Oatmeal breakfast bars

This recipe came from an issue of Country Living. It's a bit of a PITA, but yummy.

1 3/4c flour
1 1/4c oats
1/2c wheat bran
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp salt
1/8tsp nutmeg
1c butter, soft (need to blend w/ sugar)
1/2c plus 2tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
Applesauce (jelly also works,but we like applesauce better)

Dough:
Combine flour, oats, wheat bran, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, & nutmeg in med bowl.
Using mixer, beat butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add eggs, one @ a time. Add vanilla.
Mix in dry ingredients. Divide dough in half, wrap in Saran *NOTE - dough is VERY sticky, I usually use the plastic to grab half the dough and then try to neaten it up once contained.
Chill at least 1 hr.

Assembly:
Roll out 1 portion of dough between 2 sheets floured parchment paper to an 8x10 rectangle. (Usually works better if it's sat out of fridge for long enough to soften, but not long enough to get sticky again)
Cut out 2X5 strips. Place on parchment on large baking sheet. Put filling down center.
Roll out/ cut other half of dough. Top the bars on the sheet - crimp or press to seal edges.
Cover w/ plastic - chill at least 20 min.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake 20-25. Transfer to rack to cool.

I am awesome! *snort* - hodgepodge

Inspired by @researchgoddess, I've made myself a Superhero! ;-)

I needed this kick-butt reminder. Very cool. Oooh, as I get closer to my target weight maybe I'll try a pose like this - minus wings and we'll see what I can do for the outfit.

I just realized I never put a summary of Book #10 - American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I reread this for the Twitter-wide bookclub, #1b1t. I love the book, a story of the struggle for relevance among the gods that have been brought here by immigrants over the centuries. Thanks to the bookclub - I read it more slowly, carefully, and closely than my original reading for tone, flow, & overall impressions. There's a ton of meat to this and it deserves its place in my favorites list.

Book #11 - Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. My overall reaction to this was "meh". I got tired of the antics of the cast of characters. Their motives were so massively self-centered and greedy and their actions to meet those ends so extreme, I just didn't buy it. And it got very tired once I stopped caring. Maybe I'm jaded, but while I found some of the pieces a bit gross, nothing shocked me.

Finally, today - the latest curried quinoa recipe (via Natural Health)
1c quinoa
2c water
1tbsp curry powder
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp cayenne
pinch of salt
2 med carrots, peeled & shredded (oops, I chopped)
15oz can low/no salt chickpeas (I used black beans) - rinsed/ drained
3 green onions, thinly sliced (I used chives)
2 apples, halved/cored/chopped
1/4c toasted pumpkin seeds (I used sunflower seeds)
3tbsp olive oil
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
juice of 2 limes
salt/ pepper to taste
1 1/2c mixed greens

1 - In a saucepan, combine quinoa, water, spices & salt. Bring to a boil, cover then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until quinoa turns transparent and liquid is absorbed. Fluff w/ fork, cool & place in large bowl.
2 - Add carrots, chickpeas, onions, apples, pumpkin seeds
3 - To make dressing - whisk olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt/ pepper. Pour over quinoa mix and toss.
4 - Divide into individual servings (claims 4, I got more) and server over bed of mixed greens.

Moroccan Harira

This is a winter of soups for me - trying to make one soup a week - all new ones so far.

The back story on harira - Moroccans eat it to break the fast each night during Ramadan (per Nancy Harmon Jenkins in The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook) - so it's hearty, but not heavy.

From: The Healing Foods Cookbook from Vegetarian Times

1/2c green lentils
1Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2c chopped fresh parsley (didn't have - so I used a bunch of dried ground sage, which I have tons of)
1/2c chopped cilantro (sub dried)
1/2tsp dried ginger
1 cinnamon stick
15oz can chopped tomatoes,drained - liquid reserved
2c broth (I use veggie)
15oz can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/2c vermicelli

Tadouira (thickener)
2Tbsp flour
1/4c chopped cilantro
2Tbsp lemon juice
1Tbsp tomato paste

Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water 2 min. Drain
Heat oil in pot over med heat. Saute onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, & cinnamon 5 minutes - til onion is soft. Add tomatoes, saute 5 min.
Stir in broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato juice, 3c water, & salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med-low. Simmer, stirring occ., 45 min. or until lentils are tender.
Whisk flour with 1c waterin bowl. Whisk in cilantro, lemon juice, & tomato paste. Stir into Harira w/ vermicelli. Cook 3 min, or until vermicelli are soft.

Happy Valentines Day to all! I'm focusing on yummy food (fig & fennel bread, sw potato ravioli w/ sage butter sauce, and a Wegmans fruit tart) and making progress on house chores. J has a lot of schoolwork to do with the end of his quarter approaching, so we'll have a makeup night out when he's on break.

Another recipe - cranberry chutney

Once again, a recipe request gets me to post.

Dan had a gig in San Francisco yesterday and went to see Bela Fleck on Friday night. Need to connect with Sonny to see what he's up to.

Our family Thanksgiving (minus Sonny and Pam who are visiting her family this year) will be Wednesday afternoon, because Dad has to work on Thursday. I plan to make my cranberry chutney in just a short while.

And here's the recipe! (marked in my cookbook by a Cheese pumpkin pattern :))
Originally from Bon Appetit, I believe.
Cranberry-Pear Chutney

1 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
2 pears, peeled, halved, cored, corsely chopped (by far the messiest part)
1 onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 c orange marmalade
1/2 c dried pears (I never find these, so always leave them out, seems fine)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c grated lemon peel (another item that could be omitted if you don't have lemons around)
1 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Combine all in a pot.
Cover and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens (and cranberries pop), stirring occasionally - about 30 minutes. Cool.
(Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Update - typed too fast - 2 things - 1) instead of lemon peel I usually put in a splash of lemon juice, 2) 1/3c packed dark brown sugar.