Oatmeal Shakes

Although this blog is usually devoted to family recipes, I have on occasion posted re-creations of dishes that I have enjoyed, such as Drunken Cherry Cake. Recently, MDS and I discovered a local breakfast and lunch spot in our neighborhood called Tiztal Cafe. The food is delicious, but the place is really known for its oatmeal shakes. The basic shake is cinnamon, but you can also get it with various fruits.

I think this recipe is a good approximation of the oatmeal shake. I used almond milk, but any other type of milk or even water would be just fine. I love the almond milk with the cinnamon. I used a bit of plain greek yogurt to thicken the shake. Any type of yogurt could work, but the amount could be varied based on how thick you would like your shake. For one of these shakes, I added about half a banana. I preferred the shake with the banana, but MDS preferred the shake without banana. I also used my bullet mixer, so I was able to make each shake in a separate cup, but if you are using a standard blender, just multiply the ingredients as needed.

Oatmeal Shake 

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup almond milk
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1/2 banana

In a blender, mix the oats, milk, and cinnamon. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you are ready to enjoy the shake, blend for about a minute. Add and blend yogurt and banana, until you reach your desired consistency. Enjoy!

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

While I was growing up, Mom always had a small backyard garden. Although much of her current backyard is occupied by a trampoline for the grandkids, she still manages to keep a nice garden. Every year, she always has a lot of tomatoes. Her tomato plants usually produce lots of tomatoes from August through October. Lucky for me, Mom is happy to let me harvest vegetables from her garden. So far this year I have enjoyed tomato, zucchini, lettuce, and basil.

I wish I had taken a before photo of the tomatoes that I used for this recipe. One tomato was a perfectly shaped roma tomato. The other tomato so large and unusually shaped with some small blemishes that you could not find one like it in a store. But, just cut around the blemishes and there is delicious tomato waiting to be included in this salad. This recipe is quite adjustable to fit the amount of tomato and cucumber that you have available. Also, you can adjust the seasoning to suit your taste.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

• 1 large cucumber
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. chopped mint

Chop the cucumber into one-half inch cubes. Lay out the cucumber in a strainer or on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt to drain excess moisture from the cucumber for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the tomato into similar size pieces. Place the cucumber and tomato in a bowl. Toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with mint. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pizzelles

Pizzelles are a great summertime cookie because they do not require the use of the oven. With so many possible flavor options, there is no end to the potential pizzelles that can be enjoyed. I have made standard vanilla and anise. I have even used pizzelles to make stroopwafel. Come back to this site in the future to see other flavors, such as coffee, chocolate mint, orange, among others.

I brought these chocolate pizzelles to Mom's for a standard Saturday night. They were delicious. In the picture to the left, Patrick is enjoying a pizzelle while Ava is having a cake pop that she made. The cake pops were an extra treat and they were delicious. Ava explained how she made them, so you may see cake pops on this site someday. Or, maybe I'll recruit Ava to be a guest blogger to post on cake pops. In the picture below, Jenny is enjoying a pizzelles.

Chocolate Pizzelles 

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Add butter and vanilla. Blend in flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. The batter will be stiff. Preheat the pizzelle iron. Drop batter by the spoonful into each pizzelle pattern. Close pizzelle iron and allow about bake about one minute. Remove the pizzelles with a spatula and allow to cool on a flat surface. Sprinkle pizzelles with powdered sugar. Enjoy!