Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
I found this recipe for oatmeal apple bars that I wanted to try, but I didn’t have any apples. I did, however, have tons of strawberries, so I used those instead. For one 8×8 pan you will need: 1 cup flour, 1 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 1/2 cups fruit, and the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter, but I substituted a mashed banana for 1/4 cup, and they were great. Depending on the type of fruit you use, you can also cut back on the sugar. I was reading that for baked goods with acidic fruits, like strawberries, adding a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda will help cut the tartness so you can use half as much sugar. I tried that trick with one batch of these, and they were okay. That might work better on pies, or other recipes that have a higher fruit content. I have made these using frozen, thawed strawberries, fresh strawberries, and now I’m trying home-canned pears (thanks, Mom!). Chop up your fruit, and mix everything together.
Spray your 8×8 pan with cooking spray, pour everything in there, and bake it at 350 for 35 minutes. They are mildly sweet, dense, and moist, similar to banana bread.
I can see a lot of variations possible with this basic recipe: mangoes, apples, peaches, raisins or other dried fruit. (With dried fruit, you should chop it up, then soak it in a bowl of water for a little while before mixing it into the batter). You can also add flavorings like cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, or even some fancy alcohol like cognac. You could even throw in nuts, or leftover trail mix. Get crazy! You can also make a double batch, but you should probably make a triple batch, so you have plenty to give me.
I finally tried an apricot
I’m *{error}* years old, (Oh sorry, I forgot the computer can’t comprehend that number) and I had never had an apricot that wasn’t dried until last night. I went to Sprouts yesterday to stock up on a bunch of super cheap and delicious produce, and I saw apricots in a bin, so I got a couple. (I also got some pluots. I’m not even sure what they are, but they were good).
The apricot was disappointing. It’s so tiny, I basically got a mouthful of fur with a tiny amount of slightly sweet flesh attached. I know I could have gotten a bland one, which is one thing I hate about fruit, but my main problem is the fur. I HATE furry fruit: peaches, kiwis, and now apricots gross me out.
I don’t need food with fur on it. Why do I want to eat something that resembles a rodent? If I was pretending to be a snake or an owl, maybe I would consider eating a peach or apricot, but otherwise there is no point. I hate the feeling of the fur on my teeth and toungue. That is not a texture that says, “I’m delicious and juicy!” It says “Excuse me, you’ve mistakenly bitten a throw pillow. Your snack is over there”.
I don’t know why peaches even continue to exist; we have nectarines, people. You don’t have to eat fruit wrapped in velure anymore! Peaches are fine in pies, of course because they are peeled, but what other purpose do they serve?
Anyway, I’ll be sticking with dried apricots, which apprently go through a de-furring process, and nectarines when I want to eat real fruit. That’s right, you just read an entire rant about fruit. Happy Friday!!
Use it Up: Bananas
We buy bananas pretty regularly, and we never finish them before they start getting a bit past their prime. I’m not even much of a fan of bananas, but they are good for you, so I attempt to choke them down periodically. Once they start to get even the tiniest bit brown, I peel them and throw them in the freezer to use later.
The best way to use up frozen bananas is to make banana bread, but I’m not making it today, so we’ll have to save that for a later post. Usually, I use them up in smoothies. Any time I have any fruit that starts to get a bit soft, goes into my freezer, so I usually use a bunch at the same time in my smoothies. Today I have a super simple, delicious recipe.
You will need milk, bananas, and some form of chocolate powder or syrup. I have nesquik on hand, but hot cocoa works just as well. I used a few frozen bananas, and some fresh, about 6 total for two shakes.
Put the ingredients in the blender. Blend. Drink. Thank me profusely.
It tastes pretty much like bananas and chocolate, but this is an excellent way to satisfy a sweet tooth in a healthier way than eating a tub of ice cream, or an entire cake. You could add a little vanilla extract too, to give it an extra bit of flavor. I’ve also made these using chocolate protein powder, and they are very tasty. Now we can all watch our girlish figures together!
Pie!
There are always occasions where people get together, and you’re expected to contribute food. Pot lucks with family, work or friends always put the pressure on to make something, if not impressive, at least palatable. And I would never stoop so low as to bring something, uck, store bought. Pies are super easy, and come on, who doesn’t love pie?
The other day, I made two at once, one mixed berry, and the other peach mango. I bought pie crusts at the store. It was a buck for a two pack, and that is definitely worth the mess it saves in my kitchen. I bought two of them, and you’ll see why in a sec.
I did have to hunt through the freezer section to find ones that were the least broken. Now one crust will obviously be where you put the filling. The other one will go on top to be the top crust. Tricky, right? You have to cut vents in the top crust so that steam can escape during baking, but I’m not the type of chick to cut boring slits, now am I? I wouldn’t be That Clever Chick, and I wouldn’t have such an enthralling blog, would I? Lucky for you, I AM That Clever Chick, and your eyeballs are currently being caressed by my magnificence. You’re welcome.
I used a star cookie cutter to make holes in what was soon to be the upper crust. You could use any kind of cookie cutter, but you should try to use a small one, and make sure there is lots of crust between the holes so the whole thing will hold together.
Once you have the filling in the bottom crust, gently lay the upper crust over top, and pop it out of its pan. The crusts I used said to perform this step while the were both still frozen, and that worked for me. I then let the whole thing sit for about 15 minutes for the upper crust to thaw, and flatten out. I then pinched the edges together and baked both pies at the same time. See? Batch baking!
Both pies tasted great, and the crusts look a little beat up because there were very few unbroken ones at the store when I went. They were still super cute, and filled my, and several friends’ bellies.
Now about the fillings. No I didn’t forget, I just felt like doing the post this way. Well, maybe a little of both. Anyway, I used berries I had in my freezer for one of the pies. During this time of year, when strawberries and blueberries are ripe and cheap, I usually can’t resist picking up a tub or two. Hubby and I rarely eat them before they get to that, if-I-don’t-eat-them-this-second-they’ll-be-trash stage, so once they get a bit soft, I freeze them. I happened to do the same with a mango earlier this year, assuming it would end up in a smoothie.
For the berries, I basically let them sit out and thaw, drained out the excess water, and stirred in about a quarter cup of sugar. Fruit is naturally sweet, so you don’t need to add lots of sugar. For the mango peach pie, I used a regular can of peaches I had on hand, I cubed the mango, and even threw in a couple strawberries. I drained the peaches, then tossed the fruit together in a bowl with a bit of splenda (instead of sugar). The mango added lots of sweetness naturally, and made the peaches taste more interesting.
I happened to make a pie yesterday, along with my strawberry chocolate cake, for an event held here at my place today, which will spawn at least THREE blogs posts! I can hear you squeeing from here. So the pie yesterday was planned to be just peach, but I had more strawberries in the freezer and room in the pie crust, so I mixed them in, still frozen. I also added about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and vanilla extract, each, and again, about a quarter cup sugar.
When the pie was almost done baking, I took it out and brushed some of the syrup from the canned peaches on top, then sprinkled sugar on that. I then let it finish baking. The sugar stuck to the crust, and it was really tasty. As a matter of fact, I just finished the last piece. I think I will now nap, and watch the A-Team. Don’t I have the most fun ever??
