Iced Oatmeal (Drunken) Raisin Cookies

I thought about this recipe for days. Iced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies sounded pretty good, but also kind of boring. Then a spark of pure genius hit me in the middle of the night! To keep raisins juicy, recipes often call for soaking them in warm water. Why not do one better and soak them in rum?!? The result became a juicy, spicy, chewy little delight with a slight oatmeal crunch - pure heaven. If you like your cookies even spicier, go ahead and add 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1/4 tsp each allspice and nutmeg. I kept to a mildly spicy with just cinnamon and cloves.

Iced Oatmeal (Drunken) Raisin Cookies
Servings: 2 cookies (makes 24)
Time: 25 minutes active; about 10 hours total, including getting the raisins lit and chilling the dough
Price: ~$6.15 total; ~$0.25 per cookie
Nutrition (per serving - 2 cookies):
Calories: 217.6
Protein: 4.5g
Fat: 3.2g
Saturated Fat: 0.77g
Carbohydrates: 42.6g
Fiber: 0.36g
Sodium: 174.7mg
Cholesterol: 17.7mg


1/3 cup rum, not dark
1/2 cup raisins
2 Tbsp butter, preferably soy or plant-oil based
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla, not imitation, divided
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon

1. Combine rum and raisins in a bowl. Let raisins get drunk overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain.

Sober raisins covered with rum.

Totally hammered raisins after an overnight of heavy drinking or rather soaking up.

2. Beat butter and sugars together with an electric mixer about 1-2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves and beat until well mixed, scraping down the sides to ensure everything is incorporated.

Wet ingredients mixed together.

Dry ingredients added.

3. By hand, fold in oats and raisins until combined. Chill dough one hour.

Oats and drunken raisins folded in by hand.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray. Roll dough into 24 golf ball-sized cookies and evenly space 12 on each sheet. Give each cookie a quick shot of cooking spray and, with the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie until about 1/4" thick. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Golf ball-sized yumminess almost ready for the oven.

Baking in the oven - not too much longer yet!

5. Meanwhile whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar to form thick, but drizzle-able icing.

A quick whisk and icing is done.

6. Remove cookies to a wire cooling rack. Place a plate or paper towel underneath and drizzle or spread icing on hot cookies. Allow cookies to cool and icing to harden - if you can!

Roasted Carrot Soup

I guess I'm on this soup kick and have fallen hard core for this particular version. I made it in both my cooking classes this past month and I just can't seem to get enough. Roasting the carrots enhances their natural sweetness, but also concentrates their earthy flavor. The touches of the spices and honey are the perfect compliments to this warm, wintery soup. It's extremely easy to make because all the ingredients are likely to already be in your kitchen and the preparation is a cinch. And it's pretty low in calories and high in fiber to boot.

Roasted Carrot Soup
Servings: 5
Time: 20 minutes active; about one hour total
Price: ~$4.05 total; ~$0.81 per serving
Nutrition (per serving):
Calories: 146.7
Protein: 3.5g
Fat: 4.9g
Saturated Fat: 2.2g
Carbohydrates: 24.6g
Fiber: 5.6g
Sodium: 221mg
Cholesterol: 0mg

4 tsp butter, divided, preferably soy-based butter like Earth Balance

½ tsp black pepper

2 lbs carrots, cut into 2” pieces, unpeeled

½ tsp cumin

1 ½ Tbsp honey

2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped, or ½ tsp dried oregano

5 cups vegetable broth

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.     Combine 1 Tbsp (3 tsp) butter, black pepper and carrots in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Toss to coat and roast for 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

3.     Put remaining tsp of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add cumin and cook for 30 second until fragrant. Add carrots, honey, oregano and broth. Puree with a hand blender until smooth (or using a food processor, puree carrots with a cup of broth, or more as needed, then add with the other ingredients). Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Serve.

Two-Cheese Collard Green Gratin

I did this dish in my Davis Food Coop cooking class yesterday. The class, Healthy Winter Cooking In-Season, was the most well attended class I've had with the Coop to date - 10 class members! We used beets, spinach, carrots and oranges in a variety of dishes from soup and bread to casseroles and side dishes. I developed this particular recipe after receiving LOTS of greens (collards, kale, chard) from a local CSA I used to belong to. I'm a vegetarian so I couldn't throw a ham hock in with them for Southern-style greens, so what to do? I didn't know any other recipes with greens until this one! It's pretty simple to make, uses a pound and a half of healthy greens, and gets you hooked with a modest amount of super-flavorful cheeses and a touch of nutmeg. And you could substitute beet greens, kale (that's what we actually used in the class yesterday), spinach, chard - really any type of green.

Two-Cheese Collard Green Gratin
Servings: 6
Time: 20 minutes active; about one hour total
Price: ~$6.95 total; ~$1.15 per serving
Nutrition (per serving):
Calories: 206
Protein: 13.1g
Fat: 11.1g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Carbohydrates: 15.5g
Fiber: 5.4g
Sodium: 353.1mg
Cholesterol: 120.4mg


1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs collard greens (I used 1lb collards; 1/2lb spinach), washed well, dried and coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, chopped

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups soy milk

2 oz gruyere cheese, grated

1 oz parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 tsp nutmeg and black pepper, each

1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat large pot of water to boiling. Add salt and greens and cook 2 minutes. Drain and let cool. Squeeze greens to remove as much liquid as possible.

3. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and onion and cook until soft, but not browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add greens and stir to incorporate. Remove from heat.

4. Whisk eggs and soy milk in a large bowl. Add 2/3 of mixed cheeses, nutmeg and black pepper and then pour into greens mixture. Stir to incorporate well. 

  5. Pour into a 2Q baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and remaining cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes until custard is set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Last call: 2 cooking classes coming up this week!

Last call on my two upcoming cooking classes in Davis, CA happening this week:

Introduction to Vegetarian and Vegetarian-Friendly Cooking
Tues, Jan 19, 6-8pm
Think vegetarian cooking is all tofu, beans and other bland or weird-sounding ingredients? Adrienne will open a world of healthy, flavorful, exciting dishes that you can incorporate into any diet. We will try ethnic and American cuisines as well as a variety of recipes including soups, main dishes, and dips. For more info: http://cityofdavis.org/cs/.

Healthy Winter Cooking In-season
Sat, Jan 23, 2-4pm
Want to cook in-season in the winter, but not sure what to do with greens and root vegetables? Join food writer/blogger Adrienne Capps for a creative demonstration class using in-season (local where available) ingredients. For more info: http://www.davisfood.coop/classes.html.