This post originally published in  October 2009.  I’m baking a raspberry batch for homeschool co-op and a peach butter batch for the neighborhood kids/my kids today.  I make this recipe several times a month, even for breakfast, and the recipe is frequently requested, so I thought it was worth republishing.

PLEASE NOTE –   I no longer make it in a 9×13 pan, but instead on a large jelly roll pan with the parchment on the bottom – I freeform a rectangle in the middle (it will not fill the entire pan).  This makes it easier to cut and serve afterward.

These raspberry oatmeal bars were a hit with the kids, so I thought I’d share the recipe.  It’s an adaptation of this recipe, which can also be found in Martha Stewart’s Cookies. The original recipe called for a more complicated raisin puree in the middle,  and my girls weren’t so thrilled with it.  Also, I found it didn’t fit the pan requirements very well,  and made a few other small changes.

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

For the filling:

approx 2 to 2 1/2 cups raspberry preserves (Edit 2011 – or any berry preserves or fruit butter)

For the bars:

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg (edit 2011 – a great way to use our duck eggs!)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups old fashioned (not quick-cooking) rolled oats

organic sanding sugar, to sprinkle on top

Directions – 1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a 9 x 13 casserole dish with parchment paper and grease with butter.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, oats.  In a stand mixture with paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening until fluffy.  Add brown sugar and beat thoroughly.

3.  Lightly beat egg and vanilla together.  Add to the mixture and beat until combined.  Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour/oat mixture and beat until just combined.  Mixture should be crumbly (see above).

4.  Spread half of the flour/oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Push thoroughly into the bottom of the pan.

5.  With a spatula, spread the preserves in a liberal layer over the flour/oat crumb mixture.  Lastly, add the remaining half of the crumb mixture until over the top, gently pressing it down.  Sprinkle with sanding sugar (optional).

6. Bake approximately 30-40 minutes (rotating half-way through) until bars are beginning to brown on top and preserves are bubbling up around the edges.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares (this is a very important step, if you cut them while the preserves are hot and have not reset, the bars will crumble.)

Enjoy!

I let the kids sleep in, and worked on tidying up a bit since the neighbor boys are coming over this morning for a play date (Bend-a-roos and Playmobils and sofa-cushion forts are on the agenda, according to the girls).  Chickens and ducks were let out and fed a breakfast of mashed, roasted pumpkin, scratch and oatmeal.   It was too rainy and cold to do any yard chores this morning, so after poutry-duty, I got to come in and have a few minutes to get a nice breakfast going and read my book.

Breakfast this morning is a new recipe I’ve been tweaking – Oatmeal-Honey-Molasses Bread.  My kids really like the flavor of molasses (in the winter, we make some kind of gingerbread a few times a month), and we have a good quantity of honey on hand at the moment, so I thought I’d alter the oatmeal bread recipe we make frequently.  Here’s the work-in-progress recipe (although, it taked pretty darn good this morning, and had a lovely caramely-color):

Larksong’s Oatmeal-Honey-Molasses Bread

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

2 cups high-gluten bread flour

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 Tbsp hazelnut (or olive) oil

1 1/2 Tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp honey

4 oz warm milk

6 oz warm water

Directions:

1.  Proof yeast in warm milk for 10 min.  Combine dry ingredients in KitchenAid with dough hook.

2.Slowly add wet ingredients (including yeast/milk), except water.  Process on slow, drizzling in water until good doughy consistency is reached (it will be a little sticky.  You may need a teaspoon or two more or less than the recipe indicates, depending on humidity in your house.)

3.  Knead with dough hook on medium speed, or by hand, for 10-12 minutes until dough becomes less sticky and holds together in a nice ball.  Place ball of dough in oiled pan, rolling to coat, cover with a damp towel or Saran Wrap, and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size (in my cold kitchen, that took 1 hr 15 min, but may take 45 min in a warmer kitchen).

4. Punch down dough, and shape,  rolling edges of dough under until formed into a nice loaf.  Place in well-oiled loaf pan (I like a ceramic 9×5), cover lightly with towel, and let rise an additional 45 min, or until loaf has risen nicely over the edge of the pan (in a warm kitchen, it should take about 30 min.)  During this time, preheat oven to 350, with rack in the middle.

5.  Place loaf in hot oven, and quickly dump 1 cup of hot water in the bottom of the oven.  The steam will make a nicer crust.  Bake loaf for 35 min or until bottom of loaf makes a hollow sound when thumped.  Let rest 5 min and remove from pan and let cool before cutting.

Enjoy this very moist, sweet loaf simply sliced with butter, or use leftovers for really yummy bread pudding or French toast.

A quick update after Sunday afternoon chores are done.  Spinach-parmesan puffs (above) are cooling, a pot of 3-bean soup is simmering on the stove…looking forward to bringing them to our Sunday night homegroup in a bit, where we share a meal and fellowship with friends, and dig in to our new book together.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. – Acts 2:46

(This post originally published in Oct 2008, but we’re making a batch again this morning!)

My favorite fall snack as a child – roasted pumpkin seeds.  Growing up, we only got this once a year, when we carved pumpkins at Halloween.  Now that I am the keeper of my own home, I cook pumpkin many many times in the fall and winter and always save the seeds for roasting.  They make the perfect thrifty, tasty, healthy snack.

Larksong’s Mother’s Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

All the seeds scraped from the inside of a pumpkin, washed, and arranged in one layer on a pie plate or cookie sheet (most any winter squash will work, however, I have found that a few large heirloom varieties have very tough, thick seeds, and are not ideal for cooking)

a little salt, paprika, garlic powder tossed together. (If you’re feeling lazy, use any spice blend from Penzeys, but pick one that includes salt – I like Ozark or Old World seasonings.)

Drizzle a little olive oil over the pumpkin seeds, and sprinkle with the spice mixture, tossing to coat.

Bake in a 350F oven for 10-20 minutes (watching closely to prevent overcooking.  time depends a lot on the variety of pumpkin used and the size of the seeds).  Some seeds may pop and bounce out of the pan when they’re almost done.

Let cool and enjoy!  Little Hen thinks they’re “super good” with hot apple cider!

…reading a few chapters in Ann Voskamp’s book before the children were up…

…enjoying granola in the breakfast nook after morning chores, watching chickens, ducks mucking happily around the yard  (Cran-Walnut Granola recipe at the bottom)

…quilting for a neighbor’s baby, due in 2 weeks, while the children had breakfast.

A welcome reprieve before tackling the general chaos of the day.

Larksong’s Cranberry Walnut Granola

Preheat oven to 325F, and get out two large jellyroll pans.

In a large bowl, combine:

6 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups unsweetened, unsulfured coconut

1 cup wheat germ

1 heaping cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

pinch of sea salt

In a saucepan, on med-heat, combine 1  cup of honey, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 3 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1 cup veg oil (I use 1/4 cup hazelnut oil, 3/4 cup veg oil), and heat until warm and honey is thin.  Stir vigorously, and then pour over dry ingredients.

Toss all until combined, then spread over two sheets and bake 20 min.

Remove from oven, stir, scraping around the edges especially, since they will brown first.

Return to oven, and bake approx 20-25 min more, scraping and stirring granola every 5-7 min to prevent scorching in parts.

When granola is dark, toasty, and fragrant, remove from oven and immediately stir in 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries.  While granola is still hot, transfer to a glass or other nonstick bowl, or granola will stick to sheets as it cools.  When totally cooled, break up with a fork and put in sealed jars to keep crisp.  Will keep 1 month, but ours is eaten up in less than a week.

(Cost comparison: similar granola at New Seasons Market – $8.99/lb.   Estimated cost of homemade – about $2.50/lb (all items purchased in bulk to cut costs considerably, except walnuts, which were gleaned from a friend’s tree.)

I hope you had a peaceful and restful Thanksgiving.  We had a very nice time, with my mother-in-law hosting for all the extended family.    I was relieved to not have to make the turkey, since I didn’t think I could handle the smell of roasting turkey filling the house for hours and hours, but the day before, I felt a little better than I have the past several weeks, and managed to make some desserts to bring.   I made chocolate-pecan and regular pecan pies, an apple-cranberry puff-pastry tart,  and a gingerbread (I usually make this version, but this year, I kept it simple).

I had a lot of very ripe persimmons on hand, and so made a persimmon cake as well.   Persimmon cake is very moist and has a wonderful texture – it reminds me a little bit of applesauce cake.   For folks who don’t like the texture of raw persimmons, this is a great way for them to enjoy this nutritious and tasty fruit.

This winter we’re putting in a persimmon tree, and I’m looking forward to the years and years of cakes and cookies we’ll enjoy from it.

Here’s the easy recipe:

Persimmon Bundt Cake

In a separate bowl, beat together

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups persimmon pulp (about 8 very ripe fuyu persimmons, peeled and squished)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

When cake cools, you may wish to drizzle a simple lemon or vanilla glaze over the top.

Enjoy!

And now, to get crackin’ on Christmas gifts still not finished!

The tomatoes are starting to ripen!  Can’t wait to take them in to BCS on Friday!!  Families have been asking for the last month when we’d have fresh, ripe tomatoes.

90 percent of the tomatoes are still green, including many gigantic beefsteaks, like this Brandywine (look at that sucker in my hand! HUGE!).  If you’ve got a moment, say a quick prayer that they’ll all ripen before the cooler weather sets in, or I’ll be sending out lots of green tomato recipes with the week’s harvest (green tomato chutney, green tomato pickles, fried green tomatoes…).

The first of the tomatillos are ripe as well – these are the DeMilpa, which have  a purple blush, and regular old green tomatillos mixed together.  We have ten tomatillos plants, so there will be many MANY pounds of tomatillos to harvest in the next two or three weeks.

How to use tomatillos?  Well, there are several uses, but after removing the husk and washing these sticky little cousins of the tomato, I like to make them into the best salsa verde ever:

Larksong’s Super Simple Salsa Verde (this is sort-of a recipe – just wing it!)

Two to four double- handfuls of ripe tomatillos, husks removed and washed (how many did you pick in the garden today? Use what’s on hand…the amount is flexible!)

(optional – if you like it spicy!  I leave it out for the kids) 1 small jalapeno, whole

3 or 4 cloves of garlic (add more or less, to your taste), crushed

lime juice, to taste

sprinkling of sugar

flake sea salt.

Directions:

1)Line a broiler tray with foil, and oil very lightly.  Place tomatillos (and optional jalapeno) on the tray and broil, checking every 1-2 minutes, until blackened.  Remove tray, and with tongs, flip tomatillos (and jalapeno) over.  Place back under the broiler until all are blackened on the other side.  Remove from oven and let cool.  (Remove stem and seeds from jalapeno and slice, if using.)

2)Toss whole tomatillos and any accumulated juice into a blender with the garlic (and optional jalapeno slices – sometimes it’s best to put in half at first, so you don’t get it too hot).  Blend, then add sugar, lime juice, and salt to taste, blend again to incorporate. (My kids like a bit more sugar, and depending on the source of your tomatillos, they may be pretty acidic and not need much extra lime juice – so just taste as you go!)

3) Serve!  Enjoy!  Make lots, because it goes fast!

Ah, summer dinners in the backyard…

Here’s one of my favorite summer dessert recipes – we’ve been making a lot lately, with whatever fruit we have on hand:

Larksong’s Farm Stand Fruit Pie

For the filling:

5 peaches, peeled and sliced or 10-12 apricots sliced

4 big handfuls of raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup white sugar

For the crust:

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour

1/3 cup cornmeal (I like Bob’s Redmill’s medium grind.  If you use their blue cornmeal, the crust will have a pretty lavender color.)

1/3 cup white sugar, plus 1 Tbsp for dusting the crust

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, grated with a box grater on the large setting

1 egg white

1.  In med bowl, combine all crust ingredients, except egg white, using clean hands to evenly distribute the grated butter.  Slowly add 4-5 Tbsp ice water, one Tbsp at a time, until nice dough comes together.  Shape into a ball and place in the fridge while preparing filling.

2.  Prepare fruit as necessary, and then, in a large bowl,  combine all filling ingredients, and toss gently (so as not to crush berries).  Make sure no lumps of cornstarch remain.

3.  Preheat oven to 425 F.   Lay a large piece of parchment paper on the counter and sprinkle with 1-2 Tbsp of cornmeal.  Remove dough from fridge, and carefully roll out on parchment into a round approx 14-15 inches.  Dough will be fragile – take care in handling it.

4.  Mound fruit filling (using a spatula to scrape out any fruit juice/sugar remaining in the bowl) in the middle of the dough, leaving a 2-inch margin all the way around.  Carefully fold edges up over the fruit – leaving a large opening in the center.  Take care to seal any cracks.  Crust should have a rustic appearance – don’t worry about getting it perfectly round!

5. Carefully transfer parchment to a large, rimmed jellyroll pan (this will prevent any juice that bubbles over from spilling out and burning onto the bottom of your oven!!)  Brush outside of crust with egg white and sprinkle with additional Tbsp of sugar.  Chill for 20-30 min.   Then, bake at 425F for about 45 min, or until crust is golden and fruit is bubbly.

Enjoy! Excellent served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.  Leftovers make great breakfast the next morning!

Just a quick post to share the recipe for my favorite childhood snack.

We were given 40 lbs of honey (albeit, crystallized, so I’ve had to de-crystallize it in batches), so I’ve been trying to come up with ways to use it in my cooking.  We’ve made several batches of jam, substituting honey for a portion of the sugar (more on that later this week.), and tomorrow we’ll be canning peaches with honey instead of sugar and also starting a batch of mead.

I wanted to pass along a recipe that my mom used to make me for an afternoon snack – it’s super simple and quick to make, uses whole, natural ingredients, and kids love it.

Larksong’s Energy “Candy”

Time: less than 10 min start to finish - no baking!

1 cup natural nut butter (we use the grinder at the grocer’s – no added sugar, just nuts – peanut, almond or cashew – all are yummy!)

3/4  cup dry powdered milk

1/4 cup wheat germ (I keep mine in the freezer – it goes rancid easily)

1/2 cup honey

Additional 1/4 cup wheat germ (to roll balls in)

Directions: 1)  Combine first four ingredients in a bowl and let your kids use their hands to knead them together until a homogeneous, non-sticky dough forms.

2) Pinch off scant tablespoons of dough, roll them in your hands until they form a ball, and then roll the ball in additional wheat germ to coat.

3)Enjoy now with a big glass of milk, or store in the fridge up to 3 days.

Little Hen’s new favorite jam:  Black Currant!

I’ve always loved a little Cassis in my hot tea in the winter, but this is the first year we’ve tried jam made from these relatives of the gooseberry, which have a distinctive, smoky/ musky flavor.

Black currants are full of pectin, so they are perfect for jam – all you need is currants, sugar, water, and a little lemon juice.  (Although, next time, I think we’ll try adding some cardamom or cloves, as Sarah@ UrbanMamas suggested).

Here’s what we did:

Sterilize jars, wash lids and rings and get them hot.  Have canner going and almost up to a boil.  Then, you can start making the jam –

In a heavy bottom pot, bring to a boil:

2 1/2 cups water plus 5 heaping cups black currants, stems removed, and washed (that’s how much we picked).  Reduce and simmer 15 minutes, crushing berries against the side of the pot.   (Berries should be soft and well cooked.)

Add in 6 cups sugar + 1/4 cup of lemon juice and return mixture to a full boil.  Continue to boil until you have reached the setting point (22oF) (check often – mine took about 15 min – you don’t want to over cook!).

Remove jam from the heat, and continue stirring once a min for 5-7 min (this helps distribute any berries so you don’t have floating fruit).  Pour into hot, sterilized jars, place lids and rings on, and process 5 min in a hot-water-bath canner.
Enjoy!