Dual post! Mostly, for the bread..but because the dressing is excellent it is piggy-backing its way onto this post. Its been a beautiful few days here in Steamboat! I spent the weekend hanging out with friends-mostly outside. Its warm and sunny and everything is blooming. Wow.
Anyways, since I am finally getting back into the swing of things (after epic April and mas travels) its is time to make some bread. I woke up this morning, a severe case of the Mondays abound, and decided to kick it with some productivity. First order, mix up some bread and set it to rise. Next order, clean the house. Spring clean style…as in gathering a thrift store drop-off bin and making sure everything is dusted and clean. Next order…await the bread, start the laundry and head out for a long run.
All of that over with, the warm bread still cooling on the sideboard, I was starving. So I made a great lunch!
I tossed some greens with Tahini-Lemon Salad Dressing, spritzed them with some Balsamic Vinegar and spread some hummus/sliced tomatoes on toast. Fresh Ethiopian Honey Toast, that is. Noms!
Ethiopian Honey Bread:
2.5 tsp yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1Tbsp ground coriander
1 cup warm milk
4 Tbsp melted butter (and more for greasing the pans if you want to use butter
4- 4 1/2 cups flour (I used WW)
Directions: Mix yeast and water in a large bowl. Let yeast sit to bloom while you mix honey, egg, spices, warm milk and melted butter. Add honey mixture to the water/yeast once the yeast is bubbly and blooming. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and stir until the dough is not too sticky that you can pick it out of the bowl in one piece. Knead for 5-7min on a lightly floured surface, mold into a ball and place in a grease bowl. Let rise in a draft-free place for 50-60min or until doubled. Punch it down and knead it a few times, shape into two loaves and place into well-greased bread pans. Let rise in a draft free place for another 50-60min. Preheat oven to 300F about 45min in. Bake bread for 45-55min or until browning on the top. Let cool on a cake rack.
Lemon-Tahini Dressing:
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 tsp dill
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Stir well and keep in airtight container in fridge.
Delish! I sort of made up the dressing..I read a few different ones and decided to just go for it. Alternately, you can just put Tahini directly on your salad with olive oil and vinegar. It adds good protein and is tasty! I like the dressing because you can toss things in it..Tahini Cole Slaw here I come!
The bread is excellent! I omitted the coriander because I forgot to buy any…oops! I didn’t miss it though? Good. The bread is pretty hearty and its sweetness can be enhanced if you want to make a sweet toast, but it is not too sweet to be a savory sandwich bread. So good. Thanks to Andrea, for cluing me into this tasty gem!
Meanwhile, the boys got bored and fell asleep on my bed..in the sun..oh gosh to be a cat!
Enjoy!
Curried Elk and Sauteed Zucchini
Happy May!
In light of recent awesome life events and a TON of traveling, I decided its time for a bit of a healthy food kick. So for a few days at least, I am going to try to aim for as many fruits and veggies as I can get. I am also going to try and give up sugar for a little while (yeh, right.)
Anyways, thank god for meat. Because I can eat as many fruits and veggies as I’d like but without protein its sooo energy draining. I basically hit up the grocery and bought a ton of veggies and fruit, and a jar of Tahini-my new fave salad topper. Surprisingly, a ton of veggies are super cheap. Awesome. I also headed to the Meat and Seafood Co. for some ground Elk, beef and seafood.
A few days in and I am already feeling better! Also, sugar cravings-the worst. I started the week off with a large batch of Curried Elk over Sauteed Zucchini. This way, I have it on hand whenever. I have never cooked elk before, but I decided it couldn’t be bad with some tomatoes in a sauce creation over zucchini or spaghetti squash.
Mmmm.
Great success!
Curried Ground Elk:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Ground Elk
1 onion, chopped
1-2 Garlic cloves, crushed
6 large Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1tsp Curry Powder
Pinch of Basil
Salt to taste
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pan or pot over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 2-3min. Add meat and spices and cook, continuing to stir until meat is mostly brown. Add tomatoes and keep cooking until all of the meat is browned and the tomatoes are beginning to loose their juices.
Sautéed Zucchini with Cinnamon:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Zucchini, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
¾ tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Chop zucchini, garlic and onion. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic, cook for 3-4min and add zucchini and spices. Stir well, turn heat to medium low and stir until the zucchini starts to soften.
So tasty! I don’t think the ratio of zucchini to meat is quite right. I plan to roast a spaghetti squash to serve the elk over as well. If you are making this dish for a family, double the zucchini recipe, it should cover it!
Stand by for some more excellent culinary adventures…I have a few things I want to try as soon as I have a bit more time (hello two days off!). Plus…pickle season is almost among us! Waaaah!
Enjoy!
Crock Pot Pulled Pork BBQ
Life happened.
But BBQ is amazing.
First, lets start with the fact that the last few weeks of life have been momentous. First of all, I decided to eat meat again…it all happened with an excellent prosciutto encrusted lamb on some super tasty homemade rolls brought to yours truly by the lovely ladies who own Cellar Liquors in downtown Steamboat. This was best decision number one. The next best things all kind of happened at once in correlation with closing weekend at the mountain which was full of live music and skiing and some amazing times together. And then we all decided to go to Aspen for the heck of it.
And that is where this post picks up. I decided that it was necessary to bring a crock pot of pulled pork on the adventure, because, well, what is a spring trip without a BBQ? So I went by the Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. and bought a 4lb pork butt for the crock pot. One thing about my renewed meat eating is that I am going to attempt to buy only local. So I found out that this little piggy grew up on the front range (which is the Eastern side of CO in front of the mountains for those of you who don’t reside near here). Anyways, pretty close to home. So here is the recipe…and some great photos to follow.
Pulled Pork:
1 pork butt (Boston butt) I used 4lbs
salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce (or any great sauce…but this one is the best unless you make one)
Crock Pot
Directions: Rub pork with spices and place in crock pot, fat side down. Turn heat to low and let cook for 10-12 hours or until it is literally falling apart. Use two forks to pull it apart and discard the bone (do not discard any liquid). Add about 1/3 of the jar of BBQ sauce and stir well. Save the rest of the sauce for serving. Make some great sides (I suggest Jiffy Bread and some cole slaw at the very least). Serve!
So yummy.
We also roasted some potatoes for the feast.
Enjoy!
Quick Veggie Soup to Cure the Sick
I might have come down with something. I am still in denial, but it happened. And when I couldn’t get out of bed and my throat was past the point of ever wanting to allow me to swallow again, I maybe admitted it. And then I slept for an extra two hours and woke up, downed some EmergenC, drank some tea, opened the windows to let the spring warmth in, and refused to be sick. It went well until the achey-ness set in later that evening. When I was babysitting, nonetheless.
So I went home and went right to bed, woke up 9 hours later feeling maybe 75% better. Amazing what sleep can do. I decided that one more night of recovery was in the books, so I went right home after work, threw together some soup, drank some more tea and went to bed early again. AND it worked! So maybe Ill give the soup 80% of the credit and my bed the other 20%. Either way, I’m over the slumpy sickness and back in the game. Fortunately so, as its too nice out to feel like poop. If I ever get sick again (not going to happen, right?) I will be making this soup. For sure.
Quick and Easy Cure-All Veggie Soup:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup green lentils, soaked for a few hours in 2 cups water (this softens them & shortens the boil time)
1 package frozen veggies (corn, green beans, peas and carrots)
6 cups water
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
Directions:
In a large pot, heat olive oil, garlic and chopped onion over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add spices and stir well. Add lentils, veggies and water. Bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer for 45min. Make some Jiffy Bread while you wait…
Excellent dinner! Jiffy Bread AND a soup packed with green veggies. Plus, I am giving it a thumbs up in the healing category, maybe all we ever need is a good vegetable soup to cure what ails. Sadly, I think this is my last soup for a while, since spring and summer are starting to show their faces. And now that its warming up, those nasty colds won’t be buzzing around!
Luckily, I found enough strength to fight off the small, starving gato.
Enjoy!
Whey Tasty: Italian Feather Bread!
Well, after the epic cheese success, I decided to forge ahead with another new recipe, Italian Feather Bread-made with whey. PERFECT. Not only do I get to use up a little bit of the leftover whey from the Mozzarella Experiment, I also get some nice warm bread to enjoy with my cheese! Mmmm, it reminds me all over again of those picnic lunches we enjoyed during the Great Ireland Adventure.
I started making this bread the minute I put my cheese in the refrigerator, in fact, my whey was still hot enough to melt the butter without being reheated. Yeh, I was speedy, but don’t worry, I didn’t rush the rising time.
I have to say, there was a time at which I have to admit, I was a little terrified of yeasted bread. And now, while I have a ways to go to feel like I know all of the ins and outs, I definitely feel much more confident in my ability to create the right dough consistency, judge the kneading time and know when it is through rising and finished baking. Success!
So, if you have any worries of your own on the yeasty side of baking, try this bread, it’s actually pretty simple. The knead time is relatively short (saving you the fear of under or over kneading) and the shaping is easy..just roll it up! But it’s a little fancier than a round loaf that is simply shaped into a ball. Go on, you’ll impress people.
Italian Feather Bread:
2.5 tsp yeast
1Tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup butter
¾ cup hot whey (you can sub in milk)
1 tsp salt
5 ½ – 6 cups flour (I used 3 cups AP and 2.5 cups WW)
Directions:
Mix warm water, sugar and yeast together in a large bowl, stir once or twice and let sit for 8-10min for the yeast to bloom. Meanwhile, if your whey isn’t already hot, toss it in the microwave for 45seconds or until it is hot enough to melt the butter. Cut butter into small pieces and drop into the hot whey, wait for butter to melt and the mixture to cool off a bit then add salt. Once the yeast is bloomed, add whey mixture to the yeast, stir vigorously for a few seconds. Add flour one cup at a time, stirring constantly. The dough will still be a little sticky, but starting to come away from the bowl. Turn out on floured surface and knead for 4-5min or until smooth and soft. Form into a ball and let sit for 10min. Meanwhile, grease a large cookie sheet and sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Cut the ball of dough in half and roll each piece into a 12×8” rectangle. Roll each one up tightly from the wide side (so you get two 12” loafs), place them on the cookie sheet and let them rise for 50-60min or until doubled. (I usually do this in the cool oven with the light on and remove them when I start the preheat).
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake bread for 20-30min or until a hollow sound happens when you tap on the bottom of the loaf.
Yum! I got the recipe out of the back of the book that came with the cheese making kit. It was nice to see that Ricki (the cheese queen) is just as worried as me about the excessive amounts of whey that comes with making cheese..so shes gives us a great alternative to throwing it out by throwing it into this recipe. The bread came out as a cross between denser sandwich bread and lighter, fluffier brioche types of bread. An excellent consistency, slightly sweet (maybe the whey?) and super yummy with some jelly spread on it right out of the oven!
An update on my search for uses of leftover whey:
I found that you can sub whey for almost any bread/baked good calling for milk (alternately, you can sub milk for the whey in the recipe above). You can use it in soups and stews to add protein AND you can cook grains and pastas in it in lieu of water. All very interesting. I think I am most interested to try using it in lieu of milk for baking. I also read that it is good for watering some plants and also for adding to your compost…I will do a bit more research on that before I feed Cameron (our verm-bin) any whey.
Enjoy!
The Monday Mozzarella Experiment
Monday- Mozzarella Day!
Today is the day-I decided to try my hand at making mozzarella. Cheese making is always an experiment..but it was super simple, actually. AND now I have some great, homemade mozzarella to go with my sourdough pizza dough. Or just to eat….
For Christmas, my mom got me Ricki’s 30min Mozzarella and Ricotta Kit. Its a great kit, with step by step instructions and all the supplies you need (except the milk). It was pretty spot on with the time frame..I think the process took me about 45min. Awesome. The result? A boost in kitchen confidence and a really scrumptious hunk of mozzarella cheese (ahem, I believe the correct term might be log). Though I spent the entire process completely faithless in the milk’s ability to actually turn to the stringy, taffy like, finished product the recipe described, it happened! Like magic. Magic cheese that is.
^citric acid, cheese salt, rennet tablets, and the cheese!
The kit was great. Super excellent step by step instructions and some photos, if you feel like you might want them, I’d highly recommend purchasing it (by clicking here)!
Mozzarella Cheese:
1/2 gallon milk (pasteurized, NOT ultra-pasteurized)
3/4 cup cool water
1/8 rennet tablet (or 1/8 tsp liquid rennet)
3/4 tsp citric acid
1/2 tsp cheese salt or other spices (optional..but tasty!)
Tools:
Large stainless steel pot
Slotted Wooden Spoon
Thermometer
Large pot for water bath (see below)
Colander
Directions:
Step 1-Making the Curds:
Dissolve 1/8 tablet of rennet (or 1/8tsp if you have liquid rennet) in 1/8 cup cold water and set aside. Dissolve 3/4 tsp citric acid in 1/2 cup of water and pour into a large pot. Add 1/2 gallon of milk to the pot, stirring vigorously. Heat the milk/acid to 90F. Remove from heat, stir in rennet (for about 30seconds), cover and let sit 5-8min. The consistency should resemble custard, with clear whey separated out. With a long sharp knife, cut the curds into a checkerboard pattern. Place pot over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 110F. Turn heat off and continue to stir for a minute or two.
(apparently, at this point you can refrigerate or freeze the curds and work with them later)
^curds and whey beginning to separate after 5 minutes after the rennet was added.
^cutting the curds!
^stirring/reheating curds to 110
step 2-Water Bath:
Heat a large pot of water (large enough that a colander can fit down just inside it) to 185F. Meanwhile, ladle the curds into the colander and wait for some of the whey to drain off (I saved most of my whey..because there is a LOT). When water reaches 185, remove from heat and sit colander full of curds into pot. Using a wooden spoon, fold the curds together in the colander. Lift the colander and sit it back in the pot a few times to allow the curds to cool a little bit. In a few minutes, the curds come together in a stretchy mass, this happens when the temperature has cooled to around 135F. You can add 1tsp cheese salt or spices now, if you want. Pick it up with your hands and stretch it like taffy for a minute or two before shaping into a ball or log and storing in saran wrap. Voila!
^stirring the very tiny stringy curds in the water bath (I was super skeptical at this point)
^and then…magic started to happen and they all stuck together in one big blob!
^stretching the taffy-like mozzarella just before shaping it into the log.
I should note here that I only made a 1/2 batch (the kit called for 1 gallon of milk and double of everything else) but it worked out fantastically! The one thing I have learned through my cheese making ventures is that its takes a lot of milk to make a little cheese. I was slightly appalled by how much whey I had left over and I ended up with only a large-fist-sized piece of mozzarella. Yes, that’s a real cheese measurement..large-fist-sized. And don’t get me wrong-it’s plenty of cheese for a couple of pizzas, and spending $1.29 on a 1/2 gallon of milk is cheaper than spending $6-7 on the same amount of mozz. It was just….surprising. SO, I saved the waste whey! I immediately made some loaves of Italian Feather Bread (also in Ricki’s recipe book, because clearly she is worried about the amount of whey we waste too) and then I stored the rest in the fridge. I’m currently researching alternate uses. My last resort is to freeze it.
For now, I’ll leave you with this somewhat lengthy post and much encouragement to try it on your own.
Lets eat cheese!
Spring Time Pasta Salad!
The temperatures have been steadily climbing the last couple of weeks here in the mountains. So naturally, the spring time feeling, coupled with the fact that we are skiing in shorts and t-shirts, calls for a brighter, lighter, cooler fair. Hence the colorful pasta salad!
It helps that I have a massive surplus of pasta too, and since we are still in clean out the pantry mode, I feel like I need to use it. This post is going to be short and sweet (hopefully much like the snow and frosty temps that just returned last night and forged onward into this afternoon). Yeh…snow. I am over it at this point. Even if it is taboo to wish for no more snow after the practically snow-less winter we’ve had. I want spring! I want summer! I want tubing and rodeos and hiking and biking…I want sunny warm loveliness.
Maybe I’ll make some more pasta salad and hide out until the sun comes back.
Spring Pesto Pasta Salad:
1 16oz box pasta
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 jar of pesto
1 bag frozen veggies
1 bag baby spinach
garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Directions:
While the pasta is boiling, chop your bell peppers. Add frozen veggies for the last few minutes of the pasta cooking to defrost/cook them a bit. Drain pasta/veggies in a colander and toss into a large bowl. Mix everything else in immediately (the spinach will wilt a little because the pasta is warm, this is what you want) add spices to taste. Toss in Parmesan cheese just before serving.
Yum! Like I said, short and sweet. Mmmm pesto.
Enjoy!
Black Bean Soup..or Pantry Treasures!
Happy March!
Its been a busy few weeks here on the mountain and it is only going to get more busy with the influx of spring breakers! Busy is good though, as it finally means work is steady. Which means a little more wiggle room for monies. It also is the second month in my budgeting plan.
After spending January celebrating the New Year (a little too much, maybe) I decided to set my head straight in February and I joined Learnvest.com in order to make myself examine my expenses and maybe start saving some (for my next great travel adventure!?). I did OK last month, I was a pretty thrifty grocery shopper and I went out a lot less…or maybe just spending less when I went out… Anyways, last month, my goal was to start the budget. This month, my goal is to concentrate a bit more on how I can tighten it up without losing all the fun things in life. So it is the time to clean out the freezer and the pantry. Thus, my goal: to hit the grocery store a very minimum amount of times.
I think it is going to be a pretty fun challenge, as I have a pretty random assortment of things in the pantry from people who have visited in the last few months. Also, along with a few friends, I am participating in a weekly potluck series…so I think I’ll be able to get creative there too! I think today’s recipe was an easy one.
I decided to make a black bean soup. Basically, I used most of the canned goods I had and some fresh veggies. I suspect lots of the frozen veggies and canned goods and pastas will end up going into soups this month, but I can’t argue, because it is still pretty chilly and snowy here in the mountains and there is nothing better than a warm soup for lunch!
Pantry Black Bean Soup:
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno (optional)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
3 14 oz cans of beans (I used 2 black bean and 1 pinto bean…you could also use a can of corn)
Directions:
Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. When the onion begins to get soft, add spices and chopped jalapeno if using. Cook for another 2-3min. Add tomatoes and then fill the can with water and add that. Drain beans and add. Simmer for 30min. Voila!
YUM! I had it for lunch with Jalapeno Jack cheese and some Stoned Wheat Crackers. Warm and toasty and also tasty. <3 I have to say, I have enjoyed the recent soup creations I’ve been blogging. Not only are they great for winter, they are a good way to get in lots of veggies. Plus, they are quick to make and dried pasta, beans, canned goods and fresh veggies haven’t been breaking the bank. And I have 3-4 servings of leftovers to make the most of this weeks’ lunches!
I hope you enjoy!
King Cakes for Fat Tuesday
Happy Mardi Gras!
For us here in Steamboat, Presidents’ Weekend and the following week is one of our busiest times. And it is Blues Week, which means many of the local kids get school off for the entire week. AND we got 27″ of snow in the last 24 hours!
Needless to say, the mountain was packed this morning, and the lines were really really really long to get up the gondola. Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe) for me, I did not have any line waiting to do.
Today, being the first official day of Blues Week, was also the first day of a busy work week for me. AND it was Mustache Monday…
It was also the day I brought three King Cakes to work to kick off the celebrations!
King Cakes are a Mardi Gras must as far as I am concerned, and every year I say I am going to try to make my own. And I never do. Until now. And of course, I pick the time I live at 7,000 feet to attempt this baking feat. The good news, I didn’t do any high altitude conversions and everything turned out just fine. The other good news is I think my recipe was extremely easy to do, AND it was scrumptious. I can say this because there isn’t any left…
I will also mention that I ripped this recipe straight from Allrecipes.com. Except the filling…because I decided I wanted a cream cheese filling, SO I kind of made that part up…
Mardi Gras Kings Cake:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup warm water
2.5 tsp yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
5 1/2 cups flour
Filling:
1 12oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Glaze:
2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar
2-3 Tbsp of water
Food coloring
Sprinkles
Directions:
Heat milk over medium heat, add butter and remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine water and yeast and 1 Tbsp of the sugar. Let sit for 10 or so min until creamy. Add milk mixture, the rest of the sugar, spices and the eggs. Whisk quickly for 10-20 seconds. Add flour 1 cup at a time and mix until the dough is not sticky. You might need a little more flour, add it 1 Tbsp at a time. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and kneed for 5-8 min. Roll into a ball and let rise for 2 hours, or until doubled, in a greased bowl (my only altitude adjustment was only letting it rise for 45min). While it rises, make the filling by mixing all the filling ingredients until smooth.
When dough is doubled, punch it down, divide it into two balls and roll each on out in a 12×24″ rectangle. Spread filling in a thin layer over the entire rectangle. Roll them up longways jelly roll style (so that to roll is 24 long”). Stretch out the roll if you can and shape into a circle, connecting the ends. (The longer the roll is the bigger your circle can be). Place them a few inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and let rise for 30min or so.
Preheat oven to 375. Bake cakes for 20-25 min or until they sound hollow when you tap them. Remove from oven, let cool.
**Now is when you add the baby-slice a small hole in the bottom of the cake and push baby (or penny, dried bean or pecan half) into the cake. I used tiny parachute men, because I could not find the traditional tiny plastic babies anywhere..
And frost- mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 1.5 Tbsp water, add food coloring if you’d like and drizzle over cake. I used 3 colors of food coloring and also plain white glaze. If the mixture is too thin, add more sugar. Sprinkle with clear or colored sprinkles.
Voila!
It definitely sounds kind of involved, but it isn’t hard at all! Just remember, it is a yeasted bread, so its going to need a little kneading and some rest time. I made two batches (4 cakes total, as I saved one for my Mardi Gras/Taco Tuesday Fete) and it took me about 3 hours to get them all baked and ready…not bad. Considering I spent a good 2 hours of that waiting on things to rise and watching the last two episodes of The Wire, Season 1.
I waited until this morning (with fingers crossed) to try the cake. AND I thought my slice was scrumptious! A nice mix of gooey sweet cream cheese filling and layered flaky cake…plus the glaze was a nice, extra sweet topping. Seriously. Yum.
Great success! Making these is definitely going to be a yearly tradition for me! If you’re on the fence about making your own, definitely go for it with this recipe. I feel like its a fool proof first-time success. :]
Enjoy!
Easy Coconut Granola
Snow snow snow! Keep on keepin’ on.
The snow coverage is nearing 3+ feet for the past week, and the skiing has been fabulous. This is excellent because President’s week happens to be one of our busiest weeks here in Steamboat, and its looking like it will actually be good skiing for all of our visitors! Me, I am hoping for some serious dumping this week, as I will be slammed with work but plan to hit the slopes hard next week. In fact, lets just keep the snow coming until mid April…thanks!
^excited skiers on top of Thunderhead!
And while the white stuff is flying, the oven has been working just as hard. This weekend, among baking my first ever Kings Cakes (stay tuned for Mardi Gras blog!), I experimented with some more granola. AND its the best one I have ever made, by far. I know, I say that every time I make a new granola, but seriously…this one is good. Also, I have been having some altitude problems with my normal granola recipes (I am not sure if I posted about the almost kitchen fire in my attempt at round two of Pumpkin Granola a few weeks ago, which never would dry out enough to be crunchy and ended up burning. I am blaming the 7,000 foot altitude difference…). So my goal was to find a successful high altitude granola. This one should also work no problem at sea level, I would think.
^with homemade yogurt! ;]
Coconut Granola:
4 cups oats (I used a mix of quick and old fashioned)
1/2 cup flax meal
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used walnuts and almonds)
1 1/2 cups shaved coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/3 cup canola or olive oil
1/3 cup honey
3Tbsp water
1 cup craisins/raisins
Directions:
Preheat oven to 275F. Mix all dry ingredients, except raisins, together in a large bowl. Heat oil and honey over medium heat until they start to bubble and mix well with the dry ingredients. Add a few Tbsp water if you think it is a bit dry. Spread granola in a thin layer on two greased cookie sheets or use parchment paper and don’t worry about greasing it. Cook for 1hr, stirring every 15 min or so. It is done when the coconut starts to brown and the oats are beginning to get crunchy. Also, everything will get a bit crunchier as it cools, too. Add craisins in the last 5min if you want (I didn’t use any, but they would be good!).
Mmmmm. This one is pretty great. I especially like the fact that the coconut adds some sweetness to the mix. Also, the crunch of the toasted coconuts and the walnuts/almonds is excellent. This is a pretty large batch of granola too, which is handy.
I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend! I spent most of it watching Season 1 of The Wire, which is my newest addiction. It even makes me miss Baltimore a little…its so good.
These guys spent the weekend snoozing.
