Multi Grain Rye Bread for Autumn

Look at all that whole grain goodness, side by side with rich molasses and yummy sweet honey! Flaxseed meal, corn meal and whole oats were the start of what turned out to be a great bread for sandwiches as well as a great dunking bread for soup.

 The not so secret ingredient is rye flour, which rounds out the flavor in this dense but soft and filling bread.

I experimented by using coconut oil in place of canola oil. I always cut my oil measurement in half by adding applesauce, which has pectin that helps the dough rise and be soft and moist. This recipe will make two, and if you need to you can freeze one for later. 

Multi Grain Rye Bread

2 1/2 c. potato water, or tap water warmed up to about 100 degrees

2 T. yeast

1 c whole oats

1/4 c each corn meal, flaxseed meal and honey

3 T each coconut oil, applesauce, and molasses ( you can use 1/3 c oil in place of coconut oil and applesauce)

1 1/2 t. salt 

2 c rye flour

3 c each whole wheat and white flour

In a large bowl combine the warm water, yeast, oats, cornmeal, flaxseed meal, honey and molasses. Stir lightly and let sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam. 

Add the coconut oil, applesauce, molasses, salt and rye flour. Stir and then add 1 cup each of the whole wheat and white flour.  Stir again and then add the rest of the flour a half of a cup at a time, kneading as you go, until you get a nice smooth dough, about 10 minutes. Place back in the large bowl and then let rise until double in bulk. Punch down and form into two loaves. Place into large bread pans and let rise again until about an inch above the edge of the pans. Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy!

A Quick Blueberry Mix Fix for a Healthy Breakfast

If you are someone who likes the convenience of boxed mixes, here's a little tip to make it a tad healthier. It won't change the basic muffin, except to make it tastier. Add 1/4 cup each rolled oats and flaxseed meal, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Whaalaa! Tasty goodness, made easy!

Spiced Oatmeal Waffles With Maple Pecan Syrup

Okay, don't laugh! I know I should have taken a photo before half of my breakfast was gone, but I got caught up in the enthusiasm of the meal. Everyone was so excited about homemade waffles they didn't want to wait for a photo shoot....lol. We bought a cheap little waffle iron, because I'm a stickler for food made from scratch. The fun of cooking from scratch is that if I want pumpkin waffles I can do that, or as in this case I used oatmeal flour made from toasted oats. These were such a hit, I don't think I would be tempted to try the "basic" all white flour waffle recipe. I learned some tips as I scoured the internet for recipe ideas. One is, the professional waffle houses make their batter the night before. I didn't realize I could toast oats and then blend them up into flour, yay! Buttermilk is a must, and you don't have to beat egg whites separate if you have a good buttermilk recipe. These waffles were soft on the inside and crisp out. I did make changes to assure that, such as half butter half oil, and a dab more sugar than this recipe called for. Enough gabbing and on to the recipe. Oh, as a credit to the original creator, Alton Brown, this is his recipe for the most part, but I tweaked it and will tell you the difference.

Spiced Oatmeal Waffles - (the night before you want these make up the batter)

5 1/2 ounces oats, toasted in a dry skillet
4 ounces flour
3 T. brown sugar  (Alton uses white) plus one T. white sugar, my addition
3 eggs
2 T. each melted butter and oil   (Alton uses all butter)
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice  (my addition)
1 t. vanilla    (my addition)
Toast your oats in a dry skillet, watching to make sure they don't burn. When cooled whir in a blender or food processor until flour like consistency. In a glass bowl or 4 c. measuring cup combine all dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, fats, vanilla and buttermilk. Gently mix into dry ingredients. Don't beat too vigorously and don't worry about lumps. You want light fluffy waffles and over beating will make them tough. Cover and refrigerate over night, which is not a recommendation from Alton but several others did say that helped make the batter thick and certainly didn't seem to hurt anything. Take out about 30 minutes prior to cooking the waffles. This will make 6 large 4 section waffles. Follow the instructions on your waffle maker. Mine is a small Rival which makes to square waffles at a time and I figured out that a quarter of a cup of batter on each side was enough. Now for the syrup.

Butter Pecan Maple Syrup
2 T. butter
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1 c. maple syrup

In a small saucepan melt the butter and cook the pecans lightly. Add the syrup and heat til very warm. Serve with the waffles or any favorite pancake, or french toast recipe. Enjoy!

Almond Fudge Bars on a Tasty Tuesday

Another holiday tradition around our home is to have Almond Fudge Bars, and their counterpart Butterscotch Bars. Originally a recipe created by and using Bisquick Baking Mix,  I adapted the recipe so I could use ingredients we always have on hand. These go fast, so be sure to have plenty baking supplies around.

Almond Fudge Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 cup real butter
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
3 cups rolled oats
2 eggs
1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Fudge filling
1 12oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 T butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted almond slices

For the dough, a large bowl cream butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, mix in to creamed mixture. Add oats and stir in well.  In a 15 x 10 inch cookie sheet press 2/3rds of the dough to cover the whole pan. Buttering your fingers helps with this.
Over a double boiler slowly melt chocolate chips in the sweetened condensed milk,  along with 2 T. butter and add salt.  Spread over the dough in cookie sheet. By teaspoonfuls drop the rest of the dough on the chocolate layer. Sprinkle almonds over that and press in to dough. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. After slightly cooled cut into 48 squares. When completely cool store in airtight container. Enjoy!

Sheryl's Butterscotch Bars

Butterscotch deliciousness in a thick yummy bar. Created for my family as an alternative to chocolate, these bars are a variation on Almond Fudge Bars, a recipe that has been revamped from an old Bisquick recipe. Full of oats, brown sugar, and flavor, these are sure to be a family favorite at your home as well.

SHERYL'S BUTTERSCOTCH BARS

COOKIE DOUGH

1 c. butter

2 c. brown sugar

1 t. each vanilla and almond flavoring

2 eggs

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 1/2 c. flour

3 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped

FILLING

1- 10 oz.  bag Nestle's butterscotch chips. Fair warning, if you go cheap they won't come out the same..I'm just sayin'....

2 T. butter

1 c. sweetened condensed milk  (do not use the whole can unless you want to catch your oven on fire, okay, if you're single and the firemen are cute go ahead but I warned you....) 

1 pinch of salt

Cream together butter, brown sugar and eggs in mixing bowl. Add flavorings. Toss in baking soda, and salt and then while mixing add the flour slowly. Add the oats, one cup at a time until mixed well and add nuts. Take out 1/3 of the dough and set aside. Spread the rest in a 11 x 17 cookie sheet. You can use your fingers if you butter them first to help spread the dough. It will be rather thin.

In the top of a double boiler combine your filling ingredients and melt over slowly simmering water in the bottom pot. Once smooth spread over the top of the cookie dough. Now take the rest of the dough that was set aside and drop by small pieces onto the filling. If you like you can sprinkle more chopped nuts over this. My family doesn't like nuts but it makes these extra tasty in my opinion. Bake in a 350 degree oven on a rack set at one level above the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top. Let cool about 15 to 20 minutes before cutting. Yield 48

So you want to know about the fireman reference? One Christmas season when we lived in Sitka, AK as I was getting some baking done and of course hadn't showered yet, I put a batch of these in the oven. Yes, I used the whole can of sweetened condensed milk as I didn't want to see the rest go to waste. So about 15 minutes into the baking time I hear the smoke detector go off and run to the kitchen to see smoke billowing out of the oven. I opened the oven door and there were flames shooting up from the bottom of the oven and no amount of salt or baking soda would put them out. I had opened the doors and windows to let the smoke out and someone seeing this called the fire department. A whole crew of guys show up  and they got the fire out, but here I was, no make-up, hair a mess, and shabby sweats on. Needless to say, every time I passed one of them in the grocery store, or where ever, I was asked if I'd been baking lately....

As for the rest of the condensed milk here's a couple of ideas that might work for you, with your own variations added. 

Make a delicious sweet mustard spread by combining 3/4 cup of mayonnaise with 1/2 cup of Dijon mustard. Mix in 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk, 1 tbsp. lemon juice and 1 tbsp. of water. Combine ingredients completely and refrigerate. This is a tasty spread to use on sandwiches, in salads as a dressing, or as a sauce for ham and pork.

At wikipedia you can find these ideas : In parts of Asia and Europe, sweetened condensed milk is the preferred milk to be added to coffee or sweetened tea. Many countries in South East Asia use condensed milk to flavor their coffee. A popular treat in Asia and Brazil is to put condensed milk on toast and eat it in a similar way as jam and toast. In West Yorkshire, in the years after World War Two, condensed milk was an alternative to jam. Nestlé has even produced a squeeze bottle similar to Smucker's jam squeeze bottles for this very purpose. For those who drink coffee or tea and like to add milk, I would even consider adding flavorings to your leftover SCM and use it like a flavored creamer. 

I hope you like all of these ideas. Enjoy!