Crackers at Home

Tags

crackers, grains, Lunchbox, snacks

Crackers at Home

If we understand the origins of food, how it is made, why we eat, then our relationship with food become a two way street.  I water and grow, wash and cut, roast and bake, and food gives back to me, energy and health.  In that light, it is satisfying to make a food at home with basic ingredients, to strip it of preservatives, and increase its nutrition levels.  Self-reliance factors in, as well.  This is why I make crackers.

Crackers Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour, or a mix of all-purpose and whole grain flours

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup water

Optional Toppings: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon sea salt

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 450°F. Sprinkle a baking sheet lightly with flour and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.

Add the oil and water to the flour mixture. Stir until a soft, sticky dough is formed. If a lot of loose flour remains in the bottom of the bowl and the surface of the dough, add more water a tablespoon at a time until all the flour is incorporated.

Divide the dough into two halves and set one half aside. Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and set the other half on top. Pat it into a thick square with your hands.

Working from the center of the dough out, roll the dough into a rectangle roughly 1/8-inch thick or thinner, if you can. If the dough starts to shrink back as you roll it, let it rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes and then continue rolling.

Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into individual crackers.

Transfer crackers to baking sheet and prick with fork so they won’t puff up during baking.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, but keep an eye on them.

Cool and store the crackers: Transfer the baked crackers to a wire rack to cool completely. The crackers will crisp further as they cool. Store the crackers in an airtight container on the counter for 3-5 days. If you’re crackers are a little old and less-than-crispy, lay them on a baking sheet and put them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes to re-crisp.

Recipe From The Kitchn

Charlotte putting on her rock climbing shoes in Joshua Tree National Park.

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Cheesecake Lunchbox Bars

Tags

Bars, car snacks, cheesecake, dessert, Lunchbox, picnic, potluck, road food, snacks, travel snacks, treats

 

Cheesecake Lunchbox Bars

Bars, bars, bars, gimme bars. We eat constantly around here.  Between Charlotte’s growth spurts and my fast metabolism, we are perpetually searching for snacks.   Often on the grocery store “protein bar” train, we are ready to find time to make baked snacks at home for after school snacks, school lunches, as road trip food, & whenever the “gimme a bar” words are muttered.

Mix the following ingredients in a food processor (or a large bowl and use your hands) until it makes a fine crumble.

3/4 cup white flour

3/4 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup almonds

1 stick butter

Reserve a cupful for the topping later.  Press the remainder into a square greased pan.

Next, put into food processor (or mixer) the following ingredients and blend until smooth.

16 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread over hot crust and bake another 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread jam over the cream cheese mixture.  Sprinkle the reserved crust as a top layer.

If you plan to eat the batch within a couple of days, you may add a layer of fresh fruit (berries, sliced peaches) coated in flour between the jam layer and the top crust layer.

These bars can be frozen individually in foil and used in school lunches. I took them from the freezer the night before and they defrosted by lunch the next day. Alternatively, we ate them straight from the freezer as an (even better) frozen treat.

Recipe inspired by “Grammy’s Kitchen; The Russell Orchards Fruit Cookbook.”

Roadtrip

Classic Glo Bar

Tags

Angela Liddon, glo bar, healthy eating, Oh She Glows, snacks

Classic Glo Bar ~ Travel & Camping Snack

When Angela Liddon, author of The Oh She Glows Cookbook, made these bars and posted them on social media nearly ten years ago, they were an instant viral recipe sensation.  She found herself making 500 bars a week in her home kitchen to sell and has, more recently, shared the recipe in her cookbook as a thank you to her followers.  “Thank you, Angela Lidden, for a superior bar recipe.”  These are my new homemade go-to bar for travel & camping, and I am grateful.

Classic Glo Bar Recipe

1 1/2 cups oats

1 1/4 crisp rice cereal (make sure it is “crisp”)

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup seeds (sunflower, pepita)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup nut butter (peanut, cashew, sunflower seed, almond)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Line a square cake pan with parchment paper hanging over the edge.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, crisp rice cereal, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt.

In a saucepan, stir together the brown rice syrup and nut butter.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture heats, softens, & bubbles.

Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour the warm mixture over the dry mixture in the bowl and mix well.  Fold the chocolate chips in if you are adding them.

Transfer to the parchment paper in the pan and spread around, pressing in all corners.

Place pan in freezer to let it set for 10 minutes.  Remove and cut into bars with a pizza slicer, wrap indivually in wax paper and return to freezer to fully set and store.

Camping at San Simeon State Park, California