Bake In Case of Emergency

Being hungry serves two purposes in life: to give song writers access to awesome lyrics such as Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf ; and so Milton Bradley can make a game involving hippos (because Starving Starving Hippos would just be cruel). Otherwise, being hungry is like the other two members of the Black Eyed Peas: they're there to complete the picture but otherwise they're kinda worthless.

Tackling hunger while in university is tough regardless of whether there are classes going on or not. Summertime for many of us means the 9-5 grind and sure; you're getting paid but a 40 hour work week takes its toll faster than a week of class. Factor in those of us bold enough to take on summer school as well as a full-time job and pretty soon hunger starts looking like the biggest inconvenience since pay phones started charging 50-cents instead of a handy 25 pennies. (Seriously, who carries two quarters to make phone calls anymore?)

Well, here's the solution to your hunger: make sure you always have food.

Yes, this isn't groundbreaking information by any stretch of the imagination but it hi-lights an easy way to stave of starvation: preparation. We all cook, so if we cook just a bit more and save it for later then we'll have more food for when hunger comes knocking. Case in point: The Otiena Cookie.

This recipe is good for two dozen cookies and easily doubles if you want to make more. By freezing half of the dough you'll have access to a dozen cookies in 15 minutes. They're sweeter than your store-bought variety thanks to the added coconut and deceptively filling thanks to the oats. Be sure to pair a handful of these cookies with some milk to round out a snack so you can get back to work or school.



The Otiena Cookie

What's In It:

-1 cup of raisins
-3/4 of a cup of granulated sugar
-3/4 of a cup of packed brown sugar
-1/2 a cup of shredded sweetened coconut
-1 and 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
-2 cups of quick cooking rolled oats
-3/4 cups of butter, cubed and left at room temperature
-2 large eggs
-1 tsp of baking soda
-2 tsp of ground cinnamon

Makes two dozen cookies



1. Begin by adding the cubes of butter and sugars in a large bowl.



2. With an electric mixer, creme the the ingredients until smooth. Add one egg and mix until fully incorporated. Repeat once again for the other egg. Now mix in the raisins. Set aside.



3. In a smaller bowl, mix together the flour, oats, coconut and baking soda.



4. Here's the fun part: combine your wet ingredients with your dry and mix thoroughly with your hands until this:



Turns into this:



5. On a separate space, lie out a 12-inch sheet of cling wrap followed by a 12-inch sheet of parchment paper. Set aside. Break the dough into two mounds and place on a clean surface. Roll the dough until you have a log that's about a 12 inches in length. Repeat for the remaining dough.



6. Place your log of cookie dough onto the parchment paper and roll until completely covered. Twist one end of the parchment paper clockwise and the other end counter-clockwise to completely seal. Now, cover your roll in cling wrap. Repeat for the other roll if not baking immediately.



7. If baking immediately preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Slice the log of dough into inch thick rounds. Flaten the round on a clean and flat surface and place the round of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.



8. Freeze any unused dough and savour your cookie with a nice cold glass of moo moo juice.

Drink your Problems Away!

Suburbia has been pretty gloomy the past few days with more rain and dark clouds than the diary of an emo-hipster. Why, there's even talk of the world coming to an end tomorrow and I haven't even come close to reaching my goal of becoming the world's most kick-ass grandfather.

With all this melancholy looming around, it's enough to make anyone want to drink their sadness away. But there's good news folks. For one, the sun and blue skies have set aside whatever differences they once had and have got back together. Go ahead and look outside. I'll wait.

Now, if you're feeling better but are still kinda thirsty then the Project can help you out with a nice cold glass of a Banana-Berry Smoothie. Like any good smoothie, it takes less time to make than opening a can of fruit salad and has enough fruit to make said can of salad jealous. I used the last week's leftover blueberries with some extra fruit lying around to put this together but any combination of berries and half a banana will work wonders.



Banana- Berries Smoothie

What's In It:

-Half a banana
-Handful of blueberries
-Handful of blackberries
-Five-six chunks of pineapple
-Half a cup of orange juice (125 mL)
-Cup of blueberry or vanilla yogurt (175g)

Makes one smoothie



1. Start by lining the base of your blender with half of the juice, then add the yogurt, berries, remaining juice, bananas and pineapple. Secure the lid and blend for 15-30 seconds.



2. Pour into a frosted glass and garnish with a fruit skewer (Pineapple chunk + banana slice + blueberry + toothpick)

My Mother's Day Morning by the Minute

Mother's Day. What a day. Gone are the years where you could count on your elementary school classes for providing a potted petunia, macaroni art or Crayola marker and construction paper Mother's Day cards.

Now, the only cards you can get away with are the ones that have the words "gift" attached to them. But for those limited by budget or have moms that are suckers for an old school construction project, breakfast in bed will always do in a pinch.

There are as many routes on tackling breakfast in bed as there are moms in the world. Some love the traditional toast, eggs, and bacon spread. Others hearken for the smell of freshly baked goods as the sun slowly rises. Some want a little of both worlds.

The B.L.T. Project decided it's been too long since the waffle iron has had its tinny green LED light turn on. So, we prepped some Lemon-blueberry Waffles for this year's Mother's Day. Here's how it all went down.



Lemon-blueberry Waffles

What's In It:

-3 cups (750 mL) of sifted flour
-3 large eggs, separated + 1 extra egg white
-1 cup of blueberries
-2 tsp of lemon zest
-2 tsp of lemon juice
-1/2 cup (125 mL) of melted unsalted butter
-1 1/2 cups (375 mL) of 2% milk
-1/3 cups (75 mL) sugar
-1 1/2 cups (365 mL) of water
-2 1/4 tsp (11 mL) of active dry yeast
-2 tsp of oil oil
-pinch of salt

Makes 10 waffles



6:15 a.m.: Alarm rings. Wake up. Look at clock. Go back to bed.

6:45 a.m.: Oh @#$%. We're running late. Time to move.

6:50 a.m.: Set up ingredients. Take photos and prep work station. Return blueberries and egg whites to fridge.

7:23 a.m.: Sift flour into larger bowl. Add salt. Give everything a quick stir.



7:27 a.m.: Add half of water to yeast in a small bowl. Decide to play the waiting game for 10 minutes.



7:29 a.m.: Waiting game sucks. Remembers to zest the lemon.

7:37 a.m.: Add egg yolks, 1 egg white, along with sugar to yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Add lemon zest and juice.



7:45 a.m.: Add the remaining water, milk, butter and oil. Stir till smooth.

7:54 a.m.: Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well and let sit for an hour.



8:01 a.m.: Start washing the dishes.

8:13 a.m.: Finish the dishes. Give Matt Demers' post on year three of Ryerson J-Skool a read.

8:14 a.m.: Nostalgia ensues.

8:15 a.m.: Shower time.

8:25 a.m.: Finish shower. Check on batter. Give it a stir.

8:26 a.m.: No maple syrup.

8:27 a.m.: No maple syrup.

8:28 a.m.: No maple syrup.

8:29 a.m.: Panic.

8:30 a.m.: Floor it to Longos.

8:43 a.m.: Come back with maple syrup. Crisis averted.

8:45 a.m.: Check batter and stir once more. Whip egg whites with electric hand mixer on lowest setting.



8:54 a.m.: Stir in 1/3 of egg whites. Fold to incorporate. Repeat twice.

9:08 a.m.: Retrieve waffle iron. Start the sucker up.

9:09 a.m.: Add blueberries. Mix.



9:12 a.m.: Add waffle batter to iron.

9:30 a.m.: Finish with 10 waffles.

These waffles are a twist of your classic Belgian waffle recipe. They're tart but with some maple syrup they'll be sure to please any mom. They're crispy on the outside, yet light and fluffy on the inside with bursts of blueberries found with each forkful. As you pop out each waffle, let them cool on a baking rack if not serving immediately and keep warm any waffles for the late stragglers that come to the breakfast table.



New motto: Make batter. Add batter. Get waffles.