Granola

One of my favorite snacks is granola, and has been for a long time. Stir it into yogurt, eat it in a bowl with milk like cereal, sprinkle it on ice cream or frozen yogurt, eat it plain as a snack...  But I've never made my own, until today. I wanted to make a real simple, healthy recipe. This does have some sugar content (3/4 cups of brown sugar for a recipe that yields 6 cups of granola) but there is no butter or oil involved. It is delicious, has just a hint of sweetness -- and is incredibly addicting! The pan of granola was sitting out cooling while I was making dinner, and Paul and I kept sneaking handfuls even though we were about to eat.

I look forward to making this cheap, easy recipe again and again so that I can always have some granola on hand. Tomorrow morning for breakfast, I'm making yogurt/fruit/granola parfaits. Plain Greek yogurt (snagged the big container on sale!), blueberries I have stashed in the freezer (thawed, of course), granola, and a drizzle of honey. Yummmm. I can't wait for tomorrow morning, just for this breakfast.

This is a pretty basic recipe so feel free to add extras if you wish... dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut, etc.

Pre-baking.

Finito!

Granola!
adapted from Kathleen Daelemans' Food Network Recipe

Makes about 6 cups of granola.

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups chopped nuts (I used 1 cup pecans, 1 cup walnuts)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. In a 2-cup microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, combine brown sugar, honey, and water. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes, or until sugar is melted. (If you double the recipe, use a bigger vessel in the microwave! The mixture bubbles while heating.) Stir the vanilla and salt into the brown sugar syrup.
3. In a bowl, combine the oats, nuts, wheat germ, and cinnamon. Add the brown sugar syrup and mix well.
4. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or greased), and bake for 45 minutes. Stir the granola every 15 minutes during baking. Let cool and store in an air-tight container.

Cheers,

L

Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Pancakes

So, this post concludes what I've officially named Pumpkin Week. Last night, thanks to Paul's suggestion, I made pumpkin soup to accompany our dinner of pierogies and roasted veggies. This morning, I made pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Amazing fact: all four pumpkin recipes I've written about in the last few days (pasta, bread, soup, and pancakes) were made from only one 29 oz. can of pure pumpkin puree. How's that for economical? Ah, the joys of cooking for only two!

This soup was absolutely delicious. Reminded me of a butternut squash soup I had at one of our favorite Philly restaurants, La Viola.

Pumpkin Soup
adapted from Cream of Pumpkin Soup, allrecipes.com

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 14 oz chicken broth
• about a cup of pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup 2% milk

1. Saute the onion in butter in a saucepan until tender. Add 7 oz. chicken broth, stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. By either transferring broth back & forth between a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender in your saucepan, process until smooth.
3. (If using regular blender, return mixture to saucepan). Add remaining broth, pumpkin, hot sauce, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in the half-and-half and milk and heat through - do not boil. Ladle into soup bowls and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg on top.

Now for the pancakes...

Morning sunlight makes for the best pictures. :)

GOOD morning!

Pumpkin Pancakes

adapted from Easy Pancakes, allrecipes.com

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp wheat germ (optional)
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts of your choice (optional)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg, milk, oil, and pumpkin. Whisk together just until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips or nuts.
2. Heat a non-stick griddle over medium-high heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve with any of the following: butter, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, chopped nuts. 

Sick of pumpkin yet?

Cheers, 

L

Adventures in Hummus: Pasta Edition

I've been on a hummus kick lately, but that "kick" has almost exclusively consisted of dipping a variety of snacks -- Wheat Thins, pretzels, veggies -- in the delicious and healthy dip/spread. I have had it on a pita and with falafel before, but I started to think, "There's gotta be more I can do with this stuff." Last week I made some scrambled egg whites for breakfast and on a whim, put a few dollops of Tribe roasted red pepper hummus on top, and it was delicious.

Yesterday at Pathmark, I bought some artichoke-garlic Athenos hummus, which I've never had before. I was dipping pretzels in it today at work, and I have to admit, I wasn't too crazy about the flavor. I think I'm just not an artichoke fan. Anyway, while fantasizing about dinner, I did some brainstorming. I remember reading in one of my Rachael Ray mags something about tossing hummus with pasta. I didn't want this hummus to go to waste, and I thought if it was combined with a variety of other ingredients, the flavor wouldn't bother me as much. Long story short, this was my final plan: toss whole-wheat spaghetti with sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes I already had in the fridge, and make a sauce out of this hummus!

Pasta with Hummus and Sautéed Veggies

1. Cook pasta (I recommend whole-wheat spaghetti) and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine 2 parts hummus, 1 part water (use your judgment with the amount of hummus to use, depending on how much pasta you're making).  Stir and place on low heat.
3. In a skillet, heat extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté chopped mushrooms until tender and browned, and add some chopped tomatoes at the very end.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. To the skillet, add the pasta and hummus sauce.  Mix well.

The verdict? Using hummus as a pasta sauce is, in a word... interesting. It adds a creaminess much different from that of Alfredo sauce, for example. And I was right: the nuttiness of the pasta, meatiness of the mushrooms, and sweetness of the tomatoes all counterbalanced the "funny" taste I didn't like about the hummus, but you could definitely tell the hummus was there. And this was so, so easy to make.

Next adventure in hummus? MAKE MY OWN! Hmmm, perhaps that will be a blog in the very near future.

Cheers,

L

Sunday Dinner: Pesto Pasta

Tonight's vegetarian dinner was low-key and healthy.  We had a very busy day full of errands and other activities so an easy-to-prepare meal was needed.  I made a fresh batch of pesto, tossed it with whole-wheat spaghetti and some fresh tomatoes, and grated fresh parmesan on each bowl of pasta.  We lit up our new tiki torches for the first time (!) and ate this meal out on the patio with the sounds of crickets surrounding us.  A nice relaxing end to a busy day!

To make this pesto, I used fresh basil and thyme from our little "garden", pecans, walnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Finished product. Delicious!

What did you eat this Sunday?

Cheers,
L