Amaranth Black Bean Patties

Have you tried Amaranth? It's not a grain, it's a seed. Kind of like quinoa, but smaller. Here is a little bit more information about it, as well as some pictures.

Anyway, a couple of months ago I tried it at a class where we learned about different grains and seeds to serve. My girls loved it, so I bought some in bulk at EarthFare the next time we went.

I looked online to find out how to cook it and most of the sources I found said to boil it for 15-20
minutes using 2.5 cups water for every 1 cup of amaranth.
That is the method I used and it was a little bit too moist for these black bean patties, but it worked out. The mixture turned out more like batter, so I ended up scooping it onto my griddle and cooking them that way.
It worked. And they were really good.

I served them alongside some romaine and fresh tomatoes.
The leftovers were good cold, right out of the fridge.

We have also enjoyed amaranth as a hot cereal option in the morning. I love it when a food can be breakfast, lunch or dinner!



My husband asked "is there any more of that?"

Recipe for Amaranth Black Bean Patties
* I used 1 egg instead of egg whites
*I used sunflower seeds instead of pepitas

Chewy Oatmeal Cookie/Granola Bars

This month for Secret Baker, we had a healthy theme. We were encouraged to bake something a little bit healthier than usual to send in the mail.
I went to my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook to find a recipe.

I decided to turn the Chewy Oatmeal Cookie recipe into bar cookies and made some changes with the add-ins so the finished product would be kind of like a granola bar.
This recipe contains whole wheat flour and old-fashioned oats for the whole grains.
I decided to use dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips as my add-ins.
I also subbed in honey, instead of using dark corn syrup, simply because I didn't have any dark corn syrup.

I put the batter in a 9x13-inch baking pan and estimated the baking time. I went with 25 minutes and when I pulled them out of the oven, they looked done.

I let them cool, and then cut them into bars. I sent 1/2 to my Secret Baker recipient and half to my teenage brother, who adores oats more than almost anything.

I didn't try a single bite of these! ( Part of my goal for 10in10 is to eat less sugar and I am doing really well at not sampling baked goods! Yay!)
I just hoped for the best.

My brother LOVED these. And the SB person I sent them to, said they were really good.

I also recieved some goodies from Leslie, who blogs over at Lethally Delicious.
She sent me The Barefoot Contessa's (Ina Garten) Granola Bars and Fruit and Nut Squares from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies. Here is a similar recipe.
Both of these treats were really delicious!
Thanks Leslie!


Chewy Oatmeal Cookie/Granola Bars adapted from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking

3/4th cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
3 Tbls dark corn syrup (I used honey)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbls cider vinegar
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups traditional whole wheat flour
2 cups dried fruit: diced dried apples, chopped dates, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped dried apricots, or dried fruit of your choice (I used 1 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used 3/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

Cream the butter, sugar, corn syrup, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat in the egg. Add the oats, flour, dried fruit and nuts, and stir to combine.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies, reversing the pans midway through, (top to bottom, bottom to top), until they're beginning to brown around the edges but are still soft in the center, 14 minutes. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

* I spread the batter in a 9*13 inch baking pan and baked them for 25 minutes.

2 Thanksgiving Salads- Pear & Arugula Salad and Priscilla's Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad

Here are 2 more recipes that would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving Day Menu. Both of these salad recipes were featured in the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

I decided to make the Pear and Arugula Salad because I love arugula and thought the flavors would be great together. Arugula has a nice peppery bite to it, which I absolutely love. The red pear, sunflower seeds, parmesan cheese and delicious, light lemon dressing really made this a refreshing salad. Sometimes the traditional Thanksgiving dishes are so heavy, that I think a nice, light salad would really brighten up the table and add some much needed green to the menu.

The Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad was just too interesting to pass up. I have noticed persimmons the past couple times I have gone to the grocery store, but until I saw this recipe, I really had no idea what to do with one. My kids love pomegranates, so we have been munching on the arils quite a bit already this fall, and the ones at the grocery store right now are beautiful-so large and bright red.
I forgot to pick up pine nuts, so I just subbed in roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds). This salad has a nice kick from the jalapeno and the lime juice really brings all the flavors together.
Persimmons are really tasty and so beautiful when you slice them. Be brave and try this salad, you might really love it!


Recipe for Pear and Arugula Salad

Recipe for Priscilla's Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad

Roasted Beets with Feta, Sunflower Seeds,and Spinach

I remember seeing this post featuring red and golden beets on one of my favorite blogs- The Food Librarian. I have linked to Mary's blog a million times because she always makes such delicious food.

I grew up eating red beets and the greens, but had never tried golden beets before and actually hadn't seen them anywhere, until just the other day.
Of course, I bought them and went home and immediately roasted them. I washed the beets, wrapped them in foil (separately- so the red beets wouldn't bleed too much) and roasted them at 400 degrees for about an hour. I checked them at that point with a fork and they were tender, so I took them out.
I let them cool for a couple of minutes and then peeled them. The skin comes right off. I sliced them and tasted a golden beet for the first time. Delicious! Beets really do taste like candy, in my opinion.

Later we had them with dinner on top of a bed of spinach, sprinkled with feta and sunflower seeds. I was going to dress this salad with balsamic or red wine vinegar and olive oil, but it really tasted great with just these few components, so we ate it this way.
Absolutely delicious. I think golden beets are a little bit milder in flavor than red ones, but they are both really yummy.
I know I say this all the time, but I think I have a new favorite food.

Basic How-to for Roasting Beets

One Year Ago-Dorie's Biscotti