The Taylors

This recipe is my version of the Oh-So-Good Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe from Whole Foods Market. I never add the wheat germ, raisins, or pecans that the original recipe calls for, and I use coconut palm sugar instead of evaporated cane sugar (palm sugar is available at Whole Foods Market and is a low glycemic sweetener). I also reduce the salt a bit, because the cookies have turned out a bit too salty a couple of times – this might be dependent on the brand of butter used.

I have made these cookies many, many times and love them :) I think they are best when left slightly underbaked in the center.

This recipe makes 8 large cookies.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. (I use stoneware, so using parchment paper or sprays is unnecessary. I preheat the stoneware with the oven).

In a large bowl, whisk together butter and oil until completely blended. Whisk in sugar, egg, vanilla, salt, and baking powder. Mix in whole wheat pastry flour and oats. (You could also add raisins and nuts if you want to; see the original recipe for quantities).

Drop 1/4 cup scoops of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, but still slightly moist in the center. I usually bake them for about 9 minutes on the preheated stoneware (play around with the baking time to get a texture that you like, the type of pan you use will affect the baking time required).

Enjoy!

I have decided to branch out and start blogging about topics other than my adorable little boy and our family adventures. Since I LOVE good food and love to share good food, it only makes sense to pass on my favorite recipes.

The first recipe to make it onto our blog is actually new to my collection – I made it for the first time tonight! I meant to start off by sharing recipes that I have used over and over and still love, but I practically licked my plate clean tonight (and the wok), so I decided it was okay to share a newbie. I have made MANY stir-frys trying to find one that is a keeper, and I think I may have finally found it.

While the ingredients in this recipe are similar to other stir-frys I have tried, the directions are slightly different. Rather than cooking the chicken and then just throwing all of the other ingredients in at the same time, you saute the garlic and ginger in oil prior to adding the other ingredients. I believe this step is the key to better flavor.

I made very few changes, but one worth explaining is that I coated the raw chicken pieces in 2 teaspoons of cornstarch prior to cooking, but still added 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the sauce mix. My experience trying other stir-fry recipes has taught me that coating the raw chicken in cornstarch results in very tender chicken that is nearly impossible to make tough by over-cooking (which I tend to do), or reheating. I don’t understand why, but it really works. Oh, and I served this with rice, rather than linguine.

You can find the original recipe at Whole Foods Market, and the recipe as I made it is listed below (I will list specific products that I have used when I have a preference):

Chicken Broccoli Stir-Fry
Serves 4

Chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil, to stir-fry (could also use peanut or sesame oil)
1 raw chicken breast, cut into thin strips (Foster Farms chicken, although I would love to be able to afford free-range, local chicken; I often reduce the amount of poultry and meat in recipes to save money, and because I believe it is probably healthier to eat less of it)
2 tsp cornstarch, to coat

The Yum Factor
1 tablespoon olive oil, to stir-fry (could also use peanut or sesame oil)
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (if you have never used fresh ginger, remember to peel the ginger before grating!)

Veggies
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips (I wish I had a fresh carrot from the farmers market, instead of my nearly tasteless one bought at winco a few weeks ago)
6 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces (I doubled the amount called for and was glad that I did)

Sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth (Trader Joe’s Organic Free Range Chicken Broth)
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I only had enough for 2 tablespoons; San-J Organic Gluten Free Reduced Sodium Tamari Soy Sauce)
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Rice or Pasta
I served this stir-fry with a mixture of brown and white rice (1/3 white rice – I need to use my white rice food storage, and I sometimes want a lighter texture), but the original recipe calls for whole wheat linguine, which would taste great.

Directions:
Cook rice or pasta and keep warm while you work on this recipe. I started the rice in a rice cooker partway through my ingredient prep (after the raw chicken was cut and coated).

Prep all of your ingredients before you begin stir-frying…
1. Clean and cut up chicken and coat with 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Set aside.
2. Press garlic and grate ginger. Set aside.
3. Cut up carrot and broccoli. Set aside.
4. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Time to stir-fry…
1. Heat wok (or heavy skillet) on high heat. When very hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil.
2. Once oil is heated, add chicken and stir-fry until lightly browned, about two minutes (stir-frying involves constantly tossing the ingredients around in the wok rather than stirring occasionally). Remove the chicken and set aside.
3. Heat another tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds (I probably did this a bit longer and it started to get a bit crispy).
4. Add broccoli and carrot pieces and stir-fry for two minutes.
5. Add sauce and cooked chicken, stir well, and cover. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until vegetables are tender, about three minutes.
6. Toss with linguine, or spoon onto rice and serve. Hope you enjoy it!