Turn your cereal into power balls

 

Montgomery J has plate lunches

Corine Jones sent word about something good at 824 W. Gulfway Drive. Montgomery J is offering home-style plate lunches like smothered ox tails, turkey wings with rice and King Ranch chicken.

“The place is my mom's old home. Her wish was to help in the community.  During the summer we used the place to mentor children that live in the area. Now we have a small restaurant with the goal of serving up home style cooking in an area where the nearest restaurant is 8 miles down the road,” Jones writes. “Please stop by if you get an opportunity and meet Jonathan Dixxon who mixes his home style cooking with techniques he has learned in New York and Houston before returning home to the West Side.”

 Call (409) 982-9513 for “the dish.”

Morning, honey

Did you know there are 16 flavors of Honey Bunches of Oats? Chocolatey Almont Crunch, with what amounts to Barbie-sized candy bars in it and Cinnamon Crunch in the Morning Energy line are new finds that address an unspoken situation. These blends, promoting protein, whole grain and fiber for energy that lasts and adding touches like wildflower honey and nuts, provide what the box says: morning energy. It takes a lot to get me excited about cereal and this is one to look forward to. Look up the Post brand online for recipes like this one, which is pretty enough for party spreads:

Morning Energy Mocha Power Balls

Ingredients

1 and one fourth cups Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Chocolatey Almond Crunch cereal

Half cup cup walnut halves

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 teaspoon flax seeds

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

4 tablespoons almond butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons espresso powder

One fourth teaspoon coarse sea salt

One fourth cup toasted unsweetened coconut for rolling (optional)

Directions

Place the cereal in bowl of food processor.  Process until finely ground.  Add walnut halves, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, almond butter, honey, maple syrup, cranberries, vanilla, espresso powder, and sea salt to bowl and process until well blended and mixture forms a stiff dough.  Remove dough and form into a compact ball with your hands.  Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in toasted coconut, if desired.  Place balls on a wax-paper lined sheet and let stand for an hour or so, then transfer to a tin or container with a tight lid.  The power balls will keep for at least a week at room temperature, or they can be chilled.  This recipe will make around 20 balls.

Indian and gluten-free

No names here, but a woman I know recently told me she ate a whole can of chickpeas for breakfast. Perhaps she’d enjoy chickpeas in a ginger and mango sauce. I hadn’t thought of that, or having them for breakfast at all.

“Indian Inspired Gluten-Free Cooking” has your back if you want to experiment and eat both for your health and for adventure. Try eggplant curry with green peas and turkey and quinoa burgers. Alamelu Vairavan and Margaret Pfeiffer assembled this book, by popular demand. Indian food lends itself natural to gluten-free cooking because vegetable dishes are enhanced with spices and legumes, they say. Viewers of the PBS program “Healthful Indian Flavors with Alamelu” have asked for these recipes and we have all received. It’s a beautiful book and I want one of everything. How about this one for fall tables?

Seasoned Apple Relish

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 Granny Smith apple, shredded

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, more or less to taste

¼ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat (the oil should be hot but not smoking) Ad mustard seeds and cook and stiru until seeds start to pop.

Add apple, turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes.

Scrape into a dish and serve warm or cold.

Variation: To make Creamy Apple Chutney Dip, add plain low-fat yogurt. Use an equal measure of yogurt to relish. This can be used as a dip with vegetables.

Peanut and Coconut Chutney

A sure hit when spread on sandwiches, this chutney is also delicious served as a dip for fresh vegetables.

1 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

¼ cup grated fresh coconut or unsweetened shredded dried coconut

3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half

1 whole dried red chili pepper, more or less to taste

¾ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste

¾ to 1 cup warm water

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor; blend or process until smooth.

If the chutney seems too thick, add additional warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time

Scrape into a dish and serve.

ddoiron@panews.com