Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My oatmeal raisin cookies are the Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe except I cut the sugar and I use whole wheat flour in addition to white. No matter what you are baking, you can cut the flour with whole wheat flour to add some "whole grain goodness" to it. Then you needn't feel guilty about eating them for breakfast, for instance.

You'll need 2 mixing bowls, measuring spoons and cups, a big spoon, an electric mixer and a cookie sheet.

First:
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cups white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine these in one bowl, stir thoroughly with big spoon.

Next:
2 sticks room temp. butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Using electric mixer, "cream" these in second bowl. That just means mix them until they're smooth and creamy looking. Then add:
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Mix again with electric mixer. Now, add the flour mixture and mix again, with electric mixer. When all ingredients are combined and you have a nice, smooth and soft dough take the final step:

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins

Add these to the dough and mix it up with the big spoon. You'll need some elbow grease for this one. Et voila! You are done, save for baking. To make the cookies, grab two table spoons or soup spoons and scoop some dough with one spoon and shape it with the other and plop it onto the cookie sheet. You ought to fit 12 cookies on a sheet. Another idea is to spoon the dough into a gallon freezer bag, refrigerate for about 10 minutes, then, while in the bag, shape into a roll. Remove the roll from the bag and cut the cookies with a knife. This dough can be frozen in this manner, too, and then you can just bake off a few whenever you need them.

OK, so, bake them until you smell cookies and then add about 2 minutes, until they are golden brown. This will take anywhere from 12-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Every oven varies.

Feeling a little crazy? Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the recipe for an extra special treat!

Pancakes 101

We eat a lot of pancakes - we love them so much. Plus, I use wholewheat flour and often toss in a banana and that makes wholewheat banana pancakes which are delicious, the kids love them and we are all getting our whole grains and fruit in for the morning. Here is my basic pancake recipe - makes about 8 4" pancakes, so double it if you are really hungry.

1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (if you don't have whole wheat flour yet or just want white pancakes instead, go ahead and use a full cup of white flour instead of half white and half wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbs. oil (any vegetable oil will do or substitute melted butter)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 banana (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl until smoothe (banana will be chunky if you use one, that's good), heat and grease (smear butter around until surface it covered with melted butter) frying pan (I love cast iron pans, they cook really well, they're super heavy and look great, too. Once you've used one for a few years it is the very best and even somewhat non-stickish, but a new cast iron pan needs seasoning) and pour in the batter. I use a 1/3 cup measure to pour in my batter, I can fit 3 pancakes at a time in my pan. The first batch is never the best, so don't despair if they are perfectly golden brown. But here is something important, pancakes are ready for flipping when they have little airbubbles all over them and then the bubbles start to pop. That's the perfect time to flip them. Oooh, you are going to love these pancakes! Serve them with real maple syrup or jam. yum.

Basic Red Sauce

My basic sauce recipe is a staple in our house. I make sauce at least twice a week because we eat it on so many things! A big batch of sauce served over chicken and pasta for dinner one night, tops a pizza the next and a bruschetta appetiser the day after that. I love red sauce and it is so good for you, too!

Ingredients
olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 32 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato paste
salt
pepper
oregano
basil

Put a medium to large size pot on the stove, heat it to medium-high. Add olive oil, enough to generously coat bottom of pot. Toss in crushed and chopped garlic (peel garlic, with side of knife, crush each clove, this releases flavor, then dice the smushy remains). As garlic is just beginning to darken in color, add chopped onion (peel onion, cut in half, place flat side down and then cut in 1/8 inch slices length wise, turn cutting board and repeat). When onion turns yellow throw in can of tomatoes, stir, use same can to add in 1/2 can of water. Add can of tomato paste, stir vigorously until all paste is mixed. Bring sauce to a boil, adding in generous sprinkle of basil, less of a sprinkle of oregano, two-three shakes of salt and the same amount of pepper. Reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. Voila! Basic red sauce.

Note on seasonings: Start small and season to taste. It is your sauce so taste it! You can always add in more seasonings, but you can't take them out, so start out with small sprinkles. You know what salt and pepper taste like, but here is something about salt you might not know - it draws flavor out of other foods, so use it sparingly, but use. Too much oregano can be bitter, as can too browned garlic - timing is important in this simple sauce.