A Humble Yet Decadent Homemade Granola

The older kids are off to school and the house holds just the 4-year old and myself. I look at my To-Do list...at least 143 items long. Where do I even begin? I hadn't taken the time on Monday to organize the list into more manageable bits and now here it is mid-week..."sigh." My mind wanders to a recipe, darling Shannalee recently posted on her poignant blog, Food Loves Writing. Olive Oil Granola. Ever since my daughter made homemade granola last summer, I have been intrigued with making my own "cereal"...so to speak. Hers was so delicious and easy to make, it now seems silly to buy it. When I saw Shannalee's recipe, I knew I had to try it out as well.

When I feel overwhelmed by the tasks of life, I simply check out from them. I procrastinate. And, usually when I'm procrastinating, you'll find me cooking. So, instead of checking anything off my list, I hauled out the humble ingredients for the granola. I mixed them together and popped it all in the oven. Then, I called over to my littlest one who was quietly drawing at the kitchen table. "Let's go outside and check out the birds." Ever since my daughter studied birds in 6th grade and we hung some feeders to attract the winged-critters for her observation, I have become a bird watcher. I get a thrill out of watching the flocks of chickadees land in our branches. The red-crested woodpecker poke-poke-poking his beak into the suet. What exactly does that say about me...my bird watching that is...and should I be admitting it?"

So, there we sat, side-by-side, on the front porch gazing across the way at the birds. Enjoying the cherry blossoms and the wave of daffodils the deer have fortunately left alone. (Yes, the daffodils resulting from my crazy bulb planting last fall.) He in his Star Wars jammies and me in my jammies exercise clothes. The rich smells of cinnamon and cardamom wafting out through the door left ajar. I glance at his profile. No longer the toddler he once was. Those plump round cheeks are giving way to a more defined look. He says to me, "Do I get to go to school today?" "No, sweetie, not today." "I like school." "I know." We can feel it. The time is coming. Time for him to start elementary school. And, after 13 straight year of having a little buddy by my side, it's time for me to move onto the next stage. But, it's okay to want to hold onto this one a little longer, isn't it? I kiss the top of his head and go in to stir the granola. He follows behind me.

A wise friend of mind once said that life is but a series of stages. She always seems so at peace with the passing of each stage and the introduction into each new one. I know that it's time. Time for what life brings me next but when you've been in one stage for so long it can be a bit daunting...wondering what's next. We carry little bowls of the sinfully delicious granola back outside. Fragrant and chewy but with a hint of crunch from the nuts. We sit down on the front steps just in time to see a squirrel making away with an entire suet block almost twice his size. "So, that's who's been clipping the rope to the feeder and making away with the food." And, I thought it had been the crows. We continue to sit there. Side-by-side. He and I. My littlest one and me. Watching the squirrel's progress. And, I try to be in the moment. Enjoying my procrastination, my little buddy...and every bit of my homemade granola.

Olive Oil Granola

Inspired by Shannalee and originally published in the New York Times

I love this granola. So, did all of my kids....well, except for the one allergic to nuts for obvious reasons. We mixed it with plain yogurt, drizzled with honey and topped with sliced bananas. I used the yogurt/granola mix as a dip for sliced apples for snack one day. We ate it straight out of hand. But probably the best way that my daughter and I enjoyed this granola was sprinkled over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The bits of salt and spice mixed with the smooth, creamy vanilla...unbelievable. I think you need to go make this right now. Go ahead. Get going. And, let me know if you agree...about the granola and ice cream that is.

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped, slivered almonds

1 cup coconut flakes

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

3/4 cup chopped, dried apricots (I would use raisins next time. Just my personal preference.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except apricots. (If using raisins, I would add them to the bowl at this point.) Mix to combine. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. You can spread the mixture on top of parchment paper or a Silpat to make clean-up easier. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes of so, until golden brown and well toasted.

Transfer granola to a large bowl and add apricots, tossing to combine. Enjoy.

Yield: About 9 cups.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Cookin' Up Some Aussie Bites

The day had started out with fog and heavy, dark clouds and continued on that way until late in the afternoon which is why I was surprised when a bright beam of sunlight burst through our living room windows. While I'm always thrilled to see the sun, any sun, at this time of year...this particular kind of sun..bright, white, blinding and late afternoon...is the kind of sunlight that illuminates every speck of dirt on my windows and countertops. As I turned around to face the sun and looked across the room through the haze of dust and dander, I could see something shiny glinting in the sunlight. Curious as to what it was, I made my way over to the couch only to find...the foil remnants of a granola bar wrapper. And, on the table beside it, was a collection of sticky, empty fruit leather wrappers. It was as if I'd stumbled upon Templeton the Rat's paradise.

While I pride myself on making sure my family is well fed at breakfast, lunch and dinner, it's the 4th meal of the day...the ole "afternoon snack"...that I just can't wrap my arms around. I just don't want to make another meal and yet, I find, that as my kids are entering the "adolescent years", they're starving...constantly. You should see my 10-year old take out an entire box of granola bars in one sitting...leaving only the box on the shelf...literally.

As I was speeding the baby to preschool the other day, he alerted me, with a piercing scream, that his "special lego guy" had just fallen into an unidentified crack. Once we arrived at his school, instead of just turning around to look in the back, I actually got in the back in an attempt to locate the missing "guy." There, under the seat, was the precious lego guy nestled amongst a handful of empty snack wrappers. "What is going on here?"

Other countries have formalized this...hour of the day. Halfway between lunch and dinner. The longest stretch without food. Afternoon tea in England. Goûter in France. When I had the good fortune to be an exchange student in Portugal, my host family would sit us down to "lanche" at 4 o'clock in the afternoon for a full meal. Only to be followed at 8 o' clock by a full dinner. I developed a special fondness for "lanche". Looked forward to it every day because, while there was always meat, cheese and bread laid out, this "meal" was especially heavy with the delectable Portuguese cakes.

On Sunday, I spent 5 hours in the great outdoors weeding and whining bitterly to myself joyfully communing with nature. Our yard had been attacked by weeds and the irony was that neither neighbor on either side had a single one while we had a sea of green swaying in the wind across our entire back side. Having already filled one yard debris bin, I threw down my gloves and stomped off to get the back-up bin. As I was walking, begrudgingly to the front yard, and was just about to launch into this tirade again, my daughter skips down the stairs and says, "Hey, Mom...want some help?" I wanted to kiss her feet. Sending her off to continue weeding, I grabbed the bin from the garage and started rolling it back in her direction when a little flash of light caught my eye from the depths of the bin. I kid you not...another granola bar wrapper. "Gads." It was then that I knew some changes needed to be made.

I believe it was last summer, I was watching an interview with Jamie Oliver in regards to his "food revolution". He emphasized to the interviewer that "...at some point, someone has to get in the kitchen and cook food if we're going to save ourselves from this food crises we've managed to get ourselves into...and it doesn't always have to be the woman." (I like to tack that last part onto the quote.) I guess the time has come to actually make something for snack instead of relying on little foil wrapped bits of...oats. This will be a new venture for me and, while I still don't want to be standing over a stove at 2:30 in the afternoon, perhaps I can find a happy medium. I'll share my discoveries with you as I go along but first up was the challenge to recreate the "Aussie Bites" I've picked up from time to time at Costco. The beauty of these little golden bites is that the homemade version can't even be compared to the store-bought they are so incredible and, bonus....no foil or plastic wrappers to be found.

Golden Aussie Bites...Carrie Style

Inspired by this eHow recipe 

After searching the internet for the infamous Aussie Bites recipe, I came across what appeared to be the original "butter baked" recipe and an updated version with a nod toward healthy eating which called for coconut oil instead of butter. Now, I love butter just as much as the next person, but I happened to have some coconut oil leftover from a recipe I'll post sometime in the near future. Because I like to torture myself and research even the most seemingly-insignificant items of my kitchen, the people in the know lead me to this coconut oil as the best...hands down. Once you're done using it in the kitchen, you can even rub it all over your body when you get out of the shower...a repurposing kind of thing. After pulling the first batch of bites from the oven, I stood at my kitchen counter and sunk my teeth into one..."Hmmmm....a bit birdish." I just didn't care for the sunflower seeds. Could be that at the exact moment I was taking my first bite, I was also staring out at my new "Squirrel Buster" bird feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds and flocked by little song birds. So I did a bake-off, just for you, dear friend, and because I am a glutton for punishment I simply love to bake. With seeds, without. With nuts, without. One with butter, one with coconut oil and after all of the batches were made and laid across the counter for my dear children to sample...the version below came out on top. I did, however, include the "butter" version, which was tasty as well, in case you find mine to be a bit too crazy...you know, with the coconut oil and all.

1 1/2 cups oats

1/2 cup golden, flax seeds

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (I use this kind.)

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup finely chopped dried fruit - I used apricots, raisins and cranberries

1/4 cup honey

1 cup virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil (I use this kind.) (See note below.)

(Or, instead of coconut oil, 2 sticks unsalted, butter.)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp hot water

3 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix first 8 ingredients together (oats-vanilla)

Melt honey and coconut oil together

Mix baking soda with hot water and add to coconut oil mixture. (Yes, this does have the appearance of a mad scientist experiment.)

Pour coconut oil mixture into dry ingredients, add eggs and mix well.

Plop a tablespoon of the mixture into each little mini-muffin well and flatten slightly. (I use non-stick muffin tins and did not grease them but if you are at all concerned you may want to lightly grease yours. Oh, and I didn't flatten mine. Didn't seem to matter.) Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. (For regular muffins, bake for 15 minutes.) Let cool in tins for a minute or so then, remove from tins and let cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container or freeze some for later. Enjoy.

Yield: About 4 dozen mini-muffins.

Aussie Bites - Take 2
Delicious recipe by Min of The Bad Girl's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 3 1/2 oz can of unsweetened coconut or 1 1/4 cup flaked

1/2 cup sunflower kernels

1 cup finely chopped dried fruit (apricot, raisins, dates, figs, cranberries, etc.)

1/4 cup honey

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp hot water

3 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl.

Melt honey and butter together in microwave.

Mix baking soda with hot water and add to butter mixture.

Pour butter mixture into dry ingredients, add eggs and mix well.

Place a tablespoons of mixture into each non-stick mini muffin well (lightly greased) and flatten mixture slightly. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: About 4 dozen

NOTE: While I am by no means an expert on the subject, here is my take on coconut oil. There is the unhealthy, hydrogenated coconut oil, which, for years, was being used extensively in "industrial food" and especially gained a bad name for itself when it was being used on movie theater popcorn. Then, there is the healthier, coconut oil that this recipe calls for - virgin, non-hydrogenated, cold-pressed coconut oil. While many of the experts are still undecided on coconut oil, in my own humble, so very humble opinion, I believe that it will go much the same way as avocados, walnuts & such - once feared for their fat content and now, the "powers that be" are recognizing their nutritional value. I could be wrong but I'd keep your eye on this little guy. You can find cold-pressed, virgin coconut oil at most health food stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, New Seasons - here in Portland, and on-line.

NOTE: By no means should you feel any obligation to comment; however, I know some of you, dear friends, have tried to leave me your enlightening words and it has been brought to my attention that my "commenter" is rawther, temperamental. I am in the process of getting it fixed, but until that happens, should you like to leave a comment, try this: after you type your comment, hit publish, the computer will say it can't process it so hit "preview" and then, try to publish it after that. That's what I have to do to leave a comment on my own blog......gads.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Skippin' Down the Trail Oatmeal Cookies

Remember when you could run with wild abandon down the trail and your only concern was whether or not you might slip on the gravel under foot?

Although, perhaps that hadn't even entered your mind but was simply the worry of the mother watching from behind. The mother torn between the image of you there, running, without a care in the world and bracing herself for the wipe-out she is sure will come.

And so, run, hop, skip you do. The wind blowing against your face. The fallen leaves crackling under your feet. Gravity spinning your little legs faster and faster. You turn back to the mother still taking it all in. "Come on, Mom!" you holler. "I'm beating you." And, the mother simply smiles.

You turn off the main trail and make one final push up the ever narrowing path to emerge at your big brother's school. The brother you've been patiently waiting for all day. Waiting to play with him. To talk to him. To simply be next to him. And before you even have a chance to set foot on the actual school grounds, you discover that big brother has already made it to the entrance of the path. In a blur, he blows right past you. "Wait for me!" you holler as you spin around as quickly possible.

Down below, big brother has already jumped onto the main trail and in big brother fashion declares, "I won!" You power down the path, hoping desperately to catch up with him, crying out, "No, you didn't. It's not a race. Hey, wait for me!"

Once on the main trail, big brother has slowed down, allowing you to catch up. He puts his arm around you.

You prepare yourself for the brotherly hug that you're sure is about to come, when he leans over and gives you an affectionate noogie on the head instead.

For the remainder of the walk home, you are absorbed in all that is your big brother. You scamper down the steep hills with him. You toss a rock in the creek, when he tosses a rock in the creek. You try to stay with him as he hops up the stairs. You let him hold your hand and guide you safely across the street. You are grateful when he slows down his gait to stay with you as your smaller legs become weary. You ask him question after question of all that is on your mind and he patiently answers each and every one.

As you near the front door, a faint whiff of cinnamon and toasted nuts, reminds you to turn and look at the mother, still watching from behind. With a melt-your-heart grin, you earnestly call out to your brother, "Hey, guess what Mom made for snack?" "What?" "Cookies." "No way! Awesome!"

You and your brother, push your way through the barely opened door, toss off your shoes and race to the cooling cookies. Trying to civilize you, the mother from "behind", beckons you over to the table, puts your cookies on a plate and, trying to ward off the chill from this blustery weather, places down a mug of hot apple cider in front of you. You glance up to say, "Thank you" and then, your attention turns back to your big brother who continues to answer all of the questions you had saved up all day...just for him.

Skippin' Down the Trail Oatmeal Cookies

I have been starting to play around with whole wheat pastry flour and with fall firmly upon us, I have been craving oatmeal cookies. So, using the original Quaker Oats Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe, I came up with this version...which my children inhaled and paid no heed to the healthy stuff lurking inside.

1 c butter, softened (2 sticks)

3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour such as Bob's Red Mill

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

3 c old-fashioned rolled oats

1 c raisins

1 c walnuts

1/4 c unsweetened, shredded coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined. With a wooden spoon, stir in oats, raisins, walnuts and coconut until incorporated.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Yield: About 3 dozen.

All original text and photos copyright: Carrie Minns 2009

"Do-It-Yourself" Granola

You have appeared to my life,

Feel like I'll never be the same.

Like a Star by Corinne Bailey Rae

With a great whoosh of air, I watch as the navy and white striped sheet flutters to the ground. For a brief moment, I am transported back to its glory days. Back to the first apartment I shared with my sweetie where this simple sheet rested prominently on our bed. The same apartment where our cat, Bruce, a mere kitten at the time decided to skydive off our third floor balcony without a parachute, quickly using up one of his lives. The same apartment where I decided to can salsa for Christmas gifts, using a recipe I'd never tried nor had I bothered to really taste during the creating. The salsa did not become a tradition. Perhaps it was the Worcestershire sauce.

Another gust of air and this time it's a Florentine marbled design in peaches, soft blues and pale pink. I can see the bed in my college room where this sheet started out, fresh and new. I can see it in its final place of honor. A guest bed. Twin. Of the Bedknobs and Broomstick variety. The guest room in that little walk-up in Noe Valley. The very place where I threw a 30th Birthday party for my sweetie while simultaneously suffering from the flu. The same party that included a particularly distinguished guest, that being the chef and owner of our San Francisco neighborhood's very own Italian restaurant. When a metallic smell started emanating from the oven, it was he who discovered that I had failed to remove the plastic protector from underneath my brand new pizza stones before using them. He quickly pulled the noxious pizzas from the oven as a trail of hot plastic oozed behind him like pulled taffy.

A flash of pink and white check and it's my daughter's first bedroom. Ballet pink. Baby dolls and handmade cradles. Dress-up clothes and a kitchen. Fish sticks, peas and applesauce. The swath of material softly falls to the ground and takes up its place next to the others. Together they make up my painting quilt, of sorts, protecting the floor as I rhythmically cover up the ballet pink with each stroke of the brush.

I know that at some point in your 30s, there is a bridge that is crossed. The one where you leave your painting days behind and instead, hire out that sort of job but let me say a few words in favor of "do-it-yourself" painting. For starters, it's cathartic. Relaxing. The mesmerizing sound of the brush against the wall. And, painting is very deliberate. It can't be rushed. You have to slow down. Be careful. Don't splatter. You find yourself left alone with your thoughts. Painting gives you a moment to pause. To consider that the daughter who once wrapped herself in every shade of pink imaginable is no longer that little girl. No, she is somewhere between the woman she will become and the adolescent that she is. And with each stroke of the brush you recognize that she is growing up. Her walls are becoming a creamy white. And while there is some tug at your heart, knowing that the little girl will never be again, you can't help but be excited for what lay ahead. With each passing day, you are able to shed little bits of your role as parent. Knowing that one day, should you do your job well, you will shed enough of the parent role, to be her friend. And so, you say good-bye to the ballet pink and the subtle chain of daisies you stenciled round the room all those years ago.

I pick-up my cup of hot, chamomile/mint tea. I gaze outside at the gray skies and 64-degree weather. Not an uncommon summer day in Portland but one that my "Phoenix-habitating" brother would consider to be straight out of mid-winter. I reach down to the ramekin of granola I've been munching on all morning. I can't think of a more delightful painting snack. Oats, bits of almonds & walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, a pinch of salt and a dollop of maple syrup all roasted to perfection. And, I pause to consider that while I had been taping off the trim in the early morning hours, my almost teenage daughter had been roasting up this delectable concoction. The very one that I munch on now. And there's another reason to be in favor of "do-it-yourself" painting. When you tell the kids that you will be unavailable for the day due to the painting project. That they will be in charge of their own snacks. Their own meals. And that they will make sure the baby gets fed. They take you seriously. And you become the happy benefactor of their independent ways.

The sky has grown dark. The granola's long since gone. I gaze around at my work. The pink has disappeared. "Not bad." The creamy white my daughter picked out looks fresh. New. I turn out the light, wrap my hands around my cup of tea and head down the hallway.

"Do-It-Yourself" Granola

(Adapted from Elle's Nutty Granola, Foodnetwork.com)

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I prefer Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or as my daughter did, just rub a little butter over it. Pour the granola mixture onto the sheet and spread it out evenly. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Smell, taste, enjoy.

Originally written: August 7, 2009

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009