I made muesli bars. I actually love these and will be making more and with variations to the recipe. So much cheaper and so much tastier than store-bought. I love knowing exactly what is in them. I think I few coconut flakes will go in to my next batch.
I used the oven and microwave, so... Technically kind of sort of cooking...?
90g natural peanut butter (not ones with sugar added, just plain peanut butter with or without salt. This one was homemade! See a few posts back or look in to my history for it.) For those with peanut allergies, I'm sure any other nut butter will suffice.
Muesli bars (pretty versatile, but I'd probably keep the oats amount as it is):
120g rolled oats
60g almonds, roughly chopped
30g of pumpkin seeds/pepitas
80g sultanas
0.75 tsp of pumpkin spice powder
0.25 tsp salt
10g chia seeds
10g hemp seeds
40g of dark chocolate (I used two squares out of a 85% Lindt bar, chopped up small)
Preheat oven to 160C/325F (140C fan forced). Bake the oats, almonds and pumpkin seeds to remove what moisture is left and toast them. Bake for 10 minutes.
Pour the above mix in to a heat-proof bowl, and then mix in the sultanas, spice powder, salt, chia seeds, hemp seeds.
Microwave the honey and peanut butter together in one bowl for 30 seconds. You should be able to mix it easily so they are well combined.
Pour honey/butter in to the other bowl, and mix well.
Lay baking paper in a 23cm by 23cm (9" by 9") or similar sized pan (cut the corners of the baking paper so they fold neatly). I like this size because the bars come out at about 2.5cm thick.
Put the muesli mix in to the pan, and press down to flatten firmly. A measuring cup works really well.
Sprinkle the chocolate over the top (it may start to melt because of the warm muesli, but it's okay), and press down using the measuring cup.
Refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut in to rectangles or whatever shape you like. I cut them in to 12 rectangles.
(You can bake it so that it is crunchy, but I don't like it that crunchy that I feel like I have to break it with my teeth, so leaving it unbaked actually allows it to have a bit of chew. If you choose to bake, bake for 25m at 160C/325F (140C fan forced).)
Store in airtight container in fridge. Can be left on the bench, but I won't be eating these too quickly, and prefer cold bars anyway.
I'll be experimenting more with these in the near future. Spring is here, so that means more outdoor activities. I'll also give it a go on the stove next time with the toasting of the oats. If it's going to blaze down here this summer, I'm not turning on the oven.
I made dark roasted crunchy peanut butter with Achill Island sea salt tonight. Blend in the back to show that I didn't just buy peanut butter and call it homemade.
Edit: Thought maybe I'd make instructions a little clearer:
Preheat oven to 180C.
Lay 1kg of peanuts on as many baking trays to have them all in a single layer. Roast. Check and flip every 10 minutes for about 30-40 minutes or less to desired darkness. Make sure to pick out the ones that are roasting faster than the others or they will burn and it will ruin your peanut butter! Or you can pick them out before blending.
Remove from oven, let cool for at least 10 minutes.
Chuck roasted peanuts in food processor/blender (reserve about 200g for crunchy peanut butter) and watch the magic happen. It will go from full size peanuts to a crumble that sticks to the sides (use a spatula to scrape down), and then it's start to get smooth.
Add about 2 tsp (or to taste, do 1/2 tsp at a time until desired saltiness) of flaked sea salt, blend. Add the reserve peanuts and blend to desired crunchiness.
/edit
Edit: I guess it's technically not cooking, but I wasn't sure where else to share this... Recipe and all.
I just bought some Duckfeet boots for these flippers, and I can't help but love them. I love the colour and the comfort, and there's so much room for toes.
All of my shoes are either dying or not fitting well, and because adulting and becoming more environmentally conscious, I wanted good quality shoes that will last and can be resoled.
I'm still a bit conscious that they are not shaped like a "regular" shoe and that I'll stand out, but I'm at the age now where I'm saying more "Who cares, and if they do, why do their opinions matter?"
"Marble"y pattern isn't as prominent now after I've conditioned them, but they're still pretty and cute.. 👉👈
Partner decided to go all out on this toasted triple decker sandwich. I really wanted tater tots. We found about half way through that we may experience a little bit of regret, but none were had by the end of it.
Ham, fried egg, smashed avocado, bacon, tomatoes, red onion, lettuce, mayo, mustard on seeded bread.
Poll: Rectangle or triangle? Any particular reason why?
I do triangles because it's easier to bite a corner without making a much of a mess on both table and my face. Also, mum used to only do rectangles, so when I was old enough to start making my own, they were triangles forever.
I went to open the new container of butter at work and saw that someone else got there before me. Who does this! :'( Needless to say, I smoothed it out. I'll get to see what it looks like when I'm back in on Monday.
Growing up in Canada, I had to contend with learning two different spellings and pronunciations for words like "schedule", "colour", "omelette", "zed" vs "zee", "-ise" vs "-ize", and so on and so forth, so I had to come up with some little tricks to remember how to spell things. Sometimes I'd put on a mental Quebecois or English accent.
Other ones like diarrhea was "Die-err-HEE-uh", and now that I'm in Australia, it's most definitely "Die-err-HOE-uh". 😂
I also recite the ABCs more often than I should. I know a lot of you do, too.
What are some ways that you thought of to help you remember how to spell things? Any language counts.
Accidentally overproofed because I got caught up making lasagna, but still turned out really well! Next time, I will axe the seeds on top (makes a mess when slicing and the poppy seeds go everywhere), and put them inside the bread instead. And more poppy seeds, and maybe a handful of oats.
Now I just need to move back out in to the country and get some chickens... Who doesn't love fresh bread and fresh eggs? 🍞 🐔 🥚 Toastie? Bacon and egg sanga? Poached egg over avo toast?
Accidentally overproofed because I got caught up making lasagna, but still turned out really well! Next time, I will axe the seeds on top (makes a mess when slicing and the poppy seeds go everywhere), and put them inside the bread instead. And more poppy seeds, and maybe a handful of oats.
Now I just need to move back out in to the country and get some chickens... Who doesn't love fresh bread and fresh eggs? 🍞 🐔 🥚 Toastie? Bacon and egg sanga? Poached egg over avo toast?
Inspired by @[email protected]. Short on time, but had about an hour, so I made garlic knots.
The two ones in the forefront have been garlic buttered with parsley, will do the others as I eat them so I can keep them at room temperature until reheating. Had to force myself to stop eating them.
Plans for a seeded bread soon. It's 6C - 16C in Melbourne, so it's baking season!
This is the first time ever making beef cheeks. I don't even remember if I've had it before, but it was amaaaaazing. Just falls apart and so melty. You'd think it was marbled with fat to make it that way, but I think it's all of the connective tissues (collagen?) in the cheeks that just melt when you cook it for hours.
At hour 7, I rolled the cheeks over in the juice, and the fork was like a hot knife to butter 🤤
I don't know how my butcher got such big cheeks (lol..) but they were over 450g raw.. So I slow cooked them on high for 9 hours. Worth it.
My plating was no bueno, but you can zoom in and see how luscious the meat is. My stick blender also carked it part way through, so I ended up with bits of unblended carrot, onion, and celery in the gravy. Mashed red potatoes and green beans on the side.
I'd like to learn what people in their field think of when they see something good or bad when they're not working.
I'm a health inspector, so when I am sitting at a table as a customer, I'll watch people while I'm eating (not purposely staring, but having a look around the place). I recently saw someone swipe their finger under their nose then go to the self serve station to touch about 8 different handles before walking away. Thankfully, I was already done eating.
When I have to walk through the kitchen to the toilets, I take mental notes without meaning to.
As a ex-first responder, unconsciously doing an assessment of someone I'm speaking to (or not) and internally noting how nice and juicy their veins are.
What are some things you come across in your daily life and what do they have you thinking about?
Most definitely late, but I did make these over the weekend. These are pork and wombok dumplings. The worst part of these is that they take so much time to prepare, but only 5 seconds to eat. However, I don't make these often, and they're worth it. I make extras and freeze them for quick (lazy) meals.
Happy belated Lunar New Year to those who celebrate!
What's your favourite dipping sauce??
When I don't have any sichuan chili oil left, I just use a bit of light soy sauce, and either sesame oil or sichuan chili oil. About 1:2 ratio.
Made roast beef last night, medium rare. Used bolar blade, marinated for 24 hours. Turned out really well, and photo shows that I don't know how to slice meat properly 😂 Also had potatoes and carrots roasting under the meat.
