Granola

Oh my have I been busy! 

I thought summer was supposed to be a break.

I suppose I'm still disillusioned. 

I've been cooking quite a bit, actually.

Here's the thing: not everything I make is blog worthy. 

Shocking, I know. I'll give you a moment to recover...better now?

There are a few reasons for this fact.

1. Not everything I make works out. (Gasp!)

Take rice balls. Typing that, it doesn't even sound good. It tasted worse.

2. Not everything I make is all that original. (Double gasp!)

But say I try a recipe from someone else's site and I don't make it my own. Its already been done and it therefore not blog worthy. However, if someone else's recipe is a real coup for me, you'll hear about. Remember bagels?

3. I forgot to take pictures. (Oh #@$%!)

Darn it! This usually happens when I'm wrist deep in food and the hubs is not around. 

On to lovely granola. 

Remember how oatmeal is one of my favorite foods? Well, this recipe put it up on a pedestal.

I don't know why I ever bothered to buy granola at the store. Especially for $8 a pop!

The homemade stuff is so very, very, (very), tasty! My husband doesn't like store-bought granola, he'd rather just have cereal. Well, after making the first batch, I came home later to him devouring my newly made granola as a snack. 

Bye, bye breakfast. 

Kidding, this isn't really a problem. It's super easy to make.

However, I did hit a couple of hiccups in my recipe research. One of them being nuts.

I'm super-duper allergic. Can't touch the things with out breaking into a rash. Don't even get me started on the worst culprit of all-- PEANUT BUTTER!!! (I hate peanut night at bars).

EVERY granola recipe has nuts in it. Not a huge problem though, I just eliminated the culprit. 

The other issue was the necessity of ingredients I don't ordinarily keep on hand (flaxseed, coconut flakes, dried cherries, etc.). It's not that these ingredients are hard to come by, I just don't keep them in my pantry. And I didn't want to make a homemade batch of granola that cost $12 because I had to buy ingredients. 

Plus, I don't want the same thing every time. Granola, like oatmeal, is a blank slate for adding all types of nummy toppings (strawberries, bananas, dates, yogurt, chocolate & cherries, etc, etc...). Who wants to eat the same flavors everyday with all the possibilities that are out there?

Solution...I picked and chose what I liked from a variety of recipes and developed my own. 

(Yay for originality in a common food!)

The result is basically a spiced and sugared baked oatmeal. Or Amy's Granola (I like the sound of that).

5 cups old fashioned oatmeal or, one entire small canister.

2 t cinnamon, 1 t ground ginger, 1 t sea salt, 1/2 t nutmeg

Add spices to oatmeal and mix together.

In a saucepan, cook over medium heat: 

1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 brown sugar.

Here's a trick: measure out oil first, then use the same measuring cup to for the honey. 

When you pour the honey out, it won't sick to the sides of the measuring cup!

I discovered this by accident and thought, "Nice..."

Stir it up...

...until smooth and combined.

Pour over oatmeal mixture and stir to combine.

Spread over baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone sheets. I needed to use 2 baking sheets.

Bake at 300 for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely on baking sheet. 

Then you can break apart the granola. 

Place some in a bowl. Add milk and your own unique toppings. 

I Made Bagels!

I have to admit, I was intrigued when I found a recipe for home-made bagels. 

I caved when they said it was easy. 

Easy it was. 

It just took awhile. 

Three 20-minute dough rests. 

They taste like they came straight from the deli!

Can you smell them yet? 

I followed this recipe. 

I didn't vary from it, so please visit the site for details.

This is what's resting in the green bowl: 

oil, all-purpose & whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, water

Kneading, kneading...

 ...and kneading. 10-minutes worth!

 The wonderfully elastic dough:

 Cut into 8 balls and resting for 20 minutes:

Then rolled into 8 dough snakes.

These did not roll out as easily as Play-Doh. 

I would know, I teach 6 & 7 year olds. 

Curled into 8 bagel-like rings.

And yet another 20 minute rest. 

Boiling:

In water. 

1-minute each side.

This is apparently the sign of a "real" bagel. 

A quick drip-dry:

And then onto the baking sheet!

After baking for 10 minutes on each side, they are done!
And soooo good!

Time-consuming, yes. But truly easy. 

And your kitchen will smell like a bakery. Bonus!

Thinking I'll make these again for our upcoming weekend camping trip.

Leftovers Brunch

Last night, we were went to my folk's house for a BBQ. 

On the menu: Salmon burgers, grilled asparagus, and a fruit tart. Nom, nom, nom. 

The best part: Mom sent us home with the left overs.  

This morning, I used the left over salmon burgers in a delectable omelet. Nom, nom, nom. 

Doesn't it look good with my favorite oatmeal cookie pancakes, fruit smoothie, and Chai tea. 

 

Ingredients: broken up salmon burger, grated cheese (mozzarella here, but I would have loved to have found Gruyere in my fridge this morning), diced onion, and fresh parsley. 

Saute the onion.

Beat the eggs with milk. 

I had a lot of filling, so I used 7 eggs and about 1/2 cup of milk. 

Pour into a large, hot frying pan. 

 

I watched a TV show one time in which they discussed omelets (thrilling, I know). 

I learned that they were traditionally a mid-day meal, made large, and served family style. 

I like this idea. There's less time commitment at brunch when you eliminate the many, smaller, made-to-order egg options.

When the egg is 90% cooked, spread the fillings across the top and carefully fold over.

Sometimes, with even the greatest of care, things fall apart. 

 

That's why it is always important to reserves some of your fillings for the topping.

 

Melted cheese and herbs will hide any number of errors in the kitchen (so will liquored up guests. Make sure that Mimosas, Screwdrives, or Bloody Marys are readily available for your friends and family).

Now you're ready to dish up and eat! Preferably in a beautiful garden buzzing with bees, butterflies, and birds. Here's a few snapshots from mine:

 PS- I wish I knew an easy way to get all these pics of my garden grouped together more nicely. It's like trying to pose a family photo.

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Here's a simple, delicious, and wholesome adaptation of a classic breakfast food.

It is so like an oatmeal cookie, you'll feel like you're starting with dessert!

Begin with your traditional pancake batter, all mixed together.

To a double batch I added a cup of raisins and a cup of oatmeal.

Mix into batter. 

Adding a little extra milk to allow for some absorption by the oats.

Also, toss a cap-full of cinnamon into the mix.

Cook away on the griddle.

And in no time you'll have pancakes that remind you of my favorite cookie!

A note on "brinner." I rarely make breakfast food in the morning. I don't have time for it during the week, so we do fine with oatmeal, granola, cereal, yogurt, and assorted other quick starters for the day. On weekends, when I have time, I like to sleep in late and as a consequence, I wake up starving...we eat out for brunch regularly on weekends. Thus, brinner was born: breakfoods at dinner time. I have the time in the evenings to make my beloved, comfort-food meals.

Egg-Bread Scramble

Several months ago, my husband and I visited his brother in Bellevue, WA and we had a yummy brunch. I have been dreaming of the scramble I ordered ever since our visit and I decided I'd try to recreate it. My version was just as good as I remembered--Bonus!!!

This is a great way to use up the remains of a bread loaf.

1/3 of a left-over french loaf cut into cubes

4 whole eggs and 4 egg whites

 The only reason I used egg whites is because I had them left over in my fridge. Use all whole eggs or all whites. The amount of egg really depends on how much bread you are using and how many people you are feeding. My combination works well for 4 people.

Whip the eggs with some milk, like you're making scrambled eggs.

(Or use cream if you're being indulgent--remember, everything tastes better with extra fat, and I will always have 10 extra pounds to keep me soft! Ha!)

 You will need 1/2 cup diced mozzarella cheese and 4 diced scallions. 

Toast bread cubes in skillet over medium-high heat with some butter and olive oil. 

Trivia:

Did you know combining butter with oil helps to keep the butter from browning/burning?

 Pour eggs over bread and turn continuously with spatula. 

 When eggs are half-way cooked, stir in mozzarella cubes.

Finish cooking by popping frying pan into a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Top with scallions, season with salt & pepper to taste, and serve!