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PAGE 2C
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018
COOKING WITH JOYCE
Recipes for dessert cookie bars
I was asked earlier this
week to share some reci
pes for cookie bars. I had
made some for my friends
that were different so they
asked me to share more
with them this week. These
are great for after
school snacks or
lunch desserts
for kids and the
adults will love
them, too.
Best Loved
Chocolate
Bars
Ingredients
1 pkg. (18 1/4
ounce) chocolate
cake mix
1 cup graham
cracker crumbs (about 16
squares)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
3 Tbsps. half and half
cream
1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream
cheese, softened
1 jar (11 3/4 ounces) hot
fudge ice cream topping
1 pkg. (11 1/2 ounces)
milk chocolate chips
1 cup salted peanuts
Directions
In a large bowl, combine
the cake mix and cracker
crumbs. Cut in peanut but
ter until mixture resembles
coarse crumbs. In a small
bowl, whisk egg and cream.
Add to crumb mixture just
until moistened. Set aside
3/4 cup for topping. Press
remaining crumb mixture
into a greased 13x 9-inch
baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat
cream cheese until fluffy.
Beat in ice cream topping
until smooth. Spread over
the crust. Sprinkle with
chocolate chips, peanuts
and reserved crumb mix
ture. Bake at 350 degrees
for 25-30 minutes or until
set. Cool on a wire rack.
Cover. Refrigerate for at
least 4 hours. Cut into bars.
Refrigerate leftovers.
A friend gave me this
recipe for carrot cake bars
several years ago after
making them for a party. If
you love carrot cake these
you will really love. Super
moist and tasty.
Carrot Cake Bars
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups canola oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsps. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt
1 jar (6 ounces) carrot
baby food
1 container
(3 1/2 ounces)
applesauce baby
food
1 container (3
1/2 ounce) apri
cot baby food
1/2 cup
chopped walnuts,
optional
Frosting
1 pkg. (8 ounc
es) cream cheese.
softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups confectioner’s
sugar
Directions:
In a bowl beat eggs and
oil for 2 minutes. Combine
flour, sugar, cinnamon,
baking powder, baking
soda, and salt; add to egg
mixture. Add baby foods,
mix well. Stir in walnuts,
if desired. Transfer to a
greased 15x10-inch baking
pan. Bake at 350 degrees
for 20-25 minutes or until
a toothpick inserted near
the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.
For frosting: In a small
bowl beat cream cheese
and butter until light and
fluffy. Beat in vanilla.
Gradually beat in confec
tioner’s sugar. Frost. Cut
into bars. Store in the
refrigerator.
A tart lemon icing pairs
well with these bars that
resemble pecan pie. These
have been one of my most
requested bars.
Lemon-Glazed
Pecan Slices
Ingredients
1/2 cup cold butter,
cubed
1 cup plus 2 Tbsps.
all-purpose flour, divided
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups packed brown
sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s
sugar
2 Tbsps. lemon juice
Directions
In a bowl cut butter into
1 cup flour until crum
bly. Press into a greased
13x9-inch baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12
minutes.
Meanwhile in a small
bowl, beat the eggs, brown
sugar and vanilla until
blended.
Combine the baking
powder, salt and remaining
flour; gradually add to egg
mixture.
Stir in pecans and coco
nut. Spread over warm
crust. Bake for 25 minutes
or until set. Cool on a wire
rack.
For glaze: Combine the
confectioner’s sugar and
lemon juice; spread over
bars. Let set before cutting.
This last recipe is really
colorful and good. I make
it a lot during the holidays,
but I actually like it better
in the summer. It is a sim
ple recipe but the results
are an amazing treat.
Cherry Almond Bars
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
V2 cup packed brown
sugar
1 cup cold butter
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped red and/
or green Maraschino cher
ries
1 cup sliced almonds
1 can (14 ounce) sweet
ened condensed milk
Directions
In a large bowl, com
bine the flour and brown
sugar. Cut in the butter
until crumbly. Press into
an ungreased 15x10-inch
baking pan.
Bake at 325 degrees
for 12-14 minutes or until
lightly browned.
Sprinkle with raisins,
cherries, and almonds;
drizzle with milk. Bake
25-30 minutes longer or
until golden brown. Cool
on wire rack. Cut into
squares.
Joyce Jacks is a native
of Barrow County and a
graduate of Winder-Bar
row High School, Athens
Technical College, and the
University of Georgia. She
can be reached at georgia-
girl2424@yahoo.com.
Cute, cuddly, but destructive rabbits
By Mick ael Antkony Foster
UGA Cooperative Extension
Rabbits are often welcomed additions to
lawns because many homeowners find them
adorable. They love to see rabbits at the edges
of their lawns early in the morning or in the
evening.
However, if the population is left unchecked,
rabbits can cost homeowners hundreds, even
thousands, of dollars a year in damages.
In the Southeast, rabbits feed on backyard
plants year-round. They consume flowers, soft
stems, fruits and vegetables during the spring
and summer months. Very few home-garden
crops, like tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes,
com and spicy peppers, are immune to rabbit
damage. Rabbits can kill older, mature trees
by stripping bark from the trees’ bases.
Damage caused by rabbits is often mistak
en for damage by whitetail deer and squirrels.
Many of their foraging habits overlap.
Rabbit damage is identifiable by gnaw
marks on woody vegetation. Bark gnawing
usually occurs in patches and doesn’t occur
higher than 2.5 feet above ground level.
Other signs of rabbit damage are young,
clean-cut stems sheared at an angle. This
damage looks as if the stem was cut with
scissors. The presence of round, pea-sized
droppings around damaged areas may also be
chalked up to rabbits.
One of the easiest ways to mitigate damage
caused by rabbits is to modify their habi
tat. Remove brush piles and weed patches,
fill holes and remove any debris that could
be used as a den site. Habitat modification
is extremely effective in residential areas
because there are very few suitable habitats
available.
When habitat modification doesn’t work,
use a physical barrier to prevent rabbits’
access. Exclusion is the most effective means
of control, but it can be the most expensive in
terms of labor and money.
Fences to deter rabbits should be at least
two feet tall, buried eight to 12 inches below
the ground and constructed out of chicken
wire or hardware cloth.
Tree guards may keep rabbits from tearing
the bark from young trees. Construct box
cages around small, raised gardens and indi
vidual plants to protect them. Be sure to use
hinges on these box cages so the homeowner
has an access point.
Repellents are the most common form of
pest control. A variety of chemical repellents,
designed to discourage rabbits from brows
ing. are on the market today. Remember to
vary the products you use. If you use the same
repellent over and over again, the rabbits will
become accustomed to that product, render
ing it ineffective.
Most repellents can be sprayed or brushed
on like paint, and most are contact-, taste- or
odor-based repellents. Taste-based repellents
should be applied before damage occurs.
Homeowners who experienced previous
damage to their vegetable gardens should
apply repellent shortly alter this year’s crop
begins to emerge. This teaches the offending
animals that these plants are unpalatable.
The final option is lethal control. Rabbits
are classified as a game species in Georgia,
so game laws must be followed. When rabbits
are in season, live box traps can be baited with
apples, lettuce, carrots or Brussels sprouts.
While shooting is a quick, easy method of
control, most municipal firearm ordinances
prohibit the discharge of firearms within city
limits.
While rabbits may be adorable, they can
also be the source of significant damage
to backyard gardens and landscape plants.
Fortunately, there are a variety of available
control techniques that can help mitigate and
even prevent rabbit damage.
For more information on controlling nui
sance wildlife, see the University of Geor
gia Cooperative Extension Circular 1021,
“Repellents and Wildlife Damage,” at exten-
sion.uga.edu/publications.
Planning for pollinators
You can’t get much better than a
beautiful spring day out in the gar
den; warm sun, gentle breeze, flowers
blooming, and the steady hum of bees.
I love to look out over a garden or lawn
and it look like a hustling, bustling
city of insect life, with so many bees,
butterflies, and other pollinators that it
gives the effect that the whole ground is
moving.
Sadly, even green
areas are often
more likely to be
devoid of insect
life. Pollinators
are in decline, and
that is something
we should all be
concerned about.
Apart from playing
an essential role in
any ecosystem by
maintaining biodi
versity. pollinators
are critical to our
depend on pollinators for blueberries,
strawberries and squash; in total, more
than 150 food crops in the U.S. And
while the word pollinators may primar
ily bring to mind bees and butterflies,
beetles, flies, wasps, bats and birds can
be pollinators as well.
The good news is that you can eas
ily create a habitat for pollinators in
your lawn or garden. Just remember to
include food, water and shelter.
First, try to have something bloom
ing throughout as much of the year as
possible. From early spring to late fall,
flowers are a food source, supplying
needed nectar. Consider the flowers of
trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and
even you garden vegetables as you plan
your yard.
Different flowers, shapes and colors
often attract different pollinators, so
include a variety. For butterflies, also
add food for the young. Caterpillars
feed on specific host plants. Native
milkweeds for monarchs and plants in
the carrot family such as parsley and
dill for black swallowtail are two easy
places to start.
Second, add a source of water. But
terflies prefer shallow muddy water, but
small fountains or birdbaths are also
beneficial.
Third, add shelter for your pollina
tors. Limbs, twigs and leaves in small
piles, turning over broken flowerpots,
and even logs, stumps and rock piles
make great places for pollinators to
overwinter.
You can even build nesting boxes and
insect hotels for a more decorative pol
linator home.
Of course, once you have attracted
pollinators to your yard, make sure you
are not harming them.
Avoid insecticides, and if you do
choose to use them, make sure to follow
good practices such as applying in the
evening when pollinators are less active,
and choosing products that are the least
harmful to pollinators.
If you are interested in learning more
about protecting pollinators your Coun
ty Agriculture and Natural Resources
Agent (that’s me) will be teaching a
class called Planning for Pollinators
throughout the Landscape on May 17,
2 p.m. at the Winder Public Library.
I’m looking forward to seeing some of
you there!
Alicia Holloway is the Barrow Coun
ty Agriculture and Natural Resources
Extension Agent. She can be reached
by e-mail at aholloway@uga.edu, by
phone at 770-307-3029, or by stopping
by the County Extension Office at 90
Lanthier St. in Winder. Follow Barrow
County Extension on Facebook @Bar-
rowCountyExtension.
food system. We
Steve and Madeline
LOS ANGELES - As we moseyed
down from their home in Hollywood
Hills to a restaurant which had the
feel of a hacienda, the Hearth and the
Hound on Sunset Boulevard, Made
line Stuart, the accomplished interior
designer, said to
her writer hus
band, Steve Oney,
a loyal Dawg fan,
“We are not going
to talk football all
night, are we?”
It wasn’t a
threat, but I liked
it that she was tak
ing the conversa
tional offensive. I
preferred to hear
her talk about her
self and her work.
The former was
out of the question and the later put
me at a disadvantage. I don’t know
about her world, but when I “read up”
on her, I was impressed that her cre
dentials were major league, perhaps, a
term of endearment for Steve but not
necessarily in her professional lexicon.
With no offense to her husband and
his friend, sports are pedestrian in her
domain.
For this country boy, who is proud
of a curious bent, I am at a disadvan
tage when it comes to fundamentals of
Madeline’s timeless designs and her
ability to create decors that blow away
aficionados of upscale interiors.
I had actually pined for this opportu
nity for some time. I knew a lot about
Steve Oney, a Henry Grady College of
Journalism graduate of the University
of Georgia. He is a writer of distinc
tion, the centerpiece of his resume,
being his book, “The Dead Shall Also
Rise,” (now in its 12th paperback
printing) which recounts the murder
of Mary Phagan and the lynching of
Leo Frank, two tragic and sensational
murders of yesteryear.
Steve has other credits, including his
latest book, “A Man’s World,” a collec
tion of his magazine stories, published
by the Mercer University of Press.
Oney is a fluent, cogent and artic
ulate writer, whose way with words
leaves you with a passion for more.
His initial magazine by-lines were
with the old Atlanta Journal-Con
stitution Magazine, which once was
read with the affection that many hold
today for the New York Times Sunday
Magazine, one of the few left standing.
To be truthful, I was pleased that
Madeline didn’t want our evening to
be a boy’s night out to rattle on about
football.
I was happy to be in the company of
the Vince Lombardi of interior design
and want to do my best to tell you
more about the missus, if I can. I have
warm journalistic feelings for Steve
but am sure he is proud to yield to an
unwashed treatise of his wife, who has
signature credentials in her industry.
“She is one of the best designers
in the country,” Steve says and notes
proudly that her dad, Mel Stuart, was
a terrific movie director. Among his
films are “Willy Wonka and the Choc
olate factory.” Madeline had a small
part in it.
Madeline was born in New York
and was raised in Beverly Hills which
tells you right off she is not afflicted
with provincialism. However, she had
relatives in Waynesboro, Ga„ which
allowed for a glimpse of life “down on
the farm.”
Today, when she is not designing
something spectacular for one of her
abundant clients, she and Steve retreat
to their garden spot in Santa Bar
bara, California’s Mediterranean-like
coastal enclave which dates back to
Paleo-Indian times.
Joining them for any sojourn are
their Jack Russell terriers, “Beatrice”
and “Mr. Peabody.”
Art, stimulating conversation and
local wine turn Steve and Madeline on,
and there is no place like Santa Barba
ra to bring about emotional fulfillment.
The evening with Madeline and
Steve was worthy of bucket list rank.
At the risk of sounding condescending,
I, nonetheless, am moved to say that
Madeline is charming and personable
with regal good looks to match her
exquisite designs.
To say that she is accomplished is
not enough.
Among the elite publications in her
business with which she is connect
ed are “Elle Decor,” “Veranda,” and
“Town and Country,” but let an Inter
net expert confirm her exalted status:
“ (she is) a leading member of the
Los Angeles design community whose
wide ranging clientele comes from the
entertainment industry, and the world
of business and finance.
Equally at ease designing a 1920s
Hollywood hacienda, a Fifth Ave
nue Manhattan apartment or a Rocky
Mountain retreat, Stuart stresses,
above all else, the fundamental mar
riage of integrity and beauty.
Her projects reflect a collaborative
relationship between architecture and
furniture, function and form, client and
designer.”
In signing off, one concludes that
it is appropriate to sound forth with
the notion that my writer friend, Steve
Oney, as Waynesboro vernacular
would confirm, “out-married himself.”
Loran Smith is a columnist for the
Barrow News-Journal. He is co-host
of the University of Georgia football
radio pre-game show.
loran
smith