Maren cooks with Oatmeal... A lot

Maren is quite the oatmeal guru these days. You have a question on homemade granola, or a high sugar/vegan peanut butter bar and she's your girl! Seriously, Maren's granola is so good she gives it away as gifts and people are excited about it! It's true! The peanut butter bars are one of those recipes that you WILL eat half of them in about 1 hour!! Seriously. And for one more tasty (vegan) treat Maren has a vegan brownie recipe, which is as rich and moist as any brownie I've ever had. Good food.

Granola

·         8 cups rolled oats

·         ½ cup canola oil

·         ¾ cup pure maple syrup

·         ¼ cup honey

·         1 tbls. organic unsulphured molasses

·         1 tbls. pure vanilla extract

·         2 tsp. ground cinnamon

·         ½ tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss together until evenly combined.  In an oiled pan spread the granola mixture in a ¼ to ½ inch-thick layer on the baking sheet (I usually use the largest glass baking dish I have).  Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

*I don’t like anything added to my granola but you can add almonds, coconut, dried fruit, sesame, pumpkin or sunflower seeds or anything you like.

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Baked Oatmeal

·         ¾ cup canola oil

·         1 2/3 cup brown sugar

·         4 eggs

·         5 cups uncooked oatmeal

·         2 tsp. baking soda

·         1 tsp. salt

·         1 2/3 cup milk

Mix all the ingredients and pour into a 9x13 inch oiled pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Sprinkle with cinnamon immediately when removed from oven.

*sometimes instead of sprinkling cinnamon on at the end, we cut up strawberries, raspberries or whatever sounds good into small pieces and scatter those in the batter before baking and it tastes delicious.

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Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars

·         1 ½ cup uncooked oatmeal

·         ½ cup whole wheat flour

·         ½ cup white flour

·         ¼ tsp. baking soda

·         ¼ tsp. salt

·         2/3 cup canola oil

·         ½ cup maple syrup

·         2 tbls. water

·         2 tsp. vanilla

·         3-4 tbls. honey*

·         4 tbls. peanut butter*

·         2 tbls. brown sugar (if you feel the urge for a little more sweetness…)

Combine all dry ingredients first and then add wet ingredients.  Mix well (do not use electric mixer) and pour into an oiled 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

*because I made this up I always test the batter before I bake it to make sure that it tastes alright.  Sometimes it needs a little more peanut butter or honey, so add to taste. 

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Fudgy Gluten-free Brownies

·         10 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate

·         1 2/3 sticks unsalted butter, diced

·         ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

·         4 eggs

·         1 cup superfine or granulated sugar

·         1 cup walnut or pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Break up the chocolate and put it in a heatproof bowl with the butter.  Set the bowl over a pan of steaming hot water and melt gently, stirring frequently (or you could probably just microwave it…).  Remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the cocoa.  Set aside until needed.

Put the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat well with a whisk or an electric mixer.  Add the sugar and whisk thoroughly until very light and frothy and doubled in volume.

Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold in the chocolate mixture followed by the nuts.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until the top of the brownie pan is just firm to the touch but the center is still slightly soft.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the pan.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Once cool, store in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.  Tastes delicious with vanilla bean ice cream.