a success story

Amidst all of the chocolate, butter, and cream, I hope you find the time to bake yourself a batch of granola.

I’ve been in the process of overcoming a lot of my fears, these past few days and weeks.  Public speaking.  Grocery shopping during rush hour.  Eating things with jalapenos. 

So—I decided—why not bake granola? 

But with a past history of burnt-to-the-crisp “granola” and smoky ovens too, I wasn’t really sure what to expect this time around. 

With a fresh new bag of coconut flakes and a determined attitude, I got right to work.  Granola is supposed to be easy, after all.  I can do this! 

All of the ingredients were tossed into a big bowl, stirred together, and spread out onto a rimmed cookie sheet.  So far so good.

Thirty minutes later:

The house smelled like heaven.  Heaven!  The sweet smells of toasted coconut, mixing and mingling with roasted pistachios.  Heaven.  And best of all, my oven wasn’t smoking, the granola wasn’t charred, and everything went as planned.

Although I have to warn you against taking that first, delicious bite of warm granola straight from the oven.  It’s hard, I know.  But trust me, you don’t want to give in to the temptation until it’s had at least 5 minutes or so to cool! 

You do, after all, want to be able to taste that snack which you have planned for later in the afternoon.

Homemade granola makes for the perfect party gift.  Simply tie a ribbon around a clean, emptied peanut butter jar, top with a bow, include the recipe on the tag, and bring along with you to your next holiday gathering. 

Or you could just keep it tucked away in your pantry and not tell anyone.  Nobody’s judging.

Olive Oil Granola—as seen in “In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite,” with some minor tweaking.

This is by far is my favorite granola recipe that I have ever tasted.  The original recipe (<—seen here) called for dried apricots, pumpkin seeds and coconut chips.  I improvised, based on what I had on hand.  I also cut the original recipe in half, which still gave me a full 4 cups worth of granola.

The granola is super crunchy, sweet, and addictingly salty (think kettle corn.)  It’s delicious eaten by the handful, sprinkled over greek yogurt, or served with warm milk.  ENJOY!

• 1-1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 c. raw pistachios, hulled
• 1/2 c. walnuts
• 1/2 c. sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4-1/3 c. pure maple syrup
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats through ginger.  Spread mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.
3. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add the cranberries, tossing to combine.  Let cool completely and place in airtight container to store.

Question: What are your favorite granola mix-ins?

the feeling of Christmas

On more than one occasion, I’ve woken up on the morning of December 26th, only to ask myself, “Was yesterday really Christmas?”

Everything about Christmas is magical when you’re small.  The lights.  The parties.  The hot cocoa.  The rushing of parents, aunts, uncles to “please, please, please finish drinking your coffee so we can please open the presents.”  The food (well, some things obviously never change.)

But then when you’re older, you suddenly realize that there’s a lot of shopping to do in the middle of a busy work week.  Plans need to be made.  A schedule must be followed.  Rush, rush, rush.

I’d like to say I’m immune to all of the madness that sometimes revolves around one of my favorite holidays, but that would be a lie.  These past couple of weeks, I was that girl frantically shopping at the mall for those last minute gifts.  I was very thankful for leftovers.  And I didn’t stop to notice that the neighbors down the street put up a 6 ft. snowman.

But tonight was deliciously different.  I served the family warm bowls of leftover ratatouille with a couple of lightly buttered toasts to drink up any extra sauce (tasty serving option!)  I popped on some old country style Pandora Christmas music.  I danced around the kitchen. 

And then we all bundled up and took a drive to look at Christmas lights. 

I think I found it.  That feeling of Christmas.

Because if dancing to Bing Crosby’s Christmas music in the kitchen and looking at Christmas lights doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, I honestly don’t know what will.

Well.  Maybe gingerbread biscotti?

I was starting to grow slightly jealous of all the cookies that I’ve been seeing around blogland.  Homemade chocolate dipped oreos.  Blondies.  Pecan bars.  You name it.  They’re all there.

While I have all of my plans made for what I’ll be making come Christmas, I needed a little tease to hold me over until then.  I desperately wanted to whisk something.

I decided to experiment a little with a standard biscotti recipe that I have on hand. 

First, I wanted to use graham flour, for its nuttiness and crunch.  I also wanted spiciness.  Think ‘gingerbread cookie meets a regular, standard ol’ tea biscotti.’  They should really get together, I thought to myself.  I bet they’d fall in love.

The best part of making biscotti?  Turning a big round rectangular sort of thing… 

Into a dainty little biscotti.  Perfect for that afternoon cup of tea or paired with a hot cup of cocoa. 

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Gingerbread Biscotti

If you love biscotti and enjoy the spiciness that belongs to a gingerbread man, then it’s time to put the two together!  This recipe is incredibly simple to make, and could easily be tweaked according to what you like.  Raisins?  Walnuts?  Dark chocolate chips?  A drizzle of sweet maple glaze?  They make a great pairing to your cookie platter at Christmas, and they make a nice break from all of the more chocolatey things.  Enjoy!

• 2-1/4 c. graham flour (may use whole wheat flour instead, or a mixture of all purpose and whole wheat)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 c. molasses

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Combine flour through baking soda.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and egg whites lightly.  Add brown sugar, molasses and vanilla, stirring until smooth.
3. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together, stirring just until smooth.
4. Divide dough in half; shape each into a 14 inch x 1-1/2 inch rectangle on a cookie sheet coated in nonstick cooking spray. 
5. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until firm to touch.  Remove, let rest for 5 minutes and reduce oven to 300 degrees.
6. Cut diagonally with a serrated knife, 1/2 inch slices.  Place cut side down on baking sheet; bake for 10 minutes.  Turn biscotti.  Continue cooking another 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. 
7. Let cool on wire rack.
8. ENJOY!

Question: Are you doing a lot of cooking this year for Christmas?  What is the one thing you look forward most to baking (or eating!)

snickety snack

Thank you so much to everyone for taking the time to comment on the previous post that made it on to Freshly Pressed!!  What a fun surprise, and I appreciate all of your kind words as well as the stories that were shared.  Thank you!

I’ve noticed that I never—hardly ever—talk about snacks.  Which is a shame, considering how much I (a) enjoy them, (b) preach of their benefits in regards to a healthy diet, and (c) eat them. 

And so I figured it was due time that I share with you a few (or four) of my most recent favorites.  They’re simple—nothing fancy.  But that’s the way I like them.

“Sweet and Salty Banana Crunch”

Sweet and salty meets smooth and crunchy.  It’s a beautiful thing. 

Step one: peel and halve a banana.

Step two: smear with peanut butter.

Step three: sprinkle with your favorite granola (Natures Path Pumpkin Flax Granola is my personal fave!)

Step four: Enjoy.  Each.  Delicious.  Bite.

“Papaya”

As much as I like variety, when it comes to fruit I’m a hopeless bore.  Apples.  Bananas.  Oranges.  Maybe the occasional pomegranate, mango or pineapple. 

And then—this past week—my dad bought me a papaya.  He left the large green fruit on the kitchen table, as a fun surprise for me on the following morning.  And I’ve been addicted ever since.

Papaya is one of those fruits that you’d steer towards in the hot summer months.  It’s refreshing, juicy, and best served chilled.  The flavor is unusual, with an exocit flair like that of mango (without the tart and tangy zing.) 

Simply scoop out the seeds, slice it up, and enjoy!

“Pumpkin Yogurt Crunch”

If you spend enough time traveling through blogland, you’ll see pumpkin pies, pumpkin breads, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin whoopie pies!!, pumpkin souffles, et cetera, et cetera.  Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin.

And why not?  Pumpkin is just one of those things that never gets old.  It’s versatile and goes as well with sweet things as it does with savory.

For a simple snack, I swirl nonfat, plain yogurt into canned pumpkin and top it all off with crunchy granola (hey now, you’ve got to admit that granola makes for a lovely garnish on lots of things!) 

Simply pumpkin.

“Crackers ‘n’ Cheese”

Normally when I’m talking about cheese and crackers, I like to discuss some fancy schmancy cheese.  Like a sharp Robusto that entertains your tastebuds with little crystals that pop as you chew.  Or a slice of mild jarlsberg, turned into a melted grilled cheese and then smeered with a layer of homemade raspberry jam (who needs a cracker there, you know?)

But—in this case—it’s all about the cracker.

My cousin introduced me to these fabulous crackers when she brought them to my sister’s housewarming party.  The cheese was amazing.  Yes, it was.  But the crackers are what stole the show.

Think of a nutty, buttery wheat cracker meeting (and falling in love) with a sweet graham cracker.  This is the result.  Subtle, sweet (but not overly so,) and perfect.  Absolutely perfect.

(p.s. I could eat this for dessert as much as I could eat it as a snack with a slice of cheese.  )

And there you have it.  My top few (or four) favorite snacks.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I’ve been enjoying them over the past week or so.

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Guess what I was up to all afternoon?

The next best thing to putting up a Christmas tree in the living room is decorating the trees outside.

These cheery little bulbs ‘absorb’ the sun by day, thereby turning them into glowing lights by night.  They’re both environmentally friendly and charming.

I give credit to people who have an entire house brimming with lights and things.  I was exhausted after putting the lights up with mom, along with putting up the outdoor wreaths and decorations.  This is what I call a real life workout.

It’s really starting to feel like Christmas.  A little bit of Pandora Christmas singing through the air and a hot cocoa will make it absolutely complete.

Well.  That, and picking up the Christmas tree.  To be continued this week…

Question: What is one of your favorite snacks at the moment?

not without a fight

I kind of just blew my entire budget…

I’ve never been much of an Ocean State Job Lot fan.  In fact, I usually avoid the store like its the plague.  Most of what they sell is stuff you don’t need (or want.)  Hence the reason why I never go there. 

Until today.

Don’t ask me what it was that first drew me in.  Not the aesthetics of the building, thats for sure.  But once inside, there was absolutely no turning back.  An entire isle was dedicated to nut butters.  Jams and jellies that you can only find at Whole Foods.  Flaxseed for half of the normal price.  I was a bit awestruck, really.  

Current Favorite Snack: 1% cottage cheese with Bear Naked Banana Nut Granola and a dollop of Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter.

After recovering from my excitement, I felt like baking. 

It truly is a rare moment to have a bunch of spare bananas lounging around my house.  The occasional soggy apple or pear may find its way into the trash, due to neglect and oversight.  But never—never!—does this happen to a banana.  Green bananas.  Yellow bananas.  Brown bananas.  It really doesn’t matter.  They’re gone in a matter of days, as they find their way into each and every family member’s morning meal.

In order to celebrate the rare and momentous occasion of having ripe bananas at my disposal, I decided to bake a banana bread.
 

Just as a side note, I’ll usually take the time to read through the ingredient list before pouring everything in. 
 

I guess the excitement of banana bread overcame me, because I didn’t even give the list a second look. 

And—apparently—I don’t have cream of tartar sitting in the back (or front, for that matter) of my pantry.

I remember someone once telling me that you can substitute baking powder for a cream of tartar/baking soda combination.  I wasn’t sure if this was actually going to work, but there was no turning back.  My bananas were mashed, and there was no way I was going to give up.  Not, at least, without a pretty darn good fight.

(With the dry and wet ingredients, remember to only stir until *just* moistened.  This is especially important if you’re using whole wheat flour.  Nobody wants a tough, gummy banana bread!  Those lumps are completely okay–and normal.)

Substituting baking powder for the cream of tartar/baking soda seemed to work out alright.  The result was a little more dense than I would have liked, but all in all, at least my banana bread was saved from the doom of a trash can.  

There was nothing fancy about this bread.  No cinnamon.  No nutmeg.  No vanilla.  No walnuts or chocolate chips.  Completely unadorned. 

Because sometimes you want those deep, dark chocolate chips.  Sometimes the crunch of a walnut, surrounded by the flavor of a sweet, sweet banana is nothing short of perfection.

But sometimes you just want the basics.  Bananas.  Bread.  Banana Bread.

Your Basic Whole Wheat Banana Bread

This is a spin off on my whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread.  If chocolate is what you’re after, just add 1/2-3/4 c. of dark chocolate chips after mixing the flour together with the banana mixture.  OR, try melting a bit of chocolate and drizzling it over the banana bread before serving.  Both ways are equally scrumptious.

• 1 c. mashed ripe banana (about 2-1/2 medium)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large egg white
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk until smooth.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir just until moist (do not overmix).  Spoon batter into an 8×4 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack, remove from pan.  Cool completely on rack.

Question: Have you ever substituted another ingredient after realizing that you didn’t have the one that was originally called for?  How did this turn out? 

toodles to tahini

Back when summer was still here, along with its surrounding warmth and sunshine, I pretty much lived off of basil hummus.

Bunches and bunches of home-grown basil found their way into my heart, my home, my food processor.  I worried that the family would grow tired of this beautiful combination, but nobody every did.  We ate it with lunch.  With dinner.  And sometimes I even snuck in a spoonful or two for an afternoon snack. 

But when summer disappeared, so did basil hummus.  Until next year.

Tonight, I was craving hummus once again.  And since basil was no longer a viable option, I would simply have to discover something new and exciting. 

Secret ingredient of choice?

Yes, you actually did see that correctly.

Peanut butter.

The idea came to me while I was flipping through countless hummus recipes, all asking for ‘tahini.’  Well, I don’t commonly have tahini in my pantry.  Let me rephrase that.  I have never had tahini in my pantry. 

“So,” I asked myself.  “Why not peanut butter?”

I googled the idea—just to make sure I hadn’t completely gone off the deep end—and realized that other people have tried this before as well.  Some people claimed that the peanut butter flavor threw them for a loop.  Others said this peanut flavor disappears by the following morning.  Others said they preferred the peanut version over tahini.

That’s it.  My interest was piqued.  There was absolutely no turning back.

My dusty food processor was pulled out of hibernation and put to use, once again.  No basil this time.  Just peanut butter.

Zwurrppp…20 seconds in the processor.  The result was puffy.  Whippy.  Garlicky.  Tangy.  Soft. 

In one word: Interesting.

I couldn’t decide if I liked it on first bite.  So I took another.  And then I loved it.

Obviously, the hummus is finding its way into my lunch for tomorrow…

…along with some veggies and a slightly battered (but still delicious) apple. 

I’m kind of excited.

Peanut Butter Hummus
This is definitely a complex and savory “peanut butter” flavor.  If “sweet” is what you’re after, you may want to nix the garlic and lemon juice.  Try adding some cinnamon or another common “sweet” spice to add some excitement.   I also think this would go well with canned pumpkin.  Just sayin’.

• 1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 c. natural peanut butter
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt (less or more depending on sodium level of beans and peanut butter)
• garlic powder, sprinkled liberally

1. Process ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. 

 Question: What is your favorite flavor of hummus?  Have you ever tried an “unusual” or slightly “unexpected” flavor?