Cinnamon and Ginger Banana Sticks

I have a long and storied love-hate relationship with Bananas. I hate the favor of ripe banana, and once a banana turns yellow, I find it to be completely unpalatable. I used to have to force myself to eat bananas, a task I undertook purely for the ample health benefits. However, recently I've found that bananas can do some really cool tricks! My favorite of which being Banana Icecream. If you haven't tried it, its PHENOMENAL. However, it doesn't make for a very good snack on the go, and it is kinda a bitch to clean up after.

One of my very favorite kitchen gadgets is my Dehydrator. I've dehydrated just about every fruit available in my local Mega-Mart, to varying levels of success (the best being pears, worst being oranges, YUCK!). If you've ever been a fan of pre-packaged Apple or Banana Chips, you're probably aware they about as healthy as potato chips, which is truly criminal. HOWEVER, the only rational explanation I can come up for to explain the fact that they deep fry the fruit, is that its must be cheaper and easier to manufacture than drying. As it turns out, the oil is completely superfluous! Once dehydrated, apple and banana chips are almost indistinguishable from they're calorie rich fried counterparts!

200 Garlic Knots

Last superbowl, along with Donut Upsidedown Cake, I made a small batch of Garlic Knots. They were a big hit! So big in fact, when my friend Annie was getting ready for her wedding this July, she asked me to make them to be part of her wedding dinner. Without even blinking, of course, I agreed. It wasn't until after I had agreed that she told me that it wasn't 2 or 3 batches that would be necessary, but 200 Knots!

This caused a little bit of panic... My first batch took me hours to complete, and that made MAYBE 16 knots. How was I going to make 200 knots? I briefly considered the possibilities of making THIRTEEN batches of dough. It would take FOREVER and would probably kill my poor Kitchen Aid! I took a few deep breaths, calmed down, and started to think. There was nothing special about the dough, it came from, I'm pretty sure, the side of a flour carton! I didn't actually have to make the dough, I could buy the frozen dough loafs and save my self a ton of time!

And so began the great Garlic Knot Adventure of 2010!

Maple Raisin Oat Scones

I don't remember where the idea for this recipe came from. I think I was just craving scones and maple for some reason. Actually, I believe I really wanted Cinnamon Raisin scones, but this Maple Oat Scones recipe was the first creative one I found in a quick google search. The fact that it included oats was a plus! And I was surprised That the actually advocated the use of Artificial Sweetener, Perfect!

Rolled Oat Raisin Cookies

I love oatmeal cookies, they are easily my favorite cookie. But when you're trying to eat healthy, they are a tricky cookie to make low-calorie. Most experiments end in some sort of cake like cookie. While good, it doesn't have the same bite as a true blue chewy oatmeal cookie. The idea for this cookie, made primarily out of applesauce and rolled oats, was an attempt to have some of the chewiness left in the cookie by using thick cut rolled oats instead of regular or quick-cooking oats. I started the recipe based on this Chewy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, but the end result was completely different.