Category: Food and Drink

Buying granola in the store is such a scam. It is super cheap and easy to make it at home. Plus, then you don’t have to tolerate having any nasty bits in there that you don’t want (I’m looking at you raisins).

This recipe was born from a mis-buy of a large, you could even call it jumbo canister of old fashioned oats. You know, the one with that scary, smarmy looking pilgrim guy with the bad haircut on the label. Turns out, my little darlings are partial to steel cut oats for their savory breakfast oatmeal, so I was stuck with this gigantic silo of old fashioned oats.

Nobody likes oatmeal cookies, at least not in our house, so that was out. I don’t like oatmeal at all as a rule, so I was not willing to take one for the team on this score. I guess we could have given it away, but I don’t like to give up so I turned to the Google gods for inspiration. Eureka! Granola! My sweetie likes it mixed with yogurt and fruit and they sell that shit for like 10 bucks for a tiny little bag in the grocery store. I was all over this plan like white on rice.

In a big bowl measure out about 3 cups of old fashioned oats and mix in about 1 teaspoon of salt (trust, this is needed, don’t leave it out). Measure out around ½ cup of coconut oil and melt it in a pan or in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Stir into the oil  something else sweet that you like (I’ve used honey, agave, brown sugar even date butter). The sweetness part is to your own taste, anywhere from a couple of tablespoons to, I don’t know, maybe a cup? I stick to the less sweet end of the spectrum so you are on your own here. Also, you can add other flavorings to the oil and sweet mixture. I like vanilla and almond extracts, but other ones would be good too (maple maybe, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc). Put that oily stuff aside and find some other goodies to throw into the oats. I love pepitas in this as well as pecans. Any nuts would be good. Add some dried fruit if you like, I used dates and that rocked, but have tried dried cranberries too. I like coconut flakes in mine, but you don’t have to use it. I know how divisive coconut can be! Then add the oil mixture to the oat stuff and stir it all round until everything is coated. Turn it out into a ½ sheet pan size rimmed baking sheet lined with something (parchment, silicone mat). Pack it down with the back of a spoon, or your hands. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or so until it is all toasted and yummy, stirring and packing back down once during the baking process. Let it cool on the counter then cover and don’t touch it until the next day. Then you should wake up to some awesome granola chunks.

For years I told myself I was not a baker. Then I got a KitchenAid stand mixer for a present and convinced myself to give it another go. I still don’t love the ultra technical types of baking, I’m more of a big picture gal and don’t delight in the finer details. I have found some baked goods that lend themselves to my particular brand of maverick cooking (AKA hard to fuck it up while improvising). This is one of them. Whenever I am making pasta, a big pot of soup or featuring a salad for dinner, I usually trot this one out. It is fast and pretty unfussy. Impresses the hell out of people too. Plus, fresh bread is a phenomenal olfactory and gustatory experience no one should deny themselves.

Chop up some fresh or dried herbs that sound good for focaccia. I often snip some rosemary from my yard and mix it with chopped garlic and dried thyme from my spice cabinet. Dried basil, fennel even oregano would be tasty. Put that in a glass measuring cup and add about ½ cup of olive oil. Microwave in 30 second increments on high for 3-4 cycles, stir in between. Let it sit for flavors to mingle and cool down. You could do this part in a pan too, if you are so inclined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (if using, highly recommend) with paddle attachment dissolve 2 ¼ tsps. yeast in 1 cup warm water with a dash (like ½ tsp or so) of something sweet to feed the yeast (sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup). Stir it and let it do its thing while you prep the flour mix. In a big bowl, measure out 2.5 cups of flour and mix in 1 tsp sea salt. To the yeast mix add about ½ of the oil/herb mixture (put the rest aside) and half of the flour. Mix together and let it sit for a few minutes. Then add the rest of the flour and stir/knead it in the mixer or with your hands for a minute or two. Oil up the flour bowl and turn the dough into that for rising. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour. I put mine in my oven with the light on. Sometimes I turn the oven on to broil for a few seconds before loading the dough, just to take the chill away, but not too hot or the yeast will croak.

Once risen, prep a ½ sheet size rimmed pan with a tablespoon or 2 of the oil/herb mixture, greasing up the whole bottom and sides. Be generous. Pour the dough out into the prepared pan and stretch it out and pat it down to fill the space. Its gonna be really soft. Use your fingers to dimple the whole surface of the dough. Like you are playing Beethoven on the dough. Then drizzle with the rest of the oil/herb mixture and sprinkle with a bit of coarse sea salt. Let it rise uncovered on the countertop for 20-30 minutes while the oven heats up to 450 degrees.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until it is nice and golden brown. Best eaten the same day, but we rarely have any leftover to worry about anyway!

Mashed potatoes are comfort food extraordinaire. When I was growing up, we only had them on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were considered special, or maybe just too much work. I am fortunate enough to own a KitchenAid stand mixer, so I don’t even bat an eye about making them, even on a Tuesday.

I put “potatoes” in parentheses on purpose (OOO love that alliteration right there!) because I rarely make my mashers with potatoes solo. Some proportion of cauliflower, turnip or sweet potato is usually part of the mix with the regular old russets or golds.

It’s a very basic recipe, cubed up potatoes and whatever else boiled in salty water. Sometimes I peel them, sometimes I don’t. Depends on my mood. Cooked til tender then drained and tossed into the mixer bowl. Butter (vegan or real), milk of choice (unsweetened/unflavoured – I’ve made THAT mistake), salt and pepper, sometimes a spoonful of horseradish or greek yogurt, sour cream. Put on the whip attachment and watch the magic happen in moments.

Taste them, correct the seasonings and add other goodies that delight you. I’ve been known to add green onions, Green peas, wasabi plant stems, Oregon Coast Wasabi seasoned salt, even blue cheese chunklets when I had some left in the fridge begging for use. These potatoes are a canvas, begging you to create your very own masterpiece.

My vegetarian kids fell in love with patatas bravas after two summer trips to Barcelona. The land of many tapas, most unrecognizable to your average American kid. Even young ‘uns with a mom who loves to cook and feed them different stuff. But ahoy! In the sea of weird foods stood something approachable and vaguely familiar to them – patatas bravas. Fried potatoes with a creamy, smoky tomato sauce.

I got a wild hair last week to make some when I saw a jar of patatas bravas sauce while cruising through Cost Plus with my favorite sidekick. Yum, but $5 for a teeny jar?! I sprung for it anyway since we were soon off to the coast for a mini vacation and I was planning on spending some serious time in the kitchen cooking up some love for my loves.

They turned out great. The kids were in heaven. We had fun reminiscing about Spain and planning our next trip. But $5 a jar seemed silly to continue, so I committed myself to making my own.

Anyone who knows me, understands that I see recipes as merely a suggestion. I often read several and then cobble together my own thing. I keep a pretty well-stocked kitchen and I love condiments, but there were a couple of things I would need to buy in order to make my version of this dish so that it would still ring the same bells. Smoked Parpika – that sounds interesting and I can already think of a couple of other things I might do with that. Tomato paste – an excuse to buy one of those cute tubes, yay! I can’t stand those silly little cans. You use one or two tablespoons out of it and then what are you supposed to do with the rest?! I usually put the remainder in a baggie, stick it in the freezer and promptly forget about it along with all of the other previously canned items that met the same fate. Soon I have a collection of orphaned mystery items lurking in there until I either toss them all or make a soup out of them if I am feeling particularly thrifty and/or creative. But what’s this? Sherry vinegar?! WTF. I currently have 5 types of vinegar in my house, do I really need another one? No senor. Time to improvise!