Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Few More Memories

The last flowers from my grandma's funeral bouquet...

My grandma's grandmother's coffee grinder...

My mom's metronome passed to Grandma and then to me. I used it in one practice session and then I did something to make it no longer work. Sigh.
Anyone know a metronome-smith? 

One of my favorite childhood memories...the hourglass. I don't know that I ever visited my grandparents without flipping the hourglass over. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Jacksalad Salad Sandwich Ring

My second experiment with jackfruit -- Jacksalad

I drained one can of immature unsweetened Jackfruit and dumped it in a crockpot with two cups of vegetable broth. I cooked it on low for 7ish hours while I was away. It darkened and softened enough to shred with a fork and the inside was nicely white. It looked a lot like shredded chicken. 

I let it cool and drained off the broth. 

To the Jackfruit I added approximately 1/4 each of the following:

Craisins (or diced fruit of choice such as apples or grapes)
finely diced celery
finely diced onion
chopped cashews (or other nuts of choice)

I made a dressing of :

3 TBSP Vegan mayo
1 tsp of brown mustard
1/8 a teaspoon each of 
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
dill weed
agave

Mix all together. This is great on crackers or bread. But, to make a ring, do the following:

Two cans of Vegan crescent rolls (I found some that just list "wheat" on their allergy labels). Not healthy ingredients, mind you, but this is for an occasional treat like the picnic I took them to. 

I didn't try to make it a beautiful wreath because I was going to just cut it into slices. Separate each triangle and place them side by side, touching with the flat end in and the points out. Press together very well. Scoop the Jackfruit salad onto the flat inner ring. Then fold the point over the Jack mixture and fold under or twist, overlap and tuck. 

Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes. The dough will get golden. If you don't bake it long enough (the package says 12 minutes, but that's unstuffed bread) the bread doesn't cook all the way through. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ More Memories...

I needed to take a dessert somewhere last night. So I pulled out a few necessary ingredients. 

And a few of those were my grandma's and they have recently found their way into my home. 

Her metal, well-used 9 x 13 fits my life perfectly. And my cake, just as well. 

She would be pleased that I filled it up and also would have enjoyed the treat. 

I don't know if these bowls are the exact bowls I remember. It's been a few years since I curled up with a metal bowl full of grandma's freshly popped corn. Even if they aren't the ones I happily munched out of they remind me of the times I spent chillaxen at her place. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Simple Fruit Salad

A few years ago a friend told me how to turn frozen, somewhat bland fruit, into delicious fruit with a perfect glaze. I had tried tried various other attempts at glaze...like orange juice, jam, sugar. None of them did it for me. 

Her recipe was so simple. Vanilla instant pudding. Just enough to cover the fruit and leave a delicious coating. Let's say, 1/2 a small box to a medium bag of fruit. Sprinkle, stir, let sit. Stir. Brilliant. 

However, trying to avoid super processed, super unnatural, dairy, etc made this no longer an option. 

But at an Arbonne spa party my mom had some frozen fruit and a terrific idea. Why not try the Arbonne Vanilla Protein Powder as a glaze. So we loaded a few cups in a bowl and sprinkled a tablespoon or two of protein powder over the fruit and stirred. 

Win!!!! Win! Win! Fabulously delicious. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Hump Day Smile or Laugh or Whateves...

So. My friend says that I should remind her not to drink a bottle of wine around her husband. I said that my initial thought was that the storyteller was pretty lucid....far more than me when I'm stone cold sober but think something is hilarious. Which I pretty much thought this was.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cookies Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

350 oven. Makes approx 4 Dozen cookies

1/2 Cup peanut butter

1/4 Cup Earth Balance

1 Cup brown sugar

2 TBSP ground flax seed

1/3 Cup non-dairy milk of choice

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 Cup Arbonne chocolate protein powder

1 Cup oatmeal (quick or old fashioned, more texture with old fashioned)

1/3 Cup cocoa

1/3 Cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 Cup dark chocolate chips

Mix all together in the order listed and blend/stir well so ingredients are all incorporated. You may have to use your hands, the dough might be crumbly depending on how heavy your peanut butter is, mine was fairly juicy. If you are really concerned add an additional TBSP or two of milk.

Chill dough for 1 hour. 

Scoop dough in walnut sized balls and either place on greased cookie sheet in scoops for rounded bite-sized cookies or flatten and place on cookie sheet for flatter cookies (again, the dough might be crumbly but should press together). Bake for 12 minutes. These are great served at room temperature but are best stored in the refrigerator. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Blueberry Banana Cobbler

I wouldn't consider myself a pastry diva on any level. Pie crusts have always kind of terrified me. So I usually go for a cobbler. I got a huge (quart sized) box of organic blueberries at Costco. And I had a family reunion to go to. So. I thought why not a blueberry cobbler. Then I thought, what if I skipped the fat and tried to keep the sugar to a minimum. And this is what came out. 

Blueberry Banana Cobbler

Grease an 8 x 11 pan.  Preheat oven to 350.

Fresh Blueberries (about 4 cups, give or take.) 

1/2 Cup sugar (this leaves them a wee bit tart) 

Dump the blueberries in the greased pan.  Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit. (If you are using frozen blueberries or if you think your berries are going to be a bit soupier you might want to sprinkle a 1/4 cup or so of flour on the bottom of the pan before you dump in the berries. 

Banana Cobbler Topping: 

1 1/2 Cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 Cup oatmeal
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Ripe bananas

Mash bananas in the bowl, add sugar and flour and mix well. Add the oatmeal and stir. Drop dollops of dough on top of the blueberry mix.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.