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Adaptable Oat Bars and the Winners!

Ω January 24th, 2011 Ω Tagged Barney Butter, contest, dogs, Norfolk terrier, oat bars Ω 19 Comments

Top ‘o the week to ya! I’m sure you’re all eagerly awaiting the winners of last week’s Barney Butter and Jessie-Awesome-Gift contests, so we’ll get right to it.

The winner of two free jars of Barney Butter is:

Lauren @ Health on the Run! Congrats, Lauren! Send your address to thehappinessinhealth [AT] gmail [DOT] com and I’ll have your Barney Butters send out ASAP :)

Now, for the caption contest! Entries are below the picture:

Jessie: (with a British accent) “Hop along little fellow, there’s no need to stare! That’s quite rude you know!”
Peter: “What are YOU lookin’ at?”
(Christina @ Dinner at Christina’s)

Jessie: “Thanks for the delicious dinner honey, but after all this fried chicken I might as well start working out to burn the fat like, right now!”
Peter: “That’s what I get for being the husband of the THIH blogger…”
(Christa)

Jessie: “This meal just makes me want to dance!”
Peter: “Oh no, not the Muppet Dance”
(Samantha @ Bikini Birthday)

Jessie: “That was ONE awesome chocolate cake I just had. I think this deserves a happy dance.”
Peter: “I knew I shouldn’t have let you order the chocolate cake.”
(LeQuan @ luvtoeat)

Jessie: “Watch me subtly sneak into this picture”
Peter: “Did I just hear ‘click’?”
(Lele @ wild world)

Jessie: “Smile, Peter!”
Pete: “I’d rather be playing Heroscape.”
(Marie – love the inside joke!)

Peter: (yawn) “Say What!!!”
Jessie: “I said, now that we’ve finished that Fried Chicken, Noodles and Peas and the Skillet Scones, let’s go for a long run!”
(Aunt Joyce)

Peter: “I think that waiter is hitting on me.”
Jessie: “Aiya! not me!?” (@%$#$ in Chinese)
(Tanantha @ I Just Love My Apron)

Jessie: “Let’s do something fun, I will race to the door.”
Peter: “Oh dear god please help me.”
(Jodie @ Jodie Pilates)

Jessie: “I’m so excited for my meal, I could just dance all night!”
Peter: “Oh gosh, I hope she’s not in one of her dancing moods again…we’re never coming back here….”
(Gina @ The Candid RD)

Jessie: “Just dance!”
Peter: “What? You know you want to dance!”
(Azmina @ Lawyer Loves Lunch)

Jessie: “Didn’t I tell you this eatery would be worth your hard earned buckaroos!”
Peter (muttering): “Why is she always right”!?!
(Claudia @ Foodessa)

Jessie: “He’d better take the picture quick because I really have to go to the bathroom!”
Peter: “Is that a fly in my soup?”
(Joanne @ Eats Well With Others)

Jessie: “That sure was a great meal!”
Peter: *already planning the return trip*
(Min)

Peter: “Does she have to photograph everything we eat?”
Jessie: “I know I can get that shot right, just a quick 20 or 30 more shots!”
(Chef Dennis @ More Than a Mountfull)

Jessie: “And THIS my friends, is me after a 12-course almond butter feast!!!!! Teeheehee”
Peter: “Thank goodness this meal is on Jessie.”
(Michelle @ Lucky Taste Buds)

Guys, choosing was really, REALLY hard. You are all so funny and clever that I’ve been torn all day about what to do. I was all ready to throw in the towel and just choose randomly, but I figured that wouldn’t be fair to everyone who took the time to come up with a caption (and let’s face it, writing a caption takes effort!). So, after much deliberation with Peter, we decided to award the Awesome-Jessie-Prize to Gina @ The Candid RD! Congrats, Gina! Email your address to thehappinessinhealth [AT] gmail [DOT] com, and I’ll get the Awesome-Jessie-Prize out to you straightaway!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contests! I had so much fun reading all the captions, and it was great to hear from some of the lurkers out there :) For those who wrote captions: your witty words are forever immortalized under the Caption Contests tab at the top of the page.

Before I leave you all, I’d like to share a recipe that I frequently prepare at this time of year when I’m craving something carb-y.

These adaptable oat bars are based on a Mama Pea recipe and have often found their way into my bag to await an afternoon munching. Simple, but packed full of all the ingredients I love and enough fiber and protein to last me the rest of the afternoon.

Fill-Me-Up Adaptable Oat Bars
Adapted from Peas and Thank You

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flour of choice (I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used cherries, but cranberries, raisins, chopped apricots, etc. also work well)
1/4 chocolate chips
1/2 cup nut butter (such as, say, Barney Butter ;) )
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
2 eggs, slightly beaten (use 1 egg if you like a more crumbly bar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together oats, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Mix together nut butter and maple syrup. Add beaten eggs.

Mix wet and dry ingredients. The mixture will be dry, but keep at it! It’s the perfect workout for those T-Rex arms.

Press into a greased or parchment paper-lined 8″ x 8″ pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until top is starting to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

I like to freeze these and take them out one at a time for a snack. They freeze well and defrost quickly. Even better, they’re Maddie-approved!

Okay, okay, I didn’t ACTUALLY give Maddie any of these bars – what kind of dog owner do you think I am?? I let her lick the stirring spoon instead.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Q: What’s your go-to snack when you need a boost of energy?

» Filed under Recipes » 19 Comments

You’re Nuts! Oh, Well, I’ll Give You a Tour Anyway…

Ω January 10th, 2011 Ω Tagged bbc, Cairn terrier, dogs, luxury nut loaf, Norfolk terrier, nut loaf, Sunday roast, tour Ω 27 Comments

Hello, all my dear THIH readers! How are you this week? As for the title of this post … you know I’d never insult you. All will become clear!

First, to clear up a common misconception from my last post: despite the fact that I look about twelve years old in the second photo, I am actually seventeen and in my first year of college. Peter and I met during our first few weeks at Amherst College while we were living in the same dorm (the substance-free dorm, if you must know). We first encountered each other doing laundry in the dorm basement. I was still attempting to be above-and-beyond friendly, because I had read somewhere that the first few weeks in college were the most important for making friends.

If you can picture the scene: imagine Jessie crouched beside the washing machine, stuffing underwear into the opening as fast as possible while attempting to make conversation with a tall guy across the way (who was actually doing laundry!), with the scent of thousands of Amherst students’ laundry in the air and the steady drum of old dryers knocking against the floor. Romantic. I remember Peter telling me about his first year seminar professor, and me automatically saying “Oh, I hear he’s really good!” (Yeah, I had no idea.) Later, I found out that Peter definitely did NOT like this professor. Score -1 for Jessie!

Lucky for me, Peter was persistent … and now here we are!

Lesson here? Well … there really is no lesson. How about: be yourself? That’s always a good one. Yes.

On to the main part of today’s post! While I was visiting my family in Colorado, my sister Courtney made us her version of a traditional English Sunday roast, based on this recipe from the BBC. This nut loaf was so delicious and satisfying, I ended up making it for Peter’s family a week later. The recipe is below, interspersed with pictures from BOTH nut loaves.

Luxury Nut ‘n’ Seed Loaf (tastes like beef, but better!)
Adapted from the BBC’s Food Recipes

Ingredients:
225g/8oz bulgar wheat
330ml/11fl oz boiling water
3 tbsp soya sauce (key!)
175g/6oz pistachio nuts
225g/8oz blanched almonds
175g/6oz cashew nuts
110g/4oz hazel nuts
110g/4oz sunflower seeds
250g/9oz onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp fresh and finely chopped parsley (I didn’t have parsley for either loaf, but I left it in the list because it would be TASTY)
1 tbsp dried thyme
5 or 6 large eggs, lightly whisked
4 tbsp olive oil

Obviously, a good scale is invaluable in this recipe, or you can do what I did and weigh out the nuts and seeds in the bulk section of Whole Foods or a similar store.

First, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the bulgar wheat in a mixing bowl and pour on the boiling water and soy sauce. Cover and let swell for 25 minutes. In the meantime, grind nuts and seeds in a food processor until medium-fine. You may want to grind in small batches to keep the pieces around the same size.

Mix nut and seed mixture with the softened wheat, parsley, thyme, onions, eggs, and oil. Let stand. (A note about the eggs: the first loaf contained four eggs and fell apart after baking. When I made this loaf for Peter’s family, I used five eggs and the loaf held together better (but it was not perfect!). I bet that six eggs would be perfect. If you make this loaf, let me know if six eggs really ARE better than five! ;) )

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or spray well with cooking spray. Pack the nut ‘n’ seed mixture into the pan (the mixture will look like too much for the pan, but trust me, it WILL fit!). Cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then invert onto a cutting board.

Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting slices.

Courtney served our nut loaf with roasted root veggies (potato, parsnip, carrot) and a brown sauce made from veggie broth and cornstarch (at Peter’s house, I made the sauce from beef broth, cornstarch, and a splash of soy sauce). I made Yorkshire pudding muffins to go along with the English roast theme.

Pour the brown sauce over all and enjoy your nontraditional English Sunday roast!

… So, of what tour am I speaking in the title of this post? Recall that Peter and I moved about 1.5 months ago. The first few days, the new townhouse looked something like this:

Hideous.

But, now, after many days of hard work, the townhouse looks like this:

Let’s take a little tour, shall we?

The most important room: the kitchen. Not looking its best at the moment. Notice the hanging pots at the top, the spice rack on the wall, and the sage and rosemary plants near the window. Also, note the snow outside.