Tropigal Granola

Maybe I'm wishing for spring, and even pretending that when it gets here it will be warmer like summer. Maybe I was just dreaming of being on vacation in the Bahamas with Gwyneth. Who knows. But here goes: granola modified from this recipe at Joy the Baker, who modified it from Martha Stewart. I am, by the way, very enamored of Joy the Baker. Have I mentioned chocolate peanut butter pretzel sea salt brownies lately?! But I digress....back to the granola.

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup slivered raw almonds

1 cup whole raw almonds

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (the Whole Foods bulk coconut is great)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

approximately 3 oz. dried unsweetened mango slices, snipped into small pieces

approximately 4 oz. dried tart cherries, cut in half (I used Montmorency cherries from Trader Joe's)

Place a rack in the upper third and middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line one large or two small baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together oats, whole almonds, slivered almonds, sweetened coconut cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt together butter, oil, honey and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Carefully whisk together so it’s well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract. Pour the warm mixture over the oat and almond mixture and toss together with a wooden spoon, ensuring that all of the oat mixture gets moistened by the sugar and oil mixture.

Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet(s) and bake for about 25 minutes, removing the oats to stir and toss on the pan twice during baking. Remove from the oven, letting cool and turning over/breaking up every few minutes until it is almost room temperature and relatively dry. Mix in cherries and mango pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Even Kels likes this. I would like to make this with macadamia nuts next time, but it was a spur of the moment thing, and at that moment, Trader Joe's was out of them. But--for the record--when they have them, they are both good and affordable.

Seeds Straight From Your Fridge

In the New York Times, seeds that are viable from the shelf.  I wouldn't have guessed that it was easy to grow poppies from commercial poppy seeds.  Also, papayas and lychee.

Dry roasted granola

I like making granola, but most recipes are fairly heavy and sweet.  I have never cared much for the raw taste of muesli.  Here is a nice in-between version, with toasted oats and nuts, and a little brown sugar, that I found while browsing The Enchanted Broccoli Forest recently.

DryRoast Granola
1 cup raw rolled oats
⅓ cup chopped nuts
⅓ cup wheat germ
⅓ cup sesame seeds
⅓ cup sunflower seeds
⅓ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp salt

Use a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron). Toast the oats and nuts over medium low heat, stirring continuously for 5 minutes.

Add wheat germ, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut and dried fruit. Heat and stir for another 10 minutes.

Sprinkle in brown sugar and salt. Cook for 2-5 more minutes, still stirring. Remove from heat, cool, and store in an airtight container.

 From The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, via SparkRecipes

Enchanted Broccoli Forest

I cook from the original Moosewood Cookbook a lot more often than from its followup, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.  I never even realized until recently that the title was actually a recipe in the book, with little broccoli trees standing in a brown rice casserole.  It doesn't get any more Moosewood than that.  We had to try it.  The lemon butter broccoli was pretty good, but the casserole was bland.  I would double the onion and salt, and maybe throw some more vegetables in.

Enchanted Broccoli Forest

1 1-lb. bunch of broccoli, cut into spears and steamed until just tender

2 cups brown rice, cooked in 3 cups water until just done

Juice from 1 lemon combined with 2 tbsp of melted butter

Sauté:

1 tbl. butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 large clove crushed garlic

½ tsp salt

½ tsp dill

Lots of black pepper

½ tsp dried mint

cayenne pepper, to taste

Sauté together until onions are soft and translucent.  Add to the cooked rice.

3 large eggs

¼ cup parsley

1½ cup grated grated cheddar or Swiss cheese

Beat together well, then add to the rice mixture and spread into a buttered 8"x8" pan.

Arrange the broccoli trees upright in the bed of rice mixture and drizzle with lemon butter.  Cover gently but firmly with foil.  Bake 30 minutes at 325°F.

From The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Chicken and Dumplings

Found a good recipe on Epicurious for chicken and cornmeal dumplings.  There were a lot of alternative chicken & dumpling recipes, including an unappealing low-fat version and one from 1963.  This one was pretty good, I left out the turmeric and we didn't have parsley, and next time I would think about a wider pot to give the dumplings more room.