Mochiko Flour

One of my pantry must haves is Mochiko Flour. I have even panicked when I ran out and needed it in a recipe. It's properties are a great combination of wheat flour and cornstarch when cooking and thickening. You can make roux with it or turn it into a slurry (like cornstarch) and thicken soups and sauces, quickly and easily.


Straight from the box :

"Sweet rice flour is a superior thickening agent especially good for recipes to be refrigerated or frozen. It inhibits liquid separation."

Now, would the box lie? You can add it in at any point of the meal too. Either sprinkle it to your vegetables after you have sauteed your vegetables for a soup before adding the broth or add it after the broth as a slurry. I prefer it over cornstarch because to me cornstarch gets a little too gelatinous for me. The mochiko stays smooth.What I also love about it, freezing is a breeze. Typically when you freeze a soup or sauce that is dairy based, there is separation when you freeze. Mochiko doesn't allow this and your meal looks just as good coming out of the freezer as going in.

I have made the mistake and tried other rice flours in hopes to do the same thing and none of them worked out. So learn from my mistake and take this ingredient literal and don't pick up anything else.

Disclaimer: Views on Mochiko Flour are my own.

Welcoming smells

Nothing welcomes my husband home more than my mischievous smile and the fragrant aroma of something baking in the oven. Some days he knows what I am up to and some days I make my batter or dough and plan for it to be wafting through the air just about the time he walks in from work.

Today was one of those days my friend. I surprised him with his favorite cookie - Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. These cookies are so irresistible! They are sweet and chewy like a chocolate chip cookie, yet they are hearty and so warming like a nice bowl of oatmeal. What I also love about these cookies is that you are also getting good fiber from the oatmeal and whole wheat flour.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Yields: 3-4 dozen

1 cup butter (opt. coconut oil)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup succanut (opt. white sugar)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In your mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Slowly add into butter mixture.
5. Add oatmeal and chocolate chips and stir until well blended.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet and then remove for complete cooling on a baking rack.
7. Devouring time!

This recipes makes roughly 3-4 dozen cookies. Because left home alone often, I will eat these cookies, so I make the full recipe and then freeze half of the batter and save it for a following week. I simply form it into a log and wrap it tightly with suran wrap and label it. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge when you are ready for it and bake it like normal. I like freezing it in a log so you can easily unwrap it, slice it and throw them on the cookie sheets. These are also great to have in the freezer for last minute guests (you can cut them frozen and bake them) or for that forgotten bake sale early tomorrow morning.

The dreaded writing of recipes

As many people know, I love playing and creating healthy meals for my family. I love hiding extra nutrient packed ingredients into the foods we eat. I love coming up with healthy alternatives to everyday convenience foods that make us no longer want them. However, when on the phone talking to one of my sisters, I dread hearing "oh, can you write that down and email it to me?". Now it's not that I don't want to share, it's that I don't know exactly what I did. All I know is that I called dibs on the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

This blog is dedicated to just that: writing down the recipe. As I come up with great healthy recipes or stumble on them other places, I want to be able to share them and encourage you to take baby steps to start eating healthy and avoiding the temptation of easy convenience foods.

Don't get scared off yet. Healthy food doesn't always have to require a lot of time or taste like cardboard. So, I double dog dare you, within the upcoming weeks try a few of my recipes and see how quick and easy they are. I promise the recipes will be easy, oh so tasty and won't break the bank!