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Darienne

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  1. Oops. DH reminded me that he adds green pepper to his sauce. And it's not even on the recipe. Says next time, he'll consider using Poblanos. We've been able to get them now for over two years.
  2. DH, Ed, makes our spaghetti sauce and trust me, it's not fancy. The completely stained old recipe card actually calls for Mazola oil...it's that old. It calls for ground beef, tomato paste, canned stewed tomatoes, sugar (which we omit), nutmeg, pepper, salt, Parmesan cheese, onion, celery, garlic, parsley, mushrooms, oregano. The beef and vegetables are fried first. It sits and simmers for a long time. I have been known to add basil when he's not watching. That's it. Nothing fancy. Nothing even intriguing. It has suited us for decades...54 years in less than a month. And then we argue over how al dente the pasta is. And compromise. Maybe that's the secret to our long-lasting marriage. Oh, and he usually makes enough to freeze for a very long time.
  3. Back to work. Ed is afraid we'll be inundated by power bars with no one to eat them. Not a problem. I'll freeze some of the already made ones. Have to replace the Citrus-Seed-Fruit Bars because I've eaten them all for breakfasts. Each recipe makes only a very limited amount and so far I am not doubling/tripling anything. This time around I had the called-for chia seeds and used them. Next time I'll use half figs I think. They are cooling in the garage currently. Today I tried the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars, p. 110, 271 calories per bar, 12 servings. Ran out of chocolate protein powder and so it was mostly vanilla and not sweet enough really. Plonked in a whack of sugar (don't tell on me please. I was a tad distracted at the time and just reached for the nearest sweetener. This whole thing of protein powders, whey and non-whey, sweetened and unsweetened I think will have to be considered before I opt for one of the recipes based on one of these.) Didn't have liquid Stevia for the 'icing', but subbed (allowed) maple syrup instead. Ooops. Just realized I was supposed to reduced the amount of milk called for. But it didn't matter anyway. What have I learned? My food processor, a Kitchen Aid, which replaced a larger Cuisinart when it finally gave up the ghost, is neither large enough nor powerful enough to do this kind of work. The other thing, which I think I mentioned earlier is that I don't like nuts and seeds as finely ground as some of the recipes call for. I like recognizable little chunks to chomp on in my bars. I'll report back on the taste of the chocolate/peanut butter ones. The mixture tasted good and so did the 'icing'. Next time I think I'll go for the Mega Marathon Bars (the names get a bit repetitious and meaningless), p. 98, because it appears to be the only recipe which calls for egg and flour. The accompanying blurb says they are perfect for book clubs, knitting circles and Ultimate Frisbee, none of which I belong to. Alas. Forgot to note that I added ground cardamom to the Citrus-etc bars.
  4. Not a complicated recipe, but delicious and my favorite out of my new cookbook so far. Citrus-Seed-Fruit Bars from Power Hungry: The Ultimate Energy Bar Cookbook. For anyone who ever wanted to make a protein/power/energy/granola/etc bar at home.
  5. My Father loved Oka and Limburger cheese. My Mother kept it between the sets of windows out in the Utility Room.
  6. Darienne

    Fruit salads

    And I'm not exciting. We often have a fruit salad for dinner. We enhance it with a bit of orange juice, that's all. Into a bowl with some granola or toasted nuts on top. Any combination of fresh and frozen fruits we have on hand, but always a banana for some sweetness.
  7. 7. Citrus-Seed-Fruit Bars, p. 62. Had only ground Chia seeds, so I simply upped the sunflower seeds. Absolutely scrumptious. Lowest caloric value of the bars so far and a fairly large bar for only 105 calories. My one problem was that my food processor refused to mix the batter but simply whirled around below the batter which clung to the walls. Not insurmountable. And I'm just thrilled with the bars.
  8. Two goals: First one to get back to having folks over for lunch, with or without dogs. Family health problems have put us behind in our usual lunching custom. Second one and more interesting perhaps is to make all the recipes in my latest purchase: Power Hungry: The Ultimate Energy Bar Cookbook. Camilla V. Saulsbury. To date, I've made about 6 or 7 with delicious results. I've also begun an eG topic," Power Hungry": making the bars from recipe #1. So far, it's been fun. Just finished making: Citrus-Seed-Fruit Bars. They just might be the best one yet.
  9. Cookbooks now at 185. First cookbook purchased, 2nd hand or new since December 2012. And a winner: Power Hungry: The Ultimate Energy Bar Cookbook. Camilla V. Saulsbury. Have now made about 6 or 7 of her recipes with delicious success and have committed myself to making all the recipes in the book. To that end I have started a eG thread also: "Power Hungry": making the bars from recipe #1.
  10. 6. Must-Have -Chocolate Raw Bars. Now these are truly delicious. Of course, I did make some small changes to the recipe. It called for pulsing the oats and nuts (I subbed pecans for cashews: don't have cashews: Ed has a weakness for them) "until very finely chopped (but not a paste)". Nope. After feeling that the Chocolate Hemp bars were too finely chopped for my taste, I simply chopped the pecans with a hand food chopper...the kind you hammer down on a central chopping pusher. The oats had been leftover from a previous pulsing I think. Heated the dates in the microwave. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Both of us loved them. Best so far, especially with the small chunks of pecan which are very satisfying. Don't know about eating them for breakfast. Oh, forgot. Added a second tablespoon of melted coconut oil because mixing the 'batter' was a bit of a chore seeing as I didn't want the nuts finely chopped. Well, I'm keeping up my end of my bargain so far.
  11. BeeZee, too bad about the sugar in the date paste. I do find that a short stay in the microwave softens the dates enough. Yep, Ed will eat almost anything coated in chocolate. Had it occur to me this morning, as I was eating a Chocolate Hemp Protein Bar for breakfast...this bar has no crunch to it. Although I really like the bars, I guess I like crunch in the morning. The recipe calls for seeds only except for the one variation: Cashew-Coconut Protein Bars. Cashews are fine, but they are not my favorite. I could either sub walnuts or filberts or almonds...or just leave the recipe as is and go back to the plan of making the next recipe in my plan: Must-Have Chocolate Raw Bars...which call for cashews or hazelnuts or almonds. I'll buy some hazelnuts and go for the Raw Gianduja Bars, p.139.
  12. Stoned Wheat Thins originated in Canada. They are available in some places in the States also. We have bought them in Utah for years but haven't been back since the Canadian formula changed. So I can't say about the current state of the cracker in the USA.
  13. Just thinking to myself...gosh, I used to love Ak Mak crackers but haven't seen them in years. Tried Mary's Crackers. Loved them. My S-i-L said: are you crazy? You can't eat those kind of crackers at your age! She was right. Broke a tooth. Obviously the tooth was not a well tooth, but maybe it could have lasted a few more years. End of eating Mary's crackers. DH used to love Stoned Wheat Thins but says they have changed the formula and now they are a disappointment. We are ISO a replacement favorite cracker for him. I usually eat the softest variations of the WASA and Ryvita crackers. And they are not put out for company. Too large and too healthy!
  14. They get saved for DH's best production: Macaroni and Cheese from his Mother's recipe.
  15. From NYT: "...now popular with mainstream shoppers, including dieters and the elderly..." Nothing more was said about the elderly. Good heavens, I am the elderly and here I am eating energy bars. lol. Thanks rotuts. I think I am actually having fun doing this...
  16. I'll check it but seeing as I use it every day in a pre-breakfast and not yummy drink, I don't think it could be. I didn't keep a list of the nuts I used but sometimes the walnuts are a bit off. I'll check those too. OTOH, DH liked them and now with chocolate coating, he's eating them with relish. (little joke here )
  17. I should ask my library if they have a 'request' link. Mind you, they got the Power Hungry book for me in about 4 days. I think the librarian must have gone into the local Chapters and picked it up. Chickpea Bars ingredients: oats, a combination of nuts & seeds, a combination of dried fruits, flax-seed meal, low-fat milk (subbed whole fat), nut/seed butter (peanut butter), dates, sweetener (maple syrup), cinnamon, sea salt. Can't imagine any of these ingredients setting me off. Maybe it was the chickpeas???
  18. cookingofjoy, definitely your recipes are from the book. I checked them out. You've made more bars than I have and are obviously having fun with them. Glad for any insights you can share if you make more.
  19. Well, I love chickpeas beyond belief. The recipe says that you won't be able to taste the chickpeas in the recipe and I tend to believe that. Like making brownies with black beans in them. Nope. It must be something else. I'll take a closer look at the recipe. Post the ingredients for you.
  20. Rotuts, your brownies sound wonderful. And this too is my subversive action for my library ( and vet, and eye doctor, and furnace guy, and dentist, etc, etc) Never hurts. I love making the stuff. Then I need to get it out of the house before we eat it all. Alex,we've never actually eaten much in the way of commercial bars, but I am glad to make them at home. Most of the commercial ones, besides being exorbitant in price as you noted, are just too sweet. I took some of the Chickpea Bars to a meeting today for folks to try and report back and they were met with enthusiasm. Then I tried another one of them. I still don't like them and am going to put a chocolate coating on the rest to see if I can eat them that way. Put one coat of chocolate topping on a couple of pieces. Ed said it needed another coat. Second coat applied. Ed said: good. I thought it tasted like an unpleasant power bar with a delicious chocolate topping. Ed says he will eat them all eventually. But not for breakfast with a substantial chocolate coating on them. No, I won't even bother making them again.
  21. BeeZee, I think you are correct. When I make them again, I'll cut down on the honey. Of course, Saulsbury isn't suggesting that they are 'breakfast' bars. As for the Date-Sweetend Quinoa Bars, I didn't use only walnuts in them but think they'd be fine with only almonds. ...didn't use almonds at all come to think of it. Right. No chocolate chips for breakfast! Next I'm going to try from the book the 'Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars', p.110. I should add that no one could find fault with the ingredient list that Saulsbury posts. All stuff from a health food/ bulk food store with no sugar, no white processed items, no preservatives, etc. She adds that almost all the ingredients are regularly found items. And lists Ingredient Sources in the back. I can't say that I like her index...but then how often is an index really useful in any cookbook?
  22. Next installment. Made two recipes out of the book today as the rest of the bars from last week were gone. Chickpea Champion Bars, p.80. Subbed whole milk for non fat; used maple syrup. They were baked for 18 minutes, although I really can't figure out why. Nothing in them needed baking. RESULTS: Not a winner. Honestly I didn't like them much. DH liked them just fine. Something to me tastes wrong, but I know it wasn't the chickpeas. As noted in the recipe, their taste just disappears. Could try them again with different variations. Oh well. Chocolate Hemp Protein Bars. Seemed like a good choice as we grow Hemp hearts on our farms. In fact, I used our very own hearts to make this. Subbed sweetened coconut. Used one cup of Spiru-Tein Cappuccino rice, pea and soy protein powder for the base. Can't get it in Canada...have tried...and so can't duplicate this recipe until I return to the USA. Had to add more liquid to get the batter to stick together: first 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil, and then an unmeasured slurp of milk. My protein powder is VERY old....? RESULTS: very yummy and yet not too sweet. I think I like pretty much anything with chocolate in it.
  23. OK. I bought the book yesterday after looking at our library's copy for a few days. Seemed like a good bet. Before I bought the book, I made three of Saulsbury's recipe from her blog. It seems that I never have all the ingredients needed ahead of time for a recipe, and we live so far from a town, that I just sub what I think might work. Sorry about that. 1. No Bake Oatmeal Energy Bars with Cherries and Almonds: subbed black-strap molasses for regular, whole milk powder for non-fat, a variety of dried fruits for cherries (allowed). RESULTS: delicious, very simple to make. Alas too sweet for breakfast, but perfect for a snack or dessert. (Well, I try not to snack. ) 2. Date-Sweetened Quinoa Power Bars: also non-bake. Followed recipe exactly (wow!) RESULTS: acceptable, but not sweet enough for the DH. Could have skipped the chocolate chips...they simply didn't fit (for me). 3. Lucy Bars (knock-off Lara Bars): was also in book, p. 48, Carrot Cake Bar variation, p.51 RESULTS: just fine. Saulsbury instructs to make dates more pliable using warm water: much easier to use the microwave. Next to start in the book. Oh, and buy a few missing ingredient type items. Photos were not taken, and actually they don't look very exciting in photos...they all tend to 'look' alike.
  24. All the various grains and suchlike (quinoa) are used in her recipes. I've made one...have to get organized now...with raw old fashioned oats. Wondered about eating raw large oats, but it worked perfectly. There are even recipes using chickpeas and black beans.
  25. Just catching up: I am red meat intolerant. A childhood of nightly overcooked steaks...and I do mean nightly...did it. Both parents were vegetarians but the paediatrician refused to take care of me unless my Mother fed me meat. I get nightmares if I eat too much red meat. Porthos: would you share your recipe for baked brown rice please? Or does someone else have such a recipe which they like. Meredith380: skipping breakfast is supposed to be the worst thing you can do to your digestive and other systems. But then...you already knew that anyway, Mommy. I have just started this morning another topic on Power bars for breakfast from a new cookbook which has 30 recipes for same, ranging from knock-off versions to fairly esoteric recipes. I'm going to make the entire book and comment on each recipe. And hope that someone else joins me. I am determined to find suitable breakfast foods for myself.
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