Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (regular or gluten free)

1 1/2 cups raw walnuts

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup coconut

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup chopped (or torn) dried mangoes

1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.

2. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add mangoes and candied ginger, tossing to combine.

Much alone or atop yogurt.

Flourless Double Chocolate Peanut Cookies Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Recipe
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups chopped peanuts
4 large egg whites at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, and salt (I like to use a mesh colander to sift the dry ingredients). Stir in chocolate and peanuts (I pulverized half of the nuts in my blender). Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated (looks like thick brownie batter).

Drop dough balls (cookie scoop works wonders) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until tops are dry to the touch, about 23 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days.)

Peanut Butter Cream Adapted from Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing Recipe

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. Stores well in the fridge but spreads best at room temperature.

“More water makes more color,” I said to my niece as we sat inside at the kitchen table, loosening up the dry paint palette with our wet brushes as the spring rain fell outside.

One of my favorite collections as a kid was my sticker collection.  Afterall, I was an American child of the Eighties.  Unfortunately I no longer have my spiral album filled with scratch ‘n’ sniff (Mello Smello online?!) and velour stickers, but I do still keep a full sticker box.  After years of being a summer camp counselor, preschool art teacher, and avid envelope (letter writer) decorator, I have amassed all sorts of sticky embellishments in there.  I am doing a little crafty spring cleaning and want to share the love with anyone interested.  If you or someone you know would like to receive a sticker assortment in the mail, send the mailing address to me at cozywalls@gmail.com — first five responders will get an envelope from me soon!

It is the time of year here when colors start to appear from the grey and brown landscape like confetti strewn along streams and parkways. I had a bag of confetti left over from New Year’s Eve, so I put it use for Easter, a celebration of new life.  Originally I planned to cover my eggs on the outside until I learned about cascarones: eggs that are filled on the inside with confetti.  Why not celebrate on the inside and the outside?  More fun: a game with Cascarones at Oh Happy Day!   The story goes that having a cascarón broken over your head will bring good luck.  Depending on how much confetti coverage you get, you will have disco eggs, which calls for a little disco duck.

Blowing out eggs from last year… this year I made lime custard with the empties!

At the end of my rainbow at the moment are little pots of golden raisins. Usually I just eat them by the handful and add them to Cream of Rice hot cereal, but since a holiday is coming up, I currently have a batch of the little tart wrinkly white grapes soaking in a bath of bourbon. Today they have been busy plumping up and spiking up before being baked in a batch of Irish Oatmeal cookies for Saint Patrick’s Day. I also just liked how they were glowing in the sunshine yesterday. May the wind be at your back, dear friends.

Update: cookie success!