Mother Love

I normally like to have “something” to say when I do a blog post…but sometimes you just feel like chatting. I call this “fluff,” and I’m generally really not a fan of the fluff. I can tend to think that all the chit-chat and how-de-do’s and etcetera are a waste of time, but I’m realizing that actually sometimes you just need it. I guess the fluff can be an important and vital part of a conversation and relationship, because sometimes you just want to talk about all those little things in life that really aren’t very significant or important in their own right but ultimately do contribute to knowing and understanding someone else. I guess in essence the “fluff” is the backbone of life. Maybe all the “every day rustics” are “legs on which you stand.” (EverAfter, anyone?) I’m a firm believer in “quality over quantity” and stick to this mantra is almost every aspect of my life, but maybe when it comes to chatting and conversation, whether in person or online, quantity over quality is good too.

We’ve been having a fun and busy month so far, and I am soaking up the holiday spirit as much as I can! I love to wake up in the mornings and plug in the tree and feel how it instantly makes the day feel so festive and grand. We haven’t done a whole lot of holiday-ey events and outings yet, although we did venture into town last weekend for a local Christmas street event. We watched our niece + nephews perform some sign language carols and strolled through the streets sipping hot chocolate and holding hands. It was a cold evening so it was fun to bundle up in boots, beanie, and scarves and feel like a true northern lady.

We’ve been having snow flurries off and on for the past few days now, and without fail, it catches me by surprise every time I see it falling outside. Where I come from, any sign of snow means that everything comes to a halt and you stay inside doing nothing but being cozy. You don’t dare venture out on the roads unless, of course, you’re young and fun and want to be a little dangerous. But here it’s just another day, another snow storm. It’s funny because I never imagined myself living in the north where snow and all that comes with it is just a part of normal life. I never imagined it, and now I could hardly imagine anything else. Not to be all Hallmarky here, but where that husband of mine is is my home and I don’t want to be anywhere else.

I’ve been slowly edging myself out of the cooking rut that I was in. We had chicken and rice soup plus homemade (<– !!) focaccia bread last night, and Asian noodles and summer rolls with spicy peanut sauce tonight. If you have never made peanut sauce before, please run into the kitchen and immediately throw some together and pour it over some noodles or rice or anything else you think would taste good with peanut sauce. So yum!

Ben and I have watched this video several times this week and we just get the biggest kick out of it!

If anyone wants to make me a Christmas present, make me this and you will be my best friend forever.

I know I’m a million years behind most everyone else, but I just downloaded this tonight. Love it so far!

What about you: what have you been enjoying this holiday season so far?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

You know how you stumble across that recipe, have it saved for months and months, and then finally decide to make it…and then you pull it out of the oven and sample a bite and you just want to eat the entire pan right then and there? Yeah, that’s what this recipe did to me. I refrained from eating the entire pan, but it’s not taking long for them to disappear around this house.

Ben loves Fig Newtons (the store kind), and I had made some homemade ones for him when we were dating that I think were maybe what pushed him over the edge in deciding I needed to be his wife (hehe!). I like this recipe better than the original because its easier (the original version called for rolling out the dough, layering on the filling, and folding over the dough) and tastier. I feel like you get less dough and more filling with this recipe, which is awesome in my opinion considering I ate the filling straight up on top of waffles yesterday morning.

Fig Oat Bars
adapted from here

1 1/4 cup spelt flour (or flour of choice)
1 3/4 cup oatmeal (I used mostly rolled oats but also some quick oats)
1 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
2 T. butter
1 1/4 cup fig preserves (see below)

Preserves
Dates
Dried figs
Orange juice/apple cider/water

For the preserves – I don’t have a solid recipe for this, but I took roughly a cup and a half total of chopped dates and figs, simmered them in splashes of orange juice + apple cider for thirty minutes or so, and then mashed them together with a potato masher once the fruits were soft. I did need to add additional liquid towards the end of cooking, so keep your eye on it. You could also just use fig preserves from the store.

For the bars – Whisk together flour, 1 1/2 cups oats, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Whisk together brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and applesauce (I also threw in a spoonful of molasses which lended some tasty flavor). Mix wet + dry ingredients together – it will be thick like cookie dough.

Line a 8 x 8 baking pan with foil or parchment and grease. Press two-thirds of the dough into the pan and spread preserves on top. I added dark chocolate chunks to one half of the pan as well (i highly recommend this), although why I didn’t add this to the entire pan I do not know.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup oats and 2 T. butter to the remaining dough and mix well with your fingers. Crumble on top of the preserve layer – it will be messy and sticky but no worries because it is worth it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until top is browned.

Let cool, cut into bars (easiest is to lift out of the pan using foil lining and then cut), and try not to eat them all at once.

What about you: what are you baking this holiday season?

I’d love to hear your thoughts + recipes!