Aunt Cathy's Amazing Granola

This is our standard summer breakfast fare, eaten with yogurt. It's a real mix-and-match recipe, so feel free to experiment!

AUNT CATHY'S AMAZING GRANOLA

from Aunt Cathy, modified from Cafe Beaujolais

Approximately 28 servings.

Ingredients:

6 c oatmeal

unsweetened big-flake coconut (We use ~5 oz.)

Nuts: (We use ~2 c sunflower seeds, 2 c roasted cashews, & 2 c almonds)

Sesame Seeds

Sunflower Seeds

Cashews

Almonds

Pumpkin Seeds

Macadamia Nuts, halved

1/2 c oil (We use safflower oil)

1/2 c honey

1 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1 t cinnamon

Dried Fruit: (We add fruit by the bowl, as desired.)

raisins

dried cherries

dried cranberries

currants

Preheat the oven to 325-degrees F.

In a sauce pan, over low heat, warm the oil, honey, vanilla, and salt.

Mix together oats, nuts, and coconut in a large bowl.

Pour oil mixture over oats & nuts and mix well.

Spread granola on two baking sheets.

Bake for a total of 35-45 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes! Swap which pan is on top each time you stir.

Allow to cool, then add in dried fruit.

Store in airtight containers.

Serve with yogurt, milk, and/or fresh fruit.

Low Maintenance Risotto

Mmm! Risotto is such a great comfort food.  Best of all, this recipe doesn't require the constant stirring that most risotto recipes do. Although, I do find that it takes longer than 8-10 minutes for the water to absorb. Enjoy!

LOW MAINTENANCE RISOTTO

from Real Simple Magazine

Ingredients
3 T butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
salt (optional) & pepper
1 c Arborio rice

1/2 c dry white wine
3 1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 T chopped fresh parsley

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper. Cook until softened, 6-8 minutes.
3. Add the rice and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
4. Add the wine and simmer until absorbed.
5. Add half the broth and simmer, stirring once until absorbed 8-10 minutes.
6. Add the remaining broth and simmer, stirring once until the rice is tender and creamy, 8-10 minutes.
7. Stir in the parmesan cheese and sprinkle with parsley.

We plan to branch out and try variations on risotto very soon. Do you have any favorite recipes?

Sri Lankan Sweet Potatoes with Cardamom and Chiles

Don't be scared by the spices in this recipe! It's really quite easy and all the ingredients were found in our local grocery store.

SRI LANKAN SWEET POTATOES WITH CARDAMOM AND CHILES

adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

serves 6

Ingredients:

2 very large sweet potatoes (2 1/2 lbs)

1/4 t ground turmeric

5 T peanut oil or olive oil

3 whole dried hot (or mild) red chiles, broken into halves

2 whole cardamom pods

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

20 fresh curry or basil leaves

3 onions, cut into fine half rings

2 t crushed dried hot red chiles or chili flakes

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 T lime juice

rice

Directions:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4" chunks. Boil potatoes with the turmeric for 5 - 6 min, until sweet potatoes are tender, but still firm. Drain.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red chiles and stir until chiles darken (a matter of seconds). Add the cardamum and cinnamon. Stir once or twice and then put in curry leaves. Stir once and add onions.

3. Cook onions for 5-6 min or until they are lightly browned.

4. Add sweet potatoes and cook for 5 min.

5. Add crushed red chiles, salt, and lime juice. Stir and cook until sweet potatoes are tender to taste.

6. Remove half chiles, cinnamon, and cardamom before serving.

7. Serve with rice.

Curried Great Northern Bean and Carrot Soup

A great weeknight meal!

Curried Great Northern Bean and Carrot Soup

Adapted from the UltraSimple Diet.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

3 carrots, chopped

1/4 c chopped yellow onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 can (16 oz) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 T olive oil

2 c vegetable broth

1/8 t curry powder

2 t fresh ginger, peeled and diced

1/8 t cayenne pepper

1 T lemon juice

In a medium stock pot heat oil over medium heat. Saute carrots, shallots, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables start to soften. Add broth, beans, and all herbs and spices. reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until beans are soft. Remove pot from heat. Add lemon juice. In the blender (or using an immersion blender) puree the soup until smooth.

Great served warm or chilled.

In Search of the Best Cheese Scones

Last weekend we branched out from our usual breakfast and made Asiago Pepperoni Muffins. They reminded us of a breakfast we had on our honeymoon in New Zealand, so we decided to hunt for a similar scone recipe. Here are a few contenders:

Jalapeno-Cheddar Scones from SmittenKitchen.com

Pepperoni Pizza Scones from LaurensLatest.com

We'll keep you posted when we find a winner!

Oatmeal

I eat the same breakfast almost every day. Good old oatmeal! Having a stand-by means I don't have to give my food choice in the morning much thought.

OATMEAL

From the back of a Quaker Oats box.
Serves 1.

Ingredients

1/2 c oats

1 c milk (Milk from a local dairy is dramatically more creamy and delicious than grocery store milk for this recipe!)

toppings*

Put oats and milk in a frying pan and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken. You can also cook it in the microwave, but the frying pan method is much tastier!

Of course, you can double, triple, or quadruple this recipe, too!

*Topping ideas:

chocolate chips, craisins, & almonds

maple syrup, raisins, & walnuts

Cookbooks

As a rule, I don't write in books. Even in college I used sticky notes rather than making notes in the margins of books...except cookbooks! I write all over cookbooks. I make notes about the recipes (e.g. "too salty"or "Double it!"), record adjustments to the ingredient list, or my husband's comments about dinner ("Yum!"). Then, when I'm leafing back through the cookbook, uninspired about what to cook, I have my own advice and experience to guide me.

But mostly I cook from a binder of recipes that have been passed along from family and friends or clipped from magazines, the internet, or the newspaper. I put the clippings in plastic sleeves to protect them from drips or spills and organize them by season for easy reference.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Last year I read Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and found it incredible inspiring! If you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it as an informative and engaging read. It is probably one of the books that has had the most impact on my life.

After reading it, I began...

1. Planning menus with local, in-season produce in mind. I am so much more aware now of what's growing (and what's not!).
2. Participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). We support a farm financially before the growing season begins and receive a box of produce once a week all summer long. We are excited to connect with a new farm this year and visit it each week when we pick up our produce!
3. Buying local milk. Last week we received our first delivery from the milkman at the local dairy. The dairy also offers eggs, butter, and cheeses. Mmm!
4. Clarifying my values about meat. I was raised vegetarian and became a very lax vegetarian in college (meaning that I started eating a little meat). After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I decided to learn more about where my meat comes from and took a closer look at factory farming. Now I eat meat, but not often and only if I know where it comes from.
5. Gardening! When we lived in our condo, I had trouble growing anything successfully in pots on our sun-beaten, concrete patio. But then we discovered Earth Boxes! We are still enjoying pesto made from our bumper crop of Earth Box basil last summer! This year I am excited to expand our vegetable gardening to a small plot in our back yard!

Freezing Food

I just read a great blog post on smittenkitchen.com about freezing food. I used this technique for our bumper crop of basil last summer, which we are still enjoying in the form of pesto and other basil-delights. I hadn't realized you could use it to freeze uncooked baked goods, as well. What a good idea!

Freezing Food

1. Prepare baked goods or wash & dry fruits/vegetables.

2. Lay food items on a baking sheet in one layer.

*(You can also create individual servings of liquids of pastes by using an ice cube tray or muffin tin.)

3. Freeze food until it is firm and then transfer it to freezer bags.

4. Enjoy anytime!

*(If you're baking, just add a few minutes to the baking time, since they dough starts off frozen.)

Quick-Rise Pizza Dough

This recipe makes pizza an easy weeknight meal!  No more waiting for the dough to rise!

QUICK-RISE PIZZA DOUGH
from Liz

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 1/8 c warm water
1 package or 2 1/4 t yeast
1 t sugar
1 t salt
1 T olive oil
3 c flour (I use 1 c whole weat and 2 c white flour)
cornmeal
8 oz pizza sauce (tomato sauce with basil & oregano works great!)
mozzarella cheese
toppings

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees F.
Soften the yeast in water for 5 minutes.
Add sugar, salt, and olive oil.
Mix in flour gradually.
Knead the dough until smooth.

Sprinkle cornmeal on the baking sheet.

Roll out dough and lay it on the baking sheet.
Let the dough rise 15 minutes, while you prepare the toppings.
Brush with olive oil and pre-bake it for 10 minutes.
Add toppings. (We like to put the toppings under the cheese so they stick to the pizza better.)
Bake 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Let cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Our favorite toppings combinations:

• Olives & bell peppers
• Pesto, olives, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, & feta (no tomato sauce)
• Pesto & pear (no tomato sauce)
• Olive oil, fresh basil leaves, mozzarella, & olives

How Did You Learn To Cook?

Talking to a friend recently, I realized that I have no idea how I learned to cook. I have cooked since I was old enough to stand on a chair at the kitchen counter. At first I learned by watching and helping my mom. Then I started clipping new recipes out of the newspaper and trying them on my own (with mostly positive, but a few disastrous results!). As an adult I have been honing my culinary skills by reading cookbooks and food blogs.

One of the original Caitlin's Cookbook recipes!

I love trying new recipes, but the truth is, my favorite recipes are ones I learned from family or friends. This blog is an opportunity to share them with you! Your recipes, questions, and advice would be a welcome addition!