Baking is another of my favorite art forms, especially when I try new recipes. I just popped a pie in the oven, you can see the unbaked image of it below. The recipe came from the October issue of O Magazine. Here it is with a few minor creative adjustments:

1 unbaked piecrust

4 unpeeled baking apples sliced                 

1 C fresh or frozen cranberries

1 tsp orange zest

2/3 C sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 C sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 stick butter

1.5 C flour (we used 1 C ww flour and .5 C raw oats)

1/2 C chopped walnuts or pecans (opt)

Preheat the oven to 450 and line a pie pan with the crust.

In one bowl, add the next five ingredients. Pile the mixture into the crust.  In a separate bowl or food processor, combine the next four ingredients. Working with a handful at a time, squeeze the mixture together and crumble on top of the pie filling. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch drips and bake until the topping begins to brown, 15–20 min. Then reduce heat to 350 and bake 50–60 minutes. Set the pie aside to cool. Pie can be baked a day ahead & kept in a cool place until ready to serve.

This is cranberry season, one of my favorite seasons of the year. While I still have cranberries in my freezer from last year, I will buy more to fill my reserves.

My mom sent this recipe to me, and I think you'll agree, they are really yummy!

½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temp.                        ½ tsp salt

1 1/3 cups  sugar                                                 1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs                                                                 2 cups whole fresh cranberries

1 tsp vanilla                                                         ¾ cup chopped pecans

1 ½ cups flour, use some of the flour to coat the cranberries

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch cake pan

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar,  beat in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, cranberries and nuts. Using your hands, Pat the batter into the pan, the batter is very thick. Bake @ 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes. Do not bake too long or you will have very dry bars.

Frosting (optional, but seriously, cream cheese frosting makes everthing taste better, doesn't it?)

3 oz. cream cheese,  and scant ¼ cup butter room temp;  1 tsp vanilla extract, approx 2 tsp milk,  1 ½  to 2 cups powdered sugar for spreading consistency.

Beat all ingredients and frost the bars when cool.

I tried a bar before frosting them and liked them plain too, so if you want to cut calories, do so there. I also used unbleached white flour the first time I made them, and will try other whole grain blends next time. I'll keep you posted on my results, and look forward to hearing about yours.

Okay, so maybe these could be called Creative Energy Bars, but I like the sound of Creativity Bars because you get to use your creativity in making them.

Let's face it, every single one of us is creative in our own ways. There are some days when the only thing I want to create is food. I usually start with a recipe and then "riff" off it by changing and adding ingredients.

This basic recipe came from the Sunday newspaper column by Three Many Cooks blogger Pam Anderson and her daughters, Sharon and Maggy. Here is the basic recipe:

2 C rolled Oats
1/2 C wheat germ
1 C sliced almonds
1/2 C semi-sweet or bittersweet chips
1/2 C dried cherries or craisins
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

Adjust the oven rack to a lower/middle position and preheat to 325 degrees. Grease a 9" square pan and then line the pan bottom and up the sides with foil — also greased. This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan once they are baked.

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl, turn into the pan, pat down, and bake for 30 min. Cool to room temperature and then put the pan into the freezer. When the bars are firm, use the foil handles to remove them from the pan. Remove the foil and use a long, sharp knife to cut the bars into 18 1"x3" pieces. These will keep in an airtight container for one week, or in the freezer for much longer (you will probably eat them up before they have the chance to go bad).

Here comes the CREATIVE part:
The first time I made these I didn't have sweetened condensed milk; I had evaporated milk. I heated up the milk and melted 1 C of sugar into it. I added some unsweetened carob chips to that mixture before stirring it into the dry ingredients. This made for a chewier bar because there was more moisture in it. YUM.

The second time I made them I didn't have wheat germ so I added freshly ground flax seeds, extra oats, and unsweetened coconut flakes. This time I used sweetened condensed milk and omitted the carob chips. YUM again!

The third time I made them I ran out of craisins so I used prunes and left the almonds whole. I know, look at me getting BOLD!

EVERYONE who eats these likes them. The original recipe said it made 16 pieces (each 1"x4" — I'm getting 18 pieces instead), each with 206 calories, 31g carbohydrates, 5g protein, 8g fat (3g saturated), 8mg cholesterol, 3g fiber, 32mg sodium. I haven't figured out the sugar content, but one a day is probably okay.

Have fun and please let me know what kinds of creative changes you make to your Creativity Bars!

In honor of my latest Pineapple Painting, "Growing Sunshine", here is my easy recipe meant to start your day with sunshine. You can see this painting in the Fresh Paint Florals Portfolio. Soon it will be on display at the Hawai'i Watercolor Society's 45th Annual Members' Exhibit.

Growing Sunshine Muffins

1/2 C Oil (I used olive oil, but you can use another light oil)   

4 Eggs 

1 20 oz. Can Crushed Pineapple in Juice, Drained  

1 1/2 C WW Flour (Unbleached or White Flour Optional Substitute)

3/4 C Sugar  

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 to 1 C Chopped Nuts 

1/2 to 1 C shredded Coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) 

Combine the first three ingredients in one bowl and combine the remaining dry ingredients in a second, larger bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until the dry ingredients are just moist (do not over mix). Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min. Check them in 15 minutes and again in five minutes to ensure they don't over bake. Cool on a rack before eating.