Top of my places I miss in Milwaukee is Outpost Foods coop.  I loved grabbing lunch there and a sweet treat.  Luckily, they published some of these recipes in their magazine....  (still haven't seen Little Oatie recipe though!) and this Sheba Bar is a great one!

Sheba Bars
Outpost Food's Secret Recipe, Milwaukee, WI
Makes 40 bars

​1 cup Sucanat
2 3/4 cups brown rice syrup, divided
1/2 pound earth balance buttery sticks (2 sticks)
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter, divided
1 tablespoon egg replacer  (or sub 1/2 cup applesauce)
1/8 cup water
1 cup quick rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
11 ounces brown rice crisp cereal
3 1/3 cups semi sweet vegan chocolate chips
1/8 cup canola oil

​1. Preheat oven to 375.  Combine Sucanat, 2 cups brown rice syrup, buttery sticks and 3/4 cup peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt.  Stir until smooth.

2. In a large bowl, combine egg replacer and water and whisk to combine.  Add oats, baking soda, salt, brown rice cereal.  Pour in peanut butter mixture from step one, stirring carefully, in order not to crush the cereal.

3. Spread mixture into full sheet tray coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Bars puff up while cooking and may drip over tray, so watch carefully or place another sheet tray on the bottom rack to catch.  Remove and allow bars to cool.

4. While bars are cooling, melt chocolate chips and oil in microwave, stir until smooth, then spread over cooled bars.

5. Melt remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter and 3/4 cup brown rice syrup in microwave.  Drizzle over cooled bars and with a paring knife, pull through the mixture to swirl.  Cool in refrigerator until ready to serve.
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Early Bird Smoothie
Outpost Natural Foods

Give avocados and peanut butter a whirl in your blender jar for a unique flavor combination that will kick start your morning and give you that extra boost of energy to get you through a busy day.

1 avocado, ripe
1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 limes, juiced
4 tablespoons smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups apple juice
1 cup milk, any
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

​1. Throw it all in the blender and blend until smooth.
2. Garnish with a dash of paprika and a cilantro leaf.

I love to try new things...  updates on classics like the Chocolate Chip Cookie top that list.  This winner comes from Mary Jane Farm magazine's favorite things Feb-Mar 2010 and I agree!  The addition of coconut and oats along with the chocoate and peanut butter chip combo really upgrades this classic!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mary Jane Farm

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup coconut shreds
2 cups semisweet chocolate chip
1 cup peanut butter chips

​1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars; mix until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir just until combined.  Stir in oats, coconut and chips.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoon 2" apart on prepared sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes.

One day as I was reading my go to vegetarian book by Deborah Madison I wondering what else she has written since I have two of her books and love them very much.  After a quick search I backed it up to find this gem all about tofu called "This Can't Be Tofu!".  It's a great resource on what to do with tofu.  Here's my first go at one of the recipes and it is a winner..  can't go wrong with fried tofu and peanut sauce!  I cut mine into logs, thinned with vegetable broth and ate on a bed of shredded cabbage topped with gomasio.

Fried Tofu with Peanut Sauce
Deborah Madison, "This Can't Be Tofu!"

Deep frying give the tofu a golden crust and a soft interior, which is especially appealing when the tofu is skewered and dipped in a pungent peanut sauce.  If deep frying isn't something you want to do, you can shallow fry the tofu or simply brown in a dry, or lightly oiled skillet.  The textural contrast won't be as evident, but with the peanut sauce on board, it will still be very good.

1 carton firm tofu
peanut sauce
1 cup peanut oil
salt

1.    Drain, then wrap the tofu and press it well.  It should be quite dry since you'll be deep frying it.  (In the meantime, make the peanut sauce).  Cut the tofu into cubes about 3/4" across.

2.    Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet until hot enough to sizzle a piece of tofu.  Add the tofu, 6-7 pieces at a time, and fry until golden but not brown.  Turn them so they color on all sides, then remove to paper toweling to drain.  Sprinkle with salt and remove them to a serving dish.

3.    Serve with the peanut sauce in a communal bowl or individual bowls and provide toothpicks for skewering and dipping.

1 carton firm tofu
peanut sauce
1 cup peanut oil
salt

Peanut Sauce
Deborah Madison, "This Can't Be Tofu!"

This smooth, peanuty sauce can be used as a dip for deep fried tofu, or as a dressing for noodles, served hot or cold.  It keeps for weeks in the refrigerator, and will thicken over time.  Thin it with some of the noodle cooking water, stock or even coconut milk, which will give a noticeable change in flavor, of course.

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large garlic clove
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hot water
​
1.    Combine all the ingredients in a food processor except the water, and puree until smooth.  Gradually pour in the water.  Taste for salt and cayenne, adding more if necessary.

We go in food phases in our house, one day we love oatmeal but the next day I'm finding expired packets that need to be tossed.  One of those throwing out days I wondered if there's a better way to get great tasting instant oatmeal...  after much experimentation there is!

There's tons of recipes out there, this is a good basic that works for us.  I mix a batch up and portion out into half pint jelly jars, labeling the lid with a dry erase marker.  At first my husband laughed skeptically at these rows of jars but after a few days he was asking what exactly is in these and bringing friends in to see his wife's crazy good oatmeal collection!  Now it's a staple in our house. 

Home Made Instant Oatmeal

2 1/2 cups Quick Oats or Regular Oats
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar

Blend 3/4 cup of the oatmeal in a blender or food processor (I use Vitamix with grain mill blender container but not needed; just a few pulses to it up to a heavy powder).  Mix ground oatmeal with other ingredients, adding to a container with sealed lid (or ziplock bag).  Shake up really good to combine.  This is the instant oatmeal base that will make 9 servings.  Sometimes I mix a few and leave the base which my husband likes because some days he adds a little more plain to his bowl or he feels like going outside my jars and mixing his own!

To package for individual servings add the following to a half pint jelly jar:

1/3 cup of the oatmeal base along with flavoring mix-ins such as:  1 tsp seeds (chia, flax) + 2 tsp grain, nuts or dried fruit (oat bran, wheat germ, any ground nut, choppied dried fruit) +1-3 tsp sweetner (stevia, coconut sugar, vanilla sugar, or more brown sugar) + 1/8 tsp spice (cinnamon, apple pie spice, grains of paradise) + pinch salt

Or use your imagination and follow the above proportions (aprox 3 tsp flavorings + 1-3 tsp sweetner +1/8 tsp spice) along with the 1/3 oatmeal base.  Some of our favorites include:  coconut, hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips, and PB2 dried peanut butter.

To cook the oatmeal:

For regular oats: add about 3/4 cup liquid to a bowl along with contents of the jar.  Cover and microwave about 2-3 minutes depending on the microwave.  Our favorite liquids to use are soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk, hazelnut milk.  Chocolate versions of any of those are obviously really good!

For instant oats:  add boiling water directly to jar, about 1/2" from the top.  Cover and let sit about 5 minutes. You can also add 2 tsp powdered milk for creamy consistency with the water.  I love this option for the office since it's so easy.  

I've also done overnight oats with this method:  add desired liquid (any milk works great or water for lower calories) to jar, about 3/4" from top.  Regular oats will still be runny in the morning and I'm not a fan of cold oats so I do heat up in the jar, covered, watching very closely heating in 30 second increments because it will overflow very quickly! 


We have become more creative with our mix-ins and came up with snappy concoctions such as:  Almond Joy (almonds, coconut, chocolate chunks, coconut sugar), Cherry Pie (dried cherries, graham cracker crumbs, vanilla sugar), Peanut Butter Cup (chocolate chunks, PB2 dried peanut butter), Pina Colada (dried pineapples, coconut sugar, coconut)...  the possibilities are endless!  Let me know if you come up with any options we must try!