Granola

I keep telling my mother that I will get her my granola recipe-- so here it is!

Master Granola Recipe (adapted from The Traveler's Lunchbox)

Okay, so what exactly makes this granola different? I'm no kitchen scientist, but I can point out the things that seem to have the biggest impact. One thing is the addition of oat flour, which helps the grains and nuts stick together into those much-coveted clusters. Another is the use of sugar; as much I like liquid sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, they seem to produce a tougher, chewier granola. Finally, the right kind of oats are essential. For years I only baked with regular rolled ('old fashioned') oats because that's what recipes called for, but as soon as I switched to the smaller, thinner 'quick oats', the changes were remarkable—clusters formed, everything baked faster, and the texture became exquisitely light and crunchy. If you can't find quick oats where you live—and I have lived in a few places where oats come in one variety only—here's what I would do: pulse rolled oats in a food processor a few times to break them down to about half their original size. It won't be exactly the same but it will come close.
Yield : about 8 cups

1 lb. (450g 0r about 5 cups) quick oats
3 cups (750ml/about 300g) coarsely chopped raw nuts and/or seeds (I usually use a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds, but use whatever tickles your fancy)
1 cup, packed (200g) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (115g/1 stick) unsalted butter or ½ cup oil
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-4 teaspoons spices of your choice
dried fruit, at your discretion


Preheat the oven to 300F/150C. In a food processor, coffee grinder or blender, grind half the oats to a fine powder. In a large bowl, combine the whole oats, ground oats, nuts, seeds and spices. In a microwave-safe bowl (or in a saucepan over medium heat), combine the brown sugar, oil and water and heat just and the mixture is bubbly. Stir the mixture together until smooth, then stir in the salt and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the oats and nuts, stirring well to coat (I usually do this with my hands). It should be uniformly moist - stir in another tablespoon or two of water if it isn't. Let stand for about ten minutes.

Spread the mixture out on a large baking sheet, separating it into irregular clumps with your fingers, and allowing space between the clumps for the hot air to circulate. Slide into the middle of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and stir, gently breaking up the mixture into small-to-medium sized clumps. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes or so before stirring again. Repeat the bake-and-stir until the mixture is a uniform golden brown and completely dry; this usually takes 1-1 1/2 hours. Cool completely, then stir in any dried fruit you want to use.

Store in a covered container at room temperature. Serve with milk or plain yogurt and fresh fruit as desired.

 And some of my favorite combinations

Cranberry Almond- cranberries, almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, almond extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon

Blueberry Pecan- blueberries, pecans, raw pumpkin seeds, vanilla extract, poppy seeds, cinnamon

Ultimate Health Nut Granola- walnuts, flax seed meal, quinoa, millet, vanilla extract, dried sour cherries

Spring!!

I thought I would write a ridiculously long post of all the things we've been doing since we last posted half a year ago, but it would be more entertaining broken into chunks. But lately life has been very relaxing. We are both off from school and just working, which is a very nice change of pace. We also just moved in the last month which means I now have a kitchen that is an actual room rather than a hallway with an oven in it. Today I made a couple pints of blackberry jam we got this week with our bountiful basket and a quart of dulce de leche ice cream. Yum. Luckily there is also daily (and sometimes two or three times a day) yoga classes to keep all the food at bay. 
Todd is enjoying my cooking spree immensely, though he is getting tired of doing dishes and scraping bread dough off the counters. He is also getting back into fencing and goes to fencing club a couple nights a week. And we've actually began social dancing again! Now that dancing has cooled off and is no longer at the center of everything we do.  So far spring has treated us well!

Blackberry Jam (Adapted from Food in Jars)

makes approximate 3 pints

6 cups blackberry pulp (8-9 cups of berries- I mash them in the pot-- I prefer chunky jam)

3-4 cups sugar

a pinch of salt
2 limes, juiced and zested
1 box pectin

Prepare your jars, start your lids to simmering and bring your canning pot to a boil.

In a large, non-reactive pot (stainless steel or enameled cast iron), combine the sugar, salt, and fruit pulp and bring to a simmer. Add lime zest/juice and stir to combine. Let the mixture reach a boil, stirring frequently to prevent it from boiling over. When the mixture appears to be thickening a bit, bring it back to a roiling boil and add the pectin. Let it boil vigorously for at least five minutes to activate the pectin.

Fill your jars with the hot jam, wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water canner for fifteen minutes.

Remove from canner and allow the jars to completely cool on a dishtowel-lined counter top.

Once the jars are cool, check the seals, label them and eat jam on toast!