Butt Wait, There's More

Warning: this post contains material pertaining to bottoms. If you are easily offended, or just want something more delicious than what I'm offering today, I suggest you click on to the the next blog.

Bottoms, also known as buns, are the topic of the day. But if I said buns, then you'd go looking for a tantalizing bread product, preferably dripping with sugar and cinnamon. Now that I've got your mind on that track, check out this post, then join me back here.

You back, cinnamon roll in hand? Good. Now we can get to the bottom of today's issue. Buns. I mean bottoms.

Most people probably don't think about bottoms much. Unless you're trying on jeans, or working out, or at the pool, or ice skating (I tend to fall down a lot), or....OK, maybe people do think about bottoms a fair amount. But the people who think about buns a whole lot are new parents.

Doing diaper changes every couple of hours (or minutes, depending on the little one) gives a concerned parent the opportunity to assess the state of their child's buns all day long. Are they smooth and healthy or are they covered in an unsightly, painful rash?

As a new parent I didn't know any better than what advertising told me, so when my precious little bundle of joy got a bad diaper rash, I reached for the Desitin. People, that stuff is nasty. It's basically zinc oxide. It stuck to his poor, fragile skin and to the diaper, so when I next changed the diaper, it pulled off a layer of skin. Ouch! It made a painful problem much, much worse!

After that horrible experience I did some searching for natural alternatives and found a wonderful ointment made with herbs. It soothed, it healed, and it didn't have any nasty chemicals in it. But it was also expensive. So I set about trying to make my own version.

The main ingredient in the ointment is comfrey. Comfrey is a member of the plant family known as "weed." But a useful weed. It contains allantoin, a cell proliferant (meaning it encourages cells to grow and spread). For blistered buns, this means swift healing. Hooray!

Now comes the part of the post where you get angry at me. I've sold you on comfrey and now you want to know where to get it. Well, I get mine in my sister's back yard. Her house used to be owned by a naturopath who grew a medicinal herbal garden. Plus, due to a stream running through the property, local regulations mandate that no chemicals be used in the yard. So it's organic, plentiful, and cheap!

If you do an online search, there are several places that sell organic comfrey seeds. If you don't have the space or inclination to grow your own, you can also order comfrey oil. But that can be spendy. Finding your own source and making your own is the thriftiest way to go.

Once you've located comfrey, you need to turn it into comfrey oil. This is so easy, it's ridiculous. You soak it in oil. That's it. Then you add whatever thickening and soothing agents you'd like, and, hey, presto, Bun Goobies!

Bun Goobies? Yes, we like to name things weird names. We also like to make up lyrics to known tunes and possibly sing them at diaper changing time. Here, as an added bonus for today's post, are the lyrics to the diaper changing song, sung to this tune.

Diaper Changing Song

Puttin' on the bun goobie goobies on
Puttin' on the bun goobie goonies on
Puttin' on the bun goo-oobies

I put the goobies on the buns
Cause you are my honey bun
I don't want your buns all sore
So I'm putting on more and more

(Freestyle for the rest of the song or the rest of the diaper change, whichever ends first.)

Bun Goobies

Fresh, organic comfrey leaves
Olive Oil (doesn't need to be fancy or expensive)
A clean stone (optional)
Cheesecloth
Strainer
Beeswax, grated
Cocoa butter (optional)
Coconut oil (optional)
Calendula oil (optional)*
Essential oil for fragrance (optional)
Baby food jars

Rinse and towel dry the comfrey. Into a clean jar (I like to use a quart canning jar), cram as much of the comfrey in as you can. Pour the olive oil into the jar slowly, allowing it settle into the spaces between the leaves.

It's important to keep the leaves submerged under the oil. Leaves that aren't covered can start to mold. If that happens, you'll need to toss it all and start over. To prevent that from happening, place a well-washed stone on top of the leaves to keep them from bobbing up above the surface. Also, filling the jar to the top with oil discourages mold growth.

Place the jar in the sun and leave it there for one to two weeks (depending on how warm it is). If sun is unavailable to you (hello Northwest weather), you can place it in a food dehydrator or an oven on low for 4-24 hours.

When the oil is done it will be green with a strong, funky smell. Funky like comfrey and oil, not funky like decay. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Pour the oil into it and allow it to drain into the bowl.

The first time, just allow gravity to do all the work. This is the first "pressing". Set that oil aside. For the second "pressing," use a wooden spoon to mash the leaves, pressing all the oil out that you can. This results in a darker oil, but it's still good. Throw the comfrey leaves onto your compost heap.

In a saucepan over low heat gently heat the oil. To each cup of oil, add 1/4 cup of grated beeswax. Stir until the wax is melted. At this point you can add any of the optional oils. Be aware that adding extra oils will change the consistency and you might need to increase the amount of beeswax that you use.

Check for proper firmness by placing one tablespoon of the mixture in the freezer for just a minute or two. Test the firmness and adjust if necessary. To make it firmer, add more beeswax; to make it softer, add more oil.

When you're satisfied with the consistency, remove the salve mixture from heat and immediately pour into clean baby food jars.

Label and store in a cool dark place. It will last for months, even years.

It's an awesome baby shower gift and it's also useful as an all-around first aid ointment.

* You can make calendula oil the same way as the comfrey oil, if you have access to organic calendula. I recommend growing your own. They're a lovely, cheerful flower, and the petals make a very soothing oil.

Cool and Creamy, Sweet and Dreamy

Although the general purpose of Cooking Camp is to have fun, I do try to incorporate some specific skills into each week's lesson. This week my band of happy little campers were to learn about working with chocolate. I'm not any kind of an expert, but since I have done tempering and dipping a few times without disastrous results, that's enough of a knowledge base to be able to pass along. The key to being a teacher is being at least one step farther along than the student, right?

To showcase our tempering skills, I picked peppermint patties, those delightful confections with a cool peppermint center surrounded by the snap of dark chocolate. Mmmmmmm.

The campers were excited to try them, but it was a bit difficult to get them to focus on the task at hand. I don't have many photos of them doing actual cooking tasks as they were constantly distracted by iPods, conversations, Words With Friends, and general goofiness. Trying to get three teenagers who are best friends to focus on a task is kind of like herding cats or juggling jello. I'm so glad I don't work in a high school!

I tried a new recipe for the patties because this one didn't require the overnight air drying of my previous recipe. The peppermint filling was a bit stickier than I was anticipating, but once dipped, it was the creamiest, most delicious I'd ever had.

The tempering process ended up being a bust as far as a learning moment. Because it was a fairly warm day, the chocolate took a long time to cool and the campers cut short their kitchen time to go to the ice skating rink. Hey, I understand. Summer's short and you have to pack in as much as you can. So while they skated, I dipped, and they got to take home a bag of the most amazing peppermint patties you can imagine. Not the most beautiful (I've previously discussed my dipping skills), but what they lacked in glamour, they more than made up for in taste.

If you love peppermint patties, you've got to try these! They are wonderful on their own, but would also be amazing if you put them in brownies or ice cream; however, there are no guarantees you'd be able to keep them from just being eaten the day they're made.

Best Ever Peppermint Patties

2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 T butter
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar, for kneading and rolling
10 ounces 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Beat 2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract, butter, and a pinch of salt using an electric mixer (with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium speed until just combined. Knead on a work surface dusted with remaining 1/4 cup confectioners sugar until smooth. Roll out between sheets of parchment paper on a large baking sheet into a 7- to 8-inch round (about 1/4 inch thick). Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove top sheet of paper and sprinkle round with confectioners sugar. Replace top sheet, then flip round over and repeat sprinkling on other side.

Cut out as many rounds as possible with cutter, transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, gather scraps, reroll, and freeze, then cut out more rounds, freezing them.

To make chocolate coating:

Melt three fourths of chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Don't let the temp get over 120 deg. F. Remove bowl from pan and add remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool until thermometer inserted at least 1/2 inch into chocolate registers 80°F.

Return water in pan to a boil and remove from heat. Set bowl with cooled chocolate over pan and reheat, stirring, until thermometer registers 88 to 91°F. Remove bowl from pan.

Balance 1 peppermint round on a fork and submerge in melted chocolate, letting excess drip off and scraping back of fork against rim of bowl if necessary, then return patty to sheet. Coat remaining rounds, rewarming chocolate to 88 to 91°F as necessary. Be sure to work in small batches. You need to keep the chocolate in the right temperature zone and the filling as close to frozen as possible. Once the filling warms up it goes all limp and is difficult to keep on your dipping fork. Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

In warm weather, store in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 dozen

Note: In warm weather, the longest part of this process is waiting for the chocolate to cool down to 80 degrees. You can plan your work around this. Perhaps start with the melting of the chocolate, then making the peppermint filling as the chocolate cools.

Birth Day Cake

I recently had a birthday. It was a very good day with lots of well wishes, cards, presents, and a cake. But it started me thinking about what an odd thing it is to celebrate your birthday. You are queen (or king) for a day with no chores, no hassles, just your choice of cake, your choice of dinner, and presents (at least, that's how it works in our family.)

So what is it the birthday girl (or guy) did to deserve all this attention? Arrive. Yup, that's basically it. You just show up, take a breath, and all of a sudden you're a super star. But who made it all possible? Who put in the work to make it happen? That's right, the mother. 9 months of pregnancy, up to 3 days of labor, excruciating pain, possible surgery, and she gets nada.

Why doesn't the mother get the credit and recognition every year? She's the one who should get the cake. She should also get to retell the birth story every year, in graphic detail, including how long the labor was, how much it hurt, and how many stitches were required. And the baby that she birthed should give her a thank-you gift every year.

Since my mother lives in another state, I couldn't share my birthday cake with her. Which is too bad, because it was really nice. I usually go with a chocolate overload cake, but this year I wanted something a little lighter. I had some nice, ripe mangos on the counter, so I chose a recipe that combined layers of sponge cake with a delicious mango mousse. Topped off with fresh mango puree, it was lovely.

Sorry you couldn't have a slice, Mom. Thanks for giving me life. Oh, and there's a little something for you at The King's English. :-)

Mango Mousse Cake
- adapted from Sky High - Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups cake flour
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly warm

Rum Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light rum

Mango Mousse:
2 cups diced mango, from 4 or 5 mangoes
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup plus 1-1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
2 Tbsp light rum
1 cup heavy cream

1- Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with rounds of parchment paper. Place a large bowl and beaters from a hand-held electric mixer in the freezer.

2- Place the eggs in a large heatproof bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar and the vanilla. Set over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until all the sugar dissolves and the eggs are warmer than body temperature. Remove from the heat and, with the mixer on medium-high, whip the eggs until very fluffy and stiff enough so that a slowly dissolving ribbon forms from the dripping batter when the beaters are lifted.

3- Sift the flour and return it to the sifter. Carefully sift about a third of the flour over the top of the eggs. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold it in. Repeat with the remaining flour, folding just until blended evenly. Drizzle the melted butter over the batter and gently fold it in. Divide the batter between the three prepared cake pans.

4- Bake the layers for 12 to 14 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the layers cool completely in the pans. To unfold, run a butter knife around the rims to gently release the edges of the cakes. Tap them out gently and remove the paper on the bottom of each layer.

5- In a small saucepan combine the sugar, lime juice, and water for the rum syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil until the syrup is reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat and add the rum.

6- Place the mango chunks in a medium saucepan. Add the water, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 10 to 15 min. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

7- Transfer the cooled mangoes, along with any liquid in the pan, to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Remove 1/2 cup of the mango puree, stir in 1-1/2 Tbsp of the sugar, and set aside for garnish. Place the remaining mango puree in a large bowl.

8- Put the gelatin in a small glass or ceramic dish. Add the rum and let soften for about 5 minutes. With a microwave on low, heat the gelatin until dissolved, 10 to 15 seconds.

9- Whisk the gelatin and remaining 1/3 cup sugar into the mango puree until the sugar dissolves.

10- In the large chilled bowl, whip the cream until stiff. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cream into the sweetened mango puree.

11- To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate, flat side up, and soak it with 1/4 cup of the Rum Syrup. Spread one 1/3 of the Mango Mousse over the layer evenly. Repeat with the second cake layer, using another 1/4 cup syrup and another 1/3 of the mousse. Add the last cake layer. Soak this with the last of the syrup and mousse. Chill for about an hour, to allow the mousse to set up. Garnish with chopped mangoes, if desired.

Cooking Camp - The Sibling Edition

The original invitees to Cooking Camp were Serena, Tall Friend (TF) and Little Friend (LF). The plan was to meet every Friday through the summer and have them learn new kitchen skills and techniques. That plan was derailed when LF had to go out of town for 3 weeks. So the second Cooking Camp was smaller. Which actually was just as well because it involved lots of caffeine. We made coffee ice cream and iced coffee, and the three of them amped up on caffeine might have been more than my kitchen could handle.

This week, to add a little zip to the mixture, we invited the younger siblings. TF's little sister, SF (Short Friend), and Serena's little brother, Samuel, (Samuel) made guest appearances. They were both thrilled to be invited to be part of the cool kid crowd. They were also thrilled that we were making cinnamon rolls. And not just any cinnamon rolls, but monster cinnamon rolls.

We talked about yeast and how to wake it up, we covered gluten and a bit about the different types of flours (why you don't use bread flour for cakes, and vice versa), and they also learned a super cool trick for cutting rolls with dental floss. (Slide a length of floss under the roll, bring the ends of the floss together and cross them to pinch off a perfect circle.)

Also, they learned the importance of not interrupting the teacher when she's counting out loud the number of cups of flour being added to the dough. And the importance of resisting the temptation the chime in with random numbers to "help" the counting. And that "the magic of television" works much better if the dough made the previous day, rising in the refrigerator overnight, gets pulled out an hour ahead of time to come to room temperature. (Oops! Cold dough is really difficult to roll out.)

Then while the rolls baked, they got in a game of Calvin Ball Croquet. So, another successful Cooking Camp in the bag!

Monster Cinnamon Rolls
- makes 24 generous rolls

Dough:
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup milk
3/4 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
1-1/4 tsp salt
7-1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
5 large eggs
8-1/2 - 9-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1/2 c. butter
3 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Icing:
2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
enough milk to make glue-like consistency, about 2 Tbsp.


1- For the dough, heat the butter with the milk, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt in a small saucepan until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool. (If you are using raw milk, heat till small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Scalding the milk destroys the enzymes that interfere with the yeast growth.)

2- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, add the remaining tsp sugar, stir, and set aside for 10 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly. Add the lukewarm milk mixture and the eggs and beat until well combined.

3- Add the flour a cup at a time, stirring and using enough flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny, approximately 10 min. (or place in the bowl of an electric mixer and knead with a dough hook until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl, approximately 5 min. I have a 5 quart KitchenAid and the dough burbles up and wraps around the dough hook, so I need to scrape it down frequently).

4- Place the dough in a very large buttered bowl, turn to butter the top, and allow to rise, covered loosely with a kitchen towel, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, approximately 1 hour.

5- When the dough has doubled, punch it down and divide it in half. Roll one half out to a large rectangle, about 12" x 24".

6- Butter two 9 x 13 baking pans. For the filling, melt the butter. Spread 1/2 the butter evenly over the surface of the dough. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 1/2 of it evenly over the melted butter. Roll up the dough lengthwise, pinching the dough together to form a seam when rolled. Cut the dough log in quarters, and then each quarter in thirds. If you are particular about pretty rolls, trim off the ends. Place the rolls in a buttered 9 x 13" baking pan. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Cover the rolls loosely with a kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

7- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 20-30 minutes or until puffed and browned. Mix the icing ingredients and drizzle over the rolls. Allow to cool to room temperature on racks (if you can).

If you prefer a cream cheese frosting:

Combine 1/2 lb. cream cheese, softened with 1/4 cup whipping cream and 1 tsp vanilla extract until smooth. Add 3-4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted, blending until smooth and soft, not stiff.

Optional:

If you want to "pimp up" your rolls, you can throw raisins, chopped nuts, coconut, or your favorite exotic ingredient into the filling.

Deliciously Repurposed

Leftovers are the bane of my existence. I hate having bits and bobs, odds and ends from cooking projects cluttering up my counters, cupboards, and refrigerator. A half a bag of teff flour, 3/4 cup of alphabet pasta, and an amazing amount of egg whites interred in their tiny plastic coffins in the refrigerator are just a few of the things that make it hard to put away groceries. I have so many leftovers, that it's hard to find a place for actual food.

Cooking camp, although it was a lot of fun, did have the aggravating side effect of producing more leftovers - a whole pan of marshmallows. I didn't want my kids to just hork down the whole pan as I'm not tall enough to be able to reach the ceiling to peel them off of it, were they to consume that much sugar. So, what to do with a pan of marshmallows?

Recently on Pinterest I saw a delicious idea - s'more truffles. Leftover marshmallows seemed like a great excuse to make truffles. I played around and came up with my own recipe and they were delicious! I put little mini-muffin papers into an egg carton and sent some to work with my husband, some to youth group with my daughter, and gave some to visitors that stopped by. And the few that were leftover? Well, I'm not crazy enough to complain about leftover truffles!

S'more Truffles

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp espresso powder
Homemade marshmallows
powdered sugar
1 packet of graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
1 lb. milk chocolate

1- Place chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl.

2- Combine whipping cream and espresso powder in medium saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Pour cream mixture over chopped chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

3- Place the chocolate mixture into the refrigerator to cool and thicken, about 2 hours.

4- Using kitchen shears, cut the marshmallows into the size of mini marshmallows. Dip the shears in powdered sugar frequently to keep them from gumming up. Rolls the mini marshmallows in the powdered sugar to keep them from sticking to each other, then shake off the excess sugar.

5- Place the graham cracker crumbs into a shallow bowl. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

6- Remove the thickened chocolate from the refrigerator. Using a small scoop (about Tbsp size), scoop up a ball of chocolate, smoosh a little marshmallow into the center, cover it over with chocolate, and drop the chocolate ball into the graham cracker crumbs, rolling it to coat it completely. Place the ball onto the prepared tray.

7- Repeat with the remaining chocolate and marshmallows. As soon as a tray is full, place it into the refrigerator. If you're working in a hot kitchen, you might need to work with only a portion of the chocolate at a time, keeping the rest in the refrigerator to stay firm.

8- Allow the chocolate balls to firm up in the refrigerator, from 1 hour to overnight.

9- Use the milk chocolate to dip the chocolate, following the tempering instructions in this post.

Store the truffles in the refrigerator.

Cooking Camp

This spring I saw a brochure for a kitchen store that does cooking classes. They listed a summer cooking camp for teens that ran for a week. My daughter and I loved the sound of that, but not the price tag. $385. Seriously?? I can cook. I can teach. So I decided to have Cooking Camp in my kitchen for my daughter and a couple of her friends.

Since we have multiple schedules to juggle, we're shooting for once a week, and since I do desserts, the theme of the camp is "Desserts!" Each week we cover a different skill and make a treat that the kids can take home.

The first week we handed out binders for the recipes, went over kitchen rules (I think I broke all but one the first day), and made marshmallows. Teens and marshmallows. What was I thinking?

I walked them through making a sugar syrup, using a candy thermometer, using gelatin, whipping marshmallows, and then, through the magic of television (I made a batch the day before so I could pull out the finished product like they do on cooking shows), I cut a pan of cooled, dried marshmallows for the kids to cut and roll and powdered sugar.

Then, to insure that they were fully sugared up, we roasted marshmallows over the gas stove (note to self: shake the powdered sugar off before putting the marshmallow over the burner), and made s'mores.

First cooking class - I'm not sure how much they learned, but I give it an A+ for fun!

Definitely In The Top Three

Recently I saw an online discussion about the question, "If you had to get rid of all but 10 cookbooks, which would you keep?"

Seriously? How would I even begin to answer that question? It would be easier to pick which child to keep. Some days that would be really easy choice, depending on who's annoying me the most that day.

My cookbook collection has spilled out of the kitchen, overflown the bookshelf into the dining room, taken over a bookshelf in the living room, and has satellite locations in the guest room (which, technically, is the Lego room). The cookbooks are a chronicle of my kitchen adventures, starting with the Joy of Cooking, the first cookbook I got as a newlywed. The tomes span the years of beginning cookery, my forays into Chinese cuisine, my excursion into low-fat land, and my decadent rebound phase when I embraced the butter. Since beginning blogging, the collection has grown quickly. When I saw three or more bloggers enthusing about the same cookbook, it went onto my Amazon wishlist, and I was just a click away from owning it. It made gift-giving occasions really easy for my husband.

Although he enjoys gifting me with cookbooks, husband has suggested many times that perhaps I could do a little judicious whittling. Nothing drastic, just get rid of a couple of cookbooks that I haven't opened in years. What? That's crazy talk! I might need that one recipe I have bookmarked or that one cool chart on substitutions or cooking times as related to altitude.

Although it would be a Herculean struggle to whittle it down to only 10, I might be able to do it. But I agreed with one of the discussion commenters who said, "You can have my copy of Baking when you pry it out of my cold, dead fingers."

Baking, From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is a classic. It's beautifully laid out, covers a huge range of baking categories, has fabulous recipes, and is sprinkled with charming anecdotes from Dorie. I have given it as a gift several times, and I know it would definitely make my 10 To Keep list.

Why the unpaid advertisement for Baking? Because I heart Dorie and I was reminded again of how great her recipes are when my husband asked for some cookies to take to work. I hadn't tried this recipe before (astoundingly!), but Dorie didn't fail. They're amazing cookies. Half cookie, half candy bar, all delicious! One of the co-workers exclaimed (with mouth full), "Oh my gosh, these are so good! They're like food bars, only tasty." And another, who has recently lost a lot of weight, asked for a very small sliver to taste. After savoring that morsel he asked politely that the pan be moved out of his reach, so his hand wouldn't wander over and snag a few bars on its own.

So if you ever see a copy of Baking at a yard sale or the thrift store, buy it. But you won't find one there. Because anyone who owns Baking loves it and is going to hang onto it!


Chocolate Oatmeal Decadence Bars
- adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Oatmeal layer:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can sub out 1-1/4 cups with white whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (firmly packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped*

Chocolate layer:
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup moist raisins**
3/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts, preferably salted

*I didn't have salted nuts, so I used plain, raw peanuts and added 1/4 tsp. salt to the batter. If you use a chunky sea salt, if will give hits of salt, rather than an all-over salty flavor.

**If your raisins are not moist, place them in a small bowl, cover them with very hot water, and let them soak for 15-20 minutes. Drain briefly on a paper towel to remove excess water.

1- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F with a rack in the center of the oven. Butter and 9 x 13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

2- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

3- In the large bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it is soft and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat for 2 minutes, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear. With a rubber spatula, stir in the oats and chopped peanuts.

5- Remove 2 cups of the batter to a bowl and set aside. Put the remaining dough into the buttered pan. Gently and evenly press the dough over the bottom of the pan. Set aside while you prepare the next layer.

6- In a heatproof bowl combine the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter and salt. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the milk is warm and the chocolate and butter are melted. Remove the bowl from the pan of water and stir in the vanilla, raisins and peanuts.

7- Pour the warm chocolate over the oatmeal crust, then crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture over the top. There will be gaps between the oatmeal clumps, and that's OK.

8- Bake for 25 to 30 min, or until the topping is golden brown and the chocolate layer is dull and starting to come away from the sides of the pan. Place the pan on a cooking rack and cool for about 2 hours.

9- Refrigerate the pan for at least one hour before cutting. You can either cut them in the pan or remove the whole block of goodness to a cutting board to cut.

Cut into 32 rectangles, about 2-1/4 by 1-1/2-inches.

Treat Food That's Really a Treat

Becoming a parent transforms the way you look at the world. As you clutch your newborn baby to your chest, the world becomes, in the blink of an eye, a frightening place, fraught with lurking dangers. Things which you never gave a thought to, prior to childbirth, now seem ominous. A staircase is a place of peril, with the possibility of tripping and falling ever before your eyes. The person sneezing in the grocery store might be spreading killer germs. Driving down the freeway with your infant strapped into the carseat brings on visions on car crashes and fiery death as you struggle to rescue that new, precious, helpless bundle. Why do you think there are so many cars on the road with Baby On Board signs?

As your child grows, you continue to keep a part of your heart in his or her body, cringing at every stubbed toe, bleeding at every scraped knee, wishing desperately you could protect him or her from all harm.

I think that parents of kids with food sensitivities have it even tougher than regular run-of-the-mill parents. A friend of mine discovered her son had a violent allergy to peanuts when a day care worker wiped the face of a boy who'd eaten a peanut butter sandwich and then used the same cloth to wipe her son's face. His face inflated like a playground ball! Panic!!

Always on guard, vigilant against what might be lurking inside a "treat" that's given to your child, early on you have to teach them the litany of "I can't have" foods. What a blessing, then, to find some "I CAN have" treats. Especially if you don't have to go to a specialty bakery and pay $6 a muffin for it!

The obvious solution for kids with special dietary issues is to make it yourself. Then you know exactly what went into it, you know it's safe, and if you find the right recipe, you can also make it delicious. (And, trust me, not every $6 muffin is delicious!)

I recently made these as a thank you for a super sweet mom who took my son for a week to a Vacation Bible School. Her son has gluten, soy, and egg allergies. She shared them with some other moms of food-issue kids and they all clamored for the recipe, so I'm bumping it up to the head of the posting queue.

I had a muffin before I gave them away (I can't give away untested food - it might be nasty!) and they are really good. Not just in a "not bad for gluten-free" way, but truly good. Moist, tasty, studded with blueberries, with a good texture, not gluey or brickish. Even if you're not going gluten-free, you'll enjoy them!


GF, Egg-free Blueberry Muffins
- adapted from The Spunky Coconut

1 cup almond meal flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour (the same thing as tapioca starch)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder*
1/2 cup dried blueberries
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp xantha gum or guar gum (they're interchangeable; the xanthan gum is more expensive)
1 Tbsp flax seed meal
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup milk (substitute coconut milk if dairy is an issue)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Creme Liquid Stevia
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified

*If corn is an issue, you can make your own baking powder. Substitute 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp tapioca starch.

1- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease a 12-well muffin tin.

2- In a medium bowl combine the almond meal flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder. Whisk together to break up any clumps. Stir in dried blueberries.

3- In a bowl combine the applesauce, guar gum, flax meal, and apple cider vinegar. Make sure there are no lumps.

4- To the applesauce mixture add the milk, stevia, honey, and coconut oil. Stir well.

5- Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake for about 22 minutes.

They are delicious warm, or you can let them cool on a cooling rack.