Social Kitchen

This is the thing about apricots.  For an embarrassingly long time, I did not know that they were actually fruit.  Like, real, live fruit that you can eat.  I thought that they were just a flavor.  Apricot baby food (which was my favorite even after I was old enough to not eat baby food, I’m willing to admit), and apricot jam, and dried apricots (which, no, I had not realized are dried from the actual fruit).  I never thought that all of these things came from something fresh.  I’m clearly a product of the processed food revolution.

But stop judging me because there is a reason why this happened!  Fresh apricots, with their unbeliveably short season (blink and you miss them – seriously), are, more often than not, quite sour, and likely without a firm texture that you expect from summer stone fruit.  But cook them and what you get is this sweet, soft, honey-like, melt-in-your-mouth flavor that is unmatched.  Grill them with a dollop of creme fraiche and a drizzle of honey, and you have a delicious snack.  Roasted topped with vanilla ice cream and you have the best dessert.

Or make this crisp.  Chopped apricots with just a sprinkling of sugar, topped with a nutty, oatmealy crisp topping.  Top with plain Greek yogurt, and you have every meal of every day until you get the next batch of apricots.  Go and discover the freshness of apricots!  And then cook them to find their true calling.

Apricot Crisp (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

6-7 apricots, pits removed and cut into quarters
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
pinch of nutmeg

Crisp Topping
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces) butter, melted
scant 1/2 cup light brown sugar tablespoons turbinado
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons mix of chopped walnuts and pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare fruit by placing in an 8×8 square baking dish, or 9 inch round pan.  In the dish, stir in sugar, flour and pinch of nutmeg, until everything is well-distribuited.

For the topping, melt butter and stir in sugar, then oats, then flour, salt and nuts until large clumps form. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool completely and then place in refrigerator (preferably overnight).  This will give the crisp a chance to blend all of the flavors and become insanely delicious.  Serve with plain Greek yogurt.

I promised you summer, didn’t I?  Here it is!  In a tart shell!

This tart is best served with homemade butter pecan ice cream.  But don’t worry, this will come too.  Summer isn’t going anywhere.

Cherry Tart (adapted from New York Times)

1 recipe pie dough, from here

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons instant tapioca

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

5 cups cherries, rinsed and pitted (I used a mix of Black and Rainier)

juice of 1 lemon

pinch salt

Heat oven to 375.  While dough is chilling, prepare cherry filling.  In a blender, process the sugar, instant tapioca, cinnamon and salt. Mix with pitted cherries.  Stir in lemon juice until everything is well mixed and combined.  Set aside.

Take prepared dough out of the refrigerator.  Roll it out until about 1/8 inch in thickness.  Fit it in tart shell, trimming as necessary.  Place the tart shell on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Fill the tart shell with cherry mixture.  Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, until mixture is bubbling.  Let cool for about 1 hour.  Slice and serve with homemade butter pecan ice cream.

I was out of the country for the past couple of weeks, where I had a bit of a summer produce breakdown.  I wanted my corn and asparagus!  I was craving peaches and plums and berries!  I needed to try out my new ice cream maker!  Summer was slipping me by!

I calmed down a bit, ate mangoes in abundance (because that’s what you do where there are mangoes in abundance.  and also what you do when you’re sad), and checked the weather online to make sure that summer aint goin anywhere.

So here I am. Back in the country and jet lagged.  And ready to make summery dishes using summery things!  Starting with these little tarts.  Barely sweetened, lightly spiced and completely highlighting the fruit, these are exactly what I was dreaming about.  And what I will continue to dream about as I take another nap.

Strawberry Ricotta Graham Tarts (recipe from Food and Wine)

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I made these tarts a while ago.  Meaning that I was fully alert at 2pm and had the energy to make everything from scratch.  Which I’ve included below.  But! I did have them again yesterday.  Tired and delirious.  With store-bought thin ginger cookies, and store-bought ricotta.  And because I’m being so completely honest here, I’ll go ahead and say that these weren’t as good as the real thing.  But what is, really?  So you shouldn’t be surprised.  And you’re not the one that’s jet lagged.  So make these from scratch.  There you go.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch of ground cloves

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons molasses

3/4 pound strawberries, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/4 cups fresh ricotta (recipe here)

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

In a bowl, whisk both flours with the cinnamon, salt and cloves. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, or with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the honey and molasses, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the flour mixture at low speed, just until incorporated. Pat the dough into a disk, cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Make sure that the dough is not too thick.  Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter, stamp out cookies; reroll the dough scraps if necessary. Transfer the shapes to the baking sheets and bake for about 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly golden around the edges. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely.

In a bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and the lemon juice. Let stand until syrupy, 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, confectioners’ sugar and lemon zest. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on each oval. Arrange the strawberries over the ricotta, drizzle with the syrup and serve.

For years, when I was younger, my birthday cake requests were on the, um, adventurous side.  Which was slightly unfair because I was never expected to bake my own cake – I put the pressure on my family.  I would want a strawberry chiffon cake in the winter.  Or there was one year when I asked for a white cake with chopped up Oreos in it, with the request that the Oreos retain their crunch.  My favorite was when I asked for an orange cake with lemon frosting.  Apparently, I felt that it was a citrusy year.

I have also adopted this experimental birthday cake baking when I make cakes for other people.  You surely remember me getting all fancy with this coconut cake?  Or what about this beauty with the macaron layer in the middle?  Even these bars were for a birthday!

But all of this makes me miss my most favorite birthday cake combination: yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  It’s a classic, after all, and oh-so delicious.  And because of my high-maintenance birthday cake tendencies, I’ve never made this cake from scratch!  The boxed cake mix and tub of frosting has always been enough for me.

So I decided to give the at-home version a spin for a non-birthday occassion.  With an unexpected malty twist in the frosting that will never have me reaching for the tubbed version again.  These cupcakes have gotten me so hooked that I can’t think of a better cake to make for every birthday from now on – even my own.  But someone else has to make it for me.

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Malt Frosting

Yellow Cupcakes (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla in at medium speed until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined.  The mixture may look curdled.  Add the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into the cupcake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.  Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then turn over the pan to release cupcakes.  Allow to cool completely on the rack.  Frost with chocolate malt frosting.

Chocolate Malt Frosting (recipe from Joy the Baker)

3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/8 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp. Ovaltine (or other chocolate malt powder)

Cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar.  Mix on low speed while adding milk and vanilla extract.  As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat until smooth.  In a glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine.  Turn mixer speed to medium and pour cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream, until you’ve reached your desired consistency.  You may not need the full amount of Ovaltine and cream.  Spread onto cupcakes.

I’m at that point in a move when you swear you have seen something that you are looking for but can’t seem to find it anywhere.  You know that point when there are boxes everywhere and all counter space is taken and you don’t even know how some things you don’t need at all made it from one place to the other, and those things you really need are no where to be found.  It’s quite lovely, moving.  You may have done it.

The one thing that I found quickly and easily were my baking sheets.  And that was because I carried them by hand.  Because they didn’t fit in a box.  And because, you know, they’re special to me.  I’m protective.  This was perfect because two baking sheets were all I needed for this satisfying and comforting, yet unfussy meal.

Especially because it is precisely when you are moving and you can’t find anything you need that you want something home cooked.  Even when you have to eat it sitting on the floor, using boxes as tables.  Not that I’m saying that I did that.

Asparagus Tarts (recipe from Joy the Baker)

To add some luxury to a time when you feel constantly dirty and sweaty, I bought this puff pasty.  It’s made with 100% butter, which makes it 100% yum.  Seriously.  It was so good that I made some leftover puff pastry with just cheese on it.  Butter and cheese.  Don’t judge.

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese, grated

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

salt and coarse ground black pepper

olive oil

balsamic reduction, optional

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Unfold thawed puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface.  Carefully cut the puff pastry into 6 or 8 even rectangles.  The number of squares will depend on the brand of puff pastry you get.

With a small knife, score a 1/4 inch boarder along the inside of each rectangle.  Arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Brush each square lightly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.  Top with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.  Press five to six asparagus spears into the cheese. Brush the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and black pepper.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puff pastry is golden brown and asparagus is cooked through.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with thick balsamic reduction.

Roasted Grape Salad

I don’t have measurements for this recipe.  I just roasted some grapes the way I would roast any vegetable, except that I added some balsamic vinegar.  You just want to make sure that all of the grapes are evenly coated – not too much and not too little.  The grapes will come out sweet and a little tart and the perfect balance to the salty, cheesy tarts.

1 bunch grapes

splash of olive oil

splash of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

3 handfulls of baby spinach leaves

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Take the grapes off the stems and wash them.  Lay them out on the baking sheet.  Coat with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper until everything is evenly coated.  Place in the oven at the same time the tarts go in.  They will take the same amount of time: about 20-25 minutes.  While the grapes are in the oven, take the stems off the spinach leaves, wash and pat dry.  Place in a large bowl.  When grapes come out, let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then toss with spinach leaves.  The coating on the grapes will create a dressing for the salad.

I have always associated recipes with places that I live.  For example, I found the perfect coconut macaroon recipe at my parents house.  My go-to chocolate cake recipe was discovered in grad school.  And my iced sugar cookies were my favorite at my first apartment.  You get what I’m saying.

So, to go along with these theme, and to pay homage to my current apartment and city, I am sharing a spin-off of the most made recipe here: the meringue cookie.  I never quite got meringue right before I moved here.  The cookies would always turn out too crispy and sweet.  But somehow, here, (when I thought to add less sugar, and bake the meringues at a lower temperature..and to add chocolate chips and nuts), they came out perfect.

This cake is that same meringue cookie in grander form.  It’s soft, marshmallowy and light in texture, with crunchy, toasty pecans and graham crackers spread throughout. All topped with a light cream cheese frosting, and first of the season strawberries.  It’s basically screaming summer. 

So on to the next adventure, new beginnings and finding the next perfect recipe!

Strawberry Meringue Cake (adapted from Food Network)

Cake:

• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
• two sleeves, about 10 oz., crumbled graham crackers (you want tiny pieces, but not crumbs)

• 8 ounces (1 cup) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 pounds sliced fresh strawberries

Is it weird that I don’t think of ice cream as summer food?  It’s creamy and comforting, especially with hot fudge sauce.  That’s pure winter hibernation food to me.  But seeing as Memorial Day is just around the corner and ice cream will be all the rage, I’m humoring you.  You’re welcome!

This ice cream (as the name might suggest) is actually magic!  No, really.  I literally put it together in 10 minutes.  (It would have been 8, but I couldn’t find the heavy cream anywhere in my crowded fridge.)  And it combined all of these things that you wouldn’t really think would go into a vanilla ice cream base: white chocolate chips? condensed milk? sour cream?  I was pretty skeptical before I tried it.  But it was luscious and soft and creamy and vanilla-y.  Like soft serve ice cream coming straight out of the freezer.

The hot fudge sauce – well, that recipe had no magic involved – it was instead just magical.  I was swooning over the richness and the depth of this hot fudge sauce.  It was exactly like a McDonald’s sundae, with the soft vanilla ice cream and the thick, rich, droopy glops of chocolate on top.  Mmm.  Oh please, don’t judge – you know exactly what I’m talking about.

So go ahead.  Stick with the norm and have your ice cream in the summertime.  But come cold weather, don’t blame me if you find yourself making this again.

Magic Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Best Summer Desserts)

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons white chocolate chips

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Stir together white chocolate chips and condensed milk.  Melt in 30 second intervals in the microwave, or in a double boiler, until smooth.  Add sour cream, vanilla and salt and stir until combined.

In another bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, mix cream on medium low speed for about 1 minute.  Raise the speed and whip until stiff peaks form.

Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into condensed milk mixture.  Fold in the remaining whipped cream gently.  Pour mixture into an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.

Hot Fudge Sauce (adapted from Serious Eats)

2/3 cups cream

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

pinch salt

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a small pot, mix together cream, chocolate, light corn syrup, sugar, and salt.  Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  Take off the heat and mix in butter and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Let cool slightly before serving.

My battle with yeast continues.  Why will my yeast never foam up?  Why can’t I find a warm enough spot to let the dough rise when I always think my apartment is sweltering?!  Does not rising at all actually mean “doubled in size”?  Sigh, it’s a problem.

Good thing that with this recipe, the rising part is not necessary.  I mean, I’m sure these bars would be quite amazing with a fluffy, typically yeasty base, but I wouldn’t know.  But I can certainly attest to the fact that these bars were nothing short of amazing with a flat, stubborn yeast base.  The base of these bars is just the foundation to the amazing, cheesecake textured, star on top.  Kind of like a nut-less pecan pie filling on spread on top of barely sweet bread.  Think s’mores without the chocolate.  Lemon bars without the lemon.  Buttery, sweet and gooey.

The city with the reigning World Series champs (which I willed them to win – but I’ll tell you about that later) has another star!  This winner doesn’t need any help from me, though.  It doesn’t even need working yeast!  Pretty dependable deliciousness, if you ask me.

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cakes (recipe from NY Times)

For the base:

3 tablespoons milk, room temperature

1 3/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large egg

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the topping:

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large egg

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

1. In a small bowl, mix milk with 2 tablespoons warm water. Add yeast and whisk until yeast dissolves (you know, it may not). Mixture should foam slightly (still will be okay if it doesn’t).

2. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt.  Beat in the egg.  Alternately add flour and the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.  Switch to the dough attachment, and knead dough on medium speed until it forms a smooth mass and pulls away from sides of bowl, 7 to 10 minutes.

3. Press dough into an ungreased 9-by 13-inch baking dish at least 2 inches deep. Cover dish with plastic wrap or clean tea towel, put in a warm place, and allow to rise until doubled, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, mix corn syrup with 2 tablespoons water and the vanilla.  Beat the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.  Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in the egg.  Alternately add flour and corn syrup mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.

5. Spoon topping in large dollops over risen cake and use a spatula to gently spread it in an even layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes.  The cake will have a golden brown top, but will still be loose in the center.  Allow to cool in pan before sprinkling with confectioners’ sugar for serving.

These sweet-savory shortbread cookie-crackers are obviously a lot of things rolled into one.  They’re the best of so many worlds squished together to make the most delightful snack to have with your afternoon tea.  You don’t do that?  Well, it’s delightful any time of day, really.

You know those people that take pictures of their food while at a restaurant?  I’m not one of those.  It’s a timing thing, really – I don’t want to waste any of my time there taking pictures when I can instead use that time to be eating.  The eating part usually makes me so delusionally happy that I become bold and instead just ask for the recipe at the end of my meal.  This is usually the awkward part of our dining experience.

Except when I ate these cookie/cracker things.  The chef was so kind and generous that he gave me the recipe on the spot!  And he didn’t even change anything (which is what I was expecting) – these tasted exactly like the ones I was eating at his cafe.  So enjoy these savory sweet snacks and relish in the fact that you’re making restaurant food at home.

Cumin and Caraway Tea Biscuits (recipe from the Leela Mumbai)

I failed to mention that I had these biscuits in India.  Which isn’t actually a relevant part of the story, except when I note that the original recipe called for ajwain seeds, rather than caraway.  And you probably don’t know what they are because there does not seem to be anything equivalent in the western world.  It seems that oregano, thyme and even parsley are acceptable substitutions, but for this particular recipe, I thought that the caraway paired very nicely.  I tried these both ways, and though they did not taste exactly the same, they both were very good.  But if you find yourself at an Indian store, pick some up, eh?  I could have left all of this out.  You didn’t need to know this.  It’s like the awkward end of the meal all over again.

1.5 cups butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2.5 cups all purpose flour

1.5 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. cumin seeds

2 tsp. caraway seeds

Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, cumin seeds and caraway seeds.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light in color.  Add the egg and mix to incorporate.  Slowly fold in all of the dry ingredients until well mixed.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

People, I hate running.  I mean, sure, I’ll do it.  You know, for the health benefits and to get that “amazing” feeling after you complete a run, blah blah.  I’ll even sign up for semi-long distance races just to make sure that I’ll keep on running.  But I’m really not a fan of it.  It’s true.

The only person I know that truly hates running more than I do is my sister.  The only difference is that she doesn’t even lie to herself about it.  She just flat out does not run because the thought of it frightens her.  Ah, but what she does do is walk.  You know, for exercise.  And unfortunately, she doesn’t do it like this, though that would be so much more awesome.  Instead, she just walks and walks being extremely inefficient with her exercise time.

All of this was just fine.  Until she signed us both up for a 32 mile walk.  32 miles!?  That’s insanity.  That’s longer than a marathon.  That’s longer than any run I’ve ever done…put together!  Who walks 32 miles in one day??  Not only did she convince me (or force me, however you want to look at it – she’s the older one, after all) to do this walk, she also persuaded me into doing 20+ mile practice walks with her.  Did I mention that this whole thing is insane?

Anyway.  The walk is this weekend.  And I’m taking these granola bars.  Because goshdarnit, we’re going to need a snack during the 11 hour walking day.  And these may be the only gems that pull me through.  God speed.  (I’m telling myself that.)

Jammin’ Granola Bars (slightly adapted from Flour)

Haha, I came up with the name of these granola bars myself.  Anyway, I don’t think that I emphasized how tasty these bars actually are.  Probably because of my anxiety related to the walk.  Because I’m walking 32 miles this weekend – not sure if you knew that.  Anyway, these are unlike any bars you’ve made because of this amazing jam right in the middle of the bars.  Combined with the crunchy topping (millet!  who knew about this wondrous grain!): It’s like a cross between a fancy Nutri-Grain bar and a Nature Valley granola bar.  I mean, if that didn’t get you running to the kitchen to make these, I don’t know what will.

For the jam:

1 cup dried apple rings

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup dried apricots

1/3 cups sugar

2 cups water

In a medium pot, bring everything to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Take the pot off the heat and let it sit for 1 hour.  Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and mix together until the jam is still chunky, but it is a more even consistency.  This will take about 30 seconds.

For the bars:

1 cup walnuts, toasted

1 cup oats

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cups whole wheat flour

2/3 cups light brown sugar

2/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 stick butter, softened and cut into pieces

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

6 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons millet

3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

3 tablespoons whole flax seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  In a food processor, pulse together walnuts, oats, flour, sugar, coconut, salt, cinnamon and butter until it comes together.  If doing by hand, rub in the butter into the dry ingredients.  Pour everything out into a big bowl and mix in the applesauce and honey.

Taking two-thirds of the dough, pat it into the prepared pan.  Bake for about 25 minutes, until it turns a light golden brown.  Place the remaining 1/3 of the dough in the fridge while the rest is baking.

Take the pan out of the oven, and spread all of the prepared jam evenly on top.  Take the rest of the dough out of the fridge and mix it in the millet, sunflower seeds and flax seeds.  Dollop the dough evenly over the jam.

Place back in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top has turned a light golden brown.  Let it cool in the pan for about 2 hours and then slice into bars.  The recipe says that these bars taste even better as they sit, which is good because we’re not walking until this weekend.  But these bars are pretty delicious right now too.