Dear Ina Garten

Dear Ina Garten, We know, you like to take a classic recipe and put a new twist on it. We know! You've been doing this forever and you are not the first person to do this. Also, please stop making us feel bad about the kind of salt we use, or Olive Oil, or Chocolate. We will use "the best" we can afford. It makes us feel bad about ourselves when you tell us to use "the best" of something when we can't afford it when we should feel good about tackling a new recipe. Just saying, Ina, think about the little people that can't afford to live in the Hamptons.
Love and Kisses-
Julie

Hazelnut Fig Oatmeal Bars.

I totally made this up. Out of thin air. My husband is worshipping me, he had them in the morning with coffee. The recipe calls for Bourbon, I love Makers Mark but during the trial I may or may not of use an Islay Bowmore Single Malt scotch because that was all we had at the moment. Perhaps that's why Jim loves them?

Hazelnut Fig Oatmeal Bars

Fig filling
• 1 cup dried chopped figs
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 shot of Bourbon (I like Maker’s Mark)

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes, then pour into a non-metallic bowl. Stir in Bourbon and let cool completely.

Crust
• Soft Butter
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. very soft butter
• 1/2 c. chopped Hazelnuts (or whatever nut you like)
• 1 c. rolled oats

Grease 8x8 pan and set aside. Sift together the flour, soda, and salt. Mix in sugar, oatmeal, butter, and nuts. Press mixture into greased 8x8 pan.


Topping
• 1 small package of yellow cake mix (like Jiffy Brand or ½ a package of your favorite regular size yellow cake mix)
• ½ cup flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter

In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, flour, and melted butter. Spread cooled filling over oatmeal mixture in pan. Sprinkle topping evenly over the top. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Makes about 12.

Why I'll Never be a Cool Foodie in Kansas City.

In high school there were the cool kids and I really ached to be one of them but it was never meant to be. I accepted it and then, I made some of the best friends I will ever have. I am finding that the world of food and foodies in Kansas City also has it's cool kids clique too and I know in my heart I will never ever be one of them, as much as I want to, and I'm trying to accept it. When I lived in Seattle I loved my Pikes Place Market. The moment you touch your toe on that street you belonged, you are one of us the stalls seemed to whisper. Not so much in Kansas, it's just a gut feeling.

As my family approaches our 5 year anniversary in Kansas City I realize there is something I'm missing. A circle of foodie friends. The kind of friends you'd throw a Caribbean themed party in the deepest, darkest part of winter for. The kind of friends who would understand and share your joy when you have been given a 30 year old Single Malt Scotch. I had that in Seattle. Lots of foodie friends. They are hard to meet and become friends with, they are busy (being foodies). I think I had an epiphany as to why our paths don't cross. Keeping in mind I am cool, I met and chatted with Julia Child. I worked with Martha Stewart, and I can make puff pastry from scratch (although I choose not to do that ever again).

Here is a list that I think I need to conquer first.

• I thought the Slow Food movement was a burgeoning interest in Crock Pot cookery.
• I can't afford Organic Farmer's Markets.
• Farm to Market?
• Soil to Plate?
• Dirt to Fork?
• Eating Local means something from my garden or walking to the Blue Moose so I can drink and walk.
• I'll never join the Kansas City Food Circle or go to Bliss Fest.
• I'll never grow heirloom tomatoes, just Bob's Big Boy Beefsteak tomatoes, because the word Bob makes me think of my Dad.
• My daughter will never have an herb stand in lieu of a lemonade stand. That ship has sailed, no matter how much I dream about it.
• I don't twitter about what I eat, yes, I'll eat fresh figs and goat cheese, but I also enjoy Lucky Charms cereal. My dog twitters, what she is doing is fascinating and riveting (@StellaDuCharme ). Twitters are for people who say things like "Using SPARQL and SPIN for Data Quality Mgmt on the Semantic Web" ( @bobdc for the geeks that understood that).
• I'll never be able to afford a dinner at Justice Drugstore.
• I've never been off this continent so I can't start a conversation "Last time I was in Madrid.."
  
• I'll never leave a corporate life to celebrate food and “Beyond Organic” practices and I'll couldn't pull off Overalls in a cute free spirit manner.
• I already know how to make scones (see scone blog) so I can't hang out with my cool foodie friends at scone class.
• I shop at the Price Chopper in Roeland park for prices and selection of food for my Mexican Husband, and not on an ethereal quest for “queso fresco crema blanca de Oaxaca”,
  

and

• I'll never create or even join an Underground Supper Club, as much as I dream about discussing the ethical connotations of Froi Gras with Anthony Bourdain.

When and if I manage to join the circle, I'm sure I'll need a new wardrobe and that's a whole other can of worms.

“52 weeks of Gourmet Low Cholesterol Food” or “My Grand New’s Year Plan that lasted One Week”

My husband has a rare unnaturally high cholesterol. He doesn’t get rid of it on his own and a machine does it for him once every two weeks at the KU Med center. Kind of like Dialysis but for cholesterol. Our diet is very “clean”. There is not much left to eliminate, we skip the fatty stuff include the good stuff.
Being the control freak that I am, I wanted to do more. I got the idea that maybe I could revamp recipes, something delicious into delicious and healthy. Then my mind drifts, as it always does to “Julie and Julia”. This could be a year long blog project that will turn into a best selling book and movie. Actually, realistically, I’m happy with one recipe in one week. Little victories, I’ll take them.
I attacked homemade tomato soup. Not known for for it’s evil cholesterol but good homemade versions have butter and cream. I substituted olive oil and whole milk (don’t freak out, just a little). 3/4 cup of whole milk has 6 grams of fat, none of which are “trans fats”. This soup serves 4 to 6 people. You can do the math. Heavy Cream, Whipping Cream, and even 1/2 and 1/2 are bad for you BUT if you used 2% or fat free milk would you eat the soup? Then you miss the goodness that the tomatoes, vegies and olive oil give you. Choose your battles, it’s just like raising toddlers.
I roast the tomatoes to condense and sweeten their flavor and I stay away from classic Italian flavors like garlic, basil, and oregano. I’ve had homemade yummy soup like this in restaurants but it flirts with a thin pasta sauce sometimes. I use thyme because I think it is an under appreciated herb and makes me think dreamily of my fresh thyme that marches across my herb garden each summer.
The biggest problem with this recipe from a nutrition point of view is that your soul will crave grilled cheese sandwiches and this is the time to be strong. Know that the soup stands alone and a hunk of sourdough bread dipped into the mug or bowl will do the trick.

The Healthier Side of Homemade Tomato Soup
2 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 celery, diced
1/4 carrot, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup whole milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees .
Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet (that you have lined with foil for easy cleanup), season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion, cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, and thyme. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. or in batches in a regular blender. It does not have to be perfectly smooth, check seasoning (may need a little more salt) Return to saucepan, add milk, heat and serve.