Hands On Oatmeal Bars

When I was younger, my parents told me that cookies turn out best when you mix them with your hands. It wasn't until I was making these that I remembered this and it still holds true! This is a very messy recipe, from beginning to end but it's so tasty and so much fun! I found a recipe and tweaked it a bit so that I could incorporate some whole wheat flour. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup strawberry jam
1/4 cup chopped almonds

Preparation

Toasted Coconut

Preheat oven to 325 with rack in center of oven. Spread 3/4 cup of coconut flakes on a baking sheet, making sure they are singly layered. Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly toasted. 

Preheat oven to 375.

Directions

Mix whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add butter. Hand knead butter into flour mixture until a dough forms. Please be sure that your hands are washed directly before this step! Although it seems strange to add cold butter, the warmth of your hands will melt it, forming a dough. Fold in toasted coconut flakes and rolled oats. 

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch metal baking pan. Reserving 3/4 cup oatmeal mixture, press evenly into the bottom of baking pan. Evenly spread jam across the oatmeal mixture. Using your hands, sprinkle oatmeal mixture across the jam. Make sure you are breaking up the oatmeal as your sprinkle it so that it is crumbly on the jam. Sprinkle remaining coconut and chopped almonds. The key to sprinkling evenly is to sprinkle lightly and in an orderly fashion! Bake in center of rack for 23-28 minutes.


Place pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely. Loosen the edges with a knife and then remove as one piece and place on cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, slice into bars. 

Gourmet. "Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars Recipe at Epicurious.com." Epicurious.com: Recipes, Menus, Cooking Articles & Food Guides. Feb. 2002. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. <http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oatmeal-Coconut-Raspberry-Bars-106179>.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

This is a recipe that my friends Nicole and Krystal taught me. I only learned it just over a month ago and I've already made it several different times now! It's one of my favorite things to make because it is so fresh tasting and healthy! Most of the ingredients can only be found at an Asian grocery store but once you've tracked one down, you'll see that all the ingredients are very cheap. 

Ingredients

1 lb small shrimp

2 lb thinly sliced beef

salt

pepper

1 package vermicelli

3 Tbsp hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp water

1 head of green leaf lettuce
5 cups warm-hot water

1/2 cucumber, julienned

1 bunch of mint leaves, rinsed and de-stemmed

chili paste

Preparation

Shrimp

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Deveine and peel shrimp. Add shrimp to water. Since shrimp does take too long to cook, wait until shrimp turns pink. After it has, drain thoroughly.

Beef

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Season water with salt and pepper. Add beef. Cook until beef is no longer pink. After all the pink is gone, cook for about 1 more minute. Drain thoroughly.

Vermicelli

Heat about 4 cups of water in a large pot until almost simmering. Add Vermicelli. Let sit in hot water about 4 minutes or until soft. Place noodles in a strainer and run cold water through it. Drain thoroughly.

Peanut Sauce

Combine hoisin sauce, peanut butter and water in a small pot. Stir over medium-high heat until boiling. Let boil for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Depending on what kind of peanut butter you are using, you may want to adjust the amount of water you use. Some peanut butter leaves this sauce a little bit salty, so more water is necessary. If you add water, be sure to add a little corn starch while the pot is heated to keep a thick consistency.

Lettuce

Chop off the root of the lettuce. Rinse leaves and pat dry with a paper towel. Slice leaves down the center, trimming away the hard stem. 

Directions

First, fill an extra large bowl with 5 cups of warm-hot water. Dip one spring roll sheet into the water, making sure to cover all areas. It does not need to soak, as it will soften quicker than you think! Place a piece of lettuce on the edge of the sheet that is closest to you. Next, begin stacking the cucumbers, mint, beef and shrimp. Try to add no more than 4 pieces of each vegetable, 3 pieces of beef and 4 pieces of shrimp. Remember, you still need to roll it! Lastly, using a fork, add about a medium bite sized amount of vermicelli. Make sure it is stretching horizontally rather than clumped up on one side of the sheet. Add peanut sauce and chili paste to taste. In general, add all the vegetables to taste. Some people prefer less mint than others! 


To begin rolling, lift the edge of the sheet that is closest to you. You will notice that it is now much more delicate! So, be sure to use light fingers! Fold it over all of the vegetables, tucking the vegetables close towards you. Next, fold the left and right sides of the sheet towards the center. Finish rolling the side closer to you until it is all rolled. Make sure to keep the vegetables tight toward the spring roll so that you don't end up with a floppy mess! 


Some people have different thoughts on rolling, which vegetables to use or whether to keep the peanut sauce and chili sauce out and dip with every bite. For more spice, you can use cilantro. For a vegetarian spring roll, you can use scrambled eggs as a meat substitute. It's really up to you, and this is just how I like to do it. Enjoy!

Spicy Sesame Asparagus

This is a delicious recipe with little preparation. It's about 2 servings and my favorite way to eat it is with a side of brown rice! I prefer to use skinny asparagus because it shortens cooking time since I don't have to skin the spears and it softens quicker. 

Ingredients

1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp corn starch
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil OR enough for 2 turns in a frying pan
1 clove of garlic
1/2 lb skinny asparagus
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
salt
pepper
1/8 tsp sesame seeds

Preparation

Trim about 3/4 inch off the bottom of the asparagus.  Slice the asparagus into 2 inch pieces at a diagonal.  To remove skin from a piece of garlic, place underneath the chopping board and forcefully press down. The skin of the garlic will separate and be easy to remove. Minch garlic. 
Next, combine soy sauce, sugar and corn starch. Stir until everything is dissolved.

Directions

Coat a frying pan with about two turns of extra virgin olive oil. Place over medium heat. When the pan is thoroughly heated, add minced garlic. You will know when the oil is completely heated through when you add a single piece of minced garlic and it immediately begins to sizzle. Stir garlic for 15 seconds. Add asparagus. Let cook for about 4 minutes or until the asparagus is just soft, stirring occasionally. Add soy sauce mixture and toss asparagus until all pieces are coated. Remove from heat. Add crushed red peppers and a couple dashes of salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add sesame seeds!


As with anything that adds heat, you can always adjust how much crushed red pepper to add. I like all my foods on the spicier side so if you're like me, this is just the right amount of spice without being overwhelming!