Salty Malty Krispy Treats

There’s nothing like a classic… with a twist…and a swig of milk.

Malty Salty Krispy Treats

When it comes to recipes, what makes a classic? It has to be something so good that it stands on its own with no real need for improvement. It has to feature some basic key ingredients that are critical to its identity. It evokes nostagia as well as instant gratification.

I’d put Rice Krispy treats in that category. They are easy and inexpensive to make, tolerant of heat and cold, indestructible in their creation, transport and chosen arena of consumption. They require neither utensils nor serveware nor culinary skill. Oh, and most importantly, pretty much everyone loves them.

Truthfully, they warrant no improvement. But then again, sometimes it’s fun to take you and your snack over the edge to greatness by making a brilliant twist on a classic.

That’s what we’re doing here. We’re taking Rice Krispy treats and adding chopped up malted milk balls and a sprinkling of sea salt. Joy the Baker takes this experiment over the top by using browned butter (vs margarine) and adding malt powder. This gives them a hint of sophistication, which is important because when you spike your Rice Krispies and marshmallows with Whoppers you are definitely going for some high-brow cred.

There’s not a whole lot else to say about these, except that they earned the rare teenager rave at a recent party, which in my book is enough to make something a new classic.

Malty Salty Krispy Treats

Makes 9 big squares (no shame in doubling up!)

Ingredients

6 Tbsp unsalted butter
40 large marshmallows
1/4 tsp salt
6 cups rice cereal
1/3 cup malted milk powder (or “Classic Malt” Ovaltine if you can’t find the real stuff)
1 cup coarsely chopped Whoppers candy.
Coarse sea salt for topping

Method

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Melt butter until is begins to crackle and sizzle. Add marshmallows to the melted butter just as it begins to brown and reduce heat to low. Add salt and stir until the marshmallows are completely melted, and the marshmallows and butter are thoroughly combined.

Quickly add rice cereal and malt powder and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and sticky.

Allow mixture to cool just slightly before adding 3/4 cups of the Whoppers candy. Stir until just combined.

Press the mixture into a 9×9-inch square greased pan. Sprinkle with salt. Use a greased piece of wax or parchment paper, or a sturdy clean plastic bag, to firmly press the mixture into the pan. The krispies will be thick. Press the remaining Whoppers pieces into the top of the treats.

Allow to rest at room temperature (or speed it up in the fridge) until set and sliceable. Slice into 9 large squares.

Three Lemonades

Pucker up! Rhubarb and lemons pack a double tang in this pitcher of pinkness.

I’ve had a nagging guilt pang for weeks, because I found this great recipe for lemonade that I made with rhubarb from my garden but didn’t get to posting it before the end of rhubarb season. Just like I forgot to post (or even enjoy) a Firefly cocktail before the little lightening buggers disappeared.

Anyway, I was in the store yesterday and what did I see? Yep! Big stalks of fresh rhubarb. I don’t know where the rhubarb stands in your part of the country, but somebody somewhere is still harvesting it, so that’s reason enough to run with it.

And while we’re at it, let’s just make this a big lemonadey post. The great thing about lemonade—other than it being delish and refreshing—is that you can flavor it with any summer fruit or even herb to make a familiar drink into something transcendent. My sister makes a mean lavender lemonade that is wayyyy cheaper than a trip to Provence.

A word here on lemons. If there is any way you can get Meyer lemons—the thin-skinned beauties that are sweet enough to eat on their own—get them! They make all the difference.

Rhubarb Lemonade

Note: This is very, very tart. Kids (and many adults) will probably prefer it with lemon-lime soda vs. sparkling water. Pucker up buttercup!

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 ½ cups water
5 cups chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen (20 ounces)
3/4 cups sugar
2 3-inch strips lemon zest
3 sprigs fresh mint
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups lemon-lime soda or sparkling water

Method

In a saucepan, stir together the water, the rhubarb pieces, the sugar, the lemon zest and the mint. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Let the rhubarb mixture cool, the strain it through a wire-mesh strainer set over a large pitcher. Press on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids
Stir in the lemon juice and soda. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of mint

These next two recipes came from Joy the Baker who clearly has a thing about lemonade, which is a good thing now that she’s moved to New Orleans.

Beet Lemonade

adapted slightly from Saveur; makes about 8 cups

Edie’s note: With the unique undertone of beets, this is decidedly adult tasting. As in, the kids won’t wrestle you for the last drop AND I’m pretty sure a splash of vodka or gin would make it a swanky cocktail. At any rate it is very pretty and refreshing. You might want to put away the white dress or t shirt for this one, just in case of an errant splash. It happens.

Ingredients

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (about 1 small) finely grated raw beet*
6 cups filtered water, divided

*You can use the fine grating side of a box grater, or a food processor with the shredder attachment. I found the box grater to be much easier.

Method

In a blender or a food processor (fitted with the blade attachment), blend together lemon juice, sugar, shredded beet, and 1 cup of water. Blend for 1 minute until the mixture is bright pink and well combined. The beets will never be fully smooth, that’s ok!

Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer and into a medium bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press any remaining juice out of the beets and into the lemonade. Transfer strained mixture to a pitcher and discard the beets. Add remaining 5 cups of water to the pitcher and stir. Taste and add more lemon or sugar as necessary. Store in the refrigerator and serve chilled.

Fresh Blueberry and Mint Lemonade

makes about 2 quarts; adapted from The Lemonade Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen will also work)
1 cup (or one big handful) mint leaves (a few stems are fine too), coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar (you can add more sugar if you have a sweet tooth)
4 to 5 cups filtered water

Method

In a blender add blueberries, mint, lemon juice, and granulated sugar. Blend until smooth and deep purple. The mixture will look a bit like a smoothie.

Pour mixture into a fine mesh strainer placed over a medium bowl. Use a spatula to press the liquid through the strainer leaving the blueberry pulp and fresh mint in the strainer. Discard the pulp. Pour the blueberry, mint, lemon juice into a pitcher and add water. Taste and add more water or sugar according to your taste.

Serve chilled.

Bring It

Bringing a pitcher or pitchers of different lemonades to a summer party or gathering will make you an instant hero. If you want extra credit bring adult (high octane) pour-ins, fruit garnishes or ice cubes made with frozen fruit or juice.

Bulgur Salad with Fresh Veggies

Fresh from the garden

With the theme of the month being tomatoes, I had my tomato game on. I went to my local farm stand and bought the most beautiful cherry tomatoes. I selected 2 pints of cherry tomatoes that came in vibrant colors — reds, yellows, oranges, and various shades in between. I tasted just a few, as I knew I wanted to use them in my bulgur salad which I would be making that evening. I brought them home, placed them on the counter and went to work on something unrelated to food and the kitchen. My bad! I got back and the tomatoes were gone. I found only remnants of the tomatoes which included a few green stems, a couple odd shaped misfits, and essentially empty containers. I can only blame myself for this rookie mistake. In my house, if I want to make sure something does not get eaten, I put a note on it that says “Do not eat” or I hide it. Neither measure is fail-safe, but rather my feeble attempt at preserving food that might be needed at another time. With my cherry tomatoes gone and my desire to post this luscious salad, I carried on using the two vine tomatoes I had bought a couple days earlier. Not that they were castaways by any stretch, but more a way of saying, beware of hungry family members because they are always out there lurking, ready to grab anything they find that is quick and easy. And who wouldn’t want to eat these beautiful tomatoes. I know they were tempting me. I will come back another day soon with a tomato post. The consolation prize is that at least the offender was eating healthy instead of tapping into a less healthy snack option!

Now, on to the main event, the bulgur salad…

For this salad, use any grain you have on hand or use your favorite. This recipe happened to call for bulger, but I could have easily used brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, couscous or a variety of other options. What I learned about bulgur is that it is wheat that has been parboiled, dried and cracked into small bits. It cooks quickly and can be added to soups, stews, salads, and more. Use a gluten-free option if you can’t eat wheat.

I got this recipe from one of my newest favorite cookbooks, Forks over Knives, which is just great. It is a collection of plant-based recipes that will keep me entertained for a long time.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups bulgur
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, halved, seeded, and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup rosemary and parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot and add bulgur. Remove the pot from the heat, cover with a tight fitting lid, and let it sit until the water is absorbed and the bulgur is tender which will take about 15 minutes.
Spread the bulgur on a baking sheet and let it cool to room temperature.
Transfer cooled bulgur to a bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well and let sit for 1 hour before serving so that flavors have some time to blend.

Bulger is a great grain if you want to switch it up

Bulgur is a great grain if you want to switch it up

Cowboy Cookies

Looking very healthy…..

When you ask someone to bring dessert to a party, aren’t you sometimes secretly happy when they bring cookies so there are no extra plates or utensils to wash? I often think, thank god, cookies – less work for me. I decided to provide that type of BRING IT dessert to a party I went to last Saturday night. These cookies were such a hit. I’m not sure if it was because they appear to be healthy, or if they were just plain old good, or a combination of the two. Regardless, they got lapped up in no time and I was asked for the recipe several times. Someone actually said to me, “these cookies are perfect, don’t change a thing”. So, next time you are asked to bring a dessert, this is a great option. And they make great trail food if they last until the next day.

This recipe comes direct from the Moosewood Restaurant Favorites cookbook which is their 40^th year celebration cookbook. It is loaded with great recipes. I am like ‘deer in the headlights’ when I open that cookbook. I don’t even know where to start. I’m glad I found these cookies. And if you want a healthier version, go to our famous yoga cookies. They are a vegan, healthy, and zen-like alternative.

A couple footnotes:

** No worries if you bring a dessert that requires plates and utensils… you can never go wrong with a blueberry pie or chocolate cake.
** I know it is the height of summer and blistering hot most days, so if you don’t have a cool day or an early morning start on making these cookies, then opt for a dessert of fresh berries and some whipped cream.

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached white all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup salted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (12 oz)
1 1/2 cups raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped dried cherries
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in oats. Fold in chocolate chunks, dried fruit, and nuts. The dough will be fairly stiff. It will be a little arm workout to mix thoroughly.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Cool completely before storing in sealed container.

Tomato Jam, co-starring sugar and spice

Tomato jam and all the fixin’s for an alfresco summer feast. As ever, bacon helps.

Oh yeah. We’re jamming on tomatoes because it’s the ingredient of the month. It’s a little early for many of you New England gardeners, but pretty soon we’ll be in full tomato overload, so I’m getting you prepped. Tomato cheddar pie, featuring big honkin’ full-sized red bombers will be coming at you soon. But let’s ease into tomato season, and give it some sass while we’re at it, with this sweet and spicy number.

Let me first say that there’s nothing quite as perfect as a fresh tomato from the garden, so it feels a little sacrilegious to futz with fresh tomatoes in high summer. BUT, sometimes we go overboard, and just have too much of a good thing. When that happens, make this jam.

It adds some zing to a BLT (along with crunchy iceberg or romaine, not shmancy wispy greens) or any caprese type appetizer with basil and fresh mozzarella or my new best friend, burrata (thank you Jeanie!). Use it with a creamy base in bruschetta deconstructed, as an element of lunch deconstructed, put it in quesadillas, on pizza, over a poached egg or my favorite way, on a lusty piece of That’s Life Bread spread with avocado. It’s sort of like grown up ketchup, and you can dial the sweet and spice up or down as you see fit.

Ok, here we go.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or some finely diced jalapeno for extra cha-cha)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, garlic, shallot, vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes or jalapenos, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring until tomatoes are softened and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Bring It!

Bring this in your mason jar of choice, is a brilliant addition to any picnic, and an excellent contribution to any summer gathering, peace offering or gift basket.

Guests Gone Wild

A partial look at a nutty, grainy Trader Joe’s bonanza

Here comes 4th of July and the smokin’ hot heart of summer. If you’re lucky enough to have scored an invitation to the lake or the beach or any other fabulous summer getaway, you’ll be needing some accordingly fabulous host/hostess gifts, both to show your gratitude and for the all important purpose of GETTING INVITED BACK. This is no time to show up empty-handed.

For some good ideas on what to bring, take a look at our Good Giving page, or pick your favorite recipe and bring it along with a related container or decoration that will remind your hosts of what a tremendous time they had with you.

In my mind you can’t really go overboard with non perishable gifts, especially with people who have a houseful. And I used to think I did a pretty good job of overachieving on that score. That was until my sister started swinging by Trader Joe’s before her visits.

Knowing how much I love Trader Joe’s, nutty grainy things, value and weird food in general she now shows up with several bags of Trader Joe’s Bounty. Now I have a stash of farro and pink Himalayan sea salt, grab and go trail mix packets, five kinds of nuts and enough chia seeds to make a petting zoo. Here are just some of the ways this gift is thoughtful:

We don’t have a Trader Joes, so these are things I don’t often get my hands on.
Most of it is non perishable, so I can use it at my leisure, and my leisure is a big thing in the summer.
Most of it is either a healthy pre-made snack or the whole ingredients to make healthy food.
Lots of it is ready to serve, so when she showed up the night I was hosting Book Group and I had no plan whatsoever, I was completely rescued.
Many of the things are ingredients for recipes she had told me about, or that she knew I wanted to try. (She gave me all the things for my favorite Life Bread, right down to the psylium husks.)
Instead of even suggesting that I should be more Paleo and less gluteny she simply stocks my pantry with lots of the Paleo staples that are expensive and hard to find in my neck of the woods, so now I have no excuse for not giving her recipes a whirl. Bonus: we’ll have something to bond about bicoastally.
And finally (this is nice in more ways than I can possibly list but I have to stop somewhere), she goes overboard on coconut. I have an unreasonable love for coconut and now I have coconut flour, coconut sugar, coconut milk and even coconut cashews. Actually, those last ones are so good they’re actually mean.

So, that’s one example of a guest gone wild in all the right ways. Another tactic is to bring one special something that is both meaningful and useful, for which I turn the spotlight on my cousin Tierney from California who brought me this all time favorite dishtowel.

California Dreaming on a dishtowel.

This works because:

It is pretty
It took up little space in her luggage and now in my kitchen
It reminds me of my roots in California
It will remind me of my cousin every time I use it.
I can use it every day.

So there you have it. Two examples of awesome hostess gifts. If you’re really in a jam you can never go wrong by going to the farmers market and getting a whole lot of whatever is in season, some shmancy sparkling beverages and the most killer ground coffee you can find.

Since I’m working the family angle here, I have to give a shout out to my cousin Danielle, a devoted Bring It! fan who just hosted family and friends at her amazing wedding in Mexico, and posted the best wedding dress picture ever. It sort of makes me want to renew my vows, underwater, with lots of agave. Congratulations Danielle and Eric and way to make us all want a do-over!

Happily ever after…and wedding dress storage solved!

Now go out there and be the best guest on the block this summer!

July

Tomatoes

Spicy Tomato Jam
Tomato Appetizers Moosewood Ratatouille
Funitella Bruschetta

Hazelnut Almond Vanilla Milk

Smooth and creamy and sweet too!

Making your own milk has become all the rage, and I’ve been right there with it, blending soaked nuts with water to make my own tasty milk beverage. While it feels good to be making milk from scratch, nothing about it was ever too exciting or zippy….until I added DATES! The versatile and simple date is making a comeback with me. Add a pitted date to anything and you have this wonderful sweetness that is just right. This milk is so flavorful, almost decadent.

This recipe is from Oh She Glows. It is a mix of hazelnuts and almonds, but feel free to modify the quantities of each or use cashew. It is perfect for pouring on your cereal, adding to your cold brewed iced coffee, using to make a smoothie, or drinking straight up out of a glass.

If you haven’t joined the ranks of homemade milk maker, now is the time to start. It’s easy and fun! Oh, and as an aside, look at me with a second addition to our Sips and Slurps category within a month. I’ve broken the seal!

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup raw almond
3 1/2 cups water
3 pitted Medjool dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method

Place hazelnuts and almonds in a bowl and cover with water and soak 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse.

Place soaked nuts in a blender with water, dates, vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend 1 minute.

Cover bowl with cheesecloth (I used a large 1 quart measuring cup and secured the cheesecloth with a rubber band). Slowly pour milk mixture through cheesecloth and into bowl. The milk will go through slowly so be patient. Remove the residue from the cheesecloth for the next round of pouring. Continue this process until all milk is through the cheesecloth.

There you have it – delicious, homemade hazelnut almond milk.

Makes 3 cups.

Squeeze the cheesecloth to get every last drop.

No Bake Almond Protein Bars

Eliteamers digging deep at their camp in Park City, Utah

It’s Eliteam time of year. Time for kids to gather in Utah and Vermont where Doug and Kelley Lewis and their crew of amazing coaches will put them through their paces and teach them about becoming “complete athletes.”

That means it’s also time to crank our some Positive Snacks for hungry active kids. Well, to be more clear. It’s time for hungry active kids, as complete athletes, to learn how to crank out their own seriously good Positive Snacks. (Check last year’s Eliteams Banana Yogurt Bread Go-Go donuts from last year.)

No bake, all good! The kids even do the dishes afterwards. Boom!

This is what the Eliteam kids are mixing up this week to keep them going strong.
It’s the perfect snack to store in the freezer for a quick burst of energy. If you want to make them nut free use sunflower seed butter.

No Bake Almond Protein Bars, à la Eliteam

Ingredients

1 ½ cups Oat Flour
1⁄2 cup unsweetened protein powder
1 cup Rice Krispies cereal
1⁄4 cup Coconut milk
1⁄4 tsp salt
1⁄2 cup Almond Butter
1⁄4 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp Mini chocolate chips
1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Use an 8 inch square pan.

Mix oat flour, protein powder, rice krispies, coconut milk, flax seed and salt
together in large bowl.

Add in nut butter, maple syrup, chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir well to combine If mixture is too dry add in splash of coconut milk.

Press into pan and flatten. Pop into the fridge or freezer. Enjoy them after a good sweaty workout!

Just the Rhubarb Scones

Fresh rhubarb scones holding court, with nary a strawberry in sight.

Here it is strawberry season, so you’re probably thinking strawberry rhubarb scones would be appropriate. After all, sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb show up in the garden around the same time and perfectly complement each other. But just because the two ingredients hang out a lot, doesn’t mean they’re married. Today I’m giving some props to straight rhubarb, hoping it steals the show for breakfast this weekend.

The deal with scones is that you want the butter to remain in little bits, rather than creaming it into the mixture. Those butter bits are what gives scones their flaky excellence, and why scone recipes call for chilled butter. Trust the bakers on this. If you make scones with softened butter, or over mix the butter into the batter you’ll end up with a bunch of big muffins. It’s not a tragedy, but not what you envisioned. And once you get hooked on good scones you won’t be truly satisfied with anything but the real, flaky, crumbly thing.

These babies, known elsewhere in the cyber food world as Naughty Rhubarb Scones, are delish as is, with whipped or clotted cream (for Brits) or, of course, with strawberry jam.

Makes 12-16 scones

Ingredients

3 stalks rhubarb (roughly 1½ cups when sliced)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (if using regular sugar add up to 1 tsp vanilla with the cream)
2/3—3/4 cups heavy cream

Method

Preheat oven to 425.

Slice rhubarb stalks 1/4 ” thick. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the sugar.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in large bowl or bowl of food processor.

Cut butter into flour mixture by hand (or pulse in food processor) until butter is the size of small peas.

Blend in 1/4 cup of the sugar.

Blend in sliced rhubarb. (If using the food processor, just pulse — you want the slices left mostly intact.)

Blend in cream until a soft dough forms. (note: you may need to add more than 2/3 cup depending on the weather,etc.)

Transfer dough to floured surface and divide in half. To make triangular scones, flatten into 6-inch disks and deeply score or cut each circle into 6-8 scones. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Arrange scones on ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake about 20 minutes or until reddish-brown on top.

Enjoy and cheerio!