Crunchy Cabbage & Peanut Slaw

As readers of my monthly newsletter know, I was that girl that brought a salad to a Super Bowl watching party. Yes. (But also, someone should be that person. The salad is always gone at the end of the night--or halfway through the night - and everyone is always glad to at least have a little freshness on their plates between tasting different dips and chips). 

Where this crunchy cabbage peanut slaw began: I am a pack-my-own lunch kinda gal, but some days getting out of the office just to walk around is really the best medicine. It was a day like that when I wandered to Natural Grocers (a few blocks away), and picked up a prepared salad -- I was craving fresh veggies. The gulp of fresh air was nice, but the salad was dry and pretty boring. It was the idea of the salad that inspired me though: a simple cabbage slaw with a peanut dressing. 

So I went home and dreamed up a better version, which is still a simple salad but it calls for a LOT of zesty peanut dressing -- a dressing far zestier and more addicting than the original. (So addicting in fact, that it also makes a very good dip for crudités).

You'll notice right away that this dressing calls for a semi-long list of ingredients. They are (almost) all shelf-stable pantry staples, and despite the list of ingredients the magic of this sauce is in how it's made: plop everything in the blender and go. That's it. This is where I tell you: do not fear that list of ingredients, embrace it. It is worth it. And by the time you've checked to see if you have everything you need, you're only 30 seconds away from finishing the dressing. 

Crunchy Cabbage & Peanut Slaw

Published February 19, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the peanut dressing (yields about 1 cup):

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons water to thin dressing, as needed

For the slaw:

3-4 cups finely shredded green cabbage

4-5 green onions, white and dark green parts removed

1/4 cup minced cilantro

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Optional additional add-ins we also love: 1 cup chopped bok choy, 1/2 cup chopped sugar snap peas, 1/4 cup minced Thai basil

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients for the dressing, aside from the water, in a blender and purée until smooth. Then, add water as needed to thin dressing as needed (based on preferences).
2. Sliced green onions and add to a salad bowl with cabbage and cilantro. Toss to combine. Top with sesame seeds and peanuts.
3. Drizzle with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup peanut sauce, or to taste.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars with Hemp & Cacao Nibs

Home! It is a good place to be. Home baking — even better. Especially during cookie season! Just four days out of the house over Thanksgiving break refilled my creative energy… if only I had time to cook every idea that comes to mind!

We visited Roy, New Mexico for Thanksgiving, so instead of your traditional holiday dinner we cooked with a camp stove among friends (including some camping recipes that I’m definitely going to share here come summer: black bean and kale skillet enchiladas, an iteration of these chorizo and egg breakfast tacos, and plenty of cocoa). Not your traditional holiday, but it was perfect for me. A way to unplug, relax, and enjoy the beautiful dessert!

Besides, I have been craving a trip to New Mexico since last Christmas when I tried to convince Oliver to go on a last minute road trip to Santa Fe (instead we spent it at home doing not much of anything).

In anticipation of some upcoming trips, I had made these bars ahead of time, and they were the perfect mid-day snack while we were out climbing, and delicious enough to be a treat around the campfire.

After baking them, I sliced them up and kept them in the freezer, and then packed them into the cooler with the rest of our supplies.

Chocolate and peanut butter is a classic (the best!!) so when I went to make something akin to a snacking bar but more luxurious, it felt like the perfect fit. Something hearty and filling for long days outside, but something that still tastes basically like dessert (happy sweet tooth = happy me).

Adding in hemp hearts and cacao nibs also walks this line of snack gone dessert… hemp hearts make me think granola bar, cacao nibs feel more like a treat. What you get is a treat you feel good about — and a snack for those moments when you really want a treat (and I always want my snacks to feel like treats).

These bars also are a GREAT better-for-you option for holiday cookies. Like blondie meets oatmeal cookie meets peanut butter cup with more good stuff packed in. Which is why I’m sharing it with you now!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars with Hemp & Cacao Nibs

Published November 29, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 12   |    Active Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients:

1 cup smooth, unsalted peanut butter (stirred and at room temperature)

1 egg

1/2 cup honey (you can also try maple syrup)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup almond flour OR all purpose flour

1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped, plus 2 tablespoons for topping

1/2 cup hemp hearts

1/4 cup cacao nibs

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon of flake sea salt for topping

1 cup semi sweet or bitter sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 9x9 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, egg, honey and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Add salt, oats, almond flour, peanuts, hemp hearts, and cacao nibs and fold to create a thick, sticky, crumbly batter.
3. Press mixture into prepared baking dish in an even layer, and bake in middle rack of oven for 15 minutes.
4. Allow base to cool completely before adding chocolate topping. While base cools, melt chocolate and coconut oil by placing bowl in a microwave-safe bowl, and heating at 30-second intervals, stirring between each round. (You can also melt the chocolate in a double boiler).
5. Spread chocolate in an even layer over oat base. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts and 1/2 teaspoon flake sea salt. Allow chocolate to set completely.
6. Once chocolate is set, lift the bars from the dish (pull out the parchment paper with the bars to get them out more easily) and slice into 12 equal pieces.
7. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer.

Power Cookies

Last night, the snow fell as over-sized flakes and we tried to catch them on our tongues, like we were 5 years old. Just two days ago, I was in a tank top looking for a mountain bike trail. This is Colorado springtime.

These Power Cookies enjoy all sorts of outings and fare well through all sorts of weather: throw them in your day bag for a hike, or munch on them while riding the ski lift. They are jam-packed with ingredients to give you energy. Peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips (how could I not include chocolate chips?) pecans, and coconut.

Why is it called a “Power Cookie?”

This cookie recipe sits somewhere between granola bar and cookie. But if you've ever made granola bars you know that they call for a lot (a lot a lot) of sugar in the form of honey, maple syrup, or (usually) rice syrup. That syrup is all there is to hold everything together. And don't get me wrong -- it's delicious! And there are some genius recipes that don’t call for quite as much sugar. But many have so much sugar, they are far too sweet for me. THESE cookies get the help of an egg, peanut butter and some almond meal, which helps them stick together without half as much syrup. YES: more whole foods, less processed syrup. So, it’s a power-bar slash cookie, making the final results a Power Cookie.

These Power Cookies are really inspired by my dad, who was the first person I knew to make a "energy cookie." He had a recipe similar to this on top of his fridge, in an over-stuffed manila folder. When I started baking a lot on my own (some time in high school), Power Cookies were one of the things I would make. This recipe is different -- the original is lost to me - but similar enough to be given the name "Power Cookies." 

Hope you enjoy, whether you take them on an adventure or eat them right here at your computer, while they're still warm! (They are good either way — you do not need to be out and about to enjoy these. They make a GREAT mid-afternoon power up when you start feeling that 3pm slump, and since they are not so syrup-heavy, they keep you going longer, with real nutrients).

Power Cookies

Published March 27, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 24 cookies   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup nut butter (try peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter)
• 1/4 cup honey 
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional - the cinnamon flavor comes through, so if you do not like cinnamon, skip it!) 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup rolled oats 
• 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the nut butter, honey, butter, eggs, and vanilla using an electric mixer until smooth.
3. Add optional cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl, and beat into wet ingredients until incorporated.
4. Now, add the rolled oats, coconut, almond flour, and mix until a stiff batter forms. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold the chocolate chips and pecans into the batter.
5. Scoop the batter by the heaping tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet fitted with parchment. Cookies will not spread as they bake, so flatten them slightly with the back of a spoon.
6. Place in center wrack of oven and bake for 8-12 minutes. Cookies will be golden on the edges, but still soft—they will continue to set as they cool. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.