Magical Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars: "Thinking of you, wish you were FAT!"

Why is it that some people feel so guilty about eating delicious baked goods?  I have always loved baking and sharing with others.  I'm a really good baker so, consequently, people love when I bake for them.  However, on occasion, I have encountered  the "guilty eater."  This is always a woman/girl who is super excited to eat my baking, they just don't want to admit it!  The entire time they are enjoying the "fruits of my labors," they whine and say things like, "you're making me sooooo fat." Which makes me think, "oh no, they've caught on to my evil plan!" 

Come on!  Like you NEVER eat anything fattening!  Really?? I was just doing something nice for you!  Please just smile, say, "yummy" and "thank you."  I'm good.

OK, now that I got that off of my chest, on with the story:   When my first baby, Steve, was born (1988? What??!!!) my friend, Julie Hawkins, brought me a plate of delectable treats; lemon bars, chocolate chip cookies and more.  There was enough for Dave and I to enjoy for a week, but I ate them all that first day in the hospital.  I'm always so hungry after I have a baby (or anytime, who am I kidding!).  Guess I'm not a guilty eater.

Fast forward to now, my friend Emillie, just had her first baby. This baby is precious!!  Emillie is so excited to be a mommy.  So, in the spirit of Julie Hawkins, I decided to make something yummy for her (so she could get fat too).
Let's celebrate all the new mommys out there!  Bake up some of these babies and you'll be friends for life!  Be sure to include a note, "Thinking of you, wish you were fat."

I've used the magic cookie bar recipe off of the Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk for years but thought it needed a little tweeking. I wanted a gooeyer topping and a crust that held together better than the ordinary graham cracker crust.  I think these fit the bill, what do you think?

Amy's Magical Coconut Bars
(cuz you magically gain 10lbs)

Heat oven to 375
Bake in a 9x13"pan

Crust   
In a food processor:
2 packages graham crackers
1/2C walnuts or pecans
3/4C sugar
1/4C flour
3/4C melted butter
(For easy removal, line pan with parchment paper) Press crust into the bottom of a 9x13" pan

Top
In mixing bowl, mix together:
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons flour
1 tsp vanilla
2 xl eggs
whisk gently then add:
4 C coconut
2 C mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Pour on top of unbaked crust then bake in 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until middle is set.
(jiggle pan to check if set)

Allow to cool completely, cut and enjoy.

Punkin Pie, Baby!!

Does anyone else have pre-Thanksgiving pie sampling? We just wanted to know if we still liked pumpkin pie before the big day. The jury is in. We do!! Oh yeah baby!!

The Recipe:
Trader Joe's frozen pie crust
( I used frozen crust for the first time ever. It's great! plus nothing hydrogenated.)

Filling:  Inspired by Libby's Pumpkin Pie Recipe  (makes 2 9-inch pies)
Heat oven to 425 degrees
5 eggs, slightly beaten
3 C canned or fresh cooked pumpkin
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3C cream or canned milk (2-12 oz cans evaporated milk)
Combine filling in blender blend for 1 minute until very smooth.  Pour into 2-9" pie crusts (unbaked)
Bake for 15 minutes then turn oven down to 325 and bake an additional 20-30 minutes until pie jiggles but is not watery in the center.  Allow to cool before serving with a HUGE dollop of whipped cream.  YUM!!!
 

Pomegranates

I have always found pomegranates to be intriguingly mystical fruits.  Nature's final,generous gift after a long summer harvest, right before the earth slumbers under the freeze of winter.   The shiny, red exterior gives way to channels of the perfect packaging, cradling plump, ruby-like gems of juicy, sweet and sour berries.

When I was a very young girl, there was an old farm house near our home that was going to be demolished to build an Alpha Beta grocery store.  The owners had long since moved and the house was vacant.   On the property was a large and very old pomegranate tree that held a bountiful harvest of large, ruby red pomegranates.  With our parents blessings, my older siblings, Shelly and Keith set out for the farm house to pick some of the pomegranates before the property was bulldozed.

One Saturday morning, bikes racing, they set out on their pomegranate treasure hunt and what was to become one of their most memorable childhood adventures.  As they approached the edge of the neighborhood they spotted the old farm house in the distance and there, to the side of the house stood the large old pomegranate tree filled with pomegranates.  Leaping from their Schwinns, they began to pick one after another of the rare gems, quickly filling their bags and wishing they could carry more.

As they were riding home, in anticipation of those luscious gems of juice, they were approached by some older boys (aka hoodlums) on horseback.  The boys asked what was in the bag.  Shelly told them they were pomegranates.  With that, the delinquent hoodlums ripped the bag from her hands and galloped off in a dusty cloud of dirt.  Keith and Shelly watched until the bandits disappeared in the distance, their dreams of pomegranate bliss foiled.  They planned to return the next Saturday but during the week, the old farm house lot had been bull dozed to make way for new homes.

Growing up, in our family, we never ate a pomegranate without Keith or Shelly recounting, with sadness, the story of how those teenage hoods stole their prized pomegranates.  Every time I see a pom, I think of the disappointed little faces of Keith and Shelly as they arrived home that Saturday afternoon heart broken and empty handed.

Flash forward, Dave and I planted this pomegranate tree 4 years ago and it's been giving us fruit ever since. This year (2012), was our best harvest yet! The fruit was so big we were calling them grapefruit. We had a delicious fall salad and included some of the "poms."  Next thing I'm gonna make is some pomegranate salsa.