Peanut Butter Balls

It's been a warm winter in the lowcountry, and we've been spending as much time as possible outside at playgrounds, walking trails, and (best of all) in our own backyard. Of course the key to keeping everyone happy is keeping them fed (and fed and fed and fed), so when I saw this recipe I got excited because this is a snack that will travel.

If you ask my boy what he wants for lunch on any given day, the answer is always the same: peanut butter! These use peanut butter along with some other nutritious ingredients (flaxseed, oatmeal) making them somewhat healthy. I had to add the chocolate chips for myself the kids, of course.

Peanut Butter Balls

Makes 20 quarter-sized balls

1 cup natural peanut butter (chunky or creamy)

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

1 cup rolled oats - quick cooking works best

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed or wheat germ

2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat peanut butter and honey in the microwave until easily mixed, about 15-20 seconds.  Stir until blended.  
2. In a separate bowl, mix oats, flaxseed, coconut, and chocolate chips until combined.
3. Add peanut butter mixture to oat mixture and stir until incorporated. 
4. Roll into quarter-sized balls. 
5. You might want to roll these in cocoa powder or powdered sugar if you want to get fancy.
6. Chill the plate of balls in the fridge to set for at least an hour.

He approves!

Spooky Things

Isn't Halloween the strangest of holidays? This morning in my neighborhood I saw an ax-murderer silhouette in someone's upstairs window. In any other season I might have called the police. Can you imagine what people who are unfamiliar with American culture must think of a holiday that celebrates all things dead, gory, and grotesque? If I were having a Halloween party, I'd send out this blood spatter invitation.

via Etsy

And I'd wear Essie's nail color Wicked. I will wear it all winter long, not just Halloween, by the way.

I'd serve Sinister Cider in these killer bird glasses while showing Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds in the background.

also via Etsy

Of course any Halloween cocktail should be served from a punch bowl with a frozen hand. 

My mother did this for a party one year and it was unforgettable. Directions and photo credit here. And if you're looking for something to feed your little trick-or-treaters before they stuff themselves with candy, tomato eye ball soup and witches hat grilled cheese sandwiches with celery stick brooms should do the trick. 

Recipes here. I hope to have one first-time trick-or-treater this year, but he is trying hard to figure out this bizarre holiday and may be too afraid to actually venture out in costume. If so we'll stay home and watch this, because it wouldn't be Halloween without it.

Happy Halloween!

Better Banana Bread

A friend of mine just expressed her frustration that ice-cream and Honey Buns are on the menu everyday at her kindergartner's school. Yuck. What five-year-old is going to choose vegetables when he has the option of filling up on ice-cream? Because it can be hard to help our children make healthy food choices outside the home, it's important to provide them with healthy options at home. I like this banana bread recipe because it's lower in sugar than most. It also replaces some of the fat with yogurt. I make it even healthier by substituting whole-wheat flour for one fourth of the white flour. The best part is it still tastes delicious.

This recipe is straight from my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook which I can't say enough good things about. These people are total food nerds. This is a crowd who will dork out on making forty-seven batches of banana bread just to test out whether changing the nutmeg/cinnamon ratio by 1/4 teaspoon makes any difference in taste. They spend all their time in the kitchen so that we don't have to, and I appreciate them for it. I also have their Healthy Family Cookbook, which is sort of my go-to cookbook. Their recipes never let me down.

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1-1/2 cups + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well (they must be very ripe or your bread will be gummy)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 and generously coat a 9 x 5 pan with vegetable oil spray.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the bananas, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the nuts. Do not overmix; the batter will look thick and chunky.
3. Scrape the batter into the pan an smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 55 minutes.
4. Cool in the pan 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack for 1 hour.