The Best Oatmeal Cookies!😋
I made a batch of these Crispy Oatmeal Cookies a couple of days ago and they are SO good.
https://m.wikihow.com/Make-Crispy-Cookies
I like cookies that are crisp on the outside, these fit the bill. Great texture and flavor.
I didn’t want to bother digging out my stand mixer so I used a food processor instead, it worked fine. With the amount of oats, these would be hard to mix properly by hand.
I also cut the sugar in half, and added some vanilla and cinnamon. Other than that, this Crispy Oatmeal Cookie recipe from WikiHow is great. 😊
Hard to stop at one though!
On the Menu: Beet and Fresh Dill Layered Salad
I  ♥ BEETS! 😉
And the simple marinated beet salad (see recipe below) featured in my cookbook:
The Groovy Green Kitchen I: Weeknight Veggie Slow Cooker,
and is one of my fav ways to prepare and enjoy them. 🙂
Beet and Fresh Dill Layered Salad
A flavorful marinated salad, especially good to make when garden dill and beets are at their peak. Keeps for several days, covered in the refrigerator. A perfect side dish with all kinds of main dishes. Adds a brilliant color contrast on your plate too. Serves 6.
12 medium fresh (preferred) beets: precooked, peeled and cut into thin circles (or use equivalent amount of whole canned beets with no salt added, thoroughly rinsed and drained, then sliced)
1 medium red Bermuda onion, thinly sliced in rings
3 -4 T. chopped fresh dill-weed
Red Wine Marinade:
1/3 C. extra-virgin olive oil
5 T. red wine vinegar
1 teas. Mrs. Dash Original Blend Seasoning
1/2- 1 teas. sea salt
½ teas. freshly-ground black pepper
In a large bowl (that has a secure cover) layer 1/3 of the sliced beets, topped by ½ of the onion rings, then ½ of the dill-weed. Repeat layers, ending with the last 1/3 of the beets on top.
Combine marinade ingredients in a jar and shake thoroughly. Pour over vegetables, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Shake container gently to re-distribute marinade evenly before serving, especially if storing for a longer period of time.
*****
Last night, I made this beet salad, along with an orzo salad for supper. It was soooo good. 🙂
I also like to serve this with my: German Sauerkraut Feast (click to enjoy that slow cooker recipe).
If you ♥ beets too, you might want to give this one a try! 😉
Happy Cooking!
Healthy November: Wheat Free Recipes
Don’t these look delish? 😉
I’m not gluten-intolerant but I know a LOT of people are.
Happy (Gluten-Free) Cooking! G
Autumn Hot Drinks
Don’t these look yummy?
What is your fav autumn “warm up” drink?
Mine is hot chocolate with all the fixins’. 😉
Hope you’re having a great week . Hugs, G
Root Veggies! Don’t Ya Just ♥ Them? ;-)
I SURE DO!!! 😉
And here are some of my fav ways to prepare and serve these oh,so yummy “gems” from the fall harvest!Â
Sam’s Famous Carrot Cake with My (NOT Too Sweet) Cream Cheese Icing
My favorite cake, no contest!
Just add dark rye bread and you’re good to go! 😉
One of my fav slow cooker recipes from the Groovy Green Kitchen I.
I make this one a lot. Quick to prepare, hearty and delicious.Â
And, it includes: onions, garlic and potatoes: all fav rooties! 🙂
Kasha and Beet Salad with Celery and Feta
A delish and elegant salad; brimming with flavor!
A twist on traditional lasagna, again from the slow cooker. Hearty and delish!
HAPPY COOKING and AUTUMN!
Harvest vegetable photo, courtesy of FLICKR
Do You ♥ MRS. Dash BUT Want Organic?
I have been using Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning Blend for many years, including adding this blend to numerous recipes in my:
Groovy Green Kitchen cookbooks,
Weeknight Veggie Slow Cooker (Volume 1)Â
and Â
Simply, Super, Supper Soups (Volume 2)Â
It is a versatile, basic seasoning blend that worked well in a number or recipes.
Unfortunately, it is NOT organic and for me, that was definitely a negative, when it came to using Mrs. Dash.
I have been looking for a GOOD alternative that was ORGANIC for a long time and recently I finally found it! 🙂
is a herb and spice company based in Saskatchewan, Canada where I also grew up!
Stop by their site to check out all their certified organic herbs and spices and other fine culinary products. Also, where to buy in your area or online, see the store location and contact pages. Â
I  just ♥ browsing their site!
So many culinary goodies to choose from and ones that I can REALLY feel good about using too. 😉
And, as far as a perfect ORGANIC substitute for Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning Blend, I like:
 Splendor Garden Garlic Herb Seasoning SF (salt free)
It is VERY similar to Mrs. Dash in flavor, color and texture and best of all, all organic ingredients!
Can you tell I’m pumped about finding out about this company? 😉 I really am!
I’ve also tried and enjoyed their: Vegetable Seasoning, All Purpose Seasoning SF and Lemon Pepper Seasoning, so far.
Loved them all too, especially the Lemon Pepper Seasoning.
It has a nice “zing” to it and adds a fresh, slightly citrus note to all kinds of savory recipes.Â
I recently tried the Lemon Pepper Seasoning in my Tangy Barley Buttermilk Soup recipe and it worked great!
This easy, oh-so-satisfying soup recipe is featured in the:
The Groovy Green Kitchen: Simply, Super, Supper Soups,
my new soup cookbook and also in this previous recipe post.
I added some to the soup when it was cooking and also a sprinkle over each serving to add color, just before serving.
Yummy, tummy-satisfying good! 🙂
Happy (ORGANIC and HEALTHY) Cooking!Â
Product Review: ShaSha Co. Organic Buckwheat Snack (Cocoa and Vanilla) :-)
I’m always on the look-out for new snack ideas that are tasty, filling, preferably all organic and with a good or better than average ingredient/nutritional list. Happily, I found a new snack item recently that fits all that criteria. 🙂
ShaSha Co. Organic Buckwheat Snack(s) are crunchy, not too sweet, filling and have a nice cocoa kick to them too. And the ingredient list is ALL organic, I ♥ that.
I‘m trying to buy organic EVERYTHING these days, 😉 but when it comes to snack items, an all organic ingredient list can be hard to find.Â
Here’s the nutritional info:
I love that organic buckwheat groats are the main ingredient.
Buckwheat is a very healthy food, you can read more about it here, and at many other sites online.
These snacks are also gluten free and IMO, reasonably priced at Amazon for less than $6. for a 170G bag. Considering the organic ingredients, not a bad price at all.Â
I’m going to give some of the other flavors in this snack line a try too. I’ve previously enjoyed the ShaSha Co. Organic Spelt Lemon Snap cookies many times, and they definitely did not disappoint with these snacks either! 😉
Stop by the ShaSha Co. website (they are Canadian!!!) to read about all their other products and many positive initiatives too. 🙂
Happy Snacking, Weekend and Week Ahead!Â
PS: If you have any fav organic and/or healthy snack suggestions to try (sweet or salty) please DO share!Â
Groovy Green Kitchen UPDATES, Now Available :-)
The Groovy Green Kitchen I: Weeknight Veggie Slow Cooker
The Groovy Green Kitchen II: Simply, Super, Supper Soups
I have updated the photos in both of my: Groovy Green Kitchen cookbooks (Kindle versions) and free updates are now available from Amazon.
Amazon.com has kindly informed me that they will be sending out notices to customers who purchased one or both of these eBooks previously, re: the update. But in case you don’t hear from them, you can also contact Amazon to get the free updates.
I was having issues with the photos in both of these eBooks, when zoomed in particular. They are now looking much better and I think have added to the overall presentation quite a bit.
I have less than an optimal set-up for kitchen photos at present, but with some photo editing that I did and some help from the talented: Lissa at Postcards from the Rain (thanks again Lissa!), they are now good to go.
I also suggested to Amazon that white borders on the zoomed version of photos (instead of the ugly brown they had previously) would look a lot better. They sent in my suggestion for consideration and woohoo, they have now made that change! 🙂
I am also looking for more reviewers for both of these cookbooks.
If you like to cook and would be interested in giving one or both of these eBooks a “test drive” send me an email at:
veggiecook  @myway  .com (spaces removed), type REVIEWER in subject line
and we can go from there. Â
Have a wonderful week and Happy Cooking! 🙂
On the Menu: Tangy Barley Buttermilk Soup
It was a perfect “soup day” yesterday, here in BC. 🙂
There was a bit of chill in the air, intermittent drizzle….so I got busy and made a big pot of: Tangy Barley Buttermilk Soup along with some: Sausage, Cheese and Thyme Muffins. What a yummy and oh so satisfying dinner it was! 🙂
I’ve shared the complete soup recipe below, this one is from the Groovy Green Kitchen II: Simply, Super, Supper Soups.
The muffins are from volume I of: The Groovy Green Kitchen: Weeknight Veggie Slow Cooker. They were perfect with this luscious, cream soup. 😉
I hope you’ll enjoy a bowl (or two) soon!
Happy Cooking and Week!
PS: Yes, the cover of the GGK I has been updated.I also did some work on the interior photos to improve the overall presentation. If you have a copy already, an update would be available from Amazon. If you need any further info. about this, just send me an email (see contact page).
***
Tangy Barley Buttermilk Soup
This soup was inspired by a recipe from the first edition of the ground-breaking book: Diet for a Small Planet. My updated version adds garlic and herbs but leaves out the butter.
I also recently “tweaked” the seaonings a bit, adding some from Splendor Garden (certified organic, gotta ♥ that, and they added a wonderful flavor and color boost to the soup). Serves 6.
-¾ C. pearl or pot barley
-3 T. vegetable or olive oil
-1 large (preferably sweet) onion, diced
-2-4 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
-2 teas. bouquet garni seasoning or GGK Herbal Blend Seasoning (GGK seasoning recipe is in the book)
-1-2 teas. dried chives (to taste)
-¼ – ½ teas. freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
-1-2 teas. Splendor Garden Organic All-Purpose Seasoning SF OR Splendor Garden Organic Lemon Pepper Seasoning
-5 C. vegetable soup stock
-2 C. regular or low-fat buttermilk
-Optional garnishes: finely chopped fresh parsley or chives and/or additional sprinkle of Splendor Garden seasoning blend
Thoroughly rinse and drain barley, set aside.
In a large soup pot, heat vegetable oil over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.
Add herbs, black pepper, Splendor Garden seasoning and the barley and stir to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Cover and steam over MEDIUM-LOW heat for 5 minutes to release flavors and slightly toast barley. (Hint: be careful not to burn the barley, stir at least a couple of times)
Add vegetable soup stock, cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to LOW and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until barley is cooked but not mushy.
Add buttermilk to soup and simmer for 2-3 additional minutes, just to heat through.
Adjust seasonings if required. Garnish and serve.
Wednesdays, Guest Post: Geraldine Helen Hartman
Thanks to my pal, Carl at: I Know I Made You Smile, for sharing this press release and contact info re:
The Groovy Green Kitchen II
Happy Cooking and Mid-Week, G 🙂
VEGGIES, YARNS & TAILS 