Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

I saw these cookies on my feed yesterday and made them today! These will be a part of the snack for Maddy's tennis team at their match today. I think these are really great - easy to make, delicious and pretty healthy to boot! Oatmeal and pumpkin puree instead of butter amp up the health factor, but some chocolate chips added in provide an extra treat.

I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour (you could probably also use white whole wheat as well) in a one-to-one exchange to make these even healthier. I did have to leave the cookies in the oven about 3 or 4 minutes more than the recipe states. I happened to have mini chips in the house, which worked fine, but I used a bit less than 6 oz. and they were plenty chocolatey. Make sure you use the parchment paper, though, as these are pretty sticky and it's much easier to peel them off the paper and have a clean pan.

Give these a try for a healthy fall treat!

Salmon for Two and a Half

Every once in a while, Costco has a piece of wild sockeye salmon. I can't resist the price which is quite a bit less than the price at Whole Foods but the drawback is the size of the package. They sell their salmon in really large packages and though the price might be what I would pay for a one pound section elsewhere, there are only three of us eating.

The last time I found wild salmon at Costco, I bought a package that was on the smaller side for them, two full fillets, together a little over two pounds. This time I had a plan: two meals from one package. For our first dinner we'd have the salmon roasted with a coating of mustard and bread crumbs and then I'd make salmon cakes a couple of days later. I was able to put both pieces in the oven in the same pan, at the same time, saving lots of effort. One had the mustard and crumbs, and the other I simply salted and peppered and coated with a little garlic and olive oil.

We enjoyed our mustard crumb salmon and then the plainly prepared piece provided both for a topping for my lunch (a small chunk over soba noodles) and then the basis for the salmon cakes. I served the cakes over a lightly dressed arugula salad alongside some whole wheat pasta with a light tomato pesto.

Salmon Cakes

(serves 3)

1 pound piece of wild salmon, poached or roasted and cooled. I have seen, but not tried, plain cooked and flaked salmon at Trader Joe's and I bet this would work too)
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs, divided in two
2 tablespoons capers (I like the salt packed), soaked and rinsed several times, and then roughly chopped
zest from 1/2 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh chives, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil for "frying"

1. If you don't have leftover salmon and want to roast a piece to use for this, preheat oven to 400 degrees and salt and pepper the salmon and coat with a little olive oil. Put in oven for about 20 minutes - you want to fully cook the salmon but not let it get too dry. Let cool and then flake.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients except 1/4 cup bread crumbs and the olive oil in a medium bowl, careful not to break up the salmon pieces too much. Once fully incorporated, mold into six cakes. Dip both sides of each cake into the remaining bread crumbs and pan fry over medium heat in the olive oil. If you have a cast iron pan that would be fine, as would a nonstick. Once the salmon cakes are lightly browned on both sides, place on a cookie sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Serve with a green salad - I like arugula with this!