Hi internet. I disappeared under a pile of snow for awhile there, and now I am basically buried under my jobs. One of those jobs is in my field and fulfilling and wonderful, but it also necessitates that I live out of a suitcase Monday night through Thursday afternoon in a place with no kitchen. Fortunately I have access to an excellent food co-op on those days, but I have also been doing some very uncharacteristic food planning and prep in order to cope with my frequent travels. I work a full day on Mondays before I hit the road, so that has meant that I spend my Sunday afternoons peacefully in the kitchen, getting ready for my week.
No recipes today, but I thought I'd at least let you know what I'm making:
1. Veganomicon's Chickpea Cutlets, except I did mine with cannellini beans and Italian spices.
2. A blues-killing winter citrus salad that I ganked from Jeannette's blog. I added ginger and celery and a grated carrot and will probably chuck in some pumpkin seeds. There, that was kind of a recipe.
3. A huge pot of vegetable stock, using up all the veggie butts I've been chucking away in the freezer.
4. A huge pot of black eyed peas for some to-be-determined dish that I'll make later tonight. It'll probably be of the beans + grains + greens variety.
5. A big batch of apple granola, also based on a Jeannette recipe. I've been using this recipe as a starting point for a few months, and let me tell you, I don't think I'll be buying granola ever again.
I'll be coming back at you soon with a recipe for a Massaged Kale Salad, but I just wanted to get over my no-posting slump and say hi.
Recently my boyfriend decided that he wanted to start snacking on yogurt and granola, so in response I've been honing my granola chops. My first attempt was too complicated and included quinoa and crystallized ginger and pumpkin puree and molasses, and in the end none of the delicious ingredients mattered because my stupid oven fried the stuff almost immediately. Let's say it was very dark brown and I'm the only one who ate any of it. Someday I'll make a gingerbread-inspired granola that I'm happy with.
But for now, simplifying is the name of the game. Here's what I came up with in my most recent attempt, and the results are pretty sweet and addictive.
Coconut-Almond Granola
Preheat your oven to 300. If your oven runs hot, like mine seems to, try 275 instead. If I were a more diligent cook, I would have a thermometer to help me determine the actual temp of my oven and you would get more precise instructions.
Mix dry ingredients together in a big bowl:
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup ground rolled oats (you can do this in a food processor or coffee grinder)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup almond meal (don't sweat it if you don't have any. I had some from making almond milk awhile back)
1/4 cup soy protein powder (always looking for stealth protein)
1/2 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup almonds--mine were slivered, but any old cut will do
2 t cinnamon
Melt the wet ingredients in a little saucepan over medium heat just until bubbly:
1/2 c virgin coconut oil
1 cup brown sugar (this produces a pretty sweet granola. Next time I'll cut down to 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup water
Remove wet ingredients from heat and stir in:
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
Let the wet ingredients cool a bit, then dump over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is thoroughly combined. Spray two 11 X 17 jelly roll pans with cooking spray and distribute the mixture evenly over the two pans. You can squeeze the mixture together to form delicious chunks. Toast for about a half hour, but check frequently (every ten minutes, at least) and turn the granola to keep it from burning. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 8.5 cups.
