Granola

All week we've been having toast for breakfast from the two loaves I made last weekend, rosemary no-knead and a simple sandwich loaf. I love bread and I love toast equally, however I've never been one who can eat the same thing day in and day out. So after a week of toast with butter, toast with jam, scrambled eggs on toast, I couldn't stand to think of another toast variation this week.

So I got thinking, what else is quick in the morning? And I realized I hadn't made granola in ages. When E and I first got to konw each other, I used to send him packages of goodies and granola was usually included. I've tested out variations with many different fruit and nut combinations as well as the amounts of honey and/or maple syrup, so the recipe below is just a starting point. Or it could be the end point as well, since I really like apricots and pecans.

Pecan and Apricot Granola

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats or thick cut oats

1 cup sweetened, dried coconut

1 cup pecans, chopped roughly

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons honey (I prefer a single flower type)

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried apricots, chopped roughly

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Cover a quarter sheet pan with aluminum foil (you can also use a 9" x 13")

Mix the oats, coconut, pecans, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl

Add oil, honey, and maple syrup to a measuring cup or small bowl and stir to combine

Pour over oat mixture and stir until oat mixutre is evenly coated

Spread the oats evenly on the prepared sheet pan

Place in the oven and back for about 35 minutes, stiring about every 10 minutes

In the last 10 minutes, watch closely as the oats will brown quickly

Let cool in pan and add to a bowl with the apricots (you may need to break the granola into pieces)

Store in an airtight container and serve with milk or yogurt

Sometimes I omit the apricots fruit and use as a topping for ice cream

Beets

I know, you probably would have never guessed that the photo above was not taken by me due to my stellar work displayed on this site. However, I must confess this photo is from jamieoliver.com and is for his Winter Crunch Salad with a Mind-Blowing Sauce. For those of you not familiar with Jamie, I did not make up the name. That's really what this recipe for bagna cauda is called and when I saw the photo, I thought it'd be a great idea for some of my fall veg from the share-beets, carrotts, fennel and the like.

However, I haven't gotten that far yet. I just liked the picture and think its much sexier than what I can provide in terms of veggie Glamour Shots. So far, I've roasted my beets and let them sit in the fridge next to some potato-fennel soup which I never finished, and evidently really didn't interest E. However, in the rush to pack lunch Monday morning, they ended up thrown into a plastic container with some mild chevre. Goat cheese and beets are a delicious combination. Well, I wouldn't necessarily complain about goat cheese paired with anything, but the sweet, red beets pair nicely with the salty, creamy chevre. Yum! Its possible my co-workers aren't thinking yum when they detect the beet aroma escaping from my office, but that's what's on my mind when I open my little lunch container and dig in. Its not like I packed fish and am reheating it in the microwave.

At this point I'm sure you're intrigued at this, so please, let me set the mood for you...

One 8" x 10" office without windows to the outside

A laptop, printer and phone

A very, large monitor so I can see, in detail, all of the pertinent information I could ever desire concerning my job!

I know, you too wish you had a windowless office for eating beets at lunch. Hold onto those dreams, dear reader.

Winter Squash

I'm in the process of typing this entry and before I can even put words to the photos, E is making fun of me from excluding some of the more "shaply" gnocchi from the post. Not that the ones here would win any prize, but I probably haven't made gnocchi since junior high and then it would have most certainly been with help from my mother, Martha. What I'm saying is that each gnocchi had its own signature look, some being more attractive than others.


For the past two weeks, we've had winter squash in our farm share. This is the last week of summer share and I tend to forget that you can have such a mix of fruit and vegetables in late summer and early fall. There's the last few sun gold tomatoes with our delicata, carnival and butternut squashes. For fruit, a few berries were left along with some pears. Additionally, I took a trip to the orchard to pick jonagold and liberty apples, some to eat and some pressed for cider.


In Sunset magazine this month there was a great photo and recipe for squash gnocchi. I ended up using Mark Bittman's recipe for Parsnip Gnocchi, out of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, substituting roasted butternut squash. (When I came home with this cookbook a couple weeks ago, E asked me with a concerned look if we were becoming vegetarians.) I boiled the gnocchi and then tossed them with some butter, sage, and pine nuts and topped them with Parmiggiano before sliding them into the oven. I enjoyed my individual gnocchi gratin, and froze the ones that I had not boiled so that I'll have an easy dinner for some night after work. I think I prefer traditional potato gnocchi, but these held their own and will certainly become and often-used squash recipe.


I just love this little green pumpkin, as much as you can love fall vegetables that you have no intention of consuming. My photography scarely does it justice, but the metallic looking green color is striking, its just the right size for indoors, and the curly tendrils are so ridiculously perfect I'm sure the commercial Halloween industry would love to study it for some future production of a plastic replica. The proud farmer from the market was telling me all sorts of delicious things to do with it, but I had to break the news to her that this adorable little specimen would not be going anywhere near the kitchen. Its sitting on my end table, greeting me each time I pass through the room with a green, toothy smile.

Baking for Bankers

Today at work, everyone brought in a baked treat, or two, to share and then to be judged by our peers. It was good that I missed (skipped) breakfast this morning so I was able to quickly filly my belly with numerous confections-all by 9:30 AM. I was originally making chocolate cupcakes with mocha frosting, until I mentioned that to my mother. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed that I was bringing cupcakes to a baking contest and when I asked if she didn't think it was a good idea, she just said, "Oh, I'm sure they'll enjoy them". Hmmm. Evidently I needed to pick it up a notch.

From my big, black binder-which consists of pages of magzine tear-outs and internet print-offs of recipes that I imagine myself making someday-I chose a Milky Way Tart published in Bon Appetit. It has a chocolate crust, a layer of buttery caramel, and a pillowy topping of airy chocolate cream. What's funny is that the other item that I brought, Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam Bars, happened to win "Best Taste". Yeah, those took like 10 minutes to throw together and I only ended up making them as I had some time to kill while I was blind baking the tart shell. I don't know, maybe it was the jam as I canned it this summer adapting Orangette's jam recipe in Bon Appetit. Regardless, by the end of the day, their platter was cloaked in crumbs while half of what I consdiered the showpiece, Milky Way Tart, still lingered. In terms of office-standards, I'd say the jam bars were well received.

The highlight of the day was definitely the Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie with Pecan crust, which was E's contribution. I felt badly for him all day as everyone in the group kept asking him if he really made it or if he was pawning one of my creations off on his own. He took it in stride, and when it came down to awards, he was the recipient of "Best in Show". Okay, so the naming convetion of the awards may need some work, but the point is he did a great job and the rest of the group, myself included, was clearly impressed with his culinary expertise.

Gas Torches

If you're looking for finished photos of a nicely caramelized creme brulee, don't look here. The camera and I are in round 9, so thankfully I'll have a decision soon as to who has won the bout. The camera took me in the 8th, so all I've got is some lovely custard ready for its date with the slow oven. Nothing more.

Although I love him dearly, E does not crave sweets. I know, this sounds preposterous but that is not to say he doesn't eat them. Really, he'll eat anything I put in front of him, however he wouldn't seek a delicious strawberry tart with a crumbly crust and a nice vanilla cream on his own. Please keep in mind the fact that he'll consume any number of things may seem good, but also has drawbacks. (Think take-out for three meals a day when I'm traveling.)

Anyway, he does like creme brulee and the thought of making it at home, rather him having a reason to use a torch, clearly had him more interested in dinner than usual. He kindly asked if we should use his gas welding torch, but I let him know that the tiny kitchen torch I had would probably be sufficient. Let's just say it was exciting for all involved. I took Dorie's suggestion of placing a few raspberries from last weeks farm share in the dish before pouring the custard in and we both agreed that it was a nice change from the basic creamy treat. Although I do like this recipe, I'll probably continue to use Ina Garten's recipe form Barefoot in Paris, even though it makes enough custard for 20 "French-size" servings. Je suis Americain.

I saw this quote in this month's Saveur and must admit I love it. Its from A.A. Milne, author of Winne-the-Pooh.

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,' said piglet at last, 'What's the first thing you say to yourself?'

"What's for breakfast?' said Pooh. 'What do you say, Piglet?'

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?' said Piglet

"Pooh nodded thoughtfully. 'Its the same thing,' he said."

Pooh gets it.