The Only Granola Recipe You'll Ever Need

I've been using the same granola recipe forever.  The first time I tasted granola, it was this recipe, which I got from Janis.

Granted, I've made minor tweaks over the years but the proportions are consistent. I used more oil and sugar in my first batches; now I substitute apple puree, as David Liebowitz does, and maple syrup. In today's batch, I used ground flax seed, unsweetened coconut chips, and dried cherries. This makes the best yogurt topping.

The Only Granola Recipe You'll Ever Need

Ingredients

Dry Mix

2 - 3 lb. rolled oats/grains (mine: oats & barley)

2 c. wheat germ or flax seed

1 - 1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 c. whole almonds

1 t. salt

Wet Mix
1/2 c. oil
2/3 c. water
1 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. apple puree or unsweetened applesauce
1 T. vanilla

After baking
1 1/2 c. coconut -- pick your poison: unsweetened flakes or shredded sweetened
2 c. dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots...mangoes, pineapple. you name it)

Directions

1. Combine dry mix.
2. Pour wet mix and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
3. Spread on baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring every ten minutes.
4. Right after you’ve taken the granola out of the oven but while it’s still hot, stir in the dried fruit and coconut.
5. Let this cool completely before packing in glass jars. I refrigerate any that I'm not going to eat in the next couple of days.

Makes the perfect gift.

Steak Pizza on Cornmeal Crust

Lazy dinner tonight. The natural food store in town carries pre-made cornmeal olive oil crusts. I like to have a pack on hand for nights we want a home-cooked meal but lack ambition. I've not tried making cornmeal crust myself, but there are plenty of recipes on the internets.

Tonight's pizza is tres simple. I sauteed crimini mushrooms with red onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes (marinated in olive oil). Diced the leftover steak. Covered the crust with a soft bed of parmesan, added the veggies, piled on the steak, topped with more parmesan and blue cheese, and added a few sliced olives for good measure.

Bake in a medium oven, around 350 degrees, rather than the typically hotter temp you'd bake a pizza, since you want the cornmeal crust crispy and the toppings well melded. Check in 15 minutes. If the crust needs to brown more, turn off the heat and let it cook two more minutes.

There, that's the recipe. Beats Round Table.

Chocolate Chipotle Black Bean Chili

Tomorrow is the annual car show and chili cookoff at work. Hotdogs will be served, so I decided to make a vegetarian entry that will make a yummy chili dog and an equally tasty bowl of comfort food.

This recipe makes a stock pot for a party. Make a smaller pot keeping portions in mind if you're cooking for two. I always let the chili simmer a while, then taste, before adding a tad more of any of the spices. For convenience sake, I used canned beans and tomatoes, but have made this with fresh tomatoes and home-cooked beans. Oh, and when I use canned ingredients I don't add salt, since even low sodium canned foods are salty enough for me.

Chocolate Chipotle Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
(3) 29 oz. canned black beans
(1) 28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
(2) 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 c. stock
1/2 c. coffee
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 big red onion, finely chopped
1 T. regular chili powder
1 T. chipotle chili powder
1 t. each ground coriander, cumin, dried oregano, paprika
2 oz. 100%  cacao unsweetened baking chocolate (I used Ghiradelli Chocolate Premium Baking Bar)
1/4 chopped cilantro leaves
garnish: sour cream, chopped cilantro, grated or mexican cheese, sour cream/crema fresca, lime wedges

Directions

1. Saute the onion, garlic and dried herbs in a splash of olive oil.
2. When the onions have softened, add the beans, tomatoes, stock & coffee. Simmer at a low temp for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. When the sauce thickens and the beans are delightfully tender, melt the chocolate in the sauce, then add the cilantro. Stir and simmer another 5 minutes.
4. This is fine as is. Other options: serve on brown rice or quinoa, garnish with green onions, more cilantro, cheese (if you are a cheese-a-holic like me), a squeeze of lime and a little dollop of crema fresca.

Leftovers are lovely on an omelot. Love.