Living in a Cereal World

When I first opened the box the scent caught me--like a really intense blueberry muffin. The flavor, though, is not that sort of overwhelming at all. Basically, take my Cranberry review  and substitute dried, sticky blueberry bits and a vanilla drizzle. And I should have mentioned this aspect before: don't let this cereal languish in your cupboard/pantry/on top of your fridge (you know who you are) for too long because it gets really, really sticky. Some of you may like that fruit-snack chewiness; I am not one of those people.

So many words in that title. Anyway, this is one of those granola with a toastier honey flavor but I suppose that's more to do with the baking of the oats than the type of honey. It gives the sweetness more of a Honey Smacks-esque flavor. The chia seeds are noticeable in the granola clusters--not too many, not too sparse. What I particularly like here is the way the almonds are sliced. That might seem odd but it looks like I could've sliced whole almonds myself, so, a more authentic almond? What I'm trying to say here is this is about as close to homemade in appearance as you're going to get.

So I had no idea this existed. I just happened to be at Walmart buying bananas and cheese (as you do) when I saw this in a big main-aisle display with some other Cheerios. I actually said out loud , "Strawberry Cheerios?" Because, you know, it's been a few years since they stopped making Strawberry Yogurt Burst Cheerios. I guess someone at General Mills thought that flavor profile was lacking? Anyway, this is much better, in my opinion. It looks like a pink-tinted Honey Nut Cheerios but not a weird artificial pink. It's a shade you'd expect from mixing oats with strawberry puree. And they're not too sweet either. It's just enough flavor to not taste weird when eaten with sliced banana, as I did. Oh, and I also mixed it with Kashi's Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oats  just in case I didn't like it; on the back of this box it said this cereal had a new, crispier texture. This turned out to be true. It used to be more dry and gritty; now it's

For my family waffles have become a special-occasion food: birthdays, Mother's/Father's Day, and of course, Xmas morning. But why can't we have waffles on any random Sunday? So we did. And not just any waffles. Banana Bread Waffles . I love foods that combine two other foods--especially two breakfast foods. And these waffles...let's start with the visual (I know, I know, pictures would help here). I was so taken with the color and I have no idea why; they just struck me as the most beautiful toasty brown. You know how most waffles are 'golden?' These were a few steps down from that. I don't know if it was the bananas or the almondmilk but...they were almost too pretty to eat. Almost. Taste is almost beside the point but you can't sit and look at waffles all day. You shouldn't, anyway. Of course they tasted like banana bread, and I had a few chunks of banana that could've been a bit more mashed but nobody noticed. Or if they did, nobody complain

I'll bet you were thinking I didn't make anything other than oatmeal cookies anymore...well, how about a cookie with raisins? These Soft Molasses Raisin Cookies  from King Arthur Flour satisfied my desire for raisins and molasses. I know that sounds obvious but at the time I was going through my cookie recipes I didn't know what I had a taste for--anything but chocolate (I'm getting to that next month). You know what your typical molasses/ginger cookie looks and tastes like, right? Kind of chewy, not quite a ginger snap? Well, this is not that. Imagine a chocolate chip cookie. Now add molasses. Okay, now remove the chocolate chips and replace them with raisins. That's this cookie. They're so soft and pillowy. It may not seem right but your taste buds will set you straight. Try it!

I don't know why I bought this when I did, except it was on sale (of course). I'm slowly working my way through the full Barbara's line--yes, there's more than Puffins--and I liked the look of Morning Oat Crunch. It reminded me of Oatmeal Squares. I probably should've started with the Original flavor but, you know, cinnamon . So, taste- and texture-wise, it basically is the Barbara's version of Oatmeal Squares but less dense. Airier. Crispier. And loaded with cinnamon. Seriously, it was way more than I anticipated. Now I want to try the other flavors but I think it'll take some searching to find anything other than Original and Cinnamon around here.

It wasn't my intention to try this but last month I had one of those occasions where I couldn't find a product I was looking for at Wegmans so I figured I might as well get some cereal. I mean, I didn't come all that way for nothing. And I think I was vaguely aware that Wegmans had their own brand of cereals. I picked this particular one because it reminded me of Honey Bunches of Oats. The box says "multigrain flakes" but I think there's corn flakes mixed in there, too. And of course, big oat-y bunches. And lots of almonds. Seriously. Soooo many almonds. I hope you like almonds, otherwise this is not the cereal for you.

In a word, disappointing. Don't get me wrong, there's nice-sized freeze-dried apple pieces in there and overall it has a good flavor, but the front of the box doesn't mention these little soy twig-like bits in the mix and I honestly didn't notice them in the picture, either. And it's a large picture. I knew I'd have a reaction to those things and I was right. They just fuzz my throat up. So I'm trying to be more nutrition label-conscious so that doesn't happen again. Luckily my sister (a) doesn't share my soy allergy and (b) also enjoys Special K so I passed that box on to her.

So my mother requested mini-tarts (tartlets?) for Easter and I tried to oblige. Unfortunately the best recipes all called for lemon curd, which I love but she does not. So I thought mini pies would be a good compromise: everyone likes pie and it wouldn't be as much work as a full-sized pie. I chose these Muffin Tin Fruit Pies  mostly because I could use refrigerated pie crust and I could cut the recipe in half. I didn't really need twelve pies. I made the apple filling but was a little short because half of one my apples didn't look so hot once I cut it open. (Note to self: always keep an extra apple on hand.) I think if they had been overloaded with filling they might have gotten more of a "wow" response. I liked them, though. The size and shape lends itself perfectly to a scoop of ice cream on top. And anything made in a muffin tin is adorable. This is why cupcakes exist. Speaking of which...I still need to try my hand at homemade cupcakes. Maybe Mother's D

A few months ago I figured out that I should always have granola in the house when my sister comes to visit. One, because I can't eat all of that granola (although I could freeze it); and two, because she also loves homemade granola. So I decided to try this Cranberry Orange Granola . Why this one? The flavors, of course. Although I must say the flavors of maple and cinnamon are what come through the strongest. I'm glad no one was around during my taste-testing; I was really sucking on a granola cluster till I picked up on the orange flavor. So it is there. And it was fun making the orange sugar. I would like to try that technique in some kind of dessert.

Cinnamon rolls have been on my "to-try" list for years and aside from a Fleischman's Bread Mix recipe--still not quite the real thing--I haven't wanted to make the time commitment. What with the rising and kneading and rising again plus the bake time--it just didn't seem feasible. Until I found this recipe for Easy Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls  (of course it's from Sally's Baking Addiction). I could do all the prep Saturday and have the slow cooker do the rest Sunday morning. So that's what I did. Ok, more details. I was skeptical of baking in my Crock Pot; I know plenty of baking recipes exist--I even have some others--but how does it actually work? It just seems like it shouldn't. But after two hours on HIGH the sides and bottom were golden brown. I did follow the suggestion of transferring to the oven to brown the tops; this way I was also able to reheat these  Amazing Muffin Cups at the same time. I was really proud of myself for all my f