Chocolate Energy Bars

While at the grocery store the other day, I noticed they had some chocolate marshmallows I hadn't seen before. Have you tried them? My husband is a chocolate lover, so I decided to try them in energy bars since I was due to make a batch.

Since the energy bars have peanut butter in them, I thought a mini Reese's peanut butter cup might taste good in there too. Turns out I was right!

Chocolate Energy Bars

Ingredients:

5 cups Rice Krispies

2 cups quick Quaker Oats

1 cup roasted sunflower seeds

1 cup roasted pepitas

1 package mini peanut butter cups, wrappers removed

 mixture:

2 (10 oz.) bags chocolate marshmallows

1 cup peanut butter 

1/2 cup butter

Melt the butter and marshmallows over medium-low heat.

Add 1 cup peanut butter, stirring frequently and being careful the mixture doesn't burn.

In the meantime, unwrap the peanut butter cup miniatures and, in a large bowl, mix together the quick oats, sunflower seeds and pepitas.

When the marshmallow mixture is evenly melted and combined, add it to the oats & nuts.

Stir to combine.

Place half of the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray and press mixture into dish.

Arrange the peanut butter cups in the pan.

Cover with the remaining mixture. The mixture is warm so the peanut butter cups will melt a little (or a lot depending upon how warm the mixture is when you put it into the baking dish), press the mixture into the dish.

When mixture cools, cut into squares or bars.

Itadakimasu!


***


Do you remember my dad and his dog Daisy?

I wrote about them after the Green Chile Enchilada Sauce with Leeks recipe.

And also after the Peppers Stuffed with Barley & Quinoa recipe.

 

Early Sunday afternoon my dad called and invited us to dinner to have Chinese food at Sam Woo's. We were having an early dinner at 5 so he and Mom could be home in plenty of time to watch their favorite TV show. They've become hooked on Korean dramas.

I didn't think anything of the invitation, but my husband asked several times, "What's the occasion?" It was my brother Gordon's birthday, but he just visited last weekend, so I knew that wasn't the reason. I really didn't think much of the invitation, I just planned on going--but now that I think about it, it was a little out of the ordinary because we all got together just last Sunday.

 

When my husband and I got to the restaurant, my mom and dad were there sitting way in the back--we made our way back there and sat down--we were the only ones there, everyone else came 10 or 15 minutes later.

 As we sat down, my dad pulled out a framed picture from a bag--it was a picture of Daisy, much like this one, taken when she was young and a favorite of mine, and he said,

"Daisy died today. I invited everyone to dinner to honor her and give her a good send-off."

My heart instantly broke.

My parents adored Daisy.

Daisy's whole life flashed through my mind in the moments I sat grief-stricken.

When my husband was building homes in the high-desert, someone had the cutest puppy out in their front yard, in a kennel, giving her away to a good  home. He called to see if he should bring the puppy home for my dad...My dad walked her everyday, twice a day--having such a hard time leash-training Daisy, but day after day, he'd take her...The first time they walked nicely together, with Daisy in co-operation, my dad sat down and cried tears of joy...Every time my dad would come home from work, Daisy would wait for him at the gate, tail wagging furiously and barking her special bark for my dad--and how tickled he would be that she was so happy to see him...How Daisy would wake my dad up when he would fall asleep in his recliner, in her way saying, 'Get up and go to bed.'

Daisy loved going with my dad to The Barn where he grew vegetables, and she traveled with my parents in their motor home.

Sometime last week, Daisy wouldn't get into the pick-up to go to The Barn and she stopped eating. My dad went to the store and bought steak for her and tried hand feeding it to her. She would lay in the backyard on her side, lifting her head to see Dad and wag her tail, but didn't move much. Soon, the life left her body, and my dad took care of her one last time.

As other family members came to the restaurant, Dad asked if he should tell everyone now or wait until after dinner--and since I was a mess and no longer felt like eating, I said, "After."

After dinner, everyone was shocked, just like I was. There were tears, and Dad recounted the week to the family. Some offered stories of Daisy, which brought comfort. Dad gave Daisy a nice send off with the family there in support.

Dad says he doesn't want another dog--he maybe wants to do some traveling. He worried about Daisy when he was away--that she might be lonely.

I worry Dad and Mom will be lonely without Daisy.

When I went to see them yesterday, Dad simply said, "I miss my dog."

Mom said she expected to see Daisy in her spot, laying on top of the dirt under the avocado tree where it's cool.

I'm thankful to Daisy for taking care of my parents by being such good company and showing me a side of my dad that's seldom seen.


***

Chocolate Energy Bars

Ingredients:

5 cups Rice Krispies

2 cups quick Quaker Oats

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup pepitas

1 package mini peanut butter cups, wrappers removed

 mixture:

2 (10 oz.) bags chocolate marshmallows

1 cup peanut butter 

1/2 cup butter

Melt the butter, marshmallows and peanut butter in a large pan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until all the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is evenly combined.

In the meantime, unwrap the peanut butter cup miniatures and, in a large bowl, mix together the quick oats, sunflower seeds and pepitas.

When the marshmallow mixture is evenly melted and combined, add it to the oats & nuts. Stir to combine.

Place half of the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray and press firmly but gently. Arrange the peanut butter cups in the pan and cover with the remaining mixture. The mixture is warm so the peanut butter cups will melt a little (or a lot depending upon how warm the mixture is when you put it into the baking dish), press the mixture into the dish.

When mixture cools, cut into squares or bars.

Coco's Salsa

My friend Coco makes the BEST salsa. Whenever there is a Godinez family gathering, everyone asks Coco to make salsa. She taught me how to make it several years ago--she said the secret is to roast the tomatoes and chiles--she does it in a foil-lined cast iron skillet on the stove until blackened, blends them together, then adds the chopped green onions and cilantro right before serving.

 When I was making salsa for a party the other day, I had the idea to do the roasting under the broiler to save time--I only have an 8 inch skillet--with great results.  This way the roasting was done in less than half the time!

Coco's Salsa

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste

my optional ingredients:

1 large sweet onion
about 10 cloves mashed roasted garlic or 1 clove raw, minced
juice of 2 to 3 small limes
 diced avocados
roasted fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob--or frozen or canned corn

Put the tomatoes,  jalapeno peppers, sliced onion and cloves of garlic (if you are using them) in a roasting pan or cookie sheet with sides--so the juice from the tomatoes won't spill all over your oven. You can put the tomatoes in whole--when Coco roasts them in the skillet, they're whole tomatoes. I lightly drizzled some olive oil on the onion slices, jalapenos and garlic, then brushed them to evenly distribute the oil.

As you can see, I've added a lot of optional ingredients to this salsa.

Put the oven on broil at 500 ºF and set the rack to the highest setting. Roast for 5 minutes or until browned.

After 5 minutes in the broiler, the chiles & garlic were browned, but the onions and tomatoes could have gone a couple of minutes longer.

Turn the vegetables over and broil the other sides. You can leave them in a little longer than this for more flavor. Coco's salsa has more of the charred bits in it than mine.

 You can put the anemic ones in a little longer until they get some color.

Put the vegetables into a blender vessel.

I'm using a high-speed Vita Mix blender, pulse it so the vegetables are still a little chunky--it will take less than a minute.

 Pour into a large bowl. The salsa will get redder after the mixture settles for several minutes. Sometimes I might add a little tomato sauce to enhance the color--but you won't need it if you use really ripe tomatoes.

Juice 1 small lemon (and 2 to 3 small limes, optional) and add to the mixture.

 

Thinly slice 1 bunch of green onions and 1 bunch of cilantro and add them to the bowl before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

I had been making salsa in the blender for years but never could get the taste quite right.  I'm so thankful for Coco sharing her technique, now it comes out good every time!

Knowing how to make good salsa is important around our house.

I think it's fun to add some diced avocados, roasted corn kernels, diced jalapenos (for those that like more heat), lime wedges and maybe some black beans on the side--makes for a festive dip. Serve with your favorite chips or veggies. Coco says the home-style chips from the Mexican market are the best.

Itadakimasu!



***

Meet my friend Coco.

Coco always looks great--stylishly and neatly dressed, perfect make-up, the right accessories, and I love her hair. It's naturally curly, but she likes to wear it straight. I wish I had her hair--I love curly hair.

 I think the photo above might be my favorite picture of her--I think it captures her essence.

Here she is with her daughter Natalie.

 And this is Coco's husband, Chuck. He's a sweetheart.

That's Chuck Jr. on the right. The whole family is a lot of fun. The Chucks love fishing and the girls love shopping. They all love animals--I especially love their two Labrador retrievers.

Thank you, Coco, for being a great friend--and for teaching me how to make salsa!


***

 

Coco's Salsa


Makes about 6 cups
 
Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste



my optional ingredients:

juice of 2 to 3 small limes

1 large sweet onion
about 10 cloves mashed roasted garlic or 1 clove raw, minced
 diced avocados
roasted fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob--or frozen or canned corn

Roast the tomatoes,  jalapeños, (optional onion slices, and garlic if you are using them) in the broiler at 500 degrees for 5 minutes on each side or until browned. The vegetables can also be roasted on the stove in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Put the roasted vegetables into a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture is blended but still coarse, about 30 seconds or so, for a high-speed blender. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the juice of 1 small lemon, thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Add optional ingredients if desired. Serve with Mexican home-style chips, your favorite chips or veggies.

Mabo Dofu

Mabo Dofu, or Mabo Tofu, is a favorite dish at our house. Mabo Dofu is the Japanese name for the Chinese dish, Mapo Dofu. I don't remember my mother making this when I was little--the first time I remember having Mabo Dofu was at Hiro Watanabe's Red Shell restaurant in Rowland Heights. The restaurant closed several years ago, but I remember it was my son's favorite thing to order there.

 When I first started to make mabo tofu at home, I used a packaged mapo dofu mix. House brand makes a pretty good one. I used that one for years, but when I tried the recipe from Just One Cookbook, Nami's was so much tastier!

Nami has a great blog and has won many awards. You'll have a lot of fun exploring all her recipes and tips at:  justonecookbook.com.

 Not only is this dish tasty, but it doesn't take long to cook, only about 20 minutes--it will be done in the time it takes to make rice!

Mabo Dofu

adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1/2 lb. ground pork (or any other meat/veggies of your choice)

14 oz. package medium tofu, cut into cubes

1/4 cup sliced green onions

mix together for the sauce:

2 tablespoons Tobanjian (use Tobanjian with chili for spicier sauce)

2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon miso

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 cup water

 Nami uses the soft, silken tofu, but I like this one. It's the kind I grew up eating. I also like Trader Joe's medium tofu. You can use whatever is available, or whichever you like.

 Drain the water from the tofu package and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Have the minced garlic and ginger ready, as well as the sauce ingredients.

I couldn't find the same jar of Tobanjian that Nami uses. The next time I go to 99 Ranch Market, I'll look for it--Nami has a photo of the jar of Tobanjian she uses in her pantry. I had to ask someone at Nijiya Market to help me find this one, since the only thing I could read was "Kikkoman" in Japanese (and that's also written in English!). This one's a little bit spicy. In the photo of all the ingredients, there's a red tube of a spicy one--I haven't tried that one yet since this one was spicy enough for me.

 Add 1 tablespoon oil to a hot pan and saute 1 teaspoon minced garlic and 1 tablespoon minced ginger root until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ground pork and saute over medium heat until cooked through. Add the sauce mixture and stir until the mixture becomes thick like gravy. Add a little more water if the sauce is too thick or too strong for your taste.

When my kids were little, I made mabo tofu and added thinly sliced nappa cabbage or thinly sliced zucchini. If you're adding vegetables, add them after the meat is browned and before you pour the sauce mixture into the pan.

Add the diced tofu and mix gently.

 Add green onions just before serving--I like adding about a quarter-cup. I decided to save most of the green onions to sprinkle on top of each serving.

Serve over hot rice with chili flakes on-the-side for those that like it spicier!

Itadakimasu!

***

 

 We recently helped my daughter and son-in-law to a new apartment on campus--and as you can see, I'm going to be a grandma!

 

 Rick and Jessica drove up for the weekend to help with the move. We were able to move most everything (with a lot of help, but more about that later) before it started to rain. It poured rain--and then hailed!

I was also able to attend a baby shower given by Karen's friends, Janna, Sarah and Greta. It was so nice to meet them, since Karen has been talking about them since she moved to Northern California. The shower was held at Janna's beautiful home.

 In the entry was a basket of candles Greta made for party favors. It was supposed to be a garden party shower, but since it was actually showering, they moved the party indoors! The potted lavender was a nice garden touch.

 It still felt like a garden party. I loved the decor of Janna's home.

 This is their dining room.

I absolutely loved these blue dishes! You can also see Greta's coconut frosted mini cupcakes on the sideboard, along with Sarah's chocolate covered owl cookies. My daughter chose an owl decor for the baby's room.

 The kitchen breakfast nook overlooks the garden.

Janna had violas and impatients in small clay pots, all the potted plants brought the garden indoors!

 

Sarah not only made the owl cookies, but also...

 

 

The cutest owl pillows!

 Along with Sarah, is Christina, Karen & Jeff, Janna's husband.

Jeff, and Greta's husband Luke, did the dishes and put the kitchen back in order. Jeff just might be the warmest host I have met, making me feel instantly welcome with a big bear hug. Luke is easy to like instantly because of the perpetual smile he wears!

When Karen first moved to Northern California, she talked about Greta a lot. I know that Greta is efficient and organized, as well as a great baker. I hear she makes a mint ice cream pie with a chocolate crust and fudge topping that's to-die-for!

 This is Wendy with Karen. When Jessica and I first got to the shower, Wendy took care of us, introducing us to everyone and making us comfortable with her friendly smile and kind manner. Thank you, Wendy!

 I also loved these paintings of the family's three daughters. Can you tell which one is Christina?

Jessica and I really enjoyed meeting all Karen's friends.

 I'm grateful my daughter has such a wonderful group of friends to support her--I know that she will be well taken care of not just by her husband, but by the village that surrounds her.

 The shower guest wrote notes of advice and encouragement for Karen to take home. I sat next to Katt, who was extra-friendly and fun. I am always so appreciative of those chatty women that make me feel so immediately accepted and at-ease.

 The food was wonderful--chocolate covered owl cookies, fruit and vegetable platters, iced cranberry scones and those delicious coconut frosted mini cupcakes. The cooked green & yellow beans, as well as the mini potatoes, were great on the vegetable platter.

 

There were a few different quiches also. Plus, there was a delicious wild rice salad/lettuce wrap that I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of--it was out-of-the-ordinary! Maybe Janna will share her recipe and it will be a future post.

 Janna & Jeff's garden is lovely. Even though they moved the festivities  indoors, it still felt like a garden party.

When we were leaving, it stopped raining. Janna & Jeff have a beautiful home and I am grateful for their generosity and hospitality. Thank you, also, to Greta, Sarah, and all their guests, for such a nice party to welcome the coming arrival of this child.

Several of the women had to rush home so that their husbands could come and help with the move to Karen & Mitchell's new apartment. Thank you to all that helped--luckily there was a break in the weather to move most of the furniture--and just a few of us got caught in the downpour (and then hail!) after we were about done and walking the last items to the new apartment.

Today is Karen & Mitchell's second anniversary. They're all set in their new home, and we're all awaiting our little one's arrival.

Happy Anniversary!

***

Mabo Dofu

adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1/2 lb. ground pork (or any other meat/veggies of your choice)

14 oz. package medium tofu, cut into cubes

1/4 cup sliced green onions

mix together for the sauce:

2 tablespoons Tobanjian (use Tobanjian with chili for spicy)

2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon miso

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 cup water

In a hot skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil and minced garlic and ginger. Cook about 1 minute over medium-high heat until fragrant. Add ground meat, breaking it up and sauteing until browned.

When the meat is cooked, add the sauce mixture, stirring until hot and thickened. Adjust with water if too thick.

Add tofu cubes and stir gently until heated through. Add green onions before removing mabo tofu from heat. Serve over hot rice.