Granola

Well, right before going gluten-free, I had made up a large batch of crunchy granola. So in efforts to not let it go to waste (and you can be sure I'll make this again with gluten-free oats :), I decided to have it be the kick-off item for a fundraiser for a local Autism Walk. (In fact I'm thinking this is a great way for me to use up most of my flours!) This is a recipe I have been meaning to add. It is based on the ingredient list from the Big Sky Bread Granola that is on the bulk bin at Sonnewald and also on this recipe. I love to eat it as a cereal or in yogurt. You can bake and break into chunks to eat as a snack as well. It keeps for weeks in an airtight container. Feel free to mix and match your favorite nuts and seeds! As always, try to use organic as much as possible.

Granola
6 c oats (old fashioned, not quick cooking)
1 to 1 1/2 c raw almonds
3/4 c olive oil (add more for bars)
2/3 c honey
1/4 c sesame seeds
1/2 c pumpkin seeds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c sucanat (This is a coarse sugar that is brown and large crystals. I get it in bulk at Sonnewald. I do think the flavor will be different if  you use regular sugar, but brown sugar would create a similar flavor.)
1 T vanilla
salt (I don't measure, just a couple turns of the grinder)

Mix all together and lay on parchment lined cookie sheet. If making bars I usually press the mixture doewn into the pan. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. Stir if wanting loose granola or turn sheet if going for bars. Bake another 30 min. or so. Sometimes I will turn off the oven and let it sit. Allow to cool in pan, they will firm up while cooling. Break into chunks and store in airtight container.

Hearts of Palm Dip

When my husband and I got married, the faculty of the school where I teach put together a cookbook with ingredients for us as a present. When I first looked through the recipes, there was one that stood out as very strange to me. When I found the corresponding ingredient, it was "hearts of palm" trees. How in the world does a palm tree taste? I have to say I was at a bit of a loss and just forgot about every trying the recipe. At least until I was cleaning out expired cans one day a few years ago and found the palm, tossed it, and then thought again, I wonder what that would taste like? This recipe was given to us by Charlotte Krill, and in her memory I write this post. This has become one of my favorite dips (right next to crab dip, which I'll post sometime soon). My only alteration to the original was to change out the green onions for spinach. The result is something much like the spinach and artichoke appetizer you can get at popular restaurants, although much healthier when you make on your own. (and bonus, it is extremely low carb and gluten-free!) If you want to, you can make it with a can of artichoke hearts instead, but we have decided that we like the palm best. Since I just recently started eating gluten-free, I found these crackers to eat it with- so delish! They are not organic, however there are no GMO in them. As always, try to use as many organic ingredients as possible (I used a lot of Organic Valley for the dairy products)!

Hearts of Palm Dip

1 can hearts of palm or artichoke (chopped)
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 c mayo
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c sour cream
handful of fresh or frozen spinach, chopped or ripped into small pieces

Combine all ingredients. Spray small baking dish and add dip. Bake at 350 25-30 minutes. This recipe doubles well for parties. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner

What a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner! I was hosting at my house for the first time, and my sister April was home for this holiday which hadn't happened in many years. I was so excited! Here's the menu (and I am super thankful for the family members' contributions!):

Organic Pastured Turkey from Tropical Traditions- I was thrilled to order this online. It arrived in good time and still frozen. To bake, I just rubbed ghee between the skin and the meat along with a mix of salt, pepper, parsley, onion and garlic. I stuffed the bird with an apple, onion and garlic and poured some water in the pan and baked at 325 for almost 3 hours. I made this the day before, picked the meat and let it hang out in the fridge with some of the juice on it. It reheated beautifully and saved me from all that mess on the actual holiday. Also, it takes MUCH longer to pick a turkey than a chicken. Just sayin'.

Gravy- Made with broth from the turkey.

Stuffing and baked corn- Made by my mom so we only had to heat up the stuffing in the oven and the corn kept nicely in a crock pot.

Mashed potatoes- Made by my sister, Angela, and brought in a crock pot for easy reheating.

Steamed fresh green beans- Made by my sister, April. I never thought green beans could taste so good!

Cranberry relish- Made by my mom with apples and pineapple and fresh cranberries!

Sweet potato casserole- I was super excited to get this recipe from my friend, Danette. She made it for a potluck at work and I was hooked! I made the sweet potatoes the day before and then just added the topping and baked on Thanksgiving. For some reason my topping didn't quite brown all the way round like hers, but it still tasted great! I will definitely be making this again. It was even good cold!
This is my recipe based off hers:

8 c mashed sweet potatoes (I just wash them, cut them in half and boil until soft. The skins then pop right off and they mash easily with a fork.)
3/4 c sucanat
1 1/2 c milk
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
3/4 c soft butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all of the ingredients together and place in greased 9 x 13 glass pan.

Topping:
1 c brown sugar
1 c flour
3 c pecans, chopped
1/2 c soft butter
dash of cinnamon

Mix all of the topping ingredients together and coat sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes if using hot potatoes, it will take almost an hour if the potatoes were cold first.

Dinner rolls- This is a variation of my (well, technically my mom's) Cottage Herb Rolls recipe. I will make them this way every time now, though, as they turned out the best ever, did not even need to be heated up at all, they were great cold, and went way too fast! I did double this recipe (and I'm glad I did!).

1 pk yeast
1/2 c warm water (I used water as hot as it would get from the tap)
1 1/2 c organic whole wheat bread flour
1 c organic all purpose flour
1 T sucanat
1 c homemade yogurt
1 egg
Small amount of olive oil
Melted butter (Earth Balance)

Dissolve the yeast and sucanat in water and set aside as you prep other ingredients. Turn on oven to 200 degrees. Once it is done heating, turn off.
In large bowl mix flour, yogurt and egg. Add yeast/water mixture. If consistency seems a little dry, add a small amount of olive oil. Knead on floured surface until smooth (about 5 minutes). Place in bowl sprayed with nonstick spray, set in dough and cover with tea towel dampened with hot water and set in oven 30-40 minutes. (Best if you can wait an hour, though.)

Punch down the dough and knead lightly. I use an Auntie Annie's pretzel dough cutter to cut small amounts of dough off. I form into a long oval and fold it over when I place it in a glass baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until starting to lightly brown on top.Brush with some melted butter.

Pumpkin pie- Made by April. Delish!

Pumpkin roll and cheese cake from Christina's Desserts and Coffee

We also had fun with a post-dinner craft. Here's how my two nephews' turkeys turned out: 

Shrimp and Broccoli Alfredo

This alfredo sauce recipe is based on the one from Heavenly Homemakers, although I have found some substitutes if you don't have cream :)

Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
One pint of cream or half and half or whole milk (2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring the butter, cream, garlic and cream cheese to a boil.  Turn down the heat, simmer and stir for about two minutes.  Add the grated cheese and stir until melted.  Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes until it becomes “thick and saucy”, stirring occasionally. Quite often I can't wait this long and we eat it after only a few minutes of simmering. Sometimes my sauce is a little lumpy, but that doesn't bother me :) This sauce does freeze extremely well and would be easy to make a double batch and save half. Just thaw in fridge first and reheat slowly. The butter may initially separate out, but that's ok.

Shrimp and Broccoli:
thawed and peeled shrimp (about 10 per person)
1 garlic clove, chopped
frozen broccoli
olive oil

Heat a small amount of olive oil in skillet. Add shrimp and broccoli, saute until shrimp is pink and broccoli is heated though.

Make linguini noodles. My favorites are organic sprouted noodles you can buy at Central Market. Layer noodles, shrimp and broccoli. Enjoy!

Zucchini Parmesan

My wonderful friend Melinda makes amazing zucchini Parmesan, but for some reason it did not turn out the last time I made it (years ago), so I hadn't tried it again. Then this summer she made it when we were over and I knew I had to make it, but of course the night I planned on it I didn't have enough time to make it the same way. So, here is my short cut version, which finally turned out yummy :)

Ingredients:

Spaghetti sauce (heat on stove while other items are cooking)

Spaghetti noodles (start water boiling so the noodles can cook while you are making the zucchini)

1-2 zucchini, sliced
1 c flour (in own bowl)
2 eggs (in own bowl)
1.5 cups bread crumbs mixed with garlic, onion powder, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper in own bowl
olive oil for pan frying

Heat spaghetti sauce on low. Start water for spaghetti, cook spaghetti and drain. Heat oil in skillet. Dip zucchini slices in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture. Fry on each side. Set on paper towels to drain.

Place noodles on plate, layer sauce and zucchini. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy! Leftover zucchini crisps up nicely in the oven when baked at 350 for a few minutes.

Snickerdoodles

I have been hankering for something with cinnamon (surprised?) and my step-son has been hankering for snickerdoodles...and I found a recipe in an old magazine, so we started out the day making a batch :)  Also made some yogurt and soft pretzels, and even tried making pretzel pockets. Tasty, but not real pretty. Check out my pretzel page to see them!

Here is the recipe taken from Cooking Light September 2007, I used all organic ingredients:

3/4 c granulated sugar
2/3 c light brown sugar
1/2 c butter, softened (I used one Earth Balance stick)
1 tsp vanilla (I'm sure I put more in than this, you know I didn't measure it out :)
1 egg
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of cinnamon

To roll dough in:
1/3 c  granulated sugar (although less would work fine, we had a lot left over)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (You know I didn't measure this either and most likely put more in...but it could have used more :)

Cream together both sugars and butter. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.

Combine dry ingredients with whisk, add to sugar mixture and stir until just combined.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Use tablespoon to scoop dough, roll into ball and then roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place on baking sheet. Bake 8-12 minutes, cool on rack. Makes 30-32 cookies.

 My helper :)

My First Peck of Pickeled...Cucumbers

This was my first try at making my own pickles. I am still not 100% ready to try canning, as I still need a few supplies, so I went searching for a refrigerator pickle recipe that does not require canning and is good in the fridge for months. This is the one I settled on. In some flyers I received from the Penn State Extension on canning, it was cautioned to not alter the ingredients b/c the acidity level needs to be a certain amount in order to not have health issues. I wasn't sure if this also went for refrigerator pickles, but wasn't taking chances and only altered the spices since I didn't have them all. This made the liquid more cloudy than normal but did not really change the flavor.

Ingredients
4 pickling cucumbers cut in thin slices
1/2 medium onion (I chopped mine in my new toy)
1 cup Bragg's apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons natural salt
2 teaspoons mustard seeds  (I am having trouble finding mustard seeds so I found a conversion to dry mustard and went with 4 tsp TOTAL dry mustard in the whol recipe)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric  (after researching tumeric online, it looks like it is in the recipe for coloring and I did not have any so omitted it. I do have some now, though, for the next batch)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes  (I didn't have this either so went with the  powdered form of red pepper)
1/2 teaspoon celery seed

How to make it
Combine cucumbers, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, dry mustard, turmeric, crushed red pepper, and celery seeds; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.

Boil 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Pour cucumber mixture into a large bowl; cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. (This is where the cucumbers lost their bright green coloring and turn more in pickle colors. It was kind of fun to watch!)

Cover and chill overnight before serving.

You can spoon cooled cucumbers and their liquid into jars with tight-fitting lids and refrigerate up to 4 weeks. Mine went first in a 1/2 gallon Mason jar and then into a quart jar once we ate some.