Tag Archives: Oats

Baked Apple & Almond Oatmeal

Posted on by

IMG_4327

Hello 2013!

This is my first post for 2013, and to start the year off I thought I would share our mornings with you. They are very simple, easy going and luckily not usually rushed.  Mornings I will miss and dream of when I start working days again, which right now has no set date yet.  It never occurred to me we had a morning ritual until I came across a post on apartment therapy that got me thinking about it. I realized I was taking for granted this nice, comforting and enjoyable time of the day when we know automatically what happens next.

IMG_4328

A typical morning for us starts around 6:30am.  Somedays 6am (or earlier), which thankfully means play time with dad.  Some days 7am, but not usually later.  First stop is getting Calla changed and freshened up.  Then she’ll help me feed Cliff and let him out.  We’ll start coffee and in my somewhat sleepy state, stare at the fridge for breakfast ideas.  Continue reading →

A Cherry Crumble with Rhubarb

Posted on by

Summertime is long gone.  The days of warm sunny weather, no jackets, toques or wishing I had a car starter.  Even the days of Calla staying still long enough for me to go a little camera happy and snack a couple (or 50) photos of her playing with food.  In particular cherries were a delight, it’s a wonder how I forgot about these photos.

Totally fascinated with the stem and intrigued by the taste, she’d always get covered in red cherry juice.  She loves them even more as a little snack frozen. One of the best fruits to eat, cherries are high in antioxidants, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, Vitamin A, C, K and folate.

Super easy to carry around for a snack, but be sure to brings wipes or napkins since they can make a bit of a mess.  They’re also great mixed with oatmeal, yogurt, or mixed in with a fruit salad. No teeth yet?, just steam them for a few minutes them blend together with some water, milk, and mix with banana, couscous or chicken.

As your little one gets bigger though and their teeth come in, they acquire new tastes and you get to bridge the gap between purees to small bites to bigger bites. Try this recipe out on your little one. If you’re not interested in the tartness of the rhubarb you can add more cherries or opt for strawberries instead. I love to add a few extras so the flax meal, hemp hearts and almonds give it a little extra nutritional boost.  Serve as a breakfast with plain yogurt, a snack or a tasty treat with a little vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Crumble with Rhubarb
(adapted from Two Peas and their pod)

3 cups cherries, pitted
2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 tbsp corn starch
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp flax meal
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp hemp hearts
1/2 cup quinoa flakes

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine cherries, rhubarb and corn starch. Stir until well coated and set aside.
In a seperate bowl, combine rolled oats, quinoa flakes, flax meal, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well. Mix butter into oat mixture, rubbing together with your fingers, until crumbly.  Mix in half the almonds and hemp hearts and stir. Drizzle with honey and stir.
Pour cherry mixture into baking dish, cover with oat mixture. Then sprinkle remaining almonds and hemp hearts on top. Bake 30-35 minutes or until fruit is soft and crisp is bubbly. Serve warm with greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

Black Bean Burgers with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Posted on by

We spent alot of time at the swings this summer.  They just happened to be on our daily walk route or were a good excuse to go for a walk or sometimes we just stumbled upon a park and hit the swings.  Calla had fun on the swings, she loved to get going faster and higher, I know we have a little daredevil on our hands, I just know it.  Love it though!

Um I think you’ll agree with me here.. this is Hands down the best swing reaction ever!

We also got into a bit of a burger kick this summer, but not the typical beef burgers with bacon, cheese and condiments.  More chickpea burgers, tilapia burgers, even zucchini burgers (coming soon). These black bean burgers were a total hit.

I love the taste of black beans sauteed with cumin, cayenne, and curry powder.  I would be happy eating that alone, but instead we stepped it up a notch and added jalapeno, garlic, onion, corn, oats, bread crumbs and cilantro.

Blended together it really doesn’t look like much. But let it chill for a little while, about 2 hours or so, and man the flavors really start to come together. After the ingredients have had some time to get to know each other, add the breadcrumbs and divide into 4 equal parts. Form each part into patties, packing them together nicely so the patties stay intact.

While the patties are heating up, sizzling away, you’ll have some time to gather dressings. There’s always a million ways to dress a burger.  Some go plain, some just a little sauce, some exxtra sauce.

It’s a good idea to throw some veggies on top, and a fresh warm (maybe) toasted bun is a great call too.  Once assembled, you may need some help diving in, so I say cut it in half for a little extra leverage.

Black Bean & Corn Burgers (adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon)

Serves 4

1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can Black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs Rolled oats
1/2 cup Corn
1 Green onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Curry powder
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 cup Whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp Vegetable oil
4 Whole wheat buns
Topping: cucumber, tomato, lettuce, parmesan cheese & roasted red pepper hummus (or whatever you desire)

Place red onion, jalapeno & garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times, until blended and diced.

Add beans, oats, corn, green onion, cumin, curry powder, and cayenne.

Pulse until combined.

Season for salt and pepper and pulse again until desired consistency is achieved (I would try to keep it a little chunky for extra texture).

Transfer to mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove chilled mixture and stir in breadcrumbs. Taste for any additional seasoning.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Divide mixture into 4 equal parts.  Using your hands, pack each part into patties about an inch thick.Add patties to skillet and and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, until crusty and heated through.

Remove patties from heat, transfer to bun and dress as you wish.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This dip is a nice addition to the Black Bean Burger, it’s also a great dip with crackers, pita chip, veggies or you could even mix with pasta.  Quick and easy to whip up you just need some roasted garlic, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, a few walnuts and olive oil.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 Garlic clove, roasted
3 Red Pepper, roasted
1 Can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 Cup Olive Oil, or to taste
1/2 Cup Walnuts
Salt & Pepper

Pulse the garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.

Add the walnuts and pulse a few more times to break up any large pieces.

Add the roasted red pepper and pulse a few times until combined.

Stream in olive oil through feed tube, and pulse until desired consistency.

Taste for salt and pepper, and add more olive oil if needed.  Serve with pita chips, veggies or as spread.

Oatmeal Rhubarb Muffins

Posted on by

At 8 1/2 months, we’re in the mist of cutting two bottom teeth, the first ones to come in.  I can see the gums are broken, but no teeth poking through yet.  I really really really hope they push through soon though and ease Little Calla’s discomfort.

Luckily, we don’t remember these uncomfortable, painful moments in our lives.  I can only imagine the painkillers we would be on if we were to go through this stage as an adult.  Babies are so strong!!

Since you never know what to expect with a little one or what stage they are in, I like to have a little something kicking around for when hunger strikes, but baby needs me.

I loved these Oatmeal Rhubarb Muffins.  I’ve never had Rhubarb muffins before, but developed a craving for them all of the sudden.

The batter was so light and fluffy, I had a great feeling about the end result.  Not too tart, not too sweet, moist, almost cake-like. Yum Yum Yum!

Oatmeal Rhubarb Muffins (adapted from Closet Cooking)

Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup Brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup yogurt
1 over-ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Egg
3/4 cup Old-fashioned Rolled Oats

Dry Ingredients
1 Cup All-purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

2 Cups Rhubarb, chopped in small pieces

Preheat Oven to 375F. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix together, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together until just combined.

Stir in rhubarb.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Let cool on a wire rack in pan for 5 minutes.  Flip muffins on their sides to cool, or remove completely and let cool on wire rack.

Muesli Mug

Posted on by

I’ve recently discovered Muesli, and decided it’s pretty amazing!! I go through phases when it comes to Oatmeal, sometimes I just don’t want something warm in the morning on a nice sunny spring day. I also love granola, but go through phases with that as well. Now muesli is something else. It’s incredibly easy and quick too.  Start by soaking the oats overnight, then all you need to do in morning is add apple, yogurt, berries and seeds.  Less than 5 minutes you have a delicious, very healthy breakfast.  Now that’s not the end of it either, the variations are endless, which makes it that much more amazing.  You could soak the oats in almond milk or applesauce, use greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt, anything that ends in berry will do just fine, and I could go on and on when it comes to nuts and seeds.

(Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook)
This is for a single serving.

1/3 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 apple, grated
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1/3 cup of greek yogurt
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tsp hemp hearts
1 tsp flax seeds
1/3 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

The night before serving muesli, place oats in a bowl and cover with water.  Cover and leave on the counter overnight.

In the morning, remove cover and drain any excess water from bowl. Grate apple and add to bowl, mix together.  Add yogurt, berries, seeds, hemp hearts and strawberries. Mix again.  Finally add lemon juice and maple syrup.  Mix one more time.  Grab a cup of hot coffee and a spoon and enjoy.

A few possibilities:

Seeds: Flax seeds, hemp hearts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
Nuts: Chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, pistachios, chopped toasted hazelnuts, toasted pecans
Fruit: Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Apple, Pear, Banana, sliced mango, chunks of pineapple, dried apple, dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots
Liquid: Almond milk, skim milk, greek yogurt, flavored yogurt
Sweetener: Maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, cane syrup