Basic Homemade Granola

makes 4-5 cups

3 cups of rolled oats (Not quick cook or instant)

1 cup slivered almonds, sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, and/or toasted pumpkin seeds (one, none, or any combination of these)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

1/2 cup raisins, currants, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried & chopped figs, and/or dried and chopped apricots (one, none, or any combination of these)

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300F.

Toast oats in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring or tossing regularly. Add nuts and continue to toast for 2 additional minutes. 

Remove from heat and add cinnamon, syrup or honey, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and spread the mixture on a cookie sheet. 

Cook for 10 minutes. Stir. Cook for 10 minutes more. 

Remove from oven. Stir in fruit. Allow to cool to room temperature. Keep in a sealed container. 

Some good combinations would be vanilla & almond, cranberry orange with nuts, super nutty, cherry (coconut) pecan, apricot and currants with sesame and sunflower seeds. 

Before I get started, I just wanted to note that this is my 100th post! Thanks to all of you who read JustPigs and keep up with what is going on in my kitchen!

A simple pasta salad should be in everyone's repertoire. I made this one the other day when the weather was in the 90s and I couldn't face working over a hot stove for an hour. You can, of course, use any fresh veggies that are in season. This time of year is my favorite for veggies. I used corn (boiled on the cob in salted water for 7 minutes, then cut off the cob), cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme, and scallions. I added a little bit of goat's cheese and tossed everything in olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a healthy dose of salt and pepper. Voilà! 

Today was one of THOSE days. With one car already in the shop, I was bringing the kids home at 5 o'clock in our second car when the stick shift broke and there I was, stuck in front of a line of cars at a stop sign on a hot day. (Which actually reminds me of the time a similar thing happened to my mom on hot day when we lived in Portland. We were on our way home from the grocery store. "Eat the ice cream!" she commanded.)

I spent an hour in a stuffy auto repair shop with two tired and hungry kids and needed to get dinner together fast once we finally made it home. Luckily, Rob had defrosted a tri-tip steak so I sliced it up and made simple, quick tacos. 

I made them fajita style with sauteed red & yellow peppers and onions. I cooked the onion and red pepper first in just a splash of canola oil over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. I removed them from the pan, and very quickly seared the seasoned meat (salt, pepper, ground cumin) to medium rare (which only takes a couple of short minutes). When the meat was cooked I threw the onions & peppers back in and mixed them together with the meat, a little mexican oregano, and a squeeze of lime. I warmed a couple of tortillas over the gas flame, topped them with the meat mixture, a small grating of cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, avocado, and scallions. I served them with some plain white rice with the extra scallions thrown in. 

The kids gobbled it right down and were happy, full, and ready to bed before bedtime. Thank goodness.

A few years ago I decided to come up with my own version of macaroni and cheese and stopped using the boxed stuff. I came up with something that is just as easy to make as the processed version, but much tastier. We eat this fairly regularly. You can make it with just the two cheeses and some salt and pepper or you can add all--or some--of the extras. We had fresh peas and scallions this week and we love both so I used them. We also love bacon, but you knew that already.

Mac & Cheese with Peas & Bacon

4 servings

1 lb of tubular pasta

2 TBS unsalted butter

3 striped of bacon, diced

1 lb fresh peas, shelled

2 scallions, including green tops, chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

salt & pepper to taste

Set a pot of salted water to boil. Put 1 TBS of butter in the water. Boil pasta according to package instructions. 

Put the diced bacon into a sautee pan and cook over medium heat until some of the fat has rendered. Add the peas and scallions and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Drain pasta, then return it to the warm pot. Toss the pasta with the other TBS of butter. Add the bacon, pea, and scallion mixture. Add the ricotta and the parmesan. Sprinkle in a small amount of salt and a bit more pepper. Mix well. Serve. 

Enjoy!

Have I made pita bread before? I can't actually remember. But I did it (again?) today. Pita bread is so ridiculously easy and so fantastic right out of the oven I don't know why I haven't made it (ever?) more regularly. 

Pita Bread

--adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

 

3-1/2 cups all purpose flour (you can use up to 1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour if you wish), plus more for rolling the dough

2 tsp salt

1 pkg (1-1/2 tsp) quick-rise (instant) yeast

1 TBS olive oil, plus more for greasing the bowl

1 cup water (you may need a couple of TBS more)

Put the flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor. Using the steel blade, mix the dry ingredients for a few seconds until thoroughly combined. With the motor running add the oil and the water and leave the processor on for 30 seconds or so. The dough should come together in a not-too sticky, easy-to-manage ball. If the dough is too dry add water 1 TBS at a time through the feed tube with the motor running. If the dough is, conversely, too wet, add a little bit a flour, also in 1 TBS increments. Remove the dough from the processor and knead for 1 minute.

Oil a medium bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot, covered with a dish towel, for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in bulk. 

Preheat the oven to 500F. 

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 small balls. Flour a board and roll each ball out roughly to a 6-8" circle.

Place the rolled-out dough on sheet pans in one layer (don't stack them or they'll stick together, you should be able to fit about 4 circles of dough per pan.) Bake for 6-10 minutes. Watch closely. The bread will puff up after 3 minutes or so.

After another 3 minutes the dough will begin to turn a bit golden around the edges and at the center. Depending if the dough is on the bottom or middle rack they could be done or they could need a couple more minutes. (Bottom rack cooks faster.)

Tonight we ate our pita bread with a cous-cous salad, some cucumber-yogurt dip and pickled carrots. I think I'll stuff them with some veggies and cheese for lunch tomorrow!

 

I'm oppressed by Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. I'm telling you, I hate buying those things. Every time I grasp that box off the supermarket shelf I cringe & shiver. But they are such an easy snack for the kids and even the pickiest eaters seem to like them. You know?

My pal Stephanie just set me up with a wealth of crab. I spent the better part of Wednesday evening cracking it all and was left with 2-1/2 lbs of beautiful lump crab meat.

Who knew you could make cinnamon rolls in an hour or less? Someone at Fine Cooking did. And as my grandmother would have said, "Oh boy! Oh boy!" am I happy about that! 

"Dees ees good! I chomp it up." ---Anya, eater of soup

Every kid I know who has ever had this soup loves it. We made it today for lunch. 

"I Chomp It Up" Soup

(aka Carrot Soup)

1-1/2 TBS unsalted butter

4 good sized carrots, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

a couple of fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

salt

1 c. chicken broth

1 c. water (or omit the chicken broth and use 2c. water)

Sauté the onions and thyme in the butter until the onions begin to get soft. Add the carrots (if your child hasn't stolen them all and eaten them). 

Cook the onion and carrot mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. 

Add the water/broth. Bring the soup to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are just soft. 

(The above recipe serves two. Simply double or treble according to your needs.)

There are so many ways to fancy this up, if you want. You can always puree it after you cook it. You can add yogurt, sour cream, heavy cream, or crème fraîche swirled into the puree. You could add ground cumin and/or coriander. You could garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley or tarragon or chervil or dill. You could add chicken and noodles and you would have, well, you know what you would have. 

You can also serve it with toasted cheese or a simple green salad for a more substantial meal. 

We love this one. Hope you will too!