Living in a Cereal World

Only the swap in question didn't involve other people, just a key ingredient. I wanted to try these  Loaded Oatmeal Cookies  (and if I'm not careful I may develop a Sally's Baking Addiction addiction) which specifically call for rolled oats. I grew up on 1-minute oats and it never occurred to me to try anything else, not even for baking. If it ain't broke..., you know? But old fashioned oats are supposed to be more hearty and chewy and after I thought about it while I realized, yeah, my oatmeal cookies always have  been kind of dry. Not that they're inedible or anything bad. But I felt like experimenting. Just from opening the container I could see the difference. Okay, this is a whole oat; the other stuff is chopped up to cook faster. They didn't really break up in the dough or  leave intact pieces once baked, which was my concern. And yes, they are definitely more moist and chewy--although the molasses may have something to do with that. I have to say, molas...

It was just  two entries ago . Of course I wasn't going to open a whole can of pumpkin just for one bowl of oatmeal, so I made  Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins . There's just enough cinnamon and ginger in there to make them taste pumpkin pie-ish and the dried cranberries are a nice touch. I didn't have any coarse sugar to sprinkle on top and didn't miss it. Also, I could tell by the thickness of the batter that they were going to be hearty, filling muffins. Oh, and don't be alarmed if they come out textured instead of round and smooth like you might expect from a muffin. I realized this is because I just spooned globs of batter in the muffin cups. I don't own a dedicated muffin/cookie scoop. I probably should.

I wasn't going to write this today but I just finished making salmon salad with the leftovers, so I had to share last night's dinner:  Mustard-Maple Roasted Salmon . I don't remember how I found this one; I'm sure it was one of those times where I stumbled across it while searching for another recipe. I cannot stress how simple this recipe is. If you can stir together four  ingredients, you can do this. I used parsley instead of cilantro since that's what I had on hand, and I had to turn the temp for a few extra minutes to get the doneness I prefer (not a word? Don't care). I should probably caution that this is really  tangy. Sure, the maple syrup cuts into it a bit, but if you aren't a big fan of Dijon mustard, this is not your salmon recipe. For the rest of us, flavorful leftovers.

...or so I told myself when I decided to make pumpkin oatmeal this week. I've had  instant Pumpkin Spice oatmeal  before but I've never made it myself. I'd also been meaning to try different flavors/toppings in my oatmeal for a while now but never got around to it. So everything came together today. The recipe I followed was for  Pumpkin Cheesecake Oatmeal  but of course, I couldn't do the Cheesecake part (it sounds delicious, though). I can eat an actual baked cheesecake--as long as I don't overdo it--but I can't eat cream cheese straight from the tub. I also can't do graham crackers anymore, either. I don't know what that's about. I ended up not following the rest of the recipe exactly, either. I thought two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice sounded a bit much for one bowl of oatmeal, so I just sprinkled what I wanted--probably closer to one tsp. Then I needed to add more brown sugar to counter all those heavy spices. The amount of pumpkin was per...

Another of the Kashi equivalent to Mini-Wheats, except the latter doesn't come in a vanilla flavor. Which is probably a good thing because it wouldn't be better than this. So  authentically vanilla. I think that's the best way to describe it. First, it passed the smell test. When I first open a bag, I want the distinct aroma of whatever the flavor's supposed to be. It smelled like real vanilla to me, not artificial. Then I tasted it. It's as if each piece of wheat was infused with vanilla. Thorough, but not overpowering. If you like flavorful but not overly sweet cereals, you'll enjoy this one.

I like to send care packages every now and then--any excuse to bake, right? But my brother is trying to cut back on junk, so I try to send him treats with some redeeming quality. These  Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Blondies  were just what I was looking for. This was my first attempt at a blondie; I wanted to make something other than cookies for a change. And peanut butter is one of my brother's favorite foods, so I was pretty confident that I couldn't go wrong. A few adjustments, though: I didn't add peanuts or the chocolate drizzle, just a sprinkling of peanut butter chips (hey, go peanut butter big or go home, I say). Also I didn't do the heart-shaped cutouts; that would've been a little much. Of course I saved a few for tasting; they may be low-sugar but they don't lack for flavor. One bite had a chunk of brown sugar; that was entirely my fault. Make sure you whisk thoroughly.

This is Kashi's new take on Raisin Bran, only not with your typical wheat bran flakes. They're a combination of wheat, rice and quinoa, which makes for a substantial and filling flake. And yes, they do hold up in milk a little bit longer. It's not as sweet as I'm used to with other raisin brans but it is  in line with the sweetening of other Kashi cereals. I have no complaints about the raisins; there's plenty of them and they taste like raisins. So while it isn't super-special, I'll certainly add it to my raisin bran rotation.

...although not the way I usually am. I just ate a lot of chicken this week. Usually I plan better than that. But anyway, here's another recipe I found in the Sunday coupons:  Lemon & Pepper Chicken with Penne and Vegetables . (Weird. It's at the McCormick website but not the Birdseye one.) First of all, it's really good. Second, you probably don't need the full tablespoon of lemon and pepper. Half of that covered the ingredients in the pan and would have been tangy enough--I added a little more because I don't like straying from recipes the first time around. I did use broth instead of stock, though. It was already open in the fridge and that little bit wasn't going to make much difference. But don't skip it entirely; it does serve a purpose. You might also be thinking, couldn't I just cut up my own vegetables? Well, yes, but if you're pressed for time I wouldn't dismiss this option. It's a really easy meal to put together.

I hadn't planned on an entry today but I wanted to make a quick note of this tea:  White Chocolate Obsession . It's a seasonal tea I've been meaning to try for years but I usually have so many fall/winter teas that I'm set for the cold months. This year, however, I thought I'd try it. It doesn't seem right, in a way: chocolate and tea...together? But somehow it works. You definitely have to go the milk/sweetener route to get the full effect but it's worth it. It's great for those times when you feel like you want the flavor  of hot chocolate but not the richness  of hot chocolate. And you know how I'm not a big chocolate consumer. This is one of those hot food and/or drink weeks. Nasty, nasty weather. But at least it makes for surprise entries?

You may recall the  pound cake  I made for my dad last year. Three weeks later the topic came up in conversation and my mother had completely forgotten about it. I mean completely . Now, I've gotten used to my mom not remembering things like she used to, but this one stung for some reason. Maybe because I liked it so much. So it was in the back of my mind to try it again. Now my mom's birthday comes around, and I haven't found any other recipe to inspire me, so I decide to  make this cake again  but the double-chocolate variation this time (it's there in the body of the recipe). And now she can't stop raving about it. One of the best cakes I've ever made for her, she says. She even got teary over it, because of my thoughtfulness.  That was surprising. Actually, read this whole paragraph in a surprised tone. Because it was that surprising. I'll be honest, though. I think it turned out even better  than the first one. It's more moist--never unwanted in...