Over the last year or so I have discovered that I absolutely love dates. Maybe three years ago my dear friend Gill brought over a snack of dates stuffed with almonds and I was all ‘um, oooookay, whatever Gill’. Not only was chocolate not involved at all but this was nature stuffed with nature. It reeked of health, and at the time that soooo wasn’t my bag. Now though, I am all over that shit. Loving dates or at least liking the general taste and texture of dates is a serious plus when experimenting with vegan desserts, especially raw vegan desserts. My favorite kind of raw vegan desserts (and man there are a lot of them) are the kind that are sweetened mostly with dates and made by smashing all the ingredients together in the food processor. They’re always so so dense and gaaaah, just so good.

These little treats are so extremely dense you can’t just throw everything in the food processor and make balls from the batter. Hehe. It’ll seize up the food processor! This recipe originally has the mixture in a brownie pan and then sliced into squares. I scooped them into balls instead!

They’re so good. They’re sweet without being obnoxious and chocolaty with out having any chocolate in them at all! They curb the sweey snacky cravings with a single dose! True story! Believe it or not, they’re very similar to Eat More chocolate bars.

These treats are from Kat Eats Real Food, via a guest post by Angela from Oh She Glows.

1/2 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup carob powder
2/3 cup raw walnuts
1/3 cup raw almonds
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar

Since it all had to be done separately, first I chopped the dates, then the almonds and walnuts.
In a small bowl I mixed the coconut, carob powder and agave nectar.
Theeeen, I added the dates and the nuts and mashed it all together with a spoon.
Then instead of putting this mixture into a brownie pan, I rolled them into balls. They’re about 120 calories each which isn’t bad, especially considering how dense they are.

I found this recipe over at Life as a Lofthouse forever ago and bookmarked it for ‘later’. This recipe was originally posted in September of 2010! I finally made this for my dear friend Brigitte, her brother Mike and her husband Hal when they came for a visit around Christmas. Brigitte was with me in the kitchen when I made it (hilariously typical) while the guys were, where else? In the garage (omg what a horrible poster group for stereotypes ha). Anyhoo, later when we served this, along with a few other tasty apps I’ll post about later this month, Hal totally thought the sauce came from a jar! Not like ‘this sauce is so bland I bet it’s from a jar’, more like ‘omg this sauce is so good, as if you made it yourself’. It’s always a super rad feeling to be able to whip up something that family and company loves, but to do it with such basic ingredients that we all have on hand? Super mega rad, my friends.

I also just noticed that Life as a Lofthouse has a Menu Monday!! I will link up with her next week!

Preheat your oven to 325F, rinse the chicken in water and then cut into chunks. Season with salt and pepper (or not, your call).

Dip each piece into the cornstarch first.
Then dip into the eggs! Mix the sugar and the ketchup in a medium sized bowl.
Add vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt. Mix, mix, mix!
Transfer the cooked chicken chunks to a baking dish and pour the sweet and sour sauce over it. Bake for about an hour and give it a stir once every 15 minutes or so.

Yet another winner from Sarah Matheny’s Peas and Thank You cookbook! And no, I am NOT giving you the recipe for this amazingness, but I will break it down for you a bit. First of all, it’s called a Crack Wrap because after you have one, no – after you have a bite of one, it’s all you’ll ever want to eat. I’ve got it bad, man. The main difference of course is that as addicting as it is, it’s actually good for you, as opposed to crack, which I’m sure you’re aware is not at all good for you. Ahem.

So this recipe could be made using store bought ingredients, but I swear on a stack of Seventeen magazines that the from scratch deliciousness cannot possibly be replicated with bar codes. I repeat, not possible.

There are two recipes from the book that are actually part of this recipe, Crazy Good Hummus (totally lives up to it’s name) and La Hacienda de Peas Tortillas.

I started on the tortillas first. I have tried way. too. many tortilla recipes and they have all more or less sucked. However now that I have this one? I will likely not ever buy tortillas again. True story. They’re pretty quick really, and you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen already.
Then I made the hummus, and again, I will likely always make hummus this way (though Mama Pea really is a bit of a slave driver with this one), because the difference really is crazy good. Then I did some other stuff that would be giving away the recipe if I posted all the pictures I took and just a few minutes later, I was chowing down on the yummiest treat in this book – SO FAR. I’m only like 11 recipes in and I already have what I think is the crown jewel. I only sound dramatic till you taste it, then you’ll be all ‘ooooooh, I get it now‘! In the book, recommended partners for this wrap are two Peas and Thank You soups. Good idea! When I get to those soups later this year, I will make this again. Because duh, I’m making it all the time anyway!

That’s right, Window Shopping Wednesday is back!!

I just love handmade and vintage shops too much to not post about them. I also have an incurable addiction to baking/crafting supplies so there’s that too. Lately I have been drooling over the vintage kitchen gear at French Attic Finds. It all reminds me of my grandmother and makes me want to do my entire kitchen up with items from this shop.

French Attic Finds is a weekly updated Etsy shop with treasures from France!

Just look!!

I’m participating in Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

My WIP this week is a little sad, but it was just Valentine’s Day so I was buried in chocolate and red construction paper natch! I did manage to squeeze out some knitting time in the car this week and last night I knitted and knitted and caught up on some Law & Order SVU. Mariska Hargitay is so seriously hot. Like, dudes. I’m also really loving Danny Pino as her new partner, but I digress. I accomplished two repeats on this sock before attacking my husband and going to sleep. Lovely ending to our (does quick math) 13th Valentine’s day together.

The pattern in Flying Arrows by Helen Waittes, it’s a really simple (and really pretty) 10 row repeat, where every other row is the same so it’s fairly simple to zone into it. I may be a little sad when I’m done, but that’s no reason to knit slowly! I had intended to finish these as my January socks, but I got sidetracked by the cute baby legwarmers I posted last week. I think I will officially call those my January socks, even though they are legwarmers and they are so wee.

There is a lot going on around here that I am BURSTING to talk about but still can’t juuust yet. Soon! So even though I am mega super distracted, I am aiming to have these socks finished by this time next week so I’m casting on for my official February socks by then!

It’s been a super busy, super fun Valentine’s Day around here today! Here’s the parade of the love fest we sent to school!

First up, for the teachers, we made the same caramel corn as for Miss America but I halved it and made the other half purple. I packaged them up in baggies, and used these super cute tags from Our Best Bites – here’s the PDF for them. They say ‘Just popping through with a Valentine for you’. I used red and white baker’s twine that I just ordered from Keeley Behling to wrap them all up. There’s just something about baker’s twine that makes me feel like a serious domestic goddess. I also dipped pretzel rods in melted chocolate and rolled them in pink sprinkles, then wrapped those in parchment paper and tied with more baker’s twine. Love!!

These adorable little friendship bracelets were for Wee One #2’s class. They are just three strand braids that we made together; green/orange/blue for the boys and pink/light pink/purple for the girls. They’re strung through another sweet printable that says ‘our class would knot be the same without you’. Ha! I know, it’s mega uber cheese, but dudes please, it’s Valentine’s Day, what do you want from me?! The printable for these is from Dandee Designs over here.
These are my favorite treat I’ve ever sent to Wee One #1’s class. They are jumbo Rolos (the kind with 10 in the package) wrapped in red construction paper. I secured the construction paper to the wrapper with double sided tape so it couldn’t be seen and I also rolled half a black pipe cleaner in with it! Instant stick of dynamite! Love it! I made the labels in Photoshop with a similar font from the one it was originally pictured with. This idea came from Make It Do. Our oldest will be 12 this summer, so he’s borderline too old for this shit, you know? It’s hard to find ideas that still fit the holiday without being too lame for him to be down. This? Totally worked!
Wee One #2 wanted a little something extra for the kids in her class so we made a fairly classic chocolate covered Oreo for each of them and to keep it festive we added red and pink sprinkles! They’re pictured drying with the equally festive chocolate covered pretzel rods included in the teacher’s loot.
The Oreos were hard to package, because short of bringing a tray of them into the school, how do you wrap an individual chocolate covered Oreo?! My solution was to plunk each one in a pink cupcake liner, wrap with pink tissue paper and secure with — you guess it! BAKER’S TWINE. I need help, is there a support group for this sort of thing?

I’m participating in Menu Monday at Organizing Junkie

My oven died a few days ago, so this Menu Monday is a creative one! Just as I had finished mopping up my tears over discovering it wasn’t just a fuse issue, my wonderful husband delivered another striking blow – it could take over a month for us to get the part our oven needs. Shake it off, May! It’s ok, there are plenty of stove top, no bake and slow cooker options. Deeeeep yoga breaths. Ok so I think I’m alright.

This Week’s Menu (Feb 13-19)
*In case you’re wondering why I’m making two meals every night, I made some dietary changes that were important to me earlier this year and my family is a little slow to jump in. They usually join me in a healthy breakfast and lunch and I refuse to bicker over dinner.

Sunday – Tacos for the fam, Tofu Nuggets for me (yes again, I’d eat them everyday if I could with homemade BBQ sauce)

I know this recipe is not mentioned at all in my menu for this week but let’s totally ignore that and be thankful for moderately healthy cookies. If you like your Oatmeal Cookies Granny-style, just add a cup of raisins at the very end and mix them in with a wooden spoon. None of us are fans of raisins in baked goods (except maaaaybe cinnamon buns but even then not really), so I didn’t use any.

Grandmother’s Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies – From Good Housekeeping Cook Book (p. 722)

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats, uncooked

As you’d expect, cream the butter and the sugars together first. Then add the egg and vanilla.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl before you tip that bowl into the wet mixture. Beat till just combined.
Finally, mix in the oats with a wooden spoon (this is where you’d add raisins if you’re so inclined).
Bake for about 15 minutes at 350!

I have wanted to do this forever – it is infinitely easier than it seems and it seems crazy easy. No brainer and the wee ones are happy, happy, happy. I came across this recipe via Easie Peasie and tried it later the same day. Success!

Just mix 3 teaspoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup corn starch and 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Cook it until it starts to thicken and then separate it into jars and add food coloring! So simple! Wee One #3 watched me make it, and helped get the paper and brushes and easel ready. By the time we were set up to paint, it had cooled and she painted for almost an hour – creating an alarming number of masterpieces. Clean up was easy too!

I love how no matter the time of year, no matter the holiday – there is a candy corn for it. Of course I was aware of the original orange, yellow and white candy corn of Halloween, though honestly, I never really liked it. Two years ago I needed some for a recipe and my husband, the saint that he is, came home with like three times the amount I asked for so the kids snacked on it for weeks till it was gone. Then a couple of months later he was back at the bulk store buying some rando ingredient like arrowroot flour or chia seeds or something and he texts me that there is red, white and green Christmasy candy corn. I was way too excited about this discovery but had a lot of purposeful Christmas baking to do and none of it included candy corn, so I totally forgot about it. Months later, he found himself searching for candy that I could use as bunny ears for the Easter cake pops I was making (the post on that to come in time for Easter this year) and came across, yes – pastel candy corn in various colors with yellow and white (pink, green, blue and purple). He brought home way too much of it, I used a lot of them as bunny ears and way too many of them as late night snacks. Theeeen, just a couple of weeks ago, I was looking for pink and red M&Ms to make Valentiney cookies and in the bulk bin right beside them was…wait for it…Valentiney candy corn. Red, pink and white.

I bought two scoops with absolutely no plan for them at all, because I’m a total rebel like that.

Eventually I decided that poking them into a tray of blondies during their last few minutes in the oven was an excellent place for them to go. I was totally right, these babies are serious good. They’re good without the candy corn too but I think the colors make the tray look more festive, yes?

The original recipe was found over at Simple Recipes.

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour

It comes together as simply as you’d expect it to!

First whisk the melted butter and the brown sugar, then whisk in the egg and vanilla.
Now just whisk in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and spread it into a greased brownie pan. Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350F! I took mine out at the 20 minute mark to poke the candy corn in and then popped them back in for another 10 minutes.

Just like with a lot of kids, peanut butter and jam is a real weakness with mine. A weakness I try my best to exploit – to their own advantage, of course! As with all the recipes in Jessica Seinfield’s book, there is a hidden vegetable snuck into these muffins. Some of the recipes in this book seem like an easy sell (like these brownies with spinach and carrots) but turn out to have a telltale veggie taste that totally turns off anyone with a vegetable radar – aka anyone under the age of 10. However, this recipe disguises a healthy dose of carrots with peanut butter and jam. Genius! If you use sugar free, low sugar, or otherwise healthier jam than a run of the mill glucose fructose garbage, it’s even healthier!

So what’s so amazing about carrots? We know veggies are good for us but the why is helpful to know. We think of carrots and we think two things usually, they’re good for our eyesight and they’re full of beta carotene. Both of those things are true but there’s so much more to it than that! There’s a 10 year study out of the Netherlands that was recently released that explains that carrots are actually amazing at reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Like, really significantly reducing the risk and all you need is about 3/4 of a cup of carrots a day. Also, in addition to the beta carotene we are always talking about carrots also have polyacetylenes, which are power houses against colon cancer. Protect your butts, people! Vitamin A is in serious abundance in just 1 cup of carrots (over 407%).

I served these with homemade hot chocolate and milk to the kids after school one day with no mention at all of any added veggies and they gobbled them up while going over their homework to-dos – and asked for seconds!

Peanut Butter and Jam Muffins – from Deceptively Delicious (p. 63)

1/2 natural peanut butter
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter/margarine
1/2 cup non fat plain yogurt
1 large egg white
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low sugar strawberry, blueberry or grape jam

Essentially, you just beat the peanut butter with the carrot puree and then with the brown sugar and the butter. Then stir in the yogurt and the egg white and you’re ready for the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Line your muffin tin with paper cups and divide the batter between 12. Now drop a spoonful of jam over each one. Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes. So good with a nice boost of beta carotene!