Snacks | Caramelize Life

May 12

Friday’s with Dorie- Dieter’s Tartine

Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Around My French Table is not small nor is it a featherweight book. It has heft and substance and her work speaks for itself.

I was introduced to Dorie’s recipes a few years ago but didn’t realize just what I had stumbled upon. I am a happy Friday’s with Dorie member, which is just a lovely way to discuss and share kitchen experiences while eating our way through Dorie’s cookbook with other food lovers from afar via the Internet.

This is such a great lunch option. There’s only one way to make it better and that would be to have the garden brimming with fresh tomatoes and cucumber…I guess a little more patience and that wish will come true, it’s only a matter of time!

If you are curious about this recipe you can find it on page 38 & 39 of Around My French Table, it is super easy, quick to assemble and will transport you to summer in Paris.

~Rachelle

“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel, and Community“

May 2

Caramelized Rice Crispies with chocolate and shortbread

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Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars | BCM | Tuesdays with Dorie

Who knew these would be so easy to make. I had four pages of information set before me and two recipes to make and I was done in a little over half an hour. I could make these little treats anytime on a whim because the ingredient list calls for items I regularly keep in stock in my pantry: chocolate, butter, flour, salt, vanilla, baking powder. There is just one item I may not have but will most likely add to the grocery list now to have for the “just in case” needs and sweet cravings.

A simple shortbread, then a layer of chocolate, and finally topped with… caramelized rice crispy treats. This may be my new “happy place” a buttery shortbread- gooey chocolatey middle- and crispy topping with caramel balances taste and texture.

You may need to find this sweet little treat and make some yourself!

Buttery shortbread, Chocolate, and Caramelized Rice Crispies = Taste & Texture Balance Achieved!

Mar 10

Making lemon Madeleines with Caramelizelife

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Lemon Madeleines | BCM | Tuesdays with Dorie

My youngest walked into the kitchen while I was prepping my work station for the latests Tuesdays with Dorie scheduled treat from her book Baking Chez Moi. Curious, she wanted to know what I was going to make. “Madeleines!” I said with excitement. I’ve never made these tasty little treats and I was looking forward to trying something new. I could see she was searching for the image to fit the name in her mind. Then she said, “You know Mom, the name Madeleine is so similar to the name of the character Madeline, the lute Mandolin and the slicer Mandoline I didn’t know at first what it was you were making.” Now, each time I think of these little shell shaped cakes, my mind scrolls through each of those images and I giggle.

A petite Madeline mold buttered and ready for batter

A buttered petite Madeleine mold awaiting the batter…

Later, when she sat down to taste one of the Madeleines, she said she remembered eating these after school for goûter when we lived in France. I am amazed at how our senses bring back memories so vividly. “The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it.” ~ Remembrance of Things Past (À la recherche du temps perdu), Marcel Proust

My youngest was on to something. Indeed those little Madeleines did have a lineage. Historically these little cakes were believed to be named after a young maid, Madeleine, who worked for the Duke of Lorraine, Stanislas Leczinski in the late 1700s from the French town of Commercy. Once these petite cakes were introduced to the court at Versailles they found their place in the heart of the French.

The Green Carpet- Versailles

With my first batch of Madeleines, I didn’t notice the “bump” that Dorie described in her recipe but I specifically looked for it on my second batch. The “bump” is the gold seal symbol or as she equates it to the holy grail, that one has decidedly mastered the Madeleine and there it was, a large bump on my petite Madeleines. I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered them but I do thank Dorie for spilling her learned secret with me and the rest of the BCM bakers. Her long history of making these and then learning the holy grail secrets from Phillippe Conticini of Patisserie des Reves and Fabrice Le Bourdat of Bel Sucre in Paris makes all of us feel great from the start!

Madeleine’s with a “bosse/ bump”

If you would like to try your hand at making Madeleines at home so you may enjoy a little afternoon goûter, here is the recipe. Alternately, she has shared her Lemon Madeleine recipe here.

Tuesdays with Dorie and Baking Chez Moi is an open group of bloggers having fun baking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s books. Go check out what the other Doristas are doing!

Spring is here!

Rachelle @ Caramelize Life

“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel and Community“

Feb 2

Caramelizelife makes Merida Anderson's Sesame Flax Crackers

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Sesame Flax Crackers|Vegan Secret Supper

These are as quick to make as they are to snap, break and eat. Wafer thin, these crackers are packed full of health benefits that come from the fact that the flaxseed is high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, that’s a double win in my book.

Flax is a healthy source of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids

This recipe is just six ingredients(sesame seeds & oil, ground flax, water, tamari and salt) mixed together, left for three hours (or overnight) and then dehydrated for about 15 hours. It is so simple and easy I can’t, not make these. If you looking for healthy snacking options these tasty crackers are a must.

Ground flax seeds, sesame seeds, water, tamari, salt and sesame oil

Sesame flax crackers in the making…

I wanted to know a little bit more about why flaxseeds are considered healthy so I did my favorite thing and dug deeper and researched some of their qualities.

1. Flaxseeds improve digestive health (that’s the fiber talking).
2. Flax aids to relieve constipation.
3. They “may help to lower total blood cholesterol which may help reduce the risk of heart disease” [mayoclinic.org]
4. Flaxseeds are high in most of the B vitamins, magnesium and manganese
5. Flaxseeds are considered low in carbohydrates which makes it ideal for people who want to limit their intake of starches and sugars.

In further research, I learned that flaxseeds are so minuscule they will just pass on through,so they need to be ground or crushed in order for our bodies to absorb their nutrients.

healthy sesame flax seed crackers rolled out on non-stick dehydrator mat

Rolled out and ready for the dehydrator…

In Merida Anderson’s Vegan Secret Supper cookbook she gets it right. She calls for ground brown flaxseeds in her sesame flax cracker recipe, it’s no wonder she is internationally celebrated for her thoughtful, healthy and well balanced recipes. I am looking forward to trying out more of her creative and “out of the box” ideas written up and shared in her latest recipe book.

plated healthy snacks made by caramelizelife.com

Ready to be dipped and eaten.

Now, I need to find some dipping recipes to go with my new favorite snack, somehow I don’t think that will be too difficult ;0)

Happy snacking!

Rachelle @ Caramelize Life

“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel and Community“

Jan 27

Dorie Greenspans, Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake On http://www.caramelizelife.com

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Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean~ Weekend Cake| TWD

I would like to share a slice of Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake with you but there’s none to be had, it was that good. I am not sure how this can be called a weekend cake, I might aptly rename it the 12 hour, if we are lucky, cake. Because that’s how long it lasted in our home before it disappeared.

: Buttered loaf pan awaiting a dusting of flour

The texture of this Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake reminded me of my grandmother’s pound cakes I devoured as a child. The stand out difference between the two is Dorie’s addition of vanilla beans, pure vanilla extract and dark rum. These ingredients are an intoxicating combination that had my family sneaking in for just one more paper-thin slice.

One hour into the life of the Brown Butter & Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake

We found this cake to be the perfect après ski Sunday afternoon goûter/ snack and fitting, because it reminded me of family to be served on my Grandmother Ruth’s china with tea if you are me and bourbon if you are my husband.

Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Cake Served Up on Maple Leaf China

Sweet Memories Through The Senses

Just today, Tuesday, my daughter asked if I would make this lovely cake again, she suggested, tomorrow. I tried to tell her about how Dorie named it a weekend cake after the French gâteaux de voyage (travel cake) and that it was far from the weekend so she would have to wait the four (well, three now) long days until the weekend and I would mix up another. I won’t mind when I do because the aroma of vanilla fills the house making it feel even more like home.
The butter (beurre noisette) is caramelized to bring out it’s nutty flavors, and I used my homemade pure vanilla extract letting it work its magic as a flavor potentiator. Complete the experience with coffee, tea or rum as recommended by Dorie as an accompaniment. I might make two next time so we can share it with friends on the ski hill and have a picnic.

Tuesdays with Dorie Greenspan and Baking Chez Moi is an open group dedicated to baking through Dorie’s latest books. If you would like to learn more about how this recipe turned out for the group you can find them here at Tuesdays with Dorie.

Happy Baking!

Rachelle @ Caramelize Life

“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel and Community“

Jan 15

Tuesdays with Dorie Greenspan, Granola Energy Bars and Caramelize Life

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Keeping My 2015 Resolutions, How About You?

Did you make a new year’s resolution for 2015? I did. And I’m sticking to them. Yes; them. I made more than one resolution and so far it’s going great! The Doriesta’s must have made a few too or either that, or they figured many of us would be deciding after the holidays we could use a healthy recipe to nourish and energize us into keeping our resolutions.

So as you may have guessed, I am focusing on eating smarter. I think I eat fairly healthy already but I know I could eat smarter. Over time my habit of skipping breakfast and having just a coffee has worn it’s way into my daily routine but then I forget to get a good breakfast going until that crazy clock tells me it’s lunch. In our family we use the term ‘HANGRY’ that I now see popping up on t-shirts and posters so maybe we’re not alone. Do you know anyone who gets HANGRY?

Maybe Dorie does because she has come up with a fantastic and healthy way to keep the “Hangries” at bay with her Granola Energy Bars. Dorie, my family will be writing you a personal thank you card for this one.

These granola energy bars, take no time to make and if stored properly will keep for a week (if not eaten before). Dorie suggests to cut them up into bite sized pieces and serve them with tea (maybe a way to keep the Hangries in us, civilized). I chose to cut them a little larger and store them in a glass container so I could grab and go. Unfortunately, I didn’t cut them soon enough and could have used them on my ski this morning. At the 8k mark I was sloooowwwig down just as my good friend and I were talking about kids eating habits and helping them to make good choices. Old habits die hard and I had to confess that I hadn’t eaten a fantastic breakfast this morning…hence my slower pace. What a good friend I had who, waited for me and gave me a scolding in a motherly way of course- thanks Stew!

Run Boris Run

We know who did eat his breakfast and then slyly got another family member to feed him a second. Dog wisdom, Maybe I should follow Boris’s lead.

Dorie’s bars are pretty close to making granola but instead of spreading out the ingredients on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet, she instructs to firmly press the granola into a parchment lined pan and then bake it.

I absolutely loved the parchment idea because once the bars had cooled I just popped the whole thing cleanly out of the casserole dish. This was an added bonus since we are still without hot water (long story but the short version is no boiler= not hot h2o) and our “Glamping” is going on week two. Maybe I’ll write about that another time, there are a few gems to tell for sure.

Caramelize Life makes Granola Energy Bars with Tuesdays with Dorie

Just out of the oven!

Once out of the dish the bars were ready to be cut. At the time I chose the usual long slices but now that I think about it I could have pulled out my sweet cookie cutters and made some fun shapes. If you have a little one at home they would probably really enjoy a specialized energy bar in their lunch. I wonder if my tween and teen would? Maybe I’ll have to test it out… next time. I do plan to put these into my repertoire since they were super quick and easy to make and the ingredient list can be varied to whatever you might have on hand in the pantry. Keeping with the ratio of two cups oats : two cups of your favorite; seeds, nuts,dried fruits and sweets(chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, crystallized ginger,etc) then a binder of brown rice syrup, honey or maple syrup and butter. If you are dying to know the full recipe check out page 238-239 in Baking Chez Moi.

Granola Energy Bars- Tuesdays With Dorie and Caramelizelife

Yum!

Tuesdays with Dorie Greenspan and Baking Chez Moi is an open group dedicated to baking through Dorie’s latest books. To see more of the groups experiences with the Granola Energy Bars click on the link.

Rachelle @ Caramelize Life
“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel and Community“