Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Greeks and granola

So today I emailed my lovely sister Megan the recipe for granola that I have been making and am totally hooked on, and she suggested that I post the recipe to my blog. Genius! I replied that I had never thought about posting things non-baby related but I think maybe I should share aspects of my life that don't directly involve children. After all, I think there is a lot more to me than just being an over-worked mom. So I was thinking that I will start blogging about food fetishes that I am currently entangled in. And here is my current food fetish, granola (nope, its not just for hippies anymore!).

If you have never experienced homemade granola, be warned, you will never go back to boxed granola once you have made your own! The difference in taste is amazing! And, I haven't done the exact math but I imagine a big batch of granola costs about $7 to make and has at least 15 servings in it, making it much cheaper than what you buy at the store. Currently I am eating my granola with some Greek yogurt and fresh strawberries- delish! Here is the recipe I use for my granola, adapted from Nigella Lawson's granola recipe:

Granola:
5 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking oats)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried dates
2 cups pecans (or almonds, or a mixture if you are feeling a bit wild)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup if you want to make it vegan)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300F.
In large bowl combine all dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spread the granola over two baking sheets. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, being sure to stir granola every ten minutes and rotate the pans. When it is ready, remove from the oven and stir well to prevent it from cooling into one big hard sheet. Place in an airtight bag and it will keep in the fridge indefinitely, though I don't know one could refrain from eating all of it long enough for it to spoil!

One note on Greek yogurt, it is so expensive! I have no clue what makes it so much more expensive than regular yogurt. From what I can tell the only difference in Greek yogurt is that it is strained more than regular yogurt so it ends up thicker. I just ordered a yogurt maker so if I have any luck making my own Greek yogurt I will lend those tips via the blog.

Go ahead and find that inner hippie and make some granola this weekend, just be sure to shower!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

What did the Easter Bunny ever do to you??

Pictures are really worth a thousand words.  Here are a few to convey how the twins feel about Easter bunnies.

Lizzie's first experience with "the bunny"
Conner expressing disdain for "the bunny"
Obviously still harboring harsh feelings towards "the bunny" a year later