While browsing the shelves of the behemoth bookstore that is Powell Books in Oregon, Portland last week, I picked up a copy the cookbook Cooking Light Cook's Essential Recipe Collection: Slow Cooker. Intriguing ... healthy meals without any effort? Sure, why not give it a try.

The first recipe on my to-try list was the Maple Hazelnut Oatmeal made with steel-cut oats, gala apples, nuts, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Steel-cut oats (also known as Irish oatmeal) is full of fiber, protein and other goodies to keep you in tip-top shape. Next time I'll probably omit the butter because it really doesn't need it. I didn't have any hazelnuts on hand, so I just used chopped pecans.

Each serving contains 341 calories, 9.2g fat, and 5.5g fiber. (If you cut out the butter, it'll take the calories and fat grams down further.)

Maple-Hazelnut Oatmeal

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups of fat-free milk

1-1/2 cups of water

2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons of butter, softened

1/3 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Cooking spray

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons of chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions

1. Bring milk and water to a boil in a sacuepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

2. Place hot milk mixture, apple, and next 5 ingredients into a 3-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray, stir well.

3. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until oats are tender.

4. Ladle oatmeal into individual bowls; top with maple syrup and hazelnuts.

While eating my way through Seattle's Pike Place food market last week, I discovered Chukar Cherries. The bird-logoed company native to the Pacific Northwest produces delicious chocolates, dried fruits, and sauces.  Best known for their dried cherries, the company offers awesome chocolate covered cherries. The blend of dark bittersweet chocolate and tart dried cherries make these little bauble treats delicious. The rich chocolate coating offsets the tartness of the cherries. So amazing, loaded up on my suitcase with a supply to take back to Charlotte. (If you ever find yourself in Seattle, check out the REI flagship store on Yard Avenue ... you can buy an assortment of Chukar candy by the pound at the self-serve kiosk of candy dispensers. Exciting, I know.)

Inspired by this chocolate cherry combo, I came home wanting to try using the same flavors in cookie form. I came up with a Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookie. The cookie has an oatmeal cookie base with organic dried cherries, organic dark chocolate, whole wheat flour and some wheat bran for a tad extra added health benefits. Hey, in Seattle they are all about some natural health foods.

Witty and hilarious Ree Drummond of the blog The Pioneer Woman Cooks is coming to Charlotte next Friday, May 7. The food blogger and photographer will be signing copies of her cookbook at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at SouthPark Mall.

Ree lives on a ranch in with her cattle rancher husband and a bevy of children. Known for her gorgeously photographed step-by-step home-style recipes, along with humorous writing, this Pioneer Woman has a huge following of readers.

I've got my ticket to the book signing and I just recently purchased my copy of her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks, a #1 New York Times bestseller. The first recipe I tried out of the book was her Penne a la Betsy. It's penne pasta is tossed in a sweet tomato cream sauce with chunks of shrimp. The recipe is courtesy of her sister Betsy and Ree claims it would be one of the dishes she'd eat on her last day on earth. It's that good.

Japanese breads and other Asian rolls, buns, and baked breads are known for their soft tender texture, buttery sweet taste, and their light springiness. For a carb-o-holic, this is pure heaven.

Get these results at home with this recipe for Japanese-style Sweet Buns. The trick to making these buns soft and springy is the water and flour roux (a cooked paste of water and flour). Supposedly the roux, when mixed with the dough, allows the dough absorb more liquid and hence the baked goods are softer and fluffier.

The dough can be used as a base for sweet and savory stuffed buns. On other food blogs, I've seen them stuffed with bbq roast pork, hot dogs, coconut custard, and whipped cream too.

This being my first time attempting the recipe, I decided to just make the basic plain bun. Fresh out of the oven, these are positively addicting. Attempting to just sample one, I ended up scarfing down three in one sitting. Oops.

You'll need to bust out your kitchen scale for this recipe ... measurements are in grams.

Back in college, I used to go home over the holiday breaks and come back to campus with homemade goodies for my friends. One time I returned from winter break with tiramisu.

I was never allowed free reign of the household alcohol in our liquor cabinet as I was under 21 at the time, but when it came to cooking or baking, my mom could care less. As long as I didn't straight up drink it by the glass, it was all good. Rum, Kahlua, Chambord, Bailey's ... I could use as much as I wanted. It was my loophole.

So when I made the tiramisu,
 
I loaded it up to the max with Kahlua. Back at school, my friends took one bite of the stuff and refused to eat the rest because it tasted way too alcoholic for tiramisu. Eight years later, they still make fun of me for my "Alcoholic Tiramisu."

Don't worry... this Tiramisu Cake is nothing like that. I followed the recipe exactly and used only two tablespoons of Kahlua for the entire cake. Two white cakes are brushed with an espresso syrup, then layered together with a fluffy coffee-flavored marscapone and whipped cream filling, studded with bittersweet chocolate, frosted with more marscapone and whipped cream, and topped with shaved chocolate.

The recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan again ... I used the recipe found in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours.