I love Thanksgiving. It is by far my favorite holiday. It is a full day spent cooking in the kitchen, eating lots of delicious food and enjoying time with friends and family.

But one thing is tough about Thanksgiving – how do you cram all of those calories into your body and not feel too guilty?

For starters, my motto is that if you are going to exercise only one day a year, Thanksgiving should be that day!  So typically I start off with a nice run in the chilly fall air with friends at the annual Turkey Trot.  It is a lot of fun, plus it usually raises money (or canned food) for those less fortunate.   It seems most cities have one, so check out what is available in your area!

Secondly, there are so many ways to make most Thanksgiving dishes a little more healthy and a little less calorie-rich.

Now don’t get freaked out. Thanksgiving is still Thanksgiving. Everything still has to taste great. I mean, what fun would it be if your cornbread stuffing was healthy but tasted like cardboard?

Well, don’t fear because this Apple and Cranberry Streusel Pie is both healthy AND delicious.

The most calorific part of a typical Thanksgiving dessert is the butter pie crust, so this pie substitutes in an oatmeal crust. Made with wonderful products from Bob’s Red Mill, this crust is full of whole grains and nutrient-rich oats. The granola-like flavor and texture stands up nicely against apple filling and is complemented beautifully by the brown sugar streusel topping. The crispy apple and cranberry sauce filling uses only a limited amount of sugar, relying mostly on the natural sweetness of fruit.

Served warm and topped with some light whipped cream, this dessert will surely be a winner and no one will ever know they were eating healthy on a day like Thanksgiving!

Apple and Cranberry Streusel Pie with Oatmeal Crust

Recipe adapted from the Sono Baking Company Cookbook

Hands-on time: 55 minutes; Total time: 2.5 hours

Time-saving tips: Make the cranberry sauce first, since it has to cool and thicken in the freezer; or prepare the day before and keep in the refrigerator. While the cranberry sauce is cooling, prepare the crust. Once you have the crust baking, start peeling and cutting the apples. The orange juice will help prevent the apples from browning if you have them ready before everything else.

Cranberry Sauce:

• ¼ cup Sugar
• ½ cup Water
• Juice from ½ Orange
• 6 ounces frozen or fresh Cranberries
• Pinch of Salt
• Zest of ½ Orange
• 1 Cinnamon Stick

1. In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, water and orange juice to a boil.
2. Add cranberries, salt, zest and cinnamon stick. Simmer over medium heat until cranberries break down (about 10 minutes).
3. Remove cinnamon stick and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for an hour (or in the refrigerator overnight if you plan ahead) so it can cool and thicken.

Oatmeal Crust:

• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Quick Cooking Rolled Oats
• ¼ cup packed Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
• ¼ cup ground Almonds (Place sliced almonds in a food processor for about one minute for easy ground almonds)
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 2 Tbsp Water

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oats, sugar, flour, almonds and salt.
3. In a small bowl, mix together oil and water. Add to oat mixture and combine until holds together.
4. Press into 9” pie tin and bake for 8-10 minutes or until light brown.

Streusel Topping:

• 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Brown Sugar
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• Pinch of Salt
• 2.5 Tbsp chilled Butter, cut into small cubes

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
2. Add the butter using a pastry knife or fingers to blend into the flour mixture.

Filling:

• 2.5 pounds Apples (such as Granny Smith or Fuji), peeled cored and cut into 1” pieces
• Juice from ½ Orange
• 1.5 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 2 Tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
• Prepared Cranberry Sauce (see above)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the apples, orange juice, maple syrup, flour and cranberry sauce.
3. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.
4. Sprinkle streusel topping over the top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and juices start to bubble.

Serve warm or at room temperature with fresh whipped cream.

In just a few short days, the Bob’s Red Mill team and Spar for the Spurtle winner Laurie Figone will embark on their journey to Carrbridge, Scotland to compete in the 19th Annual Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championship. This year, Laurie will compete with her Italian Pinhead Torta and our steel cut oats against 14 other oat connoisseurs to see if she can bring home an award in one of the three categories (heck, maybe she can bring home all three!).

Does Laurie Figone’s Italian Pinhead Torta have what it takes to win? We certainly think so.

Yes, you read that right, this year, unlike previous years, there will be not two categories, but three! Laurie will cook traditional porridge using our steel cut oats, water and salt in the Traditional category for a chance to take home the Golden Spurtle, the same award we secured in 2009. She’ll also pit her amazing Italian Pinhead Torta against all sorts of other culinary creations in the Specialty category. The third category, People’s Choice, is new this year and will allow three spectators to collaborate with the three official judges to select an additional specialty dish winner. You can view past winners and other specialty recipes that have competed at the Golden Spurtle here.

Wish Laurie luck in the comments.

The competition takes place on October 6th, this year and our team couldn’t be more excited. We’d like them to know just how excited we are for them- help us wish them luck in the comments. We’ll have a full recap after the competition. Check our Facebook page and Twitter feed to keep up to date on how the competition went.

This recipe comes from Kerri Willoughby, a finalist in our 2012 Spar for the Spurtle. These oatmeal dumplings make a special treat for a cool, Autumn morning and would also be a fabulous dessert served with ice cream. They come together easily, but give the effect of something that took hours to prepare. To make this gluten free, simply replace the steel cut oats and thick rolled oats with our gluten free versions and use our GF Biscuit Mix in place of the Buttermilk Biscuit Mix.

Like Kerri’s video entry, this dish was fabulous- check out her video here. Cheers!

Raspberry Oatmeal Dumplings

In a heavy bottom stock pot, combine and bring to medium simmer:

• 2 (12 oz.) packages of frozen Raspberries
• 1-½ cups of Sugar
• 1-½ cups of Liquid (Juice, Lemonade, Water, Red Wine, whatever strikes your fancy)
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

In a medium mixing bowl, gently stir together:

• 2-¼ cups Bob’s Red Mill Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
• 1-½ cups cold Milk
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp soft Butter
• 1 Tbsp Butter Flavored Granules
• 2 cups of cooked Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats (cook to package directions, include salt)

Drop the mixture by large tablespoons into the simmering raspberry liquid allowing room in between each.  Cover; bring to an easy boil for 7 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.  Remove lid and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve dumplings warm with ice cream or freshly whipped cream, fresh raspberries, mint, oat granola (recipe follows), and cinnamon garnish.

OPTIONAL:  For a delicious granola crunchy topping, combine:

• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats
• 1 cup small Pecan pieces
• 2 Tbsp each Sugar and Cinnamon
• pinch Sea Salt

Toast in a DRY heavy skillet until light brown.

Add:

• 2 Tbsp Butter
• ½ cup Molasses

Cook until it begins to get sticky, and then turn off heat.  Serve hot or room temp.

This recipe from Spar for the Spurtle finalist, Lanie Smith, was a big hit at our cook-off on August 10th. While Lanie did not win with this dish, everyone who tasted it was thoroughly impressed. Lanie resides in Topeka, Kansas and writes the blog The Vintage Cook, where she puts modern twists on dishes that your grandmother made. Lanie will be guest blogging for us later in October, but for now, we wanted to share her wonderful recipe for Paradise Porridge Potstickers. I love this dish because it’s a little exotic and familiar at the same time. Plus, because the contest required that the dish be completed in under 30 minutes, this takes no time at all to whip up. (Watch Lanie’s entry video here.) Make these potstickers for a decadent breakfast or a fun appetizer. Enjoy!

Paradise Porridge Potstickers

• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats
• 2-1/2 cups filtered Water, divided
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup natural Dry-Roasted Macadamia Nuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup fresh ripe Mango, peeled, seeded, fine diced
• 1 small ripe Banana, no brown spots, fine diced
• Gyoza Wrappers
• 3 Tbsp Canola Oil

Topping:

• 1/2 cup local Honey
• 6 ounces fresh Raspberries, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 cup frozen Coconut Milk Ice Cream, Coconut Gelato, or Vanilla Ice Cream

1. Soak 1/2 cup of Bob’s Steel Cut Oats in 1 cup filtered water (covered) overnight in the refrigerator.

2. In a heavy 3-quart pot, bring 1-1/2 cups filtered water to a rapid boil on high heat. Add salt.

3. Drain oats in cheesecloth-line colander over bowl. Reserve the oat-water. Stir oats into boiling water. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. In last two minutes, remove lid, increase heat to stir out moisture and oats become very thick. Remove from heat, pour into a large bowl and cool for two minutes.

4. Stir in nuts, Bob’s Red Mill Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar, nutmeg, mango, and banana.

5. Dampen the inner edges of wrappers with oat water. Place a tbs. of oat mixture on center of each wrapper, fold and pinch closed along the moistened edge with fingertips to make a moon shape. Dip in oat-water and shake excess.

6. Heat oil in a non-stick 12-inch fry pan to medium-low. Add the dumplings and cook until the bottoms are just light golden. Turn dumplings over and replace lid, cook another two minutes. Remove with slotted spatula onto serving plate.

7. Drizzle on the honey. Garnish with raspberries and one small scoop of frozen dessert.

Makes about 20 dumplings

We are so pleased to announce that Laurie Figone won first place in Spar for the Spurtle 2 on Friday. All three of the contenders delivered delicious and beautiful dishes and I think the judges had their work cut out for them. Ultimately, the panel of celebrity judges selected Figone’s recipe as the winner based on taste, creativity and overall presentation. The judges – New York Times “Recipe for Health” columnist Martha Rose Shulman; food journalist, best-selling author and former Iron Chef America judge Kim Sunée; and Whole Living magazine Executive Editor Jocelyn Zuckerman – said the decision was a tough one, but that Figone’s dish really shined.

“Wow, winning a competition like this is truly a dream come true for me!” said an emotional Figone following the competition. “I am just so excited to go to Scotland and compete in the World Porridge Championship on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill, and I thank Bob and everyone at the company for the opportunity.”

We wish Laurie the best of luck in the coming months as she prepares to take her dish to the international stage at the 19th Annual Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championship in October. Below is her winning recipe (watch her video here). From here, she plans to create a tomato coulis to top this dish and will begin honing her traditional porridge skills. We’ll share the tomato coulis when we get it, but for now, enjoy! [Note: This recipe can easily be made gluten free by using our Gluten Free Steel Cut Oats.]

Italian Pinhead Torta

My recipe for ‘Italian Pinhead Torta’ is reminiscent of a torta my Mother-in-Law used to make with white rice, eggs, oregano and Parmesan cheese.

By substituting Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats (or ‘pinheads’ as they are commonly called) for the rice, my torta now has an incredible texture that I love!!  I have also added fresh zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes for a hint of sweetness, mushrooms for their earthiness, fresh oregano to awaken your taste buds and Parmesan cheese to bring it all together!!

Mangia!!

• 1 oz. dried Portabella mushrooms, rehydrated in 1-½ cups boiling water for 10 minutes (reserving the liquid to soak the oats in).  After soaking; drain, squeeze dry and dice mushrooms.
• 1-½ cups Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats (also known as pinhead oats) soaked in reserved mushroom liquid for 10 minutes.
• 6 Tbsp Butter, divided
• 1 cup diced Onion
• 1 cup coarsely shredded Zucchini
• ½ cup diced Sun Dried Tomatoes in olive oil, drained
• 6 Eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup chopped fresh Oregano
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt with Parsley
• 1 cup dried Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Parmesano Reggiano for garnish

1.  Heat 2 TBSP. butter in an 11 inch non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Sauté onion.
2. While onion is sautéing, heat 2 TBSP. butter in a 10 inch saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add soaked steel cut oats and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes or until remaining liquid has evaporated.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Once onion has become translucent; add the following to the pan:  mushrooms, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes and steel cut oats; mix well.  Remove from heat.
4. In a large mixing bowl; beat eggs and then add garlic salt, oregano and parmesan cheese.  Mix well and then stir in steel cut oat mixture.
5.  Return 11 inch frying pan to medium to medium-high heat and add remaining 2 TBSP. butter.  When butter has melted, immediately pour in steel cut oat mixture and place a tight fitting lid on your pan.  Cook covered for 10 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove lid and remove pan from heat; invert onto a serving plate.  Immediately top with freshly grated Parmesano Reggiano.
6. Slice and serve.

Cook Time:  15 minutes

Servings:  12

Laurie Figone

Petaluma, CA

www.CookingWithLaurieFigone.com

I usually like to feature a main dish for Meatless Mondays to inspire you with a whole meal. Today, however, I’m sharing this fabulous recipe for Savory Oat Bread using our Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats. This quick bread is so easy to make and can be done in just 30 minutes if you want to make muffins or 40 minutes for a full loaf. The combined flavors of sun dried tomatoes, feta and green onions make it the perfect addition to a Greek or Caesar Salad (vegan in honor of MM). If warming up the oven doesn’t appeal on a hot summer day, try making these first thing in the morning when it’s still cool. Then, just pop them in the oven quickly to reheat before serving. Pair with a green salad of your choice and some grilled veggies, might we suggest this recipe for grilled zucchini or this one for spicy grilled eggplant?

Savory Oat Bread

Yield one 8 x 4 loaf

• 1 cup Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• ¼ cup dried or 1/3 cup packed in oil, rinsed Sun Dried Tomatoes
• (1 cup Boiling Water for dried sun dried tomatoes)
• 2 Eggs, slightly beaten
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• 1 cup Unbleached White Flour
• ½ cup Whole Wheat Flour
• ½ tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Baking Soda
• ½ cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
• ¼ cup Green Onions, sliced 1/4″

In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand 1 hour.  Pour boiling water over dried sundried tomatoes, if using, to rehydrate and let stand 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Lightly oil an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan or line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Drain sundried tomatoes, reserving soaking liquid, and roughly chop.

Sift together flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Add egg and oil to oat mixture, stirring until just combined.

Add dry ingredients to oat mixture, stirring until just combined.  Fold in sundried tomatoes, feta and green onions.  If batter seems very thick, add reserved tomato soaking liquid, about 2 Tbsp, until the batter reaches a thick yet pourable consistency.

Pour batter into prepared pan and tap gently on the counter to release any large air bubbles.  Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 25 – 30 minutes for muffins or 35 – 40 minutes for a loaf.

Serve warm.

If you’re local to Portland, you’re probably familiar with OMSI (The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). If you haven’t been, it’s truly a wonderful way to spend the day. Whether you’re a child of 8 or 80, OMSI has exhibits that will grab your attention and hold you spellbound. This weekend’s events are no different and are a wonderful time to explore this Portland attraction.

Dirt to Dinner is a free festival open to the public that will highlight “activities and organizations that support sustainable choices.” The event will also “explore the life cycle of food, from farm to table and beyond.” This is a great event to teach children about where their food comes from and learn more about those in the greater Portland area who are supporting and promoting this process.

Demonstrations and food tastings make up the majority of the day on Saturday, August 4th and Sunday, August 5th. Events start at 11 am and run through 4 pm. It’s going to be a hot and sultry weekend, why not escape to the waterfront and enjoy some good *free* food?

Bob’s Red Mill will be on hand on Saturday morning at 11:30 am to talk about our oats and give you some ideas for new ways to use them beyond oatmeal. Check out the full schedule of events here- we hope to see you there!

OMSI
1945 SE Water Ave.
Portland, OR 97214-3354
1(800) 955-6674
omsi.edu

The judges had their work cut out for them this year. With over 92 entries in Spar for the Spurtle, narrowing it down to just three finalists meant watching a lot of videos! There was a lot of discussion about whether the dish could really be done in 30 minutes and whether the ingredients chosen would be something that could be procured in Scotland. After all, the winner of Spar for the Spurtle will have to take their dish to an international arena for the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship and, as we learned in 2010, some ingredients are not available in Scotland.

I think the judges chose well with these three winners. If it were up to me, I’d fly everyone out and have a big spurtle party. There were so many creative videos and so many delicious dishes! We’ll be working to get recipes for each video and put them up on our site soon. Without further ado, here are our finalists. Congratulations to the three finalists and our most sincere thanks to everyone who entered and voted!

Paradise Porridge Potstickers from Lanie Smith, The Vintage Cook

Raspberry Oatmeal Dumplings from Kerri Willoughby

Italian Pinhead Torta from Laurie Figone

The almost two months that we’ve had this competition running have flown by and the doors close on Spar for the Spurtle this Sunday night (7/22). That means you still have time to think of an idea and film your 3 minute-or-less video this weekend. I’ve been asking folks around the mill what they would enter if they could and many of us truly don’t know. It’s no easy task to come up with one of these ideas, so we’ve made a great little inspiration board on Pinterest to spark your creativity. In the meantime, entries are rolling in and here are some of my favorites from the last couple of days. As another reminder, I have no say in who gets to come to Portland.

Summer Savory Porridge from Anne of Apron Strings- this one has cheddar, chives, tomatoes AND bacon!

Creamy Eggnog Oatmeal from Jonathan (I love his enthusiasm!)

Finally, this video deserves some serious props. I don’t know who entered it, but they really went above and beyond on the video portion (plus, I happen to fancy rum balls).

The Spar for the Spurtle arbiters have graciously extended the deadline for entry into the contest to Sunday, July 22nd. That gives you a full extra weekend to whip up your entry. We’ve been getting some great entries, but it’s still anyone’s game. As a reminder, there are a lot of great prizes floating around for this competition. We’ll select three winners from all of the videos and fly them to Portland where they’ll compete in a live cook-off for our celebrity judges. Not only is that a trip to Portland, but three nights’ accommodations in beautiful downtown Portland (where you can visit iconic places like Powell’s City of Books and enjoy the plethora of food carts), a gift bag from Bob’s Red Mill that will contain a slew of goodies plus some lovely olive oils from our friends at California Olive Ranch, $100 Bob’s Red Mill Gift Card and $100 towards cooking supplies. Not to mention that you’ll get a behind-the-scenes tour of Bob’s Red Mill from Bob himself!

On top of all of this, the grand prize winner will be flown to Scotland with a guest for an all-expenses paid trip to Carrbridge to compete at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championship. This trip includes round-trip airfare for two, two nights’ accommodations in Edinburgh, three nights’ accommodations in Carrbridge at the lovely Fairwinds Hotel, rail transportation to the Scottish Highlands and $2500 cash.

To inspire you, here are some of our recent entries. There are so many great videos, it was hard to pick just three to feature here.

Cherry Almond Porridge from Rachel Kimbrow, one of the 2011 Spar for the Spurtle finalists.

Tuscan Oats with Basil and Prosciutto from Jamie Brown Miller

Poppy Seed Raisin Oatcakes with Ginger Spiced Pears from Darlene