Living in a Cereal World

So how's your Thanksgiving prep going? I just made my second dessert and handed off stuffing prep duty (why do all that chopping tomorrow?). So now I'm done for the day. But I still wanted to mention my birthday cake. As you  may   well   know , I consider my birthday to be the kickoff to the holiday season. As such, I don't want to overindulge in rich, complicated or large birthday cakes. So this year the October issue of Cooking Light solved my problem with this  Whole-Grain Apple Cake . I did not make the yogurt cream, though, because it's my birthday and I want ice cream with my cake. Seriously, it's the only day of the year I eat those two things together. So this cake I had everything I wanted--a reasonable size, fruit, and whole-wheat pastry flour. I opted to chunk my apples because, well, I like big chunks. It's almost like a pie but with more batter. And ridiculously moist, I guess thanks to the buttermilk. And  I managed to find another use for the...

I don't know what's my problem. I made these  Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies  two weeks ago and just kept forgetting to take notes on them. Then I kept skipping it in favor of other entries. So I thawed out the leftovers yesterday and thought I'd better get around to blogging them. My first thought is, do you love brown sugar? Then you will love these cookies. And if you really, really  love brown sugar, opt for dark. Two, do they live up to the name? Absolutely. I know I've made oatmeal cookies that were a little too dense for my liking--but not straight up bricks; I've never screwed up a cookie that badly--but these are definitely soft and chewy. And they stayed nicely for a week--although who am I kidding, I'll eat a stale cookie (within a reasonable amount of time). I found this recipe while searching for an oatmeal cookie that called for molasses; I don't think I've ever combined the two before. And being one of Sally's recipes made trying it ...

You know, I've had just about every flavor of Honey Bunches of Oats, so last week I said to myself, you know what? I might as well try the Strawberries. Freeze-dried strawberries aren't my most favorite thing so I don't really know what I was thinking. I suppose for once it was nice to not overthink. At the end of the day, it's cereal. Anyhoo, you know the drill. Little cornflakes, little wheat flakes, big oat clusters (that was nice) and the strawberry slices. I sprinkled a little bit with my banana and Kix this morning and the banana was one day under-ripe for me--yes, I can tell--so with one bite I thought, ugh, what is wrong this banana--oh, wait that's a strawberry . I don't know why I didn't realize the strawberries would soften up in milk. I don't think I was fully awake this morning. As a matter of fact, I can barely concentrate right now. Too much background noise. But I continue blogging...

I'm not a coffee drinker but that doesn't mean you can't have your hot beverage of choice with a chunk of this  Blueberry Coffee Cake . I made this last month when I was consciously trying not to overdo the pumpkin-ness in everything . And I think it worked; I'll be ready for pumpkin again by Thanksgiving. But on to the cake: I used frozen blueberries since I had plenty in the freezer; it still seemed as if the berries were lacking. I don't know if fresh would've made a difference--in amount, in flavor, in whatever. But I wanted more berries. What I didn't miss, surprisingly, was the typical crumbly streusel. This has a sugar/cinnamon/walnut (I subbed almonds) mixture layered in the middle and sprinkled on top for a little sweetness and crunch. It complements the incredibly moist cake nicely. I will make a point of making this for a crowd next time.

That almost takes longer to say than to cook. Anyway, hey, it's been a long time since I reviewed a hot cereal. I wasn't sure if I'd like steel cut oats--and I'm still not sure about the real thing--but I figured this "instant" version would be a start. It takes three minutes in the microwave, which is the preferred method, so I did what the directions said. You have to heat it with water and then add milk later if you so choose (yep). So after following the directions it came out of the microwave hot but with a thin layer of water on top. All I had to do was stir that in to fully incorporate it. The result was thick and creamy, what I imagine porridge to be like in terms of consistency. The milk wasn't even really necessary but, again, that's how I do it with regular oatmeal anyway. There was a bit of a nutty taste to it and I didn't really notice the berries--I may have been too concerned with texture to really notice anything else, though. Oh,...

I couldn't find this online anywhere so I double-checked my box: yep, that's the name. It seems to be the same thing as "Buzz Crunch Honey Almond" because there's still the message about saving the bees on the side panel. I don't recall there being any almonds, though, and there's no mention of them in the review I wrote a while back (I'm still catching up on my blogging, remember?) so I guess it's just the flakes now. This one's like a cereal mash-up: you have the honey-coated wheat flakes (which are like a wheat version of Frosted Flakes); there's your smaller, drier corn flakes that are like what you'd find in Honey Bunches of Oats; and there's oat clusters, which are, well, see previous statement. I'd forgotten about the oat component until I gave the box a good shake and one huge cluster fell out. This is actually the first Cascadian Farm cereal I've ever tried--you know I've been eating the granola for a few ye...

This is basically the Nature's Path version of Raisin Bran Crunch. I've been meaning to try it for a while but I finally thought to buy it last month. And, fair warning, it's not pumpkin-flavored. But it has pumpkin seeds. Not a lot, but enough. In fact, the best thing I can say about the cereal that the ratio of flakes to raisins (to seeds to oat clusters) is just exactly where you'd want it to be. The flakes are on the small side, round and concave from the pressing with little bits of flax seeds in there, too. If you don't like whole flax seeds you might tolerate this better. The oat clusters are sweeter than the flakes but on the whole it's a bit on the dry side. That didn't really bother me, though, since I like to drown my raisin bran in milk anyway. Overall, a worthy addition to my raisin bran lineup. ******* In other, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" news, my brother got his package in time after all (after a nudge to the post offic...

Maybe it's just time-change grumpiness but I didn't love these  Dried Blueberry Almond Scones . They had everything I was looking for: another scone recipe, a use for dried blueberries (and dried cranberries to make the full 3/4 cup), almonds! Maybe I didn't add enough milk. It's hard to eyeball 2/3 of 1/2 cup. Maybe they could've used a little turbinado sugar sprinkle? I don't know. My mother raved, though, so that's something. And any scone (or biscuit) recipe that calls for patting instead of rolling is always a plus. I'll have a leftover one tomorrow; maybe my opinion will change. Oh, and one note--yes, you should use the amount of almond extract called for in the recipe. It may smell overwhelming while you're mixing but all the flavors blend on your tongue at the end.