Peanut butter cookie larabar balls

MMMmmmm

I was in need of something sweet. That usually calls for larabar balls unless its a special occasion. I convinced myself “Wednesday” was not a special occasion. So larabar balls it is.

I want chocolate. I always want chocolate, but there is no chocolate to be found in my house at the moment, so I had to pick something else….peanut butter came to mind.
I looked online to see if there were others who had made peanut butter larabars. There were, but they were just dates and peanuts. I did not think this would be enough. I thought there would be actual peanut butter in my recipe, but I tasted this mixture, and sure enough, it did not taste like peanut butter cookies. So I added peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Et voila! Tastes like peanut butter cookies! In minutes and without any refined sugar. I’m sold. I think you will be too.

Please note, I rarely measure, so adjust as needed to get the taste and consistency that works for you, rather than relying solely on measurements.

1 cup dates, whole pitted
1 cup peanuts, maybe a bit more*
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

You can leave out the salt if you use regular peanut butter. Mine is 100% peanuts and nothing more.

Disclaimer: I have never had a peanut butter cookie dough Larabar. I just made these to taste like peanut butter cookies!

Thow everything in a food processor and pulse until well mixed and peanuts are chopped to your liking. Scrape sides as needed. Then, judging by taste and texture adjust the recipe. If it is too dry add more dates (if sweetness is also needed) or peanut butter or water. If too sticky, add more peanuts. Some of the stickiness will go away in the fridge. Roll into balls and store in the fridge. You could press into bars and wrap in wax paper, but I’ve never tried this. I like little bites. Enjoy.

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Sour cream and onion kale chips

You must try this. No really. They did not make it past the cookie sheet but went straight into my mouth.

Sour cream and onion kale chips. O…m….g! So good. I have not had sour cream and onion anything in years. As soon as I mixed up the dressing (or what should you call it?) I said aloud. “That smells just like sour cream and onion.”

I will not reprint the recipe as I did not change it, except to add more onion as they didn’t taste much after baking.

I used the oven method and 50-60 minutes at 200F was enough do use your lowest temperature and watch for burning.

Head on over to One Green Planet for sour cream and onion kale chips

I will update with pics and such but as I said… They did not make it that far. Instead, I thought you needed the recipe. Now.

Protein cookie bars

 

Finally a use for this protein powder that I like.

Today, I am a kitchen MacGuyver

Well I am sorry to have jumped into posting without transferring the blog.com posts. At the same time, I’m not going to apologize for posting because at this moment I would have skipped posting before transferring said posts. Maybe I’m a little overwhelmed and don’t know where I’m going with this blog, or life in general, but I continue to live and will not let this post pass me by.

Is this a food blog? Strictly speaking, no. My newest you blog (consequently this one ) are about constantly improving all areas of your life. It just happens to be that trying both gluten-free and vegan lifestyles is my current journey, and it’s a big one.

Why should today be particularly worth sharing, you may ask? Well, not one, but two kitchen experiments and not vegan or gluten-free but both. If you have tried either of these special diets, you know it’s a pretty big accomplishment.

So, first thing’s first. A big bowl of leftover chickpeas calling my name. What did they say to me? Hummus, of course, and chickpea salad sandwiches if I have any left don’t over-season the hummus.

Okay, first problem task was finding a recipe. Most people think hummus is pretty straightforward and may not even need a recipe. Me, I made hummus last time that tasted just like one I had bought from the store, but not the right taste (the flavour in that was cumin, in case you’re wondering).

So I found a recipe for smoked paprika hummus and while I didn’t have smoked paprika, I had a feeling paprika was the flavour I wanted in my hummus.

Second hurdle? I didn’t have lemon juice or tahini. Now you might be thinking, how do you make hummus without two main ingredients? Ok, maybe not main ingredients. What do you think? Would you make it without these?

So I found a recipe that said you can substitute nut butter for tahini. It makes sense to me and even sunflower butter would work, I bet. So, if you don’t think I’m already crazy, I also substituted lime juice for the lemon juice.

Without further ado,

Paprika Hummus with Lime
adapted from brow beat

Yield: About 5 cups

Time: 10 minutes

8-10 garlic cloves, peeled

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 teaspoons paprika (I did not use smoked paprika like the original author, but I’m sure it’s great)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups drained cooked chickpeas, cooking liquid reserved

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Turn on the processor and drop in the garlic through the chute.

2. Add the chickpeas, tahini, and lemon juice, paprika, oil, salt and pepper and process until the hummus is uniform in texture and as smooth as you like it, adding water as needed if the mixture is too thick. Use pulses rather than keeping the processor on to keep from straining the motor. Scrape drown the sides and bottom and process a bit more. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately or keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Later this same day Macguyvered up another dish but waiting to post it has kept me from posting, so I will post now and come back to it, in another post, if I remember what I even made. *gulp* Sorry!