Homemade Granola

 
It turns out, granola is really easy to make.  After you try making it once, you’ll be hooked.  No more shelling out ridiculous dollars for a wee bag of granola.  You’ve got the best thing: homemade! 

I’ve wanted to make my own granola for awhile now.  I finally decided to give it a go, but only using ingredients I had on hand.  This would prove to be an interesting adventure, since I didn’t have all of the ingredients of any one recipe.  I ended up reading at least eight recipes and going through four cookbooks, and then going through my cupboards to see what I could use to make do.  Here is my crazy, I’m-not-making-a-trip-to-the-grocery-store granola.  And if you ask me… it’s freaking delicious.  Lesson of the day?  Granola is very forgiving.  Add or subtract what you like, and feel free to substitute honey with maple syrup, or oil with butter.  I didn’t have sliced almonds on hand, but I did have whole, raw almonds.  So, I stuck a cup of almonds into a large freezer bag and smashed them to bits with my wine bottle (how versatile that wonderful things is!).  





I’m a raisin-lover, so if I have raisins chilling in my kitchen next time, they’re definitely going into the mix.  Several recipes advised adding dried fruit to the granola after it’s done baking though, so take heed.  America’s Test Kitchen noted that dried fruit (like raisins, specifically) get burned and hard as a brick if you put bake them into the granola.  In my next batch, I’m going to eliminate the sugar altogether to see how it tastes.  I try to avoid refined white sugar because it’s processed, not a real food, and has zero nutritional value.  That being said, I don’t avoid it like the plague.  I certainly have a bag of refined white sugar in my kitchen, and I’m not going to feel guilty about it! 

I asked my sister, a professional cook with a degree in culinary arts and a background in molecular gastronomy, what the shredded coconut did to the baking goods.  She said it adds some texture and sweetness.  Also, if you toast it, it adds a caramelized note.  Yummy.  You had me at “caramel.”  Shredded coconut, she said, also adds moisture to baked goods and you can't taste the coconut flavor.  She doesn't like coconut, but adds it to her cookies and no one - including her - can taste it.  It adds some behind-the-scenes oomph, so try it!

I added cinnamon and nutmeg because I’d recently baked a pie, and I love the way those spices mingle together.  I also learned, through taste testing, why every single recipe recommends regular, good old-fashioned oats rather than, say, quick 1-minute oats.  The 1-minute oats still taste delicious, but they aren’t as chewy as regular oats since they’re already chopped up.  If you are also in a I’m-not-making-a-trip-to-the-grocery-store mood, feel free to make a batch with the 1-minute oats.  You’ll be fine. 

All in all, I’d guess that a bare bones granola only needs oats, vegetable oil, and honey (if you like it sweet).  Try mine, or make your own batch!  I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results.  

I burned my first batch (oops, 375° is too high!), but the second batch came out perfectly!  I baked them at 300° for 30 minutes.  

Recipe  
3 cups of oats (regular is best, but 1-minute oats are okay in a pinch) 
1 cup of smashed almonds
1 cup of chopped pecans
3/4 cup dried, shredded coconut 
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 300°.


(1)  Mix the oats, almonds, pecans, coconut, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in one bowl.  In another bowl, mix together honey, oil, and salt.  Thoroughly combine the contents of both bowls and spread the granola evenly onto two baking sheets.
(2)  Bake for 15 minutes.  Take the baking sheets out of the oven and stir the granola.  Switch the top sheet to the bottom rack, and vice versa.  Bake for another 15 minutes. 
(3)  Once the granola is done, do a final stir while it’s still warm.  This ensures that the granola doesn’t adhere to the pan.  Allow it to cool.

Before…

…and after.
GET ME SOME MILK!

Turkey Sausages

Who likes meat with their breakfast, show of hands?  (Me: bouncing up and down in my seat, hand raised high.)  And who orders sausage with breakfast, regretting it afterward?  (Me: sad face; hand raised.) 

It’s time to put a stop to post-sausage regret, folks.

Sausages, while delicious, are often heavily processed.  Usually after eating them, I pay for it with a stomach ache.  I recognize that I don’t have the stomach for most processed foods (case in point: every time I eat at McDonald’s, I get sick), but that doesn’t change the fact that sausage, generally, just isn’t that great for you.  For years now, I very happily eat bacon instead (sigh!).  But sometimes, I wistfully think about sausages and the rift between us.

People often think that cooking and eating real food is more time consuming and costly than eating processed food.  But, that isn’t always the case: it is often cheaper to make your own food than buy what a factory has put together for you.  If you make an effort to cook more often, I think you will discover the following:

1) You will have more money in your wallet.
2) You will be eating better.
3) You will feel better because (a) you’re eating better and (b) you have more money in your wallet.

For brunch this past Sunday, I decided to make my own sausage patties.  I served them with milk, coffee, buttermilk pancakes, and strawberries and apples dipped in dark chocolate.  The sausages were DELICIOUS.  I loved that I didn’t get a funny taste in my mouth, and my stomach felt great!  Friends commented that they were “delicious,” “clean tasting,” “not greasy,” and “savory.”  The cherry on top?  The sausages, altogether, came out to about $2.80, so each sausage cost $0.20.  That’s a deal that’s hard to beat.  I hope you try making your own sausages!

When forming these sausages, I took two tablespoons of meat and free-form mooshed them between my palms.  If you want them to be flat instead of domed, make an indent with two of your fingers in the middle of the sausage.  To drain them, I put the patties in a sieve placed over the sink. 

This recipe makes 14 sausages.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

A few weeks ago, I made a chocolate peanut butter pie as a gift for a friend’s birthday.  I browsed a few chocolate pie recipes and peanut butter pie recipes with the aim of mashing the two together into some kind of sublime, chocolately, peanut buttery heaven.  It turned out pretty well.  The pie set and maintained its shape (for the most part), but I did think it was too sweet.  I should’ve halved (at the very least) the sugar.  I forgot that Oreo cookies and peanut butter chips already have sugar.

Peanut Noodles

There are so many things I love to do on a hot summer day.  Beyond the nice weather, summer signals freedom, and I savor it.  This week, I packed a  book, blanket, and a small picnic consisting of cold water, sweet green grapes, fresh french bread, aged raw cheddar cheese, and crunchy pickles.  I took my mini feast outside and laid my blanket out on the grass, under a tree.  Peacefully, I read for hours until the sun set and fireflies lazily blinked around me.  I could not have been a happier girl. 

Many of my favorite things to do involve food in one way or another.  This is also true for many of my favorite memories.  In college, I loved to sit outside and enjoy a bowl of cold, peanut noodles, washed down with a chilled bottle of beer.  For years, I've tried to find a peanut noodle recipe that compared to the one I found in New York.  Eventually, I found a great recipe on Epicurious, shared by Gourmet magazine.   

Though it may not seem as though there is enough sauce, don't fret your pretty (or handsome) head.  This is just the right amount of sauce.  You don’t want the dish to be too soupy – the sauce should cling to the noodles, coating them.  I find that mincing the garlic and ginger obviates the need to use a food processer to purée the sauce.  I just whisked the sauce with chopsticks (surprise, surprise!). 

For some extra kick, sprinkle with red pepper flakes or chili oil.  This dish is especially delicious with cold julienned cucumber or carrots, sliced chicken, tofu, and/or sesame seeds.  Whatever you wish to add to the noodles, prep and set aside in separate bowls so that you and your guests can help yourselves.  

Serves 8 as a main dish and 12-14 as a side dish.  Adapted from Gourmet magazine.

(L-R/T-B: Peanut sauce; cucumber matchsticks; ginger ginger ginger!)

Snickerdoodle Cookies

 Snickerdoodle cookies – Exhibit A, chillin’ on the window sill before going into my tummy.

A little thanks to my Dad on Father’s Day…

Dad… circa 1973.

When I was about six or seven years old, I wrote to Santa and asked for a Barbie car.  My neighbor had one, and I enviously watched her play with it.  For years, before and after that Christmas, my wish list was pretty predictable:

1.  Books
2.  Paper
3.  Pens and Pencils

That year, however, office supplies paled in comparison to that hot pink, top down plastic car.  I put it as #1 on my list, carefully sealed the envelope, and gave it to my parents to mail to the North Pole.  

On Christmas morning, I stood before the tree and quickly surveyed the gifts.  Spying a rectangular, shoe-box shaped package, my heart skipped.  Bingo!  My sister and I opened our presents, and I purposefully avoided that box, savoring what would be my grandest prize.  Even at that age, I liked to save the best for last.  When I finally got to it, I ripped open the wrapping and excitedly peeked inside, only to feel confusion.  I put the wrapping paper aside and lifted the box closer.  I looked at my parents who smiled and looked back expectantly, and I said out loud, puzzled:  “A blue Nerf football?”

I think my Dad was ahead of his time.  Only in the most progressive circles have I been able to discuss why a gender binary is problematic.  I’m not sure Dad would frame it that way, but this much is clear: he wasn’t interested in pigeon-holing me or my sisters by our gender.  While he never denied us dolls and dress-up time, he also introduced us to things most parents don’t get for their little girls: train sets, remote control toy cars, video games, footballs….  We never thought of “that’s for boys” as a reason to not do something.  Dad taught us how to throw a football, and we practiced and played until we could throw perfect spirals like he did.  At the same time, we could be princesses whenever the notion overtook us.  Princesses, albeit, who wouldn’t blink an eye to wrestle you to the ground if we had to.  

My Dad has always been one of my greatest allies.  He encourages me to do what makes me happy, to work hard, and never be afraid of failing.  When I didn't understand something, or didn't agree with him, we would talk about it.  His answer was never: "Because I said so."  My dad has always found little ways to make me feel special.  Sometimes, Dad would wake me up earlier than usual on a school day and take me out for a daddy-daughter breakfast, just him and me.  It put me on top of the world.  Once, after a particularly long period of grueling study for exams, Dad put me in the car and made me promise to keep my eyes shut.  When we arrived at our secret destination, I opened my eyes and happily discovered we were at an ice cream parlor.

When I couldn't sleep, I sometimes snuck downstairs to where my Dad was watching TV.  The only light on would be the one emitting from the television.  I'd hide on the stairs until I had the courage to pipe up, "Daddy, I can't sleep."  Usually, I was sent straight back upstairs to bed.  Once in awhile though, I got lucky.  Dad would pause, wave me over, and I'd scamper to the couch to claim the coveted seat next to him.  He'd hand me the bag of potato chips, and I would want to hold on to that moment forever.  Just me and my Dad.  The rest of the world asleep.  The TV softly playing.  Delicious, salty potato chips in my hands.

Around Christmas, for several years, Dad took my sisters and me downtown to the Holiday Carousel.  After bundling us up, he would take us to a cafe and we’d each be allowed to order whatever our little hearts desired.  On top of a hot cocoa, I always asked for a snickerdoodle cookie.  Treats in hand, we’d walk around and enjoy all of the festive decorations. 

This Father’s Day, as a nod to my Dad, I decided to finally try my hand at snickerdoodle cookies.  I was put off by the cream of tartar ingredient I saw in most recipes.  I have an aversion to cooking or baking with anything that doesn’t seem simple.  I searched high and low and finally found a few recipes that didn’t ask for cream of tartar.  I found one recipe that called for lard and had every intention of using it, but found that the lard the grocery store carried wasn’t real lard… it was some strange, chemical cocktail.  Nix.  I used butter instead, and whole milk.  

Strangely, I wasn’t enamored with these cookies, fresh out of the oven.  I was hoping for a little more chewiness, and wanted more cinnamon.  I had four taste testers – three thought they were perfect as they were, and one agreed with me.  In my opinion, these cookies were even better the next day after I’d stored them in a container with two slices of an apple.  They had that delicious, chewy texture I was going for.  Still, I’d love some more cinnamon in the next batch.

Love you, Dad – Happy Father’s Day!

(L –R) Batter … butter and sugar, creamed … butter, sugar and sour milk

 Happy little balls of dough, coated with sugar and cinnamon – yippee!

 
My little army of snickerdoodles, all ready for the oven!

 
I don’t have a "cooling rack" and don't need one.  To make your own cooling rack, use chopsticks, shisk-ka-bob skewers, or an extra rack from the oven (take it out before turning the oven on).  Improvise!  A good cook doesn’t need fancy equipment, just a little ingenuity.  ^_^

This recipe is adapted from King Arthur’s Flour Baker’s Companion.  It makes 32 cookies.

Pancakes - Classic, Banana, and Orange Juice

I love pancakes.  They're so easy to make.  Whenever I see boxed pancake mixes, I shake my head with dismay.  Make your pancakes from scratch, I beseech you!  Home cookin' is always better.  

This isn't the simplest pancake recipe in my repertoire, but it's my favorite.  Thumbs up to           America's Test Kitchen.  I simply added bananas to their already perfected recipe.


Ingredients
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
2 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter + 2 tablespoons butter
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ripe bananas (optional to add bananas; ratio = 2 bananas: 1 cup flour)

Directions
1. Mix lemon juice and milk together. Set aside.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
3. Whisk egg and melted butter into the milk until combined. Set aside.
4. Mash bananas with a fork, then slowly stir in the egg mixture.
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients in the bowl and pour the milk mixture into it. Whisk gently until ingredients are just combined. You want the batter to be lumpy. Do not overmix or the pancakes will come out rubbery.
6. Heat a pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add a small pat of butter and pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. When large bubbles appear and pop on the top of the pancake, flip. Cook each side for 1-2 minutes.
6. Serve immediately or keep the pancakes warm on a cookie tray in the oven at 200 degrees.

- For Classic Pancakes, leave out the bananas.
- For Banana Pancakes, follow the instructions above.
- For Orange Juice Pancakes (they really are delicious and you should try them), replace the milk with equal parts orange juice and leave out the lemon juice. These, by far, get the best reviews from my friends. :)

 { mash those bananers! }

 { bananas after mashing }

 { little lone pancake }

{ time to eat! }