I’m pretty sure pecans are in my top three favorite nuts…
Ingredients:
1 C cooked old-fashioned oats
2 T maple caramel
¼ C pecans
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!
Om,
Renata
mOMent: What area of your life could use a little TLC today?
Who knew? Well, I had a suspicion that it would work, or at least be worth an om of the day.
dried pineapple and maple caramel sauce (chilled, so not so saucy)
heat until sauce infuses the pineapple
Add to your om!
Ingredients:
1 C cooked oatmeal
1/3 C baby pineapple
1 T maple caramel
Directions: Heat pineapple and maple syrup until pineapple plumps up a little and the sauce is nice and toasty. Add to oatmeal. Mix it up and enjoy!
Om,
Renata
mOMent: What will you do in the New Year? Do you find it useful to reflect on years past?
Who doesn’t LOVE caramel…and maple added to that?! What a treat! Follow the link to the recipe for the caramel.
Ingredients:
1 C cooked oatmeal
2 T maple caramel
Directions: Mix it up and enjoy!
Om,
Renata
mOMent: Joy, Peace and Noel…what’s your favorite holiday word?
I used this recipe from Oprah’s website. The only change I made was the butter. I substituted Earth Balance for the butter and I have to say this recipe rocks. For me, the sauce is more solid at room temperature but as soon as it is heated up it’s perfect for drizzling and enjoying on most things.
Melting the butter and adding the brown sugar.
stirring….
I don’t have a picture of the final result…but it doesn’t really matter because it is so goood! I’m gonna go sneak a spoonful right now!
Maple Caramel Sauce
Servings: Makes about 3 cups (three 8-ounce jars)
Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
Directions
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add sugar and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved, then adjust heat to medium and boil 2 minutes longer. Add maple syrup and boil, stirring frequently, until sauce is thick, smooth, and coats a spoon, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour into heatproof decorative jars and cool completely. Refrigerate in tightly sealed jars for up to 2 months.
Mmmmmmm….
We found this delicious new sauce called coconut caramel which is awesome! I love our local Asian market…
Ingredients:
1 C cooked oatmeal
1-2 T coconut caramel
1-2 T shredded coconut
Directions: Mix together and enjoy!
Om,
Renata
mOMent: When was the last time you moved? Did you enjoy the experience? For many it is a time to purge the old and embrace the new. Consider the possibility of pretending to move and rid yourself of old things from one of the rooms in your house. How does it feel?
apple
Ingredients:
1 C cooked old-fashioned oats
1/4 C caramel sauce
1 large apple
Directions:
Peel and chop apple. Add caramel and apples to a saucepan and heat thoroughly. Heat until the caramel becomes liquid and the apples simmer for about 10 minutes or until they are tender. Add mixture to oatmeal and enjoy.
Om,
Renata
mOMent: Caramel apples remind me of going to the County Fair as a kid. I remember the lights, the smells and all of the action that makes the Fair so memorable. When we want to create a new memory, it can be important to incorporate all of our senses. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings should all be remembered when making those special moments in time. All we need to do is trigger one of the senses and BAM! We’re right back at that lovely beach, our happy wedding day or the birth of a new baby. Try creating a new memory today…
caramel
Caramel and anything go together in my world. So why not make my own flavored almond butter? This recipe is pretty easy if you have all of the ingredients on hand, and yummy to boot!
Ingredients:
1 C cooked old-fashioned oats
2 T caramel
2 T almond butter
2 T slivered almonds
Directions:
Combine almond butter and caramel in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until well mixed and the consistency of a paste. Stir oatmeal and caramel almond butter mixture together, add slivered almonds. Swirly and sweet!
Om,
Renata
mOMent: Pace, momentum, beat, tempo. All of these have what in common? Rhythm. When we are in alignment with the natural rhythm of our environment things happen naturally, easily and with ease. Take a moment to notice the natural pace of your surroundings. Are you in sync?
Ingredients:
1 C cooked old-fashioned oats
6 caramel chews
1 T water or cream
Directions:
Heat 4 chews in saucepan with water or cream (I used coconut creamer) until liquid. Mix with oatmeal. Break remaining 2 chews into pieces and garnish oatmeal. They will start to melt and become oh so gooey and delicious, like little prizes in your breakfast!
Om,
Renata
mOMent: Sweet, velvety and smooth is how I like to describe a perfect caramel chew. If it melts in my mouth…even better. But here’s something to chew on: What could use a little smoothing over in your life, and how can you begin to make that happen?
carmelitas
These bars are chewy, gooey and irresistible. Adapted from this recipe, I used homemade caramel chews, bittersweet chocolate and chopped cashews. This is perhaps a more decadent way to get in your om of the day…
36 bars
Ingredients
Crust
2 C all-purpose flour
2 C rolled oats
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c Earth Balance, softened
Filling
12 oz thick caramel sauce (I used homemade caramel chews, click here for the recipe)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped cashews
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350*.
2. Grease 13×9 inch pan.
3. In large bowl, blend all crust ingredients at low-speed until crumbly. (I used my hands)
4. Press half of crumb mixture, about 3 cups, in bottom of greased pan.
5. Reserve remaining crumb mixture for topping.
6. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, in small saucepan heat caramel until fluid.
8. Sprinkle warm crust with chocolate chips and nuts.
9. Drizzle evenly with caramel; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
10. Return to oven and bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine took an extra 10 minutes)
11. Cool completely.
12. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set.
14. Cut into bars.
15. Enjoy!
mOMent: Modern machinery has taken the place of doing many things we used to do by hand. Is there anything that you prefer to do by hand? Why? And, what do you get out of doing things in this way?
soft caramel chews
- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels -
Ingredients
1 C golden syrup
2 C sugar
2 C creamer
1 T plus 1 t pure vanilla extract
3 T Earth Balance
Equipment
A 9-inch square baking pan
Candy thermometer
Procedure
Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with greased. Combine the golden syrup and sugar in a heavy 3 or 4-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F. Meanwhile, heat creamer in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
cookin' caramel
When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.
Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.
2 T maple caramel for every cup of mixed nuts…Pretty easy…
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line sheet-pan with parchment paper and put desired amount of nuts on paper
3. Add maple caramel
4. Toast for 12-24 minutes, stirring every 6 minutes or so…
P.S. This makes a great gift
I love the new maple caramel that I made and I thought it would go perfectly with pistachios. So I made some!
Ingredients:
2 T maple caramel
1 cup pistachios
Directions: Heat oven to 350. Spoon maple caramel on a sheet pan with pistachios (I lined the sheet pan with parchment) and bake for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the pistachios, mixing the caramel well with the nuts. Return to oven for about another 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them so they don’t burn. Let cool completely and transfer to a jar.
