Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are naturally dairy and gluten free, take 5 minutes and one bowl to throw together.
There is really nothing simple about my life these days. Between two blogs, freelance work, a book, a book tour, another super secret project I hope to tell you about soon, and (oh yeah) a family, I’ve officially crossed over into complex living. As a result, my food has become more simple. Beautifully simple. Fewer (but better) ingredients, less waste, more time with that family who gives me so much support. These cookies are a great example. My favorite cookie recipe ever (on the planet) takes 3 days to make, inspiring the name Thursday Night Cookies because if I want them for the weekend, I need to start making them Thursday night.
But right now, in this crazy phase of my life, I want something that can give me near instant comfort and gratification with just a few ingredients I already have. So that someday I can get back to those lazy days and Thursday Night Cookies.
Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Yield: 12 cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup whole oats
½ cup chocolate chips
1 large egg
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl gently stir together all ingredients.
Using a cookie scoop, add golf ball size mounds to a cookie sheet that has been covered with parchment paper, evenly spaced. Flatten to one-inch circles using your hand.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Pull the parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Allow to cool.
Notes
A lot of oat companies process their oats with machines that also come in contact with gluten, making the contamination rate high for store bought oats. If you need these to be gluten free, make sure to buy oats labeled "gluten free."
Let’s stop vowing to cut things out of our lives at then beginning of each year, and start promising ourselves we’ll add some great things in.
Can’t we all just agree that those “I’m going to lose weight/stop eating sugar/give up carbs/cut out coffee” resolutions are just going to leave us feeling hungry, guilty and eventually shameful when they go enormously ignored about the second week in January?
Maybe you have a bigger capacity for restraint than I do, or a higher guilt threshold, but I gave up those types of personal promises years ago. Although I do still love a good resolution and tend to make them year round.
How about we agree to ADD things to our lives instead of taking away? There is something about making a decision to add something great to our world that just reminds us what an amazing life we have ahead of us. And adding greatness has a way of pushing out some of those not as great things.
Let’s give it a try.
Here are my favorite food resolutions, all about adding more amazingness, not about taking things away.
1.Start a food tradition: Maybe a once a month Sunday Supper with your family, or a quarterly Food Friends Pot Luck, or even just New Recipe Wednesday where you try a new dish. Food traditions are memories that you’ll be glad you made.
3. Join a CSA or other Organic Produce Delivery Program. Before my recent move, I got a box of organic produce delivered to my doorstep every Wednesday from Love Delivery. Mostly local, in season and very fresh fruits and vegetables. This also gets you to eat more good stuff, because it’s there. And you hate to waste it. Supporting local farmers and eating healthier, it’s a total win. There are several in most cities and states, consult Google for ones in your area.
4. Try New Foods. This is for the picky eaters. Pick one new food a month and cook it, and eat it. Or, order that one thing on the menu that you would never normally eat. After a year you’ll have 12 foods that you never otherwise would have tried. And I’m going to bet you a batch of cookies that you will be surprised at how much you like at least one of those new foods.
5. Master A Recipe or Technique. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn to make a soufflé, or homemade pasta. What better resolution to make than the acquisition of culinary knowledge you can someday pass down to future generations? Just go into assuming that the first time may not be a huge success, and by that I mean don’t plan an entire dinner party around skills you haven’t acquired just to end up in tears when your husband has to have pizza delivered. It will probably go fine, and you will probably post the results on Facebook (yay!), but take it slow and know that to master a technique takes a lot of practice, each time you try it you’ll learn something new.
One of my resolutions is to explore vegan cooking more, even though I have no plans to give up meat or dairy. There really isn’t any arguing with the fact that produce is the best thing you can put in your body. The more I focus on the beautiful flavors of fruits and vegetables, without using meat and dairy as a crutch, the better my cooking becomes over all.
Here is a vegan soup, inspired by this Bon Appetite recipe. Without garnishes, it’s about 170 calories a serving.
Here is a How To Roast Red Peppers post by Kitchen Treaty. If you are going to use them right away, you can skip the oil and the jar.
Creamy Vegan Broccoli Avocado Soup
Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
1 large red potato, peeled and chopped
6 cups chopped broccoli florets
½ to 2 cups water
½ tsp salt
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp black pepper
pinch chili powder
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 lage avocado, diced
1 red pepper, roasted, cut into strips
Instructions
In a stock pot or Dutch oven heat the oil. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Add the vegetable stock and potatoes, cooking until the potatoes are almost soft, about 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until the broccoli and potatoes are both tender, about 5-8 minutes. Using an emersion blender, puree until smooth. Add water, if desired, to thin to desired consistency. Add spices and lemon juice.
Garnish with avocados and red peppers prior to serving.
If you want to know how I made the garnishes "float" on top of the soup for the picture, check this out.
I’ve always wanted to go to Chile. Since I started traveling, I’ve had a deep love for Spanish speaking countries, I want to visit them all. Although, other than language, they seem to have little in common. Other than maybe a shared love of food and family.
I spent some time in Spain, missing my flight home for an extra day in Madrid.
I took my husband with my to Costa Rica, and I didn’t want to leave. I just kept begging to head further south, even telling him I’d allow as much Van Halen signing as he wanted once we hit Panama (PAAAAAna-ma-ah!). But he wanted his own bed and some clean clothes. Weirdo.
And Chile has been there, long and lean, just sitting there on my list. I want to go and visit this place, so gorgeous, and with it’s incredible food.
I was invited to a dinner party event put on by Foods From Chile a few weeks ago. It wasn’t a flight south along the Pacific, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be part of an event that took place in five cities across the US. The food was amazing. Salmon, Avocado Soup, Endive Salad, and Blueberry Crisp, cooked up by the lovely Chef Cheryl.
Maybe I’m not going to get on a plane and head south just yet, but I can eat some Chilean salmon, with some Chilean avocado cream sauce, and of course, the Chilean wine. And dream about the day I actually get my passport stamped in Santiago.
Chilean Salmon with Avocado Cream Sauce
Ingredients
For The Salmon
4, 3oz salmon fillets
1 lemon
1 to 2 tsp salt
1 to 2 tsp pepper
3 tbs olive oil
For The Avocado Cream Sauce
1 large avocado (about 2/3 cup)
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs chopped shallots
1/3 cup coconut water
pinch cayenne
pinch chili powder
pinch smoked paprika
¼ tsp cumin
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs chopped chives
Instructions
Place salmon fillets on a plate, squeeze lemon juice over salmon and allow to sit for five to ten minutes. Sprinkle filets with salt and pepper just prior to cooking.
In a good quality heavy sauce pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot but not smoking, swirling the olive oil to evenly distribute.
Add the salmon and allow to cook until golden brown before carefully flipping, about 4 minutes. Cook on the other side until cooked through.
In a food processor add the sauce ingredients and puree until smooth.
I’ve spent all day with an internal struggle about the limits of my acceptance of other people. Probably a much too serious intro for a post about pancakes, but bear with me, you might have some insight I could really use.
I’ve always prided myself on being a person who is able to see people for who they are, in the context of their own culture and life experiences and find beauty, talent and value without the qualification and framework of my own situation.
Whether it be a trailer park in South Central Los Angeles, a cave in Morocco, or a bus bench in Greece I’ve always been able to do that. Easily.
But today I was challenge with a though: what about hateful, small-minded, bigoted people?
What about racists?
The homophobic?
Are those people I should love and keep in my life?
I had an interaction with someone who left me wondering about my assertion that I have the anthropological capacity to care about other people regardless of who they are, what their beliefs or culture dictates, without judgement.
Can I judge someone merely for judging others? Isn’t that the epitome of hypocritical?
Isn’t the greater definition of open-minded and open-hearted to love those who are a challenge to love? I do believe that there is good in everyone. But is it worth it to try to dig past the hate and anger of a racist or homophobic friend or family member, or is that level of toxicity a fundamental deal breaker?
If you have some insight, let me know. For now I will proceed with caution, because the bottom line is I want to love everyone. I don’t want anyone, or any group of people, to be designated as a group I should hate. Because hate just breeds more hate.
Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk (use coconut milk for dairy free, this is what I used)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup raisins (plus more for garnish)
Instructions
In a bowl add the flour, oats, salt, brown sugar, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, mix until well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the milk, egg and vanilla, stir until just combined. Add the raisins and stir.
Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat, coat with cooking spray.
Drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the hot griddle. Cook until dry on the edges and bubbles start to form in the center. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 2 more minutes.
At the end of the month I have this little cooking on TV gig that I’m incredibly excited about. And as much as I strive to be unique and impervious to social pressure, none of that has been able to penetrate my own vanity. After the initial shock of being asked to cook on CBS, Los Angeles wore off my first very female thoughts went something like this:
"What am I going to wear?"
"The camera adds ten pounds. Awesome."
So here I am, trying to stay as healthy as possible until I can school the Los Angeles metro area on the mid-day news with an introduction to cooking with beer all while still trying to run two food blogs that dazzle you with fun and delicious food. Not as easy for me as I’d like.
I did, however, discovered that if I give up dairy, which I already find skeevey in it’s unmanipulated state, the battle to lose those last few pounds becomes much easier. Butter and goat cheese have been the only real sacrifices, the rest has been easy to ignore or replace.
Don’t forget to come back on Wednesday when I give the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had that happens to be dairy free. It’s insane how creamy it is. You’ll want that recipe.
This recipe, which is dairy and gluten-free, gives you this delicious little mini burgers that are only about 90 calories each. And I am now one step closer to cooking on TV and not crying about it.
Chicken Sliders With Zucchini Buns
Ingredients
For The Patties
1 lb ground lean chicken
1 egg
1/4 cup panko (for GF, use crushed potato chips)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1 cup fat free chicken broth
Condiments & Toppings
1 to 2 large zucchinis, cut into 1/4 inch rings (buns)
Avocado Slices
BBQ Sauce
Pickled Jalapenos
Tomato Slices
Instructions
In a bowl, combine all the the patti ingredients (except the chicken broth) with your hands until well combined.
Spray the inside of a skillet (with a lid) with cooking spray, allow to get hot but not smoking.
Form the chicken mixture into patties about the width of your zucchini slices and about 1/2 inch thick. Cook on one side until browned on the bottom, flip and allow to cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth until about half way up the sides of the chicken patties. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for about 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken patties are cooked through. Because fat is responsible for moist patties, very lean meat becomes dry very easily. This is the method I use to make sure the chicken is cooked through but is not dry.
Remove from pan and allow to drain.
Add the patties to the zucchini slices, top with condiments and serve.
I told you all about my plan to try and limit my dairy intake. There are, however, some things that I will never part with, like goat cheese. I might crawl across broken glass for goat cheese. And homemade whipped cream, especially Candy Cane Whipped Cream, is a joy I will indulge in for the rest of my life.
But milk, I could take it or leave it. In fact, most of the time I would rather leave it. Not just because the idea of drinking a tall glass of un-manipulated milk makes me want to gag, but because I have found so many alternatives that I enjoy so much more.
Coconut milk is an amazing substitute for milk, and the flavor is beautiful. Almond milk adds a new dimension to dishes that I adore.
For now, I will be making my french toast with coconut milk, I loved the way it tasted.
Coconut Oat French Toast
1 can light coconut milk
1/4 cup brown sugar, plus additional 1/4 cup divided
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 slices of bread
1 cup quick oats
Add the coconut milk, 1/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and eggs to a bowl, whisk until well combined.
Place the oats and remaining brown sugar on a plate or in a shallow dish, stir until well combined.
Heat a skillet (with a lid), sprayed with butter flavored cooking spry, over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
Two at a time, soak the bread in the coconut milk mixture for about a minute. Remove from the milk and allow excess to drain off, place on the oat plate, turn to coat.
Add the french toast to the hot pan, replace the lid and cook for two minutes. Turn the french toast, replace the lid and cook for an additional two minutes, or until cooked through. Turn the heat down on the pan if the oats start to brown too quickly.
To see my Coconut Oat French Toast, click on the picture:
Why would a meat eating cheese monger such as myself want to make something vegan? Several reason, not the least of which are my friends and family who can’t or wont eat dairy. As meat eaters, it is even more important for us to experiment with vegan and vegetarian food and not hang on the crutch of animal products with the exclusion of other foods. We need to have all types of recipes in our arsenals, not just to accommodate those who might be guest at our tables, but in order to discover foods that we didn’t know we loved, because we didn’t think food with "vegan" labels applied to us. In exploring vegan cooking I have discovered what an amazing texture vegetable shorting lends to frosting, how rich and beautiful coconut milk tastes, and how fruit purees can be a flavorful stand in for butter.
Dairy free baking is something I want to lean towards more. Only using milk products when other substitutions would compromise the overall product, but in many cases vegan substitutions make the end result just as good or even better. Plant based foods just feel better in my body and if the taste of the food isn’t harmed then why would I make any other choice?
I started exploring dairy free cooking when three friends where coming over for dinner. One was kosher (meat and dairy can not be served together) one was allergic to cow’s milk and the other was breast-feeding a baby who couldn’t have dairy. All three needed a dairy free meal. I realized how much dairy I use. Why? I love plants, produce, vegetables, fruit…why all the milk?
These brownies where really good. Not just "good for vegan" but just really good. So fudgy and intensely chocolatey, even Tater couldn’t keep her little fingers off them.
She took a bite and then carefully put it right back where I had place it. So cute, I love that kid.
Chocolate Coconut Vegan Brownies
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (can sub coconut milk)
1/3 cup strong coffee*
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 tsp salt
In a bowl, beat together the coconut oil and the agave nectar until well combined. Add the soy milk and coffee and beat again. in a separate bowl, add the cocoa powder, flour, shredded coconut and salt and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, don’t over mix.
Spray a 8×8 inch baking dish with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper) and pour bater into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes. You don’t want to overcook these or they will be too dry. Allow to cool before cutting into.
For an extra treat, serve warm topped with coconut milk ice cream.
*Note: Coffee intensifies the flavor of chocolate, with no trace of a coffee taste. If you don’t like coffee, or don’t have a coffee maker, stop by a Starbucks and order a black coffee, use 1/3 of a cup and freeze the rest in ice cube trays for use in future chocolate baking.
