circles that were next to each other on the log.  Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the sheets while making it clear which circles are pairs.

Bake the cookies, switching the position of the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on the baking pans.

Once cooled turn all the cookies over so the undersides face up. Spoon a rounded 1/2 teaspoon of marmalade onto one of each pair of cookies, and sandwich the flat sides together. Let the cookies stand overnight at room temperature to set the marmalade and soften the cookie.

(I followed all of Sarabeth's tempering instructions perfectly but my chocolate still bloomed.  I realized later that part of the problem might have been the frigid temperature of my house.  Chocolate tempering expects a room temerature of 68° to 72°.  Next time I am going to try David Lebovitz's instructions for tempering chocolate.)

To temper the chocolate, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to very low. Place 8 ounces of the chocolate in a wide, heatproof bowl. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan, being careful not to touch the bottom of the bowl to the water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate reaches 110° to 112°F on a thermometer. Remove the bowl from the heat and place on a kitchen towel. Add the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and stir until melted. Let stand, stirring every minute or so, until the chocolate reaches 88°F.

Line a half-sheet pan with fresh parchment paper. One at a time, dip a cookie in the chocolate, letting the chocolate come about one-third up the sides of the cookie (I dipped half of the cookies in the chocolate and see no reason to change next time.  Who doesn't want more chocolate?)  Shake the cookie gently to remove excess chocolate before carefully placing on the pan. Push each cookie with your finger to move just 1/8 inch from its original position.  This dislodges and removes the “foot” the chocolate has formed. Let the cookies stand until the chocolate sets. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container, with the layers separated by parchment paper, for up to 5 days.  (I stored mine on a covered cookie sheet for a week with no loss of quality)

Green Tomato Beef Stew with Jamaican Spices

I spent last week in New York City moving my father out of his apartment.  The week was supposed to end with the sale of his apartment and him moving to Vermont to live in a retirement home.  I spent a week sorting through vast piles of books covered in dust, throwing out clothing that was not even good enough to be used as a rag, and throwing away mattress after mattress.  A the end of the week the apartment was miraculously empty, most of the clothing we were keeping was being shipped to Vermont, and the closing on the apartment did not happen.  So when he flew here to Burlington it was not to move in to a retirement community, instead he has been staying with a really good friend of mine who lives 15 miles away.  Every day when she drives in to work she has been dropping him off at my house for "daddy daycare".  Then she comes to my house after work and we all have dinner before they drive back to Jericho.  However guests for dinner every night does not mean I stay away from experiments in the kitchen, instead there are more tasters for new dishes.

At this time of the year I look at the green tomatoes on the vines thinking about ways to use them.  I could just can several batches of green tomato salsa and be done, but I enjoy the challenge of discovering how different flavors can be used.  One friend stays away from most green tomato recipes, saying they all smack of end of the garden desperation.  However I think green tomatoes have a role in the kitchen, one that works to highlight and balance their flavor instead of using them in an attempt to mask their presence and use them up.  Used correctly they are as much end of the garden desperation as rhubarb recipes are end of the winter desperation for something, anything, fresh. (I am not saying there are no desperation recipes for both vegetables).

When I first went in the kitchen I was planning on doing a stew with the last of the rhubarb that would be a riff on Molly Stevens' Pot Roasted Brisket with Rhubarb and Honey from All About Braising.  As I rubbed the beef with freshly ground allspice, coriander, pepper and salt I realized I could substitute green tomatoes for the rhubarb as an early fall substitution.  I used maple syrup instead of honey and added garlic and fresh thyme as my usual alterations to the regular recipe.  I replaced the golden raisins with dried apricots because they were the only dried fruit I had.  Now dried Califonia apricots will be my go-to in this recipe, any other dried fruit will be a substitution, because their tangy, sour, sweetness added just the right note.

This stew was enjoyed by all 6 people at the dinner table, from age 6 to 81.  My children even clamored over how good it was.  All the flavors came together as a cohesive whole, not a touch of end of the garden desperation, instead a new use for a unique vegetable.  It was tasty enough I think I won't wait to the end of the season to make it next year, instead I will pick some green tomatoes in the late spring.

Everyone was eating the stew so fast I couldn't get a good photo!

Green Tomato Beef Stew with Jamaican Spices
Serves 6
Serve this stew with mashed potatoes.  The amount of meat in this dish was enough to serve 6 with plenty of mashed potatoes and carrots on the side.  I prefer to serve a modest amount of meat but you can easily increase the amount of meat to suit your preferences.

1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds

1/4 tsp black peppercorns

1/8+ tsp allspice berries

1/2 tsp kosher salt or other coarse salt

1 1/4 lbs beef stew meat (you can change the quantity as you like, if you go up to 2 lbs I would double everything else)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 small onions or 1 medium one Chop the onion into 1/2 inch pieces or slice thinly (I did a mix because slicing was easier and both were fine in the final dish.  Next time I will slice all of them).

2 large garlic cloves or 3 to 4 small ones chopped finely

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 - 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (I used about 1 Tbsp)

1/3 cup California Dried Apricots, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (sorry, the California ones really are that much better!)
1 cup riesling or other favorite white wine
1 cup water
1 lb green tomatoes, cored and chopped into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces (do not peel)
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
1 small bunch of thyme with the leaves stripped off (about 1/2 tsp leaves)
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup (I used Grade B)

Grind the coriander, peppercorns, allspice, and salt in a coffee grinder until finely ground.  You will have to stop and shake the spices down in the grinder a few times because this is a minimal amount.  Dry the stew meat with paper towels before rubbing the spice mixture on the meat.  Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.

In a medium sized dutch oven or heavy lidded pot heat the oil over medium high heat and add then onions.  Cook the onions, stirring frequently until they are softened and starting to caramelize (while they were cooking I prepped the ginger, apricots and tomatoes).  Add the garlic, salt and pepper, ginger and chopped apricots.  Saute for about one minute until the ginger is fragrant.

Remove the onions and other aromatics from the pan and return to medium high heat.  There should still be a thin layer of oil in the bottom of the pan, if it is not enough to keep the meat from sticking add a little more oil and then brown the meat in small batches on all sides.  As the meat is browned add it to the onions.

Once all the meat is browned set the meat and aromatics aside and add the white wine to the pan.  Cook over high heat for about 5 minutes until the volume is decreased by three quarters, while it is cooking scrape the sides to remove all the flavorful caramelized drippings from the beef and aromatics..  Once the wine is reduced add the water,green tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme leaves, and 1 Tbsp maple syrup.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil for a minute or 2 before adding the meat and onion mixture back to the pan.

Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook, covered, at a slow simmer until the meat is tender and the green tomatoes have mostly slumped into the sauce, (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).   After about 5 minutes check the stew to make sure the stew is simmering quietly.  If it is too vigorous use a heat tamer under the pan.

Once the meat is tender remove the lid, increase the heat to medium high and reduce the sauce (however I suggest you do not go to check email while reducing the sauce.  If you do not listen and become distracted you may need to add some water to the pan because you reduced it too much).

Roasted Cardamom, Oregano and Garlic Chicken Thighs

I wrote briefly about these chicken thighs from Deborah Krasner's Good Meat cookbook in the cookbook giveaway post.  After the counts and recounts were tallied this recipe won the right to be shared here.  While the list of ingredients is short the flavor is complex and satisfying.  Cardamom is an ingredient many people have not played with so this chicken will have an elusive flavor and fragrance, a touch of romance.  Please remember to leave enough time to remove the cardamom seeds from the pods.  Harvesting the seeds can be time consuming but worth it.

The first time I made this dish I was running out of Kosher salt and had to use less then the printed recipe called for.  When I made it a second time I used the full tablespoon and it was too much.  I sent Deborah a message and she confirmed that a full tablespoon must be a typo.  The measurement below is a more modest amount.

As I met Deborah Krasner on Facebook it seems fitting to share Hippo Flambé's new facebook page on this post.  My plan is to share food related links, random thoughts on food and life and links to my new posts.  I would love it if you would go and "like" it.  Please join Hippo Flambé on Facebook.

Roasted Cardamom, Oregano and Garlic Chicken Thighs
Reprinted with permission from Good Meat, (with notes from the test kitchen of Hippo Flambe included).

Adapted from a recipe by Greg Malouf in Artichoke to Za'atar, this dish roasts to a crisp at high heat.  While it cooks the perfume of cardamom and garlic infuses the kitchen.  You can find green cardamom pods at any good spice purveyor and [far less expensively] at Indian and Middle Eastern groceries.  (Here in Burlington you can get it inexpensively in the bulk section at City Market).  please don't use ground cardamom - you need the crunch of the tiny seeds, which are more intensely flavored.  Similarly, if if you can get intensely flavored wild Greek oregano [found hanging upside down in bunches in some Greek markets], use it here.  Be sure to leave time for the marinating - at least 4 hours.  If you like, make a batch of rice to soak up the fragrant juices.



1/4 cup whole green cardamom pods or 1 to 2 Tbsp whole black cardamom seeds out of the pods
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh or dry oregano
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 large skin on, bone in pastured chicken thighs
freshly ground black pepper

Select a shallow pan that will hold the thighs closely in one layer, such as a quarter sheet pan, cast iron lasagna pan or frying pan or gratin dish.

Using a mortar and pestle, or a heavy resealable bag and the back of a cast iron pan, pound the cardamom pods until they split.  (When I tried to use a mortar and pestle the pods kept leaping out of the mortar without breaking and I try not to use plastic bags just because I don't want more work.  So I resorted to peeling all the pods by hand.  Effective, but time consuming.  If you are more coordinated than I am use a mortar and pestle.  Although I would guess it would work fine if you just put a few in at a time.)

Discard the husks, and bruise the tiny black seeds by pounding them  a little to to release their oils. (More operator error with my mortar and pestle technique so I ended up skipping this step to prevent the seeds flying to all corners of my kitchen.  I am sure it would taste better with the seeds bruised but it was delicious without this step as well.)  Add the garlic, salt and oregano and bash away a bit more to make a rough paste.  (I chopped the garlic fine and then mashed it to a paste with the side of my knife with the kosher salt before mixing all the ingredients together.  Maybe I just need a better mortar and pestle).  Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then stir in the olive oil to thin the paste.

Arrange the thighs, flesh side up, in the pan and massage half the paste onto the flesh; turn them over and do the same on the skin side with the remaining paste.  Allow the meat to marinate, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours or overnight before bringing it back to room temperature.  (I have made it on nights where I did not have the time to let it marinate and it was still flavorful and delicious.  Marinating is best but don't let it stop you from making this dish).  Grind black pepper over the thighs.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees, and set a rack, a the top of the oven just under the heating element [although you are not broiling this, this exposes the skin to more heat for crispness].  When the oven is good and hot, roast the chicken for 45 minutes, turn the meat over halfway through the cooking.

When done the meat should be beautifully crisp and the flesh completely cooked through.  pour off the fat in the pan and arrange the pieces on a serving platter.  Serve warm or at room temperature with rice.

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins

I found this muffin recipe on my friend Ann's blog Thibeault's Table.  The idea and description were so appealing I set out to try them right away.  Conveniently forgetting my sinuses were blocked plaguing  me with an inability to taste my food.  Besides from the obvious frustration caused by not tasting my food for over a week, I was also unhappy to discover I still eat more than I should when food has only texture, sweet and salt.  So as the rest of my family exclaimed over their goodness I was able to detect the correct level of sweetness, enough salt and a perfect texture.  The scent of blueberries, the flavor from the 3 types of flours and the browned butter were all lost on me.  However I still knew I had finally found my blueberry muffin recipe and I would share it here later (once I had tasted them).  The rest of my family could taste them and both boys happily ate them for breakfast 3 mornings in a row, something that never happens.

By the end of last weekend I could smell and taste again and so on Mother's Day I made a batch of these muffins.  Lewis was going out of town, yes on Mother's Day, and I wanted an easy no argue breakfast the next day.  I reduced the sugar because I knew we would prefer it and to test if I could make them for the preschool.  Federal reimbursement guidelines require that in baked goods, sugar be no more than half the volume of flour.  (Although you can serve all the trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, fried food and flavored milk you want!)

When I browned the butter and poured it into the batter the aroma of caramel drifted up.  The finished muffins do not taste of caramel, instead the browned butter adds intensity and a nuttiness that tempers the sweetness.  The 3 flours add their own flavor plus keep you from being hungry 20 minutes later.  The more I play with whole grains in my baking, the more I love the dimension they add.  Not the heavy wheat flavor we all remember but rather an actual flavor where white flour is just blank.  Of course this assumes you are using flour that has not gone rancid.

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Thibeault's Table

I have made these with both frozen local blueberries and frozen wild ones.  Both worked wonderfully, just taking longer to bake.  I am also going to make them with raspberries, frozen for now and fresh in a few months.

14 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat

1 cup spelt flour

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen berries leave them frozen)

Put the oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 375°.  Line muffin tins with 24 liners and set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat (it is really best to use a light colored saucepan so you can judge the color of the butter, I used a dark blue one because it was the perfect size and regretted my choice).  Watch the butter closely once it is melted.  Continue to cook until the crackling subsides and little brown solids form in the pan.  It should smell nutty when done.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Whisk together milk, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla until combined.  Add Browned butter and whisk until fully incorporated.  Add sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk in well.  Add flours all at once and stir gently, stirring to the bottom of the bowl under the batter to incorporate all the flour.  Gently fold in the blueberries until they are evenly distributed.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and bake until a wooden pick or knife inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean and the muffins are golden brown.  They should take about 18 to 20 minutes when made with fresh blueberries and 32 to 35 minutes when you use frozen  (I used convection  for the last 5 minutes to brown the tops and because I was getting bored with checking on them).

Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sour Cream Spelt Waffles

For the past few weeks every time I sit down to write a new post I can't think where to start, what words to use, what to say.  I realized part of the problem is my life and mood right now do not match a lovely dinner centered around Deborah Krasner's recipe for Roasted Cardamom, Oregano, and Garlic Chicken Thighs.  That chicken recipe won the right to be published here, however for at least a little longer it will have to wait.  This blog is more than the food I feed to my family, it is also about the stories we make every day around the food we eat.  So I am going to post that recipe when the time is right.  When it fits back into the story of my life.

My life is preparing for change in the coming months and for dinner I have been looking for comfort at the table and ease in the kitchen.  I have to admit I also wanted no whining from the short gourmands.  When I say I wanted ease in the kitchen, I really mean I had no interest in making dinner.  But somehow saying, there is nothing for dinner tonight time for bed, never seems to go well.  So the other night I made waffles for dinner.

I know many of you are now questioning my sanity.  You are picturing many bowls, separating the eggs, beating the egg whites and shaking your head as you wonder why I would prepare waffles when I didn't want to cook.  However the beauty of these waffles, besides from how they taste, is they are an easy cheaters way out of the kitchen.  If you mix the wet ingredients in your glass mixing cup they only use one bowl.  I still love my Sour Milk Butternut Squash Waffles but they are much more work and frankly taste better when made by my friend Tavi.

To feel more like I was giving my children a balanced dinner I prepared macerated strawberries to serve with them.  Which is a fancy way to say I took strawberries, sliced them and sprinkled them with sugar; after a few minutes the strawberries release some of their juice and become a perfect waffle topping.  This simple preparation and the end result is most impressive if you tasted the berries I used before macerating.  Usually I stay away from strawberries this time of year.  However I have been shopping at Costco to buy fruit for the preschool food program I am establishing.   I feel like a bad mother buying blueberries, melon, mangoes and kiwi for other peoples children and then going home and telling my children just to eat another storage apple.  So this last week I bought strawberries the size of my head and fed them to my children.  The one I tried tasted like cardboard, although a special variety of cardboard that has less flavor then usual.

These waffles are based on Art Smith's sour cream waffles from Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family.  I found the recipe on 101 cookbooks and have been tweaking the recipe for several years now.  I played with the type of flour, sometimes I sub some of the butter and sour cream for butternut squash puree and I simplified the technique.  When prepared with the butternut squash puree they are even better when frozen and then reheated in the toaster.  The squash puree makes them moister and softer so the final heating crisps them up.  They are a little soft when fresh from the waffle iron made with squash but when served with macerated strawberries nobody at the table will complain.

The first time I used spelt in these waffles it was also in response to dinner time guilt.  I was feeling like if I was going to make waffles for dinner I should try to make them as healthy as possible.  However to my happy surprise everyone prefers them with the addition of spelt flour.  Spelt adds a sweet nutty flavor and a pleasant texture to the waffles.  However if you do not want to buy one more flour, these waffles will still be wonderful made with half white and half whole wheat flour.

Spelt Sour Cream Waffles (or use Greek Yogurt)


1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder (this is  not a typo, it really is one Tablespoon of baking powder)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream or Greek Yogurt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp chocolate extract (optional)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter melted

Begin heating your waffle iron as you prepare the waffle batter.  Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  Measure the milk in a large glass mixing cup and add the sour cream or Greek yogurt, eggs and extracts to the milk.  Whisk the wet ingredients with a fork or by holding the handle of the whisk between your palms and rubbing your hands back and forth to spin the whisk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Whisk briefly to start to incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients before adding the melted butter.  Mix the batter until it is all incorporated and smooth.  Do not mix any longer once it is smooth, over mixing can toughen the waffles.

Spray the waffle iron grids with cooking spray and ladle batter into the center of the iron.  A trick I finally figured out not to have waffle batter overflow out of the iron while baking is not to worry about making perfect waffles which are filled all the way to the edges.  If you slightly underfill the waffle grids it won't drip out.   I know this isn't rocket science, and yet for me it really was ground breaking.  If you aren't as gluttonous it may not be an issue.

Cook until the waffles are golden brown to your liking and serve hot, with macerated strawberries, maple syrup or the topping of your choice.




Spelt Butternut Squash Sour Cream Waffles (or use Greek Yogurt)
I doubled the quantities for this recipe because they work so well as frozen toaster waffles for a quick breakfast (or dinner)


1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder (this is  not a typo, it really is two Tablespoon of baking powder)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sour cream or Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup butternut squash or pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp chocolate extract (optional)
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter melted

Begin heating your waffle iron as you prepare the waffle batter.  Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  Measure the milk in a large glass mixing cup and add the sour cream or Greek yogurt, butternut squash puree, eggs and extracts to the milk.  Whisk the wet ingredients with a fork or by holding the handle of the whisk between your palms and rubbing your hands back and forth to spin the whisk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Whisk briefly to start to incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients before adding the melted butter.  Mix the batter until it is all incorporated and smooth.  Do not mix any longer once it is smooth, over mixing can toughen the waffles.

Spray the waffle iron grids with cooking spray and ladle batter into the center of the iron.  A trick I finally figured out not to have waffle batter overflow out of the iron while baking is not to worry about making perfect waffles which are filled all the way to the edges.  If you slightly underfill the waffle grids it won't drip out.   I know this isn't rocket science, and yet for me it really was ground breaking.  If you aren't as gluttonous it may not be an issue.

Cook until the waffles are golden brown to your liking and serve hot, with macerated strawberries, maple syrup or the topping of your choice.

To freeze: separate waffles into individual waffles and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen place in a zip lock bag in the freezer.  Toast waffles from frozen to serve.

Salted Browned Butter Healthier Rice Crispy Treats

In reality this post is a final attempt to get my blog to be featured on Foodgawker and Tastespotting while the Good Meat Cookbook giveaway entry period is still open.  Don't forget that you have until 11:59 PM Eastern Standard time on Sunday February 27 to leave a comment on the Good Meat Cookbook Giveaway post to be entered for a copy of this amazing book by James Beard award winning author Deborah Krasner.   I am not saying that these rice crispy treats are not tasty.  Nor am I saying that they are not worth your time and energy to make them.  I would have shared them eventually, but as they are photogenic I decided to share early.

My mother never made rice krispie treats.  As a woman who referred to iceberg lettuce as "junk food" and made a convincing argument for marshmallows being disgusting puffed sugar, it is really no surprise that she did not make them.  Her description of marshmallows kept me from trying one until I was eighteen.  I suppose to be completely honest I would have to say I never tried a plain marshmallow before I was eighteen.  I probably ate my weight in rice krispie treats at every bake sale at my school when I was growing up.  I never knew they contained marshmallows, but somehow they were an illicit favorite.

Now that I have children of my own it is not my mother's brainwashing that kept me from making rice krispie treats at home.  It is because marshmallows are really puffed high fructose corn syrup, not sugar.  However the other day I found vegan marshmallows which are high fructose corn syrup free.  When I brought them to the register the cashier told me how much she loves them.  Then when she saw the whole grain rice puffs she said in an awed voice, "You're making healthy rice krispie treats."  Personally I think they are less unhealthy or even healthier, calling them healthy is still a stretch.

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and it is for Salted Browned Butter Crispy Treats.  I figured if I was going to the trouble of buying better quality ingredients I might as well start with the best recipe I could find.  While these are not health food they are rich, nutty and buttery.  Tastier then your average rice krispie treat and with at least reduced guilt when you indulge.

Salted Browned Butter Healthier Rice Crispy Treats
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen just by upgrading the ingredients

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag vegan no high fructose corn syrup marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups puffed whole grain rice cereal

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8 x 8 x 2 inch pan (mine was pyrex).

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until it becomes golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes.  Don't walk away while you are browning the butter because butter can go quickly from browned to burnt.  As soon as the butter is browned and fragrant turn the heat off and add the marshmallows, stirring them in well.

Turn the heat back on to low and continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted and smooth.  When I made them at first the marshmallows did not want to melt at all and I began to panic that healthier marshmallows don't melt.  Eventually the mixture became melted and smooth.

Once the marshmallow butter mixture is completely smooth turn off the heat and add the cereal and salt all together.  Stir well and quickly spread in the buttered pan.  Press the top down firmly with a spatula to make sure it is evenly spread in the pan.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Saffron Green Bean Hash

My childhood memories of Halloween are very simple.  My brother and I made our costumes ourselves and then we went trick or treating with my cousins.  We never had to worry about what the weather was like because we never left our apartment building.  Now it feels like Halloween is a week long event.  As a child we did not attend school Halloween parties and we certainly never went on costumed bike rides with 150 other people and a police escort.  My boys have been treating the start of the school year, and perhaps even the summert as the Halloween season.  They had endless conversations about what their costumes should be.  They even tried to convince me that we should make the front of our house scary.  Given that both of them still gave a wide berth to any house that is even marginally frightening I vetoed this idea.  As a mother who has comforted her terrified children as I carefully escorted them past Halloween decorations, I will never knowingly make my house scary.

All the boys planning and discussions about costumes came to the conclusion I was relying on.  They deferred to my over the top, I have to admit competitive, costume planning.  Sebastian went as himself, a bookworm.  He was a "Bookworm" inside a book.  I spent several hours carefully painting a poster sized cover of Diary of a Worm, although I changed the worm to match his costume.  While trick or treating Sebastian had to suffer for my art as he had to shuffle up and down stairs inside a giant book.

Julian's costume started when he suggested he could be a bunny.  I just elaborated on that idea a little by having him coming out of a magicians hat.  After all without a giant hat around his waist he would be able to walk around far to easily when trick or treating.  As it is each of my children came home with bags filled with candy, I shudder to think how much they could have gotten if they could have walked faster.  Although we have also found sometimes people give you extra candy when your costume is clever. 

For the past 2 years I dealt with the mounds of candy by declaring Halloween night a candy free for all.  Lewis and I would first edit the bags, removing any hard candy that would prolong their festival before letting them go at it.  The first year they both stopped long before I though they would, Julian even ate an apple when he had his fill of candy.  Last year the candy fest continued for longer, but it still wasn't as much as I might have feared.  This year Halloween was on a school night, so our little party has to wait.  However each one of them has been enjoying 2 items of their choice each night after dinner.  After they are asleep their parents eat whatever they want from the collection, childhood really is unfair.

One blogger posted on how to deal with the candy overload, mostly by making it disappear rather then letting your children eat it.  A commenter who spends hundreds of dollars every year on Halloween candy complained.  She felt like she was wasting her money if parents were only going to get rid of what she gave out.  I hope that our approach to the mounds of junk my children collect respects the joys of Halloween as well as the people who gave them their treats.  However I don't want them to be still choosing a dessert of candy over fruit in 3 months.

On Halloween night we planned on having hot dogs for dinner, something that was easy to make between activities with 2 over excited trick or treaters in the house.  I have to admit, hot dogs, even the pasture raised organic ones we now eat, are not much further up the food chain than candy.  At least it would prevent us from going trick or treating without eating first.  It is never a good idea to go out collecting candy when your children haven't eaten.  So I scrounged for something to serve with them, that my children would eat.  Unfortunately the string beans I knew were in the fridge must have shrunk in their container, because I clearly remembered a much larger amount.

Normally I do not serve potatoes as a vegetable, no matter what their role is in the federally funded school lunch program.   However I had a generous pile of potatoes in my fridge thanks to the "extras" at my CSA.  These potatoes were still perfect, if you don't mind peeling heavily and removing brown spots.  So I put together this Saffron Green Bean Hash.  It was a home run with the whole family, just what was needed.  For the record, Julian initially said he was only going to eat the string beans.  However once he tasted it he helped himself to 2 generous helpings.  Saffron is not used much in American cooking so the hash had an elusive flavor that was well balanced by the potatoes and string beans.

Saffron Green Bean Hash

The amounts in here are really just a guide, the amount of saffron was very well balanced but feel free to play with the types and quantities of vegetables

2 cups leftover green beans or blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes with a splash of olive oil

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (you may need more, depends on the pan you use)

1 onion chopped

2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

6 cups potatoes scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes (I peeled mine because I had to, normally I leave the peel on)

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

3/8 tsp saffron threads

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan.  Most folks swear by a well seasoned cast iron pan for this, I use my scanpan non stick and see no reason to change.  Saute onions over medium heat in olive oil until translucent, approximately 5 minutes.  Add potatoes and leeks and cook over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally.  Add red peppers after about 3 minutes.  If the potatoes start to stick add more olive oil, be liberal when adding oil.  Near the end of cooking time, when potatoes are starting to brown are are tender when pierced with a fork add crumbled saffron (I crumbled it in the palm of my hand before adding it).  When the potatoes are done add the green beans and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir so everything is well blended and the green beans are heated through.

Maple Glazed Root Vegetables with Thyme

This may not be a surprise to anyone else, but I am amazed at how much adjusting I am having to do to my work schedule.  I am lucky that I come home with my boys after picking them up from school.  However at that point all I want to do is touch base with my children about their day and then plop down on the couch checking e-mail, food blogs and facebook and this blog.  However while I do have time to check in with my children, and even the time to start Sebastian on his homework, (or as is sometimes the case argue with him about it), I need to start dinner almost right away.  It feels like our bedtime routine starts when we come home, if I don't start dinner soon enough our routine is off.

Mostly I am loving where we are right now as a family.  With both boys in school and my new job everyone has something to share at dinner.  Somehow it makes it more cohesive, or maybe that is the reduction in the whining recently over the food I'm offering, as the boys are learning to try more.  Julian's application of classroom rules and expectations at the dinner table is often hysterical.  One night he sat across from me as I told a story with his hand raised for his turn to speak.  However he did not sit there silently, "I'm being an active listener by raising my hand and waiting to speak... are you done yet?"

Happily I am still loving my job.  I am just having a hard time with fitting everything in.  It is a good thing I value cooking!  With a busy schedule it is even more important to have a game plan in the kitchen, especially when faced with a pile of vegetables to deal with.  However that sounds like planning and my cooking is more often based on whim then planning.  This is one of the successes I had recently when heading into the kitchen with the inkling of an idea but not much of a plan.

This dish is inspired by the carrots I had last week at an Americorps conference at the Stoweflake resort.  The food was surprisingly good, and most of us where getting seconds.  However that may also be because an Americorps position is supposed to pay a rate below the poverty level.  So folks may have been calorie loading.  The local food movement made its way to the labels at the buffet, however the meaning seemed to be a little lost.  So for breakfast, in October, in Vermont, the strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple and watermelon were labeled, "Seasonal Fruit."  Sure, somewhere, just not here.  However the maple glazed carrots are perfectly seasonal here right now, and will be all winter.  I added parsnips and turnips to mine as I got both this past week at my CSA.  I also added a fresh bay laurel leaf and some thyme to help balance the sweetness of the maple syrup and the vegetables.  Everyone enjoyed my rendition, although I will admit the boys did not eat the turnips.

Maple Glazed Root Vegetables with Thyme

Inspired by Maple Glazed Carrots at The Stoweflake, cooking technique adapted from Cooking with Shelburne Farms Honey Glazed Carrots

6 cups root vegetables peeled and sliced into similar sized pieces.  (I used carrots, parsnips and turnips.  Potatoes, kohlrabi and beets would all be good.  If using beets cook them separately to avoid making a pink mess of the other vegetables.)

2 Tbsp butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 - 5 Tbsp maple syrup, preferably Grade B (I used 2 Tbsp but I felt it could have used more)

3/4 cup water

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 tsp kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 fresh bay laurel leaf (optional)

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat and add all the other ingredients.  Put the lid on and shake the pan to coat all the vegetables in the liquid.  Simmer over medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes, until the vegetables are just becoming tender.  Take the lid off the pan, increase the heat to high and cook, stirring, often until the vegetables are all coated in a glaze.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, remove the thyme stems and serve.

Apple Cheddar Spelt Scones

Earlier this week I made sour cream cheddar biscuits for dinner from Smitten Kitchen.  Sebastian requested biscuits for dinner the night before and I saw it as the perfect opportunity to play with a new recipe.  I left out the jalapenos (because leaving them in would have been mean), added 1/2 tsp of baking powder, made them 3/4 inches thick and of course played with the flour.  They were tasty and for once there was peace at the table as everyone happily ate.  But then, then Sebastian suddenly tasted his biscuit, after eating 2 1/2 of them and asked the dreaded question.  "Is this your usual recipe."  I am of the not lying to your children about food, so if asked a direct question I am honest.  So I told him they had cheddar in them.  He looked disgusted, placed the 1/2 eaten biscuit back on his plate and said.  "These are disgusting, I feel a little sick now."  ONLY TOOK HIM 2 1/2 BISCUITS TO NOTICE!

Any sane mother would learn from this not to add cheddar to her baked goods.  Obviously Sebastian may love cheddar on its own, in a grilled cheese sandwich or topping pizza, but baked goods are not the same.  But then I came across a recipe for apple cheddar scones, perfect for the obscene quantity of northern spy apples currently lying around in my kitchen.  I helped chaperone a field trip for the preschool at work to a small apple orchard.  We were welcome to pick as many as we wanted.  Turns out I wanted more then I needed, really a ridiculous quantity of them.  A quantity that became even more ridiculous when Sebastian and Julian tried them from the overflowing bags in my car and pronounced them too tart.

Northern Spy apples are crisp, tart, bright with a balanced sweetness and when picked fresh from the tree juicy.  I love them but not enough to eat my way through my own special brand of lunacy, you would think I was raised during a famine the way I am with free food.  So I decided to make a batch of scones, because that will use up a whole 2-3 apples.  Yeah, I know, that isn't going to do any good.  Lewis asked if Sebastian would like them and I replied, "he can eat toast".  Then I quietly planned not to lie to Sebastian, if he asked what exactly was in them I would tell him about the cheddar.  However I would also call them apple scones.

They were admittedly a little fussy to make for breakfast as you have to roast the peeled apple slices and allow them to cool before assembling the dough.  I woke up early this morning and when I served them at breakfast everyone loved them, for EVERY bite.  I loved them enough that I made 2 more batches this evening to go in the freezer.  I am sure the scones in the freezer will be delicious, even though just after placing the sheets of unbaked scones in the freezer I stumbled across the grated cheddar in the fridge.  I suppose the punishment fits the crime, because after calling them apple scones to my children now I have a batch of exactly those in the freezer.

Apple and Cheddar Scones
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who barely tweaked them from The Perfect Finish

Makes 6 large or 12 small scones

2 - 3 firm tart apples, I used Northern Spy (1 pound or 254 grams)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) unsalted butter, grated on the large holes of a box grater into the mixer bowl and put in the freezer while you grate the cheese and mix the dry ingredients or chill and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup (2.25 ounces or 65 grams) sharp white cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup (2 ounces) heavy cream
2 large eggs (divided use)
1/2 cup (2.25 ounces or 65 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (2.25 ounces or 65 grams) white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup (2.25 ounces or 65 grams) spelt flour [Optional, use 1/2 white and half white whole wheat or all white if you want.  They were incredible this way though]

1/4 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling

1/2 tablespoon (7 grams) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (3 grams) plus additional for egg wash

Preheat oven to 325° with convection and 375 °F degrees without with a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Peel and core the apples and slice into sixteen slices (I used slices not chunks like Deb as I thought they would get further broken up by the mixer for better apple distribution as well as dry out better in the oven.  As the scones were perfect I see no reason to change).  Place them on the prepared sheet in a single layer and bake for about 20 minutes, they should be dry to the touch.  Let them cool completely (you can do this step the day before and refrigerate them in an airtight container or place the tray in the fridge to cool if you are making the scones right away.

Add cooled apple slices, grated cheddar cheese, heavy cream and egg to the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Combine flours, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.  Sprinkle over the top of the other ingredients and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment just until it comes together.  Be careful not to over mix, so you will have light, tender scones.

(If you don't have a stand mixer use a pastry blender to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course corn meal.  Beat the egg lightly and mix it with the other ingredients with a silicone spatula or a dough whisk.  Be careful not to over mix, so you will have light, tender scones.

Generously flour a large cutting board or your counter top and place one half the scone dough on top of it. Sprinkle with flour. Pat the dough into a 1 1/4-inch thick, 3 inch circle. Cut the dough into 6 wedges. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet or one that has been greased with butter.  Repeat with remaining dough. Leave at least 2 inches between each scone (mine all fit on 1 sheet so I am not sure if I really left 2 inches all the way around, they were fine).  If you want larger scones pat all the dough into a 6 inch circle and cut into 6 pieces.

Beat remaining egg in a small bowl with 1/8 tsp salt. Brush the scones with egg wash and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bake until firm and golden, about  20 minutes for 12 small ones and 30 minutes for 6 larger ones. Transfer to a plate and serve.

Scones dough can be made ahead of time and frozen on parchment lined sheets before baking.  To bake place them on the baking sheets still frozen, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and bake.  They will take a few extra minutes to bake.  Deb says the scones were edible the day after baking but after that they were terrible.  I have no way of knowing, we ate all of ours.

Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie: or How to Fix Kindergarten Drop Off

For years whenever I pictured Julian starting kindergarten I imagined myself sitting outside the room sobbing.  However as the start of kindergarten drew closer I began to lose that vision.  He is just so capable and so ready to learn.  Plus, as much as I loved the adorable toddler he was I love the boy he now is and how our family spends its time as he grows up.  I realized soon after he was born that a family moves at the pace of the baby.  When he was done with napping, we could spend the whole day away from home, when he had the patience for a new activity our whole family could take part.  Plus, watching out for a toddler who is obsessed with electricity and wires was never a relaxing job.  Somehow when I thought of him starting kindergarten I never imagined Julian being anything but ready, even when I was staking out where I should collapse in tears.

On the first day of school when I picked him up another parent asked him how his first day was.  Julian stuck his hand in the air like he was in Saturday Night Fever and said, "Awesome!"  However 2 days later morning drop off was no longer awesome and then it got worse.  I began to joke about looking for someone, anyone, who was not me, to take him to school.

On Friday morning I stood outside the school holding Julian in my arms with his whole body collapsed against mine as he cried.  I was pretty easy to spot, I was the mother standing there crying with her child in her arms as he sobbed.  I have done the tough drop offs before with my children but somehow this felt different.  He was just so wretched, not yet ready to trust his teachers and start his day without me.  Holding him as we cried and then having to peel him of of me and unwind his hands from my purse straps (my children are strong willed and crafty).

Until Julian sobbed in my arms before his school day I never before understood the Elizabeth Stone quote, "Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  Until I stood there crying with Julian I never fully felt I had to let my heart walk away from me.  I love my children and I think about them whenever they are not with me.  However as I stood there crying with him I understood more of what my children mean to me and how I share their emotions.

I didn't know what was wrong, or how to help him.  I suspected that he just needed to learn to love and trust the adults he is with every day and then he would be comfortable with this completely new situation.  Julian makes strong attachments, collecting people he loves and trusts and feels safe being his outgoing and strong willed self with.  All that would take time and more tears.  More tears that I suspect will finally give me all the grey hairs I really should have at forty.

On Friday, a school holiday, I spent much of the day e-mailing with his teacher how to make his transition better.  I wrote to her of Julian and his 3 years of expecting to have Sebastian's kindergarten teacher himself (a teacher who is currently teaching second grade), how he has never gone into a new situation without already knowing and being attached to the adults.  How he needs to remember all the adults and children in his school building that he loves and trusts.  His teacher had some suggestions of things we could do to make his transition better, although I think many of her suggestions were to make me comfortable walking away as he cries.  She had some folks she thought might be able to help brainstorm solutions, although confidentiality was an issue.  I wonder how this blog post affects all of that?

In the midst of this emotional e-mailing (because I spent the day crying as I read about his troubles and brainstormed what he needs) I began to think of baking something that would help.  Whether I was thinking of a baked good to drown my sorrows or one that I could pack in Julian's lunches like a piece of my heart I don't know.  I was looking for a cookie that had whole grains and chocolate and maybe some fruit.  I found these triple chocolate cranberry cookies, definitely something to savor.

This morning I was able to leave without any tears from either of us.  Maybe it was the cookies, that and the fact Julian now loves and trusts his teacher.  To help build on that love I brought in more cookies to pick up, one for Julian and one for him to give to his teacher and student teacher.  Julian really enjoyed giving a cookie to his teachers, a way to make him more connected to her (or maybe her to him, after all these are not your average cookie).  As we prepared dinner together Julian told me he loves me and I asked if he loves his teacher.  He said, "Yes, I just had to get to know her first."  At dinner when Lewis asked how drop off was Julian replied, "It was fine, I love my teacher now."

Tripel Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Adapted from Bon Appetite

10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup barley flakes (or use all rolled oats, I was just playing with multi grains)

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks (or use high quality semi sweet chocolate chips)

1/2 cup white chocolate chunks (or use high quality white chocolate chips)

1/2 cup milk chocolate chunks (or use high quality milk chocolate chips)

1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen unsweetened cranberries

Place racks in the center of the oven and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.  If using convection preheat your oven to 300°, if not using convection preheat the oven to 350°

Beat the butter and 2 types of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the flat beater blade or in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and salt.  Add both flours and the oats and barley flakes and stir until fully blended. Add the chocolate chips and cranberries and stir until they are equally distributed.

Scoop out the dough by rounded Tbsp, I use a dough scoop because I hate trying to wrestle dough out of the spoon, leaving 2 inches between cookies.  Bake the cookies in the preheated oven, if using convection you can bake multiple trays at once, otherwise bake one tray at a time, until the edges are golden brown (approximately 16 minutes).  Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to finish cooling.  They become better after a few days.

Watermelon Creamsicle

On the morning of September first I climbed into bed with each of my children and hugged them.  "Good morning first day of third grade boy." I whispered to Sebastian.  Next I curled up with Julian and again, whispering, said, "Good morning first day of kindergarten boy." Julian happily answered back, "Good morning first day of work mama."  On the first day of school I became the "Healthy Food Coordinator" for the VNA Family Room, which means in one fell swoop everything is different.

Before I tell you about this job, let me say, I am not one of those people who believes everything happens for a reason.  In part this is because my brother liked to walk around New York City, in the eighties, talking to homeless people.  Hearing the stories of why people became homeless sort of kills the possibility that the world will work out for everyone.  There is also that small thing of my mother dying when I was 12 and becoming a type 1 diabetic when I was 13.  So with my lack of Pollyanna feelings about the world established, let me tell you about my new job and the organization I am working for.

The Family Room has been in our lives since Julian was an infant.  At that time I was struggling to figure out how to care for a newborn and keep an overactive, curious, outgoing preschooler occupied and happy.  I quickly learned that our days went better if I could just get us organized enough to get out of the house and to the Family Room, at least on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they have family play.  Family play is a drop in play program with staff and food.  However that does not really explain the role the VNA has had in the lives of my family for the last 5 years, or the feelings of grief I was having as I tried to figure out how I was going to graduate with my children from there.

However this last fall I had come to the realize I did not need to work just because Julian would be in school all day.  Taking care of my family and what we eat is still important work and finding some meaningless, low paying job was not going to make me happier (although it might have made us more financially stable).  If I was not going to work, I would have the time to volunteer at the Family Room, teaching cooking workshops to the participants and helping with food.  So comfortable with my choices I started to look forward to the free time I would have to cook more, blog etc.

Then in  May or June I heard that the Family Room's Americorps Vista position was going to be available and the position was, "Healthy Food Coordinator."  I am going to skip over the brief period when I thought the position was already filled and just say, "Wow!"  This position is even more, "meant to be," if you believe in that kind of thing, as now I am working 3 blocks from the boys current school.  This is only amazing when you realize we decided in April to move the children to a school that is 2 miles from our house, instead of the one Sebastian attended for the last 3 years, that is a mile away.

I have now been doing my job for one week and I feel very confident in saying, I can tell you at the end of the year exactly what I am doing.  One thing I have not had to do is spend time getting to know my coworkers or the programs they offer.  I know I will be teaching cooking workshops, helping to source more local foods for all the programs with a focus on the preschool and developing menus for the preschool ready for them (probably me to start with) making their own meals.  I will be using the skills and relationships I have been developing in the kitchen and with food here in Burlington.  Some of my children's pickiness will help inform what I do, but really much of Sebastian and Julian's opinions about food are uniquely their own.  Take last week and the watermelon popsicles I made when Sebastian declared he was tired of eating the melon from our CSA.

So I had this moment of inspiration to make watermelon cream popsicles, which would be a riff on a drink I used to get on vacation.  The drink was called a watermelon cream and is made by blending fresh watermelon juice with vanilla ice cream.  However rather then make vanilla ice cream I decided just to use milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract and then freeze the mixture in popsicle molds.  Both Sebastian and Julian were so excited when I told them the idea and hounded me until I got popsicle sticks to make them.  Lewis, Julian and I all love them.  Sebastian, the child who was tired of watermelon, declared that they are not what he was expecting and he doesn't like them.  Apparently, he said, he was expecting them to taste like a wonderfully ripe slice of watermelon and they don't.  Perhaps because his mother intentionally made them a little different from the flavor of watermelon because he was tired of it!

Watermelon Cream Popsicles

2 1/2 cups watermelon puree (make watermelon puree by whizzing watermelon chunks in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. You can remove the seeds if you want but it is not essential)
3/4 cup heavy cream (you can substitute half and half, whole milk or any milk substitute such as soy milk)
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%, use whatever you keep in the house, even soy, rice, almond etc)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients and combine well using whatever machine you used to puree the watermelon chunks.  Pour into popsicle molds (or paper cups with a stick handle) and freeze until hard.