Day one of 30 Days of Creativity was a delicious success. I got creative in the kitchen. Start easy and where you’re comfortable, right? On Sunday we went to a barbeque hosted by a former co-worker. We’d been camping Friday through Sunday morning near Bloomington, so I needed something easy to make. Lucky for us, I requested breakfast on the way home from our campsite at Bloomington Bagel Company. Michael spotted a Peanut Butter Crunch bar in the dessert case and declared it very good. Could we reproduce it? One taste and I said hell yes, this is gonna be easy! These are scotcheroos!
Have you heard of scotcheroos? They’re like Rice Krispie Treats but better because they involve peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate. I use the word addicting loosely here. I ate one at the barbeque and then two more on the way home.
Scotcheroos seemed to be the easy and obvious choice for Day 1 for multiple reasons: Michael requested I make them again, and soon; they take literally 15 minutes to make; no oven; did I mention delicious?
We also had corn cakes with avocado and tomato salsa for dinner.
I prepped half of this meal (the corn cake batter) while I ate breakfast at the counter this morning. All that was left to do tonight was cut up veggies for salsa and cook the cakes. The meal is flavorful and balanced, filling and yet not heavy. The sweet corn cakes go nicely with the bright salsa. I love combining tomatoes and avocados. Just something about the flavors mixing together. Next time will add some black beans to the salsa. And the bright colors in this meal were actually fun to photograph! Scotcheroos
recipe originally from Rice Krispies box
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispy cereal (that’s about half a large box)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a large saucepan, heat corn syrup and sugar over medium heat. Stir frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Start with a 45 second microwave session. Stir the chips. Continue microwaving at 30 second intervals and stirring until chips are melted and smooth.
4. Mix the peanut butter and then the Rice Krispies into the sugar mixture. You want to entirely coat the cereal with gooey goodness.
5. Evenly spread the cereal mixture into the 9×13 inch pan and press it all down gently. Spread the chip mixture on top. Chill in the refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened.
Corn Cakes with Avocado-Tomato Salsa
- 1 1/2 ears corn, shucked
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/8 cup diced red onion
- 1/8 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Canola oil, for frying
- Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa (recipe follows)
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a brown paper bag.
2. Cut the corn from the cobs into a large bowl, and scrape the stripped cobs with the back of the knife (or a spoon) to release the juices into the bowl.
3. Place 2 cups of the corn kernels into a food processor, and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky. Scrape into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.
4. Add flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper to the corn. Stir to mix.
5. Add the eggs, buttermilk and butter, and stir just to combine. (Do not overmix.)
6. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough canola oil to barely cover the bottom, and heat until sizzling hot.
7. One heaping tablespoon at a time, scoop the batter into the skillet. Cooking in batches of 4 to 5 to avoid overcrowding, fry the cakes 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown.
8. Drain on the lined baking sheet, and place in the oven to keep warm while cooking the remaining corn cakes. Serve warm topped with a heap of Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa.
- large tomato, cored and chopped
- 1 scallion, trimmed and minced
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1. Place all of the ingredients (except the avocado) in a bowl, and stir to mix. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve, for up to 2 days.
2. Just before serving, add the avocado, and mix gently.
Piebelly 