Month: April 2021

Posted in Recipes

Hot Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on by KG

Last week, our patrons chose the Chestnut Doodles for the weekly recipe, but no cookie left behind! These hot cocoa oatmeal cookies are a light chocolate sweet treat, but made a little bit healthy.

Hot Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies: Makes 24-36 small cookies

1 1/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp of your favorite hot cocoa mix

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 tbsp plant butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup mini marshmallows

1/3 cup chocolate chips of choice

  1. In a bowl, mix together your oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix together your honey, plant butter, applesauce, vanilla, and cocoa mix.
  3. Stir your dry mix into the honey mixture, and fold in your marshmallows and chocolate chips.
  4. Allow your mixture to chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat your oven to 350F while you’re waiting.
  6. Using a 1 oz scoop (or a rounded tablespoon), scoop cookie dough into balls and place on an greased baking sheet 1-2” apart. Push them down slightly with the back of a spoon or your fingertips.
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cook time to promote even baking.
  8. Rest the cookies for 2-5 minutes on the pan before removing and placing on a cooling rack. 

Enjoy! These are great to give you a little sweet without weighing you down for the rest of the day.

Posted in Recipes

Chestnut Doodles

Posted on by KG

My brother-in-law loves to cook as well, and he recently shared a recipe for chestnut syrup with me that makes really good homemade cream soda. Along with it came a recipe to bake the chestnuts after steeping them to make the syrup, but we didn’t care for that part. Not wanting to waste the chestnuts, I pulsed them in the food processor and threw them into a cookie! Not just for the holidays anymore, the festive nut makes a good sweet treat for any time of year.

Chestnut Doodles: Makes 10-12 Large Cookies or 36-40 Small Cookies

½ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

½ cup butter or butter substitute

1 egg (or egg replacement)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup flour

½ tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup roasted chestnuts – I found ours in the Asian aisle of our local Wegmans

Preheat oven to 350F

  1. Chop your chestnuts into small pieces with a knife, or pulse in a food processor until the pieces are small and even.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together your flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. 
  3. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugars and butter products until fluffy.
  4. Add in your egg and vanilla and mix until homogeneous.
  5. Add your flour mixture and mix until combined. 
  6. Fold in your chestnut pieces
  7. Using a 1 oz scoop (or a rounded tablespoon), or 2 oz scoop, scoop cookie dough into balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet 1-2” apart. 
  8. For small cookies: bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cook time to promote even baking. For large cookies, increase the time to 15-20 minutes. The cookies should be soft and slightly golden around the edges.
  9. Rest the cookies for 2-5 minutes on the pan before removing and placing on a cooling rack. 

Try not to eat them all at once! I love them in the morning with some tea or even just as an afternoon sugar bump!

Posted in Recipes

Roasted Tomatoes

Posted on by KG

A slow, delicious treat for sandwiches, pizzas, or pasta, oh my!

Roasted Tomatoes: Makes 1 Pound

1 pound tomatoes of choice (I used tomatoes on the vine today, but I usually use romas or grape tomatoes.)

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground fennel

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flake

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/4 cup olive oil

1 bay leaf

Preheat your oven to 250F.

  1. In a cup or bowl, mix together your garlic, sugar, salt, oil, herbs, and spices.
  2. If using larger tomatoes, slice them to the thickness of your liking. Remember – they will cook down in the oven.
  3. Toss your tomatoes in the oil mixture, and place on a sheet tray, pouring any remaining dressing over the tomatoes.
  4. Bake for 2 hours, rotating your pan halfway through the cooking time to promote even baking.
  5. Allow to cool, and store in a glass or plastic container with the leftover cooking liquid.
  6. Enjoy on sandwiches, on pizzas, in salads, or anywhere else you might enjoy a roasty toasty tomato.

Tip: Use the leftover oil/juice that comes off of the tomatoes for other recipes! Toss pasta in it, make a salad dressing with it, or brush it over bread and toast! Don’t let that liquid gold go to waste!

Posted in What's New?

Mack’s at the Mill!

Posted on by KG

What started as a “maybe someday” very quickly turned into a TODAY! We were approved to be a vendor at this year’s Williamsville Farmer’s Market at the Mill. Visit us every Saturday (starting 6/5) from 8AM to 1PM through the end of October! Get your snacks, recipe cards, and shenanigans!

Posted in Recipes

Curry Miso Soup + A Bonus!

Posted on by KG

I chose the hottest day of the week for this one, but it was so good I didn’t even care! Easy, quick, and a good way to use up whatever veggies you have in the fridge!

Curry Miso Soup: Makes 3 Servings

1 tsp oil

1 tbsp red miso

1/4 cup chashu marinade (see bonus recipe)

6 cups chicken stock

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups total of whatever veggies you like, chopped – we used carrots, onions, mushroom, and kale this time to clean our fridge for grocery day!

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 small piece kombu

Optional For Serving: seaweed snacks, soft boiled eggs, seaweed snacks, sesame seeds

  1. Dice your vegetables and garlic, then add them to a soup pot with your oil, and place over a medium heat.
  2. Cook your vegetables for a few minutes, or until they just begin to soften. Add in your chicken stock and reduce the heat to as low as possible.
  3. Add in your kombu.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together your miso, garam masala, curry powder, and chashu marinade, until smooth. Add this mixture to the pan.
  5. Allow your soup to lightly simmer for 15-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, add in your sesame oil, and adjust seasonings to taste.
  6. If desired, serve over hot rice with some seaweed snacks and an egg!

BONUS RECIPE: Chashu Marinade

I use this recipe to make my chashu pork for ramen night, I also like to mix up a large batch of it and store it in the fridge as a seasoning sauce for everything from dipping sauce to a soup booster.

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (you can use all reduced sodium soy sauce, just omit the dark soy sauce)

1/2 cup dark soy sauce

1/3 cup mirin

1/3 cup dry sherry or sake

1 cup water or vegetable stock

1 tbsp minced ginger

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, minced

1/3 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients together and store for use as a seasoning sauce or use to marinate and braise some pork belly!

Posted in Recipes

Roasted Garlic Chipotle Sauce

Posted on by KG

Savory and sweet, this sauce is amazing for everything from topping tacos, marinating vegetables or meat, to a salad dressing, and you can even use it to make homemade queso!

Roasted Garlic Chipotle Sauce: Makes 1 1/2 – 2 cups

10-12 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1 cup canola oil

3 tbsp chipotles in adobo

¼ cup cilantro

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 tsp kosher salt

  1. Place your garlic cloves in a pan and cover with the oil, over a medium low heat. 
  2. Gently cook until the garlic is soft, light golden, and fragrant. 
  3. Strain your garlic out, reserving your oil. 
  4. Place your roasted garlic into a blender or a food processor with the salt, chipotles, lime juice, and zest. Blend until smooth. 
  5. Gradually add in 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup of the roasted garlic oil until you have a thick and whipped sauce.
  6. Add in your cilantro, adding additional oil as needed. 

Enjoy! We used it most recently on top of some black bean and corn tacos, but later today I’m going to make homemade queso with it!