THE LOVELY CRAZY

What%u2019s up with dinner rolls? Do people eat them all year round, like on a Tuesday in the middle of March or maybe a nice blue sky sunny day in July? Is that a weird question? But seriously, think about it. Dinner rolls, at least in my world of people, are pretty much only eaten in and around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Huh. Kind of strange seeing that dinner rolls are bread which everyone eats all the time and are basically made specifically for dinner (although can and should be eaten for breakfast and lunch as well) which most people eat. Every. Single. Day. Well, whatever the reason, it%u2019s weird. So yes, I am making these here dinner rolls now at the traditional holiday time but I think as of now, I am going to start making them all the time. It%u2019s going to be my new thing. Fourth of July dinner rolls. Yup.

And so yes, we need dinner rolls right now for the holiday food feasts and these dinner rolls are the perfect accompaniment to any and all dinners. They are nice and fluffy and all dinner roll like, just as any good roll should be, but also slightly more nutty and soft and healthy because oats and wheat flour and homemade which is always the best.

And if you are like, hell yes I am a dinner roll person and hell no I am sticking to store bought cause that is that and how it%u2019s done, well hey, no judgment here. I made these for my people for our family Thanksgiving, (which is happening today at my house. There are going be so many people) and I know that everyone will love and be happy to eat them, but I too also bought some of those super white, take and bake ones that I know if I don%u2019t have on the table next to these gorgeous and amazing rolls, that I will probably get punched in the face. So we will have both. And then at dinner I can bask in the glory of all the comments about how much better my rolls are then the store bought ones. (Secretly why I am having both. Fishing for compliments. HAHA!)

Now to those soft and fluffy dinner rolls!

The stuff. Old fashion oats, all purpose and white whole wheat flour, yeast, oil, water (hot and room temperature), maple syrup, and salt.

First, take the boiling water and pour it over the oats. Mix them and let them soak and cool for 10 or so minutes.

While oats are soaking, add the room temp water to a big bowl with the yeast. Once the oats are soft and cooled off a bit, add them to the yeast mixture along with the oil, and maple. Mix together. The add the flours and mix until combined.

Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 3-5 minutes, adding a little more four as needed to keep from being to sticky, but don%u2019t over flour. The dough is and should be a little tacky.

Soft and supple. Kneaded and ready.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp towel. Leave alone and let rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.

Once the dough doubles, dump out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 12-16 equal sized pieces .

Roll each roll into a roll shape and place them in a lightly greased baking dish. Cover for another 15-20 minutes to let rest and rise a little more.

Rolls risen again, just a little plumper. And now right before you place them in the oven, brush tops with a maple/water mixture and sprinkle with a few oats. To look pretty. And into the oven they go, 30ish minutes, until nice and golden brown.

Baked to golden dinner roll perfection.

And there you have it. Soft and fluffy dinner rolls. Warm out of the oven, looking and smelling like all the good things that you want and need.

And can, and should, be made now and all year round.

-C

makes 12-16 rolls

  • 1 1/2 cups old fashion oats

  • 2 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading

  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

  • 2 cups boiling water

  • 1 cup room tempature water plus 2 tablespoons for brushing tops

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 2 tablespoons maple or honey

  • 2 teaspoons yeast

  • 1/4 cup neutral oil

In a bowl, mix oats with boil water and let sit and soak for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, in a large bowl, mix the room temp water with the yeast and 1 tablespoon of maple and mix. Once oats have soaked and cooled to a point that they are not super hot, but still just warm, mix them in with the yeast mixture. Add the salt and oil and mix then and both the white and white wheat flour. Mix until combined. The dough is going to be sticky, but that how is should be. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, adding a little flour as needed to keep from sticking too much, until dough is nice and uniformed in texture. Place dough back into big bowl (after you clean it out and lily oil it) and cover with a damp towel. Place somewhere warm for about an hour until it doubles in size.

Once dough has doubled, dump out onto a lightly floured surface and with a knife of dough cutter, cut into 12- 16 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, pinching any ends together and place them into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Once all pieces are in, over and let rest for another 15 minutes.

While dough is resting again, preheat oven to 350.

After the dough has rested, and right before you place them in the oven, mix 1tablespoon of maple with about 2 tablespoons warm water and brush the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle with a handful of oats and then place them into the oven to bake. 30-35 minutes, until they are a nice golden brown.

Once baked remove from oven and let cool to a reasonable temperature and serve.

These can certainly be made a few days ahead of time of eating. Just remove baked rolls from pan and let cool completely then place the into an airtight bag. To reheat, just place on a baking sheet and stick in a hot oven until warm.

Every year I play this game with myself.. Is it allergies or am I sick. The past few days I have been feeling kinda crappy, waking up with itchy, gunky eyes. My throat hurts, my head is like a balloon, and I am just feeling beat..%u00a0

I think it’s that I am sick (because I don’t want to have allergies) but whatever it is, it sucks, but usually goes away after a week (like every year because its really allergies). Blah.

But enough about my balloon head, lets talk these maple banana walnut oat squares. These yummy gems of the oat square world are just what you need in your life. Healthy, protein packed, nutty, and a touch sweet. No junk, just good stuff all made with little to no effort. If you like banana bread, you will be all into them. I was inspired to make these by the extremely ripe bananas that need to be eaten asap and the mr’s lack of eating a healthy breakfast (I want him to eat, and I want it be oatmeal). I know him well enough that if I make a snack like thing and leave it out to eat, that he will eat it. For breakfast.

So weather or not you are looking for a good way to get in some good stuff into your tummy or just want some good tasting stuff in your mouth, this is the breakfast/dessert for you.

The stuff. A couple of ripe bananas, a bunch of rolled oats, some yummy walnuts, real maple syrup, cinnamon, baking soda and a wee bit of water.

Start with the walnuts in a food processor. Turn it on and process until….

You got this walnut butter. Do not eat it, it’s for the squares (it is so good).

Add in the oats, cinnamon and baking soda and turn the processor back on until you get a nice unified crumbly mixture.

Now in goes the bananas and the maple syrup. And you guessed it, blend some more. While you are blending, if the mixture seems to dry, add in a splash of water, to wet, just toss in another handful of oat. The mixture should be like a muffin batter consistency.

And that’s it. If you want some nut chunks, add in a handful more of walnuts (do it) and pulse just to get them mixed into batter.

Then pourthe mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and spread out evenly. Toss those suckers into the oven to bake.

Oh so good bananas give off the best smell when baking. After about a 1/2hour, these bars are nice and golden brown and a fork stuck in the center comes out clean, which means, they are done.

Cut into square , eat one or two, and save the rest. Eat for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. And a smear of peanut butter on top is aces too!

Later dudes.

-C

  • 3 cups old fashion rolled oats (gluten free ones to keep in GF)
  • 1 cup plus a a small handful walnuts
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 rip bananas
  • 1 /2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Place 1 cup of walnuts into a food processor and blend until it turns into walnut butter.. about 3 minutes. Add in the oats and blend together until it becomes a crumbly mixture. Add in the maple, baking soda, cinnamon and the bananas (break into chunks) and blend until incorporated. If the mixture seems lie its too dry, add in a splash of water, and if to wet, add in another handful of oats. The batter should resemble a muffin batter.%u00a0 Once blended, mix in the remaining walnuts and pulse just to mix them in.

Pour mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and stick into the fridge for 10ish minutes and preheat oven 350

And after the time in the fridge, remove the pan and slide them into the oven. Bake until golden brown and a tester stuck into te middle comes out clean. (about 30 minutes)

Remove and let cool. Pop out of pan, cut into square, and eat to you face.

Squares will last 3-4 days in a airtight container or freeze them and they will last until you eat them.

It hasn’t stopped snowing, the temperature is dropping fast (it’s getting to the point the dog doesn’t even want to be outside) and the mister is busy hand shoveling three long driveways. So I figured that in between all the laundry folding, plant watering , and all around sitting on my butt %u00a0that I am doing %u00a0INSIDE, that %u00a0I would be so super nice and crank the stove up and make my love some cookies.I love making cookies, especially when I have chores to do. I think part of it is that cookies are baked in batches which breaks up the chores and gives a sort of rhythm to things. Plus everything is nice when the house smells like cookies. %u00a0I was going to make chocolate chocolate chocolate cookies, but realized that I didn’t have cocoa powder, so I went with fresh cranberries (I just scored a pound of organic cranberries for 89 cents!) coconut flakes and chocolate chips. Plus I wanted to make them oatmeal because the mister likes oatmeal and oatmeal makes the cookies a little more hardy. (We need hardy when the temperature dips below zero)The verdict%u2026.. chewy, soft, slightly sweet oatmeal, bittersweet chocolate, nutty floral coconut, and the zing and pop of the fresh cranberries. He told me to hide them%u2026 hide so he will stop eating them%u2026.. because they be amazing!

The base of this cookie%u2026.We are using regular old fashion oats and flour. %u00a0Salt, baking soda and baking powder. %u00a0Vanilla, chia seeds in hot water, coconut oil %u00a0white and brown sugar%u2026. You know, all the cookie stuff.%u00a0 Then all the goodness.. Chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and fresh cranberries. Goodness.Oh yeah, and they are vegan%u2026if that matters to you.Warm%u00a0the coconut oil and mix with the white and brown sugars. Then add the chia seeds soaked in hot water. %u00a0Stir until nice and silky smooth.In goes some more stuff.%u00a0%u00a0I just dumped all the dry right on in that bowl and mixed it up nice and nice.Chopped the fresh cranberries into chunks%u2026 One at a time%u2026%u2026Just kidding, I actually laid a cutting board on top of the cranberries, applied a little pressure and sliced through the cranberries.. Does that make sense? I hope so, because its is much easier and faster and the cranberries don’t all roll away.The chopped cranberries, coconut flakes and the chocolate chips go in to be mix all up.%u00a0I used my hands to form the balls and gave%u00a0each mound a little smoosh, but not completely flat. %u00a0Then into a preheated 375 degree oven for about 13-15 minutes or until a nice golden brown.A cup of hot coffee and a plate of warm cookies%u2026 I am the nicest, right! (After his nice cookie rest I proceeded %u00a0to do a little nagging, so the day evened out)So today is probably a great day for everyone to make cookies. It’s freezing out, %u00a0its saturday and well, just cause. You might even be looking for a great recipe to make for that big party your going to.You should make these cookies.%u00a0Have a Fantastic Weekend!!!-C

Oatmeal Fresh Cranberry Coconut Chocolate Chip Coookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup old fashion oats
  • 1 1/4cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon chia
  • %u00a04-6 tablespoons hot water
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped cranberries
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 375To start, take the chia seed and soak them in the 4 tablespoon hot water for a few minutes. Then in a large bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar with warmed coconut oil. Add in the gelled chia seeds and vanilla and stir until silky and combined. (the warm chia seeds will help everything mix together nicely)%u00a0Now mix in all the dry. I start with the oats, dump on flour, toss in the baking powder and soda and salt. Mix until fully combines. If the dough seems to dry, add in another tablespoon or two of hot water.%u00a0Chop the fresh cranberries into halves or smaller and dump them, the coconut and chocolate chips into the bowl of dough and mix.Using a scoop, spoons, or your hands, make little balls and place on a cookie sheet, giving each ball a little smoosh. Into the oven for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.Remove and cool on rack.Eat a few and hide the rest for later.