Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

I bought the Laura Secord Canadian Cookbook in Niagara Falls shortly after our wedding. It has been one of my favourite cookbooks with excellent recipes and interesting Canadian food history commentaries. This muffin recipe is directly from this book, which is available only from resellers on Amazon.ca. I always double the recipe and get 18 large muffins.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

1 cup flour ( I use whole wheat)
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar ( I use 1/2 Splenda or stevia)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

Mix batter until just moistened and then fold in

3/4 cup blueberries

Place batter in prepared muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Fruit Bars

This recipe was in our newspaper earlier this month and featured raspberries and peaches for the filling. I have modified the recipe and doubled the size. These bars are not sweet and make a good breakfast-on-the-run on a busy morning. Increase the sweetener if you prefer a bar that is more dessert-like. Experiment with different combinations of fruit in season.

Prepare 6 cups of fresh or frozen fruit. I used 2 cups each of strawberries, peaches and blueberries.

Combine fruit in a medium sauce pan with:
4 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup orange juice

Cook until filling is thickened. (I cooked the strawberries and peaches in some of the juice for a few minutes and then added the rest of the juice with the cornstarch and blueberries)

Mix together in a large bowl to make crumbs:
3 cups large flake rolled oats
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar ( I used 100% Splenda in the squares pictured above, but they do brown better with at least half sugar. You could also use honey or maple syrup)
1 cup soft butter

Reserve 1-1/4 cups of the crumbs in another dish
Add one egg to the remaining crumbs and press batter into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Spread thickened fruit on top and sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Carrot Salad

Mom made lots of this salad when we were growing up and it was always a favourite. I have seen similar carrot salads with added dressings, but this is just marinated in pineapple juice. It tastes better the second day and keeps for a few days in the fridge. The raisins are optional.

Two pounds carrots, grated
1 tin of canned pineapple, tidbits or crushed
Handful of raisins

Stir ingredients until well combined.

Broccoli Salad

We go the the homestyle buffet at The Crossroads in Elmira occasionally and this is my favourite salad there. It can be made with broccoli and/or cauliflower. I have had it at potlucks where other additions such as raisins and sunflower seeds are included. Here is the basic recipe.

1 bunch of broccoli cut into small pieces
2-3 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped (we use bacon flavoured soy bits)
Grated cheddar cheese, about 2 ounces
Salad dressing or mayonnaise, 1/3 to 1/2 cup as desired
Sliced green onions

Mix together. Salad keeps for a couple of days.